The European Commission's Joint Research Centre has published a study on new product priorities in connection with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. The ESPR entered into force this year and aims to make sustainable products the norm.
The study looked at a number of product groups and horizontal requirements to see if they were suitable for action under the ESPR. The criteria used were environmental impacts and improvement potential, market relevance, policy coverage in the EU, cost reflections, and contribution towards EU Open Strategic Autonomy.
It identified 11 final products, seven intermediate products and three horizontal requirements (durability, recyclability, recycled content) as potential priorities for the next steps in preparing the first ESPR Working Plan.
The PRIMUS project is researching new polymer recycling technologies.ย
They aim to produce new recycled materials that meet the requirements to be used to manufacture high value products and so make secondary plastics the primary raw material for high-value products in sectors such as automotive and household appliances.
CircEUlar is a four-year European Research and Innovation Action. It began work in September 2022 and seeks to understand the dynamics and levers for transforming society into a net-zero emissions circular economy.
The CircEUlar project team is now organising a workshop where stakeholders will be able to hear about their latest research and contribute to shaping the next phases of work.
From Niche to Centre (City Centres as Places of Circular Lifestyles) is an Interreg Central Europe project. It aims to revitalise fading city centres by making local trade and consumption more circular and sustainable.
The project is organising a series of webinars: this one will explore Big Points for Sustainable Consumption and Circular Lifestyles. It will identify measures that are particularly important for effective environmental and climate protection.
In December 2021 the Commission adopted a revised Recommendation on the use of Environmental Footprint methods, helping companies calculate their environmental performance based on reliable, verifiable and comparable information. The 2nd public consultation on the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules for apparel and footwear is now live and will be open until 28 April 2024.
Europe and the world face unprecedented sustainability challenges, largely as a result of unsustainable consumption. Since similar consumption patterns are expected to continue, technological and efficiency gains are likely to be insufficient to keep environmental and climate pressures within sustainable limits.
A more circular economy in Europe has the potential to reduce environmental and climate pressures and impacts from our consumption, but will require reshaping our consumption and production systems. This report presents trends in European household consumption and its environmental and climate pressures, and explores conditions for and pathways to a transition towards more sustainable and circular consumption patterns in Europe.
The ELLIPSE project seeks to optimise the use ofย two heterogeneous waste streams of which plentiful amounts are generated across Europe: slaughterhouse waste (bellygrass) and paper and pulp sludge. The project willย produce cost-efficient polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) for the agricultural and packaging sectors by co-processing these waste streams with other organic ones such as glycerol from the biodiesel industry and sludge from the dairy industry.
The Circular Republic Festival will take place from 15 to 18 November 2023. Join top circular economy visionaries for innovation, networking and inspiration. Showcase initiatives, meet relevant players and be inspired by good practices. Experience keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops and online collaboration. We want to accelerate the circular economy together!
The ELLIPSE project will address the valorization of two heterogeneous waste streams - slaughterhouse waste and paper and pulp sludge - generated in significant amounts in Europe, to produce cost-efficient polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs).
The technology will impact the European bioeconomy by valorising 20,000 tons of rumen content waste and 50,000 tons of paper sludge per year.
The Re-Shoes LIFE project wants to provide an alternative, circular and sustainable solution for footwear end-of-life management. The European Platform for Sport Innovation (EPSI) will organize the Re-Shoes project launch event on 6 June 2023 in the Azores (Portugal), as part of the EPSI Annual Conference 2023.
