Rare earth elements are strategically important for the EU to sustain and accelerate its green and digital transition, particularly due to their use in permanent magnets. Rare earth permanent magnets are critical components in wind turbines and electric vehicles, as well as home appliances and consumer electronics.

However, faced with an expected surge in demand, limited domestic manufacturing capacity, high import dependency and rising geopolitical tensions, the EU’s ability to meet the future demand for rare earth magnets is at risk.

This report examines the barriers hindering the establishment of a viable magnet recycling chain in the EU, whilst estimating the extent to which recycling could offset the coming increase in demand for rare earth magnets.

This report:

• sets out the background to the Circular Electronics project of the Consumer Insights Action Panel (CIAP),
• shares information on the multi-stakeholder circular Electronics Club at the heart of the work, and
• provides an overview of the methodology followed in gathering insights, designing and running interventions, and evaluating results and sustainability of the pilots.

It is designed not only to provide an overview of the project’s activities, but also to share learnings, findings and models that could support potential future initiatives in the field of circular electronics and beyond.

Circularity offers pathways to achieve a more sustainable production and consumption and to provide benefits to society. Although sustainability entails an ecological, economic, and a social dimension, the discourse on social aspects seems to have been less prevalent than on economic and environmental ones. Hence the need to further explore the social impacts of circularity and its potential societal benefits.

The aim of this report is to frame, address and better understand questions related to the social impacts of the transition to a Circular Economy. The report synthesises the gathered insights into key emerging themes and identifies gaps or areas of potential in the field as part of the Consumer Insight Action Panel (CIAP) project, led by the CSCP and funded by Sitra and DBU.

Circular economy interventions in four key sectors can halt global biodiversity loss and help the world's biodiversity recover, finds this study.

Tackling root causes - Halting biodiversity loss through the circular economy, written by experts from Sitra and Vivid Economics, is the first to quantify the role a circular economy can play in tackling global biodiversity loss, targeting the four sectors with the largest impacts:

• food and agriculture
• construction
• textiles
• forest and forestry

Circular interventions in these sectors can halt biodiversity loss even if no other action is taken. And more than that, the study finds that the world’s biodiversity can recover to 2000 levels by 2035, if the circular interventions are implemented.