Dear supporters of the Circular Economy!

At the end of a very busy circular year 2023, our Team at the Stakeholder Platform takes a little break to relax and recharge.

Please note that the ECESP secretariat will be closed from 22 December 2023 (afternoon) till 2 January 2023 included.

It will be a pleasure to see you next year!

Annual Conference 2023: Recovery, Open Strategic Autonomy and Resilience

The European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee will host the 2023 European Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference on 27 and 28 February 2023.

During its 152nd plenary session on 30 November and 1 December 2022, the European Committee of the Regions adopted an opinion on the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. This is available in 23 European languages.

The opinion was drawn up by Luca Menesini (IT/PES), President of the Province of Lucca, Tuscany.

The Economic Cooperation and Trade Division of UNECE organises an online and in-person event titled "Regional Policy Dialogue: Sustainable and Innovation-Enhancing Public Procurement to support Circular Economy Transition in the UNECE region" on 15 November (8:00-9:45 CET), which will also contribute to the development of a policy brief on Sustainable and Innovation-Enhancing Public Procurement.

UNEP and Global Fashion Agenda are holding a COP27 side event on Circular Systems for a Net Positive Fashion Industry in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on 12 November at 18:00 EET. This in-person talk show event with industry leaders will discuss the path to a circular fashion system, from circular design to business models and recycling to public behaviour. 

The European Commission is launching a call for applications for members for the new mandate of the Platform on Sustainable Finance. The next Platform’s mandate will run from Q1 2023 to Q4 2024. The future Platform will consist of maximum 35 members, up to 28 of whom will be selected through this call for applications.

The European project BeonNAT aims to develop innovative biological products for the industry from the biomass of trees and shrubs grown on marginal land. The Plastics Technology Centre Aimplas will generate lactic acid and then polylactic acid PLA from fermentable sugars in biomass waste for use in packaging with active properties for cosmetics.

On 13 October, more than 50 countries around the world celebrate the World Ecolabel Day to honour credible ecolabels that are members of the Global Ecolabel Network. These so-called type-I ecolabels are awarded to goods and services meeting high environmental standards throughout their entire life cycles.

The new Horizon Europe project CISUTAC will support the transition to a circular and sustainable textile sector. AIMPLAS will contribute its expertise in the extraction technology for removing inks, dyes and other surface contaminants.

The European Commission has launched a call for evidence and a public consultation with a view to the European Critical Raw Materials Act, announced by Commission president Ursula von der Leyen during her 2022 State of the Union address. Interested parties can provide their input until 25 November 2022.