The Centro de Documentación Europea de la Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (European Documentation Centre, UFV) has completed a project titled Economía Circular y Empleabilidad de los Jóvenes en la Comunidad de Madrid (Circular Economy and Employability of Young People in the Autonomous Region of Madrid).

The outcomes include a report on communicating the circular economy through the lens of employment opportunities circular business models provide for young people. The project has also created a guide on communicating the circular economy to students, which introduces the subject, presents the 7R model and shows how innovative companies provide opportunities for employment in circular business.

The publication presents a state-of-play for Slovakia's circular economy transition and introduces its circular economy policies. It also contains interviews with representatives of the Slovak State administration, NGO representatives and scientists, as well as examples of good practices from municipalities, businesses, and NGOs.

With an average of 79.5% recycled across Europe in 2016, steel for packaging is already the most recycled packaging material in Europe.

This report compiles examples of good practices from countries across the EU showcasing the varied projects, systems and processes by which steel for packaging is recycled, bringing significant reduction in emissions, resource and energy use.

Steel, a permanent material that can be infinitely recycled to make high quality products, can be easily sorted from the waste stream owing to its magnetic properties which make it the most economical packaging material to collect, sort and recycle over and over again.

Good practices in separate collection, sorting and recycling of steel for packaging contribute to improving its recycling rate, but can also serve as a guide for any stakeholder interested in improving these essential steps in a circular perspective.

The report Retaining value in the Swedish materials system takes a value perspective on the use and recycling of materials in a circular perspective. It analyses the use of materials in the Swedish economy in monetary terms instead of tonnes and cubic metres.

The key questions it seeks to answer include the following:

• For each 100 SEK of raw material entering the Swedish economy, how much value is retained after one use cycle?
• What are the main reasons that material value is lost?
• What measures could retain more materials value, and how much could be recovered? Which business opportunities arise as a result?

This value perspective gives a much more realistic view of how circular the Swedish materials system really is, as it captures all the downgrading effects that occur through its use of materials, in addition to the volume effects that also traditional research approaches capture. The value perspective also turns materials recycling into an industrial innovation and an economic topic, in addition to an environmental topic. To our knowledge, this is the first time anyone has value-mapped a material system in this way. 

Read more about the results and download the full report (in Swedish) here.

The transition to a Circular Economy requires innovative business models that stimulate optimised use of repairable products, reusable components and recycling of materials. A Community of Practice (CoP) has been established in which experts from different fields have collaborated to improve the financeability of circular construction. CoP members have engaged in a case of social housing corporation Eigen Haard. This report retraces the 'learning-by-doing' trajectory of this Community of Practice. It provides tools to unlock the potential of circular construction business models.

Five main lessons have been drawn from this exercise:

1. Circular construction depends on the development of a market for used elements, products and materials.
2. Unlocking the potential of circular construction requires new valuation methods, distinguishing between land and buildings.
3. Circular construction can successfully be financed when risks and future potential are balanced. This can be supported by detailed financial modelling and leveraging key strengths of circular buildings as securities.
4. Social housing corporations are ideally suited to implement circular economy business models since both favour long-term inclusive value above mere financial profits. 
5. Collaboration and transparency support the creation of synergies between different fields of expertise (business, technical, legal, financial) to tackle the challenges of circular construction business models.

L'Institut national de l'Economie circulaire (France) a lancé en 2017 un Groupe de travail sur les systèmes agricoles et agroalimentaires, dont ce Livre Blanc présente les conclusions. Il explore les solutions que les orinicpes d'économie circulaire peuvent apporter pour des systèmes agricoles et agro-alimentaires durables.

Trois thématiques prioritaires ont été sélectionnées (par le Livre blanc):

• Systèmes agricoles et agroalimentaires circulaires: définitions, état des lieux et bonnes pratiques, sensibilisation des parties prenantes (consommateurs, professionnels, décideurs, distributeurs);
• L'écologie territoriale appliquée aux systèmes agricoles et agroalimentaires: les synergies entre les entreprises, le niveau d’application (exploitation agricole, région, etc.), les circuits courts, l’agriculture urbaine et périurbaine;
• Le retour au sol de la matière organique: identification des freins et leviers (acceptation sociétale, réglementation, etc.), compostage, méthanations et autres processus de transformation;
• Valorisation des services rendus (qualité des sols, puit de carbone, approvisionnement durable…).