A conference entitled A Peek into the Future – Going Circular through Digital, organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was held in Belgrade, Serbia, on 9 December 2019. from the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform was among the speakers.

CityLoops is a new EU-funded project focusing on organic, and construction and demolition waste.

Recently adopted EU legislation helps tackle marine litter from plastics, improves chemicals management and increases the recycling of materials. In its conclusions of 4 October 2019, the Council of the EU stresses that further ambitious efforts are needed to stimulate a systemic transition to a sustainable society, inviting the European Commission to come up with an ambitious long-term strategic framework, including a common vision for a circular economy and to adopt a new circular economy action plan with targeted actions.

About 50 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions are related to materials and the manufacturing of products. Strong Circular Economy policies are therefore needed to meet the climate goals. Ecopreneur.eu has worked out far-reaching proposals as input for the EU Green Deal.

From shoemaker to wind energy park engineer: 7.5% of all jobs in Belgium are circular, shows new analysis by the King Baudouin Foundation and Circle Economy. The baseline measurement of employment in the Belgian circular economy provides insights into the nature and number of jobs in the country’s circular economy.

On 20 September 2019, more than 100 public and private partners covering the whole plastics value chain signed the declaration of the Circular Plastics Alliance, which promotes voluntary actions for a well-functioning EU market in recycled plastics.

As global leaders gather in New York for Climate Week NYC in September 2019, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has issued a new paper, in cooperation with Material Economics. As set out in Completing the Picture: How the Circular Economy tackles Climate Change, moving to renewables can only address 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It is urgent to tackle the remaining 45%.

Circular economy, the new concept for attaining sustainable consumption and production, will not be implemented without multisectoral and international cooperation. INNOWO, Circular Change, INCIEN Czechia, and INCIEN Slovakia are launching the International Circular Week this year to promote circular economy across countries. This International Circular Week will take place from 7 to 13 October 2019, and aims to engage all circular stakeholders in central Europe and beyond.

Ecopreneur.eu has created an overview of circular economy policy for all EU Member States, which reveals 28 different paths with inspiring best practices. Countries that lead the way typically have the highest waste production as well. 

ACR+, the Association of Cities and Regions for Sustainable Resource Management, celebrated its 25th anniversary in June 2019. At this event, member organisations presented their respective work on the circular economy and committed to continue furthering the circular transition.