The European Commission has launched new resources to help buildings professionals to start using Level(s), the EU common language framework for monitoring and assessing the sustainability performance of buildings. Level(s) is a simple entry point for applying circular economy principles in our built environment.
This year, the LIFE programme turns 30. There are more than 5 500 LIFE projects – both past and present – across Europe. All LIFE 2022 calls for proposals are expected to be published on the Funding & tender opportunities portal on 17 May 2022.
Many actors see the EU’s circular economy (CE) as a promising narrative which steps outside dominant end-of-pipe solutions towards an encompassing vision for strategies across the supply chain. However, this study finds that the EU CE Action Plan maintains the status quo narrative instead of suggesting radical changes.
By focusing on stakeholder narratives, this analysis shows that the inertia is primarily due to CE proponents’ self-perception of being in a legitimacy crisis and their strategic arguments that have:
concealed social conflict and potential trade-offs
strengthened the agency of ‘status quo’ agents
excluded alternative voices questioning the proposed CE narrative.
The paper discusses how to develop new environmental narratives outside the status quo.
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.
