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.

Threading-CO₂ project aims to scale-up and demonstrate its first-of-its-kind technology producing high-quality commercially viable sustainable PET textile products from CO2 waste streams.

The overall objective is to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the textile industry, using a circular manufacturing approach and running on renewable energy sources.

This year’s World Circular Economy Forum’s website is now up and running. Explore the programme and news and stay tuned for more updates!

Registration for online participation is now open! 

The Commission has launched a four-week feedback period, open until 3 May 2023, on a new set of EU taxonomy criteria for economic activities making a substantial contribution to one or more of the following environmental objectives:

• sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources
• transition to a circular economy
• pollution prevention and control, and
• protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.

Four calls for proposals are currently open to provide funding for projects implementing the Green Deal at local and regional level. Please note that these calls are open to all legal entities that are eligible to apply for funding under the Horizon Europe programme.