Did you know that 36% of the total waste generation in the EU comes from construction waste? In order to fully reap the benefits of circular economy a targeted survey has been created online for a study on measuring the application of circular approaches in the construction industry ecosystem for the European Commission.

The survey will be open until 31 March 2023.

Cities are hubs of humanity, often fuelling a country’s economic growth and innovation. However, they are also resource and energy hungry. As a result, cities are critical when it comes to helping societies shift to a circular economy.

The 2022 Circular Cities Declaration Report is a very important milestone. Not only is it the first progress report for the Declaration, it also features statements from 40 signatory cities. This makes it the broadest ever assessment of circular economy practices across European cities.

Save the date for this year’s EU Green Week: Europe’s largest annual environmental event will take place from Saturday 3 June to Sunday 11 June 2023. As part of the European Year of Skills, the EU Green Week partner events will focus on skills for sustainable, resilient and socially fair communities. 

Registrations for organising an EU Green Week partner event will be open from 1 to 15 March 2023. 

The European Commission is conducting a survey on possible new legislation on the management of plastic pellets, with a view to reducing the amount which ends up in the environment.

This survey is only for companies handling plastic pellets in the European Union, in particular small and micro-companies. It will close on Thursday 23 February. 

On Day 2 of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Annual Conference (28 February), a Networking Village will showcase a selection of good practices, initiatives and circular business models. Twenty online and ten on-site exhibitors will bring their work to an audience of around 500 participants. A unique opportunity to pitch projects and matchmaking opportunities. Interested?

On 31 January, the Commission launched an online public consultation on what the new product priorities under the proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) should be.

The aim is to make products on the EU market increasingly sustainable, by enabling far-reaching performance and information requirements – known as "ecodesign requirements" – to be set on a wide range of them to improve their circularity, energy performance and other environmental sustainability aspects. 

 

On 1 December 2022, Commissioner Mariya Gabriel launched the largest public consultation ever held on the past, present and future of the Horizon Framework Programmes 2014-2027.

The consultation will be open until 23 February 2023.

This initiative will provide selected households with a cost-free circular economy advisory service. Firstly, all available knowledge about measuring and calculating households' greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts will be screened and consolidated. A simple and robust method for quickly comparing environmental impacts will then be established, drawing on product environmental footprint expertise.

The European Commission's Horizon Europe Framework Programme has launched a call for the circular economy and bioeconomy sectors, with particular reference to circular systemic solutions under the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI).

In this context, a circular systemic solution is defined as a demonstration project for deploying a circular and climate-neutral economy at urban and/or regional scale, involving key stakeholders and, ideally, addressing more than one product value chain. Proposals are expected to implement and demonstrate at large scale circular systemic solutions for the deployment of the circular economy (including the circular bioeconomy) in cities and regions or their groupings. They should form part of the implementation of the European Commission's Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) and should be carried out in close coordination and cooperation with the CCRI Coordination and Support Office (CCRI-CSO).

Circle Economy, the founders of the Circularity Gap Report, and Deloitte, held the online launch of the global Circularity Gap Report 2023 on 16 January 2023 (14.00 - 16.00 CET).

The livestream programme included a presentation of the outcomes of the Circularity Gap Report 2023 and a panel discussion attended by policymakers and business leaders.