This report explores the potential of circular business models within the electronics industry, examining three models across four industry segments and throughout six lifecycle stages. The data utilized in the analysis stems from diverse sources: research papers, public databases, internal benchmarking, collaboration with external/internal partners etc.
Projections and estimations are grounded in a comprehensive approach, blending historical data extrapolated with logarithmic adjustments. Baseline data for lifecycle stages is constructed from product Life Cycle Assessments, considering both carbon footprint and cost perspectives. The focus is on capturing the significant impact of approximately 20% of products, which are estimated to constitute around 80% of their respective segments.
On 6 November 2023, Arthur ten Wolde, ECESP Coordination Group member and Executive Director of Ecopreneur.eu, represented the Platform at a G7-B7 online meeting on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency Principles. Mr Ten Wolde has been a member of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform since its foundation in 2017.
The meeting was organised as part of the G7 Sapporo Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and the Environment in Japan. The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the USA and the EU. TheBusiness7 group (B7) is the G7 platform for dialogue with the international business community, consisting of the industry and employers’ associations from the G7 including BusinessEurope.
Reliance on electronics comes with steep environmental costs, from mining minerals to disposal of end-of-life devices. As the use of electronic products has grown, their average lifespan becomes shorter. This in turn results in an increased volume of discarded and obsolete electronic devices.
Gruppo FOS in Caserta (Italy) provides a T&G (technology and groupware) Repair Centre and Swap & Repair services for electronic devices.
Chemical Recycling 2024 explores the ongoing developments, as well as highlighting challenges and opportunities for the industry. Bringing together experts from across the plastics supply chain, this event is an essential meeting place for anyone wishing to learn more, connect with industry leaders and discuss the latest updates in this fast-moving sector.
ECO-FUTURE is a 24-month school education cooperation partnership aiming to create an effective programme for teachers to educate children on the circular economy. The project was inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted the need to re-evaluate and redesign current methods and systems.
The project seeks to get students, schools and communities interested in sustainability, encouraging them to act responsibly at individual, community and global level, now and in the future.
A training course is being organised in Vantaa, Finland from 30 October to 3 November. It's designed for over 15 teachers from Finland, Italy and The Republic of North Macedonia.
The circular economy offers solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss at source. It's time to mobilise financing to accelerate the circular economy.
While sustainable tools like green bonds and impact investing can support circularity, unlocking the circular economy's financing potential is a challenge. Cooperation between the circular community, policymakers and financial institutions is vital for progress in financing the circular transition, especially as this is still seen as potentially risky.
This will be the subject of a COP28 side event on "Accelerating the financing of the circular economy in climate and biodiversity strategies".
The event aims to:
analyse the current challenges in scaling up circular financing,
facilitate the dialogue between key financial actors from the public and private sectors, standardisation bodies, policymakers and circular civil society actors,
Eco Repair Score NV and VITO have developed the Eco Repair Score® to assess the environmental impact of a specific car repair job. It does this using a single score, with categories from A to E and associated colour coding.
Fast fashion and disposing of clothes at the end of their lives are generally considered to be the main issues in terms of textile waste. However, pre-consumer waste is another major problem. This occurs a few steps further back in the manufacturing process, and deals with all waste materials created in the supply chain when a product is being made.
Unlike post-consumer waste, it is easier to keep pre-consumer waste away from a landfill or an incinerator as the fabric or garment is essentially brand new, despite one or more repairable defects.
So, finding ways to re-use or use up the resources created is the key to creating an endless supply of materials without further depleting natural resources.
Join the launch of the Global Action Partnership for Extended Producer Responsibility (GAP for EPR) on 19 October at 14:00 CEST!
GIZ, WWF and the OECD are partnering up to establish the Global Action Partnership for Extended Producer Responsibility, hosted by the PREVENT Waste Alliance. This partnership also receives circular economy support from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and is working closely with UNEP to provide technical support to governments and PROs. Register now for this online event!
VAIVÉN 2023: Circular Economy Festival is a meeting and exchange space of the Circular Economy Coalition for Latin America and the Caribbean that seeks to promote and celebrate the development of the circular economy in the region.
