This launch event on Regional Innovation Valleys for Bioeconomy and Food Systems will take place on 13 October 2023. It is organised jointly by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation and the Agricultural University of Plovdiv, in close cooperation with the BIOEAST Initiative. It will be webstreamed and recorded.
This white paper examines China's transition to a circular economy.
A new plan for China’s circular economy (CE) was set out in the 14th Five-Year Plan 2021-2025. Circular Innovation Lab's previous paper on China’s Circular Economy Policies: Review and Reflection argued that there has been significant improvement in environmental aspects in China. It also identified challenges in the implementation of past five-year plans, such as coordination challenges, uneven and unsustainable development, and lack of research.
This paper builds on those findings to address the way forward in China's CE transition, including challenges and opportunities.
More than 140 million SMEs make up a significant part of China's economy and technological innovation.
However, they are also responsible for significant environmental issues, with most environmental regulation violations in China being incurred by SMEs. This paper investigates how SMEs can help China transition to a circular economy by harnessing their potential for technology innovation and flexibility in adopting circular practices. By looking into the development characteristics of Chinese SMEs, it highlights the implications for SME-related policies and management and emphasises the need for collaboration between businesses, NGOs and individuals.
By tapping into their strengths, SMEs can play a vital role in delivering the successful transition to a circular economy in China.
The circular economy was introduced in China’s policies in 2002 and has evolved into a national strategy and a fundamental pillar of the economy. However, while the efforts so far are worth celebrating, issues such as coordination challenges, uneven development, unsustainable success, and a lack of research are still undermining China's circular development.
This paper builds a primary framework by reviewing the development of China's circular economy policy. The paper consists of a policy review, the implementation and the corresponding outcome, challenge identification, framework establishment and application.
The Pop-Machina project consortium is thrilled to invite policy stakeholders and decision-makers to participate on 14 September 2023 in its upcoming International Policy Roundtable focusing on the policy recommendations and lessons learnt during the project on circular economy, the maker movement as well as their convergence.
Ambition4Circularity is a platform collecting circular commitments by large French companies. It is supported by the French Association of Large Companies (AFEP) that reflects their growing commitment to move towards a more sustainable production model.
Companies have been mobilising since 2017, with a wide range of commitments to activate the seven pillars of circular economy as defined by the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) and based on their specific activities.
The commitments listed on the platform primarily involve the company’s internal stakeholders, along with suppliers, partners and customers. All aspects of the circular economy are leveraged in these commitments, from the supply of sustainable resources to the repair and recycling of the end product.
Delivering a just and successful circular economy transition requires engaging a multitude of stakeholders at the nexus of several areas of expertise, including digitalisation, agriculture, business management, governance and policy, innovation and finance.
This autumn, on 18 and 19 October, UNECE, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia, will organise the first in-person Regional Policy Dialogue under the Stakeholder Engagement Platform - Circular STEP.
The new Horizon Europe Cluster 6 calls for proposals related to the circular economy will be open for submissions until 22 February 2024. EUR 120 million will be available in the form of grants to cover safe, integrated circular solutions at regional and sectoral levels for important material flows and product value chains.
This Sitra memorandum focuses on providing building blocks to help the next European Commission address the ecological crisis while maintaining Europe's competitiveness and resilience.
The renewed European Commission will take office in 2024 and must keep up the European Green Deal, ensuring that it centres on nature and mainstreams the circular economy across the EU single market.
The key recommendations include:
ecosystem accounting
biodiversity offsets
circular single market
leveraging nature as a business opportunity
using data for the green transition
addressing Europe's global biodiversity footprint, and
reforming the common agricultural policy.
Stakeholders are encouraged to contribute to the ongoing debate, ensuring the strategy's success.
The Circular Economy Resource Information System (CE-RISE) is an EU-funded project aiming to optimise raw material reuse and recovery in electronic products.
CE-RISE seeks to create an information system and integrate digital product passports. It will provide stakeholders with a better understanding of the green credentials of electronic products.
