The circular economy has become a key part of the sustainable transformation of regions. The German Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building is leading the new Territorial Agenda pilot project. This scheme supports the development and implementation of strategic circular economy concepts in rural areas in Germany and Europe.

The pilot project is now establishing a partnership, and a call for funding for four German regions is ongoing. European regions and organisations are invited to declare their interest in joining the partnership.

In December 2021 the Commission adopted a revised Recommendation on the use of Environmental Footprint methods, helping companies calculate their environmental performance based on reliable, verifiable and comparable information. The 2nd public consultation on the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules for apparel and footwear is now live and will be open until 28 April 2024.

About this contact

Ms Ettinger is a lawyer in Germany and holds a Master of Law degree from George Mason University (USA). Before joining EuRIC, she worked at a Brussels-based consultancy, advising multinational companies on environmental, health and safety matters.

EuRIC is a confederation which represents the interests of European recycling industries within the EU. It spans the majority of waste streams, and so can facilitate cooperation between national recycling and resource management federations and companies from over 23 European countries, operating both locally and globally.

EuRIC represents:

  • 5 500+ companies generating an aggregated annual turnover of about €95 billion, including large companies and SMEs involved in the recycling of and trade in various resource streams
  • 300 000 local jobs which cannot be outsourced to non-EU countries
  • a million tons of waste recycled each year (metals, paper, glass, plastics, WEEE, ELVs, tyres, textiles, construction & demolition, etc.).

By turning waste into resources, recycling loops recycled materials back into value chains. Recyclers play a key role in bridging resource efficiency, climate change policy and the industrial transition.

The European Commission is calling on European cities committed to sustainability to apply for the 2026 European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards. The call for applications is open until 30 April 2024.

SUSTAINair is a project funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme. It aims to revolutionise aviation through groundbreaking technologies and impactful solutions.

Circular Aviation in the EU, SUSTAINair’s final conference, will bring together researchers, industry leaders and stakeholders to discuss the future of aviation sustainability. This flagship event will take place in Vienna on 11-12 June.

Climate Action Week for Fashion & Apparel will take place on 18 to 22 March, organised by the Scandinavian Textile Initiative for Climate Action (STICA). 

This Accelerator Session of the World Circular Economy Forum will be held in Brussels on 17 April 2024, co-organized by UNECE and the Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union.

The session will look into how partnerships and regional stakeholder platforms drive the circular economy transition, particularly in regions where circular practices are emerging.

Regional Strategy for Transition to Circular Bioeconomy - Podravje 2023 - 2030

In 2022 the Podravje region (Slovenia) became part of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) and was selected as one of the 12 CCRI pilots being supported for the implementation of Circular Systemic Solutions (CSS) which could provide answers to major challenges beyond resource management and waste/water recovery.

The region is now developing a circular bioeconomy strategy which is the key document describing the available regional resources and linking them to suitable CSSs.

So far, two rounds of consultations with regional stakeholders have been organised and 9 key CCSs have been identified as the key activities within 4 priority areas:

  • developing biobased products
  • reclaiming resources
  • producing regional resources
  • capacity building to foster circular bioeconomy.
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