LOOPS is a live webinar series committed to spotlighting innovation in the field of circular economy. The topic of this episode on 13 May will be bio-based resins and coatings, processed by two Horizon 2020 projects: Lignicoat and TomaPaint.
Longstanding research on wood cascading has identified a variety of factors to enable more efficient, circular use of forest-based products in Europe.
This paper finds that two of the most critical barriers to wood cascading are:
It makes the following recommendations for policies and business:
This Reflection paper of the ECESP Leadership Group on Network governance and circular economy hubs draws on the lessons learned when a group of ECESP Coordination Group members focused on road-mapping processes in various countries. The key to success is making the networks work, making them actionable, with a focus on network governance and the role of individual circular economy hubs.
The 3rd Symposium on Circular Economy and Sustainability will take place in Chania, Greece on 27-29 June 2022. Researchers, practitioners and entrepreneurs are invited to submit both empirical and theoretical papers that are broadly consistent with any of the topics covered by the Symposium.
The International MonGOS conference - Water and Sewage in the Circular Economy Model, which will be held from 30 June to 1 July 2022 in Cracow (Poland), will provide a summary of the MonGOS project "Monitoring of water and sewage management in the context of the implementation of the circular economy assumptions" financed by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) under the International Academic Partnerships Programme (2020-2022).
The project EffiSludge for LIFE has found a way to clean industrial wastewater with significant environmental benefits. The project team has developed an integrated wastewater treatment method that takes an "industrial symbiosis" approach where the waste from one sector becomes a resource for another.
The Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP 2.0) brings opportunities for businesses. It encourages new business models which generate substantial material savings throughout value chains, making them more resilient and fostering industrial symbiosis. Innovative environmental technologies play a substantial role in helping companies make their business models and value chains inclusive and circular faster and more efficiently.
The EU policies and initiatives under the CEAP (such as the Green Claims Initiative, the Sustainable Products Initiative and the revision of the Ecodesign Directive) supported by sectoral policies also give businesses incentives to look for better alternatives. The webinar on 17 February aims to present the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) scheme and discuss its contribution to linking the circular transformation of industrial ecosystems with the innovation ecosystem and CEAP objectives.
The BDI Initiative Circular Economy (CE) was created in April 2021 by the Federation of German Industries.
It is a network of more than 50 members that defines the potential of CE and the necessary framework conditions through practical exchange. To this end, they are in close dialogue with policymakers in Berlin and Brussels and with the sciences community.
The 2nd International Conference on Strategies towards Green Deal Implementation – Water, Raw Materials & Energy (ICGreenDeal2021) - aims to present the issue of climate change and ways to prevent it with innovative solutions (technological, environmental, economic, and social) that can be implemented under the Green Deal Strategies.
This online conference on 8-10 December 2021 is the continuation of the 1st International Conference on Strategies towards Green Deal Implementation – Water and Raw Materials, a very successful event with almost 500 participants.
The need to move towards circular and more sustainable economic models has become more evident due to the Covid pandemic and data certifying the climate change effects. Moreover, European public institutions show an increased emphasis on promoting a circular economy transition, notably through the Next Generation Europe programme and the available funding.
At a single company level, however, how can we undertake this transition and its impacts? Often this has yet to be understood and planned. Advanced services, digitalization and «servitized» business models may have a big role in helping companies move to a circular paradigm and achieve not only environmental but also economic and social benefits.
The conference on 27 and 28 October deals with the synergies between servitization and the circular economy, and the role of servitization in supporting the transition towards a circular economy.
Every year, about 100 billion tons of material are taken from the planet - but only 10 billion are circularized. The results of the TOP 10 study clearly highlight the differences between the systems: the waste culture and concepts are different in the Global North and the Global South, as are the objectives of the respective legislations.
In the Global North, the goal is to decouple waste generation from consumption. In the Global South, waste increases with per capita income; here, the old consumption patterns and images of the rich Global North are often emulated.
Scorecards are used in the study to assess individual materials and their circular maturity in the region. The overall score is shown in the summary per material.
The participatory info session Circular solutions for regions and cities – how to make it work will take place on Wednesday 13 October, 11:00 a.m. (CEST). Participants will learn more about the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), which offers possibilities for cities and regions, ranging from knowledge-sharing and technical expertise to financial opportunities, and get insights and experiences from the local perspective.
By designing and enabling the use of Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries for multiple use-cycles, valuable materials are maintained, and a range of economic and environmental benefits can be unlocked.
Innovators from the automotive industry, Dutch and French public authorities, and the European Commission have collaborated to identify regulatory barriers to reusing EV batteries as energy storage devices and unlock solutions.
This case study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is part of a series of case studies that exemplify elements of the Universal circular economy policy goals (2021) in practice.
The Re-think Circular Economy Forum will be held on 28 and 29 September 2021 in Taranto, Italy. The event aims to examine macro-trends, possible evolutionary paths and the main circular economy projects, involving stakeholders operating at different levels, such as companies, start-ups, research centres and other institutions. This two-day event will be an incredible opportunity to analyse the theme of the circular economy, looking at issues key to the city of Taranto. The forum will cover: Energy transition and renewable energies; Circular ports; Environmental management and waste.
Over the past decades concepts such as sustainability and industrial development have slowly come to the same operational logic, as demonstrated by a growing interest in exploring and describing the synergy between developments in the circular economy and industrial digitalisation. There is agreement on their complementarity evolution paths, but no outlook is available regarding the co-evolution staging and structuring. This paper based on desk and empirical research presents an approach to outline the likely path of evolution.
So far, the notion of transition to sustainability has been applied in single sector studies, while reality indicates that the systemic change required cuts across thematic technologies and sectors. The approach taken can be useful to enrich current analyses.
Lors d’un colloque organisé à l’ESCP, le 29 juin en présence de Florent Menegaux, président de Michelin, l’association française Entreprises pour l’Environnement (EpE) dévoile le fruit de trois ans de réflexion de sa commission «Ressources Naturelles» sur l’économie circulaire. Illustrée de 27 démarches concrètes mise à bien par des entreprises, la publication insiste sur l’importance des partenariats, décrit leurs principaux objectifs et, en collaboration avec la Chaire Economie Circulaire de ESCP-Deloitte, propose une analyse de la diversité des principaux modèles de gouvernance observés.
The Market-driven Circular & Bioeconomy EU Green Week Partner Event on 8 June 2021 brings together representatives of European projects based on industry-academic partnerships in the fields of biodiversity, forestry, engineering, chemistry, agriculture, and transport.
Frontrunners of the BioCircular Economy 2.0: Nordic-Netherlands Roundtable is an official WCEF (World Circular Economy Forum) Side Event held on 27 May 2021 under the auspices of the ECESP. This timely Nordic-Netherlands Roundtable will focus on creating a shared need between Nordic-Dutch frontrunners with the aim to lead and accelerate the transition to a Circular Bioeconomy 2.0. It will gather a select group of Nordic-based and Dutch corporate leaders and frontrunners who are leading by example as well as key EU decision-makers. This is the very first time that such a virtual roundtable is being organised.
