Join NBN on 6 February 2024 at this free kick-off event to mark the launch of the Belgian activities within the framework of the new 'Circular Economy' European standards committee and share your professional knowledge.
NBN ensures the development of standards in Belgium. It brings professionals and specialists from companies, organisations, governments and education to work on best practices in all sectors.
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has commissioned a study on the development of recyclability indexes for photovoltaic products (PV modules and inverters).
Waste Management Europe 2024 (WME2024) is a high-level summit featuring international, national and sector-specific keynote speakers, panel discussions and interactive sessions. It will give attendees valuable insight into how to improve waste management practices, implement circular economy principles and achieve sustainability goals.
The conference will take place in Bergamo, Italy on 9-11 April. You'll be able to find, compare and validate suppliers that will deliver for your company and discuss technical issues and budgets in the field of waste management.
Recognising the need for a more circular construction sector, the Horizon 2020 e-SAFE project is trying to change the way we approach building retrofitting, enhancing the overall longevity of existing structures.
is a support hub for materials research and characterization;
offers coordinated access to more than 50 European analytical research facilities and provides comprehensive research services focusing on new circular materials;
provides scientists working on new recyclable materials with analytical tools enabling them to explore the properties and structure of their material up to atomic resolution.
Its service catalogue is complemented by an extensive training programme, enabling the user community to make the best possible use of its state-of-the-art facilities.
The project leverages the development of innovative, sustainable materials for key components across the economy.
The uptake of green and digital technologies will massively increase demand for critical raw materials (CRMs). Since CRM supply chains are heavily concentrated, this exposes the EU to significant CRM supply risks. Several policy options emerge for the EU to address these risks. Domestically, there is potential to produce primary and secondary CRMs, yet significant time and resources will be required to scale up production.
Material substitution and resource efficiency might also play non-negligible roles with enough R&I support. Internationally, both trade policy and international cooperation (including within multilateral fora) hold significant prospects for mitigating supply risks. If properly managed, stockpiling CRMs can also help shield against short-term supply or price shock.
What do consumers feel about upcycled food? Completing this FOODRUS survey by the University of Copenhagen takes only 5 to 7 minutes and will help design more sustainable food chains.
For the EU’s Green Deal to be effective, it is critical to target the root cause of the triple environmental crises of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss: excessive extraction, production, manufacturing and consumption of material resources.
This excess is not evenly distributed in the world: as highlighted in the report, the EU consumes more than its fair share – levels that are almost double the estimated sustainable consumption levels.
Addressing material resource consumption by establishing an EU Material Resources Law will be critical to meet the fourfold objectives set out in the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) and stay within planetary boundaries. The EU will not achieve its climate change targets without making progress on resource consumption.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission has just published a report on construction & demolition waste (CDW) which confirms that the circular economy is crucial for reaching climate neutrality by 2050:
- construction & demolition waste accounts for almost 40% of all waste generated in the EU - the new JRC study estimates the potential for recycling and preparing for re-use of CDW to be roughly 83% - realising this potential would lead to an additional 33 Mt CO2e savings annually (equivalent to the combined annual emissions of e.g. Estonia, Latvia and Luxembourg).
The European Commission is taking important legislative and non-legislative steps to ensure CDW is managed in an environmentally sound manner and contributes to the circular economy.
