The European Commission has launched the LIFE Programme’s 2023 Calls for project proposals. This year, there are 611 million EUR available for nature conservation, environmental protection, climate action, and clean energy transition projects.

This year, ACR+ is organising not one but three events:

The ACR+ General Assembly 2023 (31 May) to help shape the direction of the network: organisations and ACR+ members will introduce, discuss and challenge ideas and solutions,

The Circular Economy Hotspot (29 May – 1 June), which will explore three key themes: Policy in Practice, Citizen Engagement and Innovation & Collaboration,

The 14th EWWR Awards Ceremony (1 June), which will assemble the 16 most outstanding initiatives on circular and sustainable textiles from among the 16 000 carried out during the EWWR 2022

The Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) of the European Commission has launched work on a study regarding “Background Data Collection for Future EU End-of-Waste Criteria of  Construction and Demolition Waste”.

In this context, the Commission is opening an online stakeholder survey, available until 31 August 2023.  

The European Commission has published the revised Circular Economy monitoring framework. This framework helps to track progress in the transition to a circular economy in the EU and considers how the circular economy can contribute to climate neutrality, resilience and global sustainability. The framework includes new indicators, covering material footprint, resource productivity and waste prevention targets.

The CircularInvest project, approved under the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), launched its first open call for circular economy projects on 28 April. CircularInvest will help circular projects become investment-ready and access financial resources through free, tailor-made support delivered by experts. CircularInvest's services will improve the selected projects' circularity, provide a business plan and guide them through the process of securing funding. Circular project promoters will also have the opportunity to participate in knowledge transfer and networking events and live pitch sessions with potential investors.

Researchers from the Food Design and Consumer Behaviour section of the University of Copenhagen are currently conducting a survey as part of the EU-funded FOODRUS project. The main objective of this research is to learn more about how European consumers feel about upcycled foods and what prevents them from consuming this type of food. All citizens are invited to fill out the questionnaire.

The European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) is a joint initiative by the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee. It is a European one-stop-shop for the circular economy community: a place for dialogue and a bridge between existing circular economy initiatives.

The ECESP's 24-member Coordination Group, whose mandate started on 1 May, has now published its work plan for 2023.

In this video marking the end of his mandate as EESC vice-president, Cillian Lohan - who is also actively engaged in the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform - reminds us of the role of the circular economy.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) invites representatives of the public sector, companies, startups, business incubators, accelerators and higher education institutions to participate in a survey on innovative entrepreneurship for the development of a circular economy in their countries. 

The European Commission has launched the Public Buyers Community Platform, an innovative platform designed to facilitate cooperation and knowledge-sharing between public buyers across Europe.

This Platform is a unique digital space where public procurement stakeholders, including public authorities, industry, SMEs and academia, can come together to exchange good practices, share experiences and discuss challenges, including sustainability and the circular economy.