The Italian project BIOCOSI (BIOdegradable and COmpostable packaging for sustainable, circular and smart industry) has come up with a revolutionary solution to the problem of wastewater in the dairy sector.
In Denmark, the interior design company Mater has developed chairs made out of brewery waste. The production method uses plastic waste and the grain left over from beer production at the Danish brewery Carlsberg.
Fjällräven is giving wool waste a second life by using it for innovative purposes, like padding in jackets or backplate in backpacks.
Cikautxo worked with the TAPA (ThermoplAstic fluid handling Pipes for cooling circuits in Automotive sector) project, funded by EIT RawMaterials, to develop new materials for pipes and hoses. They substituted natural rubber with a 100% recyclable thermoplastic material (thermoplastic elastomeric, TPE), using energy-efficient extrusion technology.
The Horizon 2020 project SUSTAINair was launched recently. It aims to research and develop solutions to increase resource efficiency and aircraft performance while cutting down on waste and material costs throughout the aircraft life cycle - what is known as "circular aviation".
CLIC trans-disciplinary research project aims to demonstrate that it is economically, socially and environmentally convenient to maintain and/or reuse cultural heritage and landscape.
Maersk has been developing ways to build recyclable ships that can be dismantled and reused.
Aerocircular provides green, service-only, economical end-of-life aircraft recycling and upcycling services to fleet owners.
RiVending is an innovative cycle of recovery and recycling of polystyrene cups, stirrers and PET bottles for vending machines in Italy.
The partnership between Herning and DFD has led to a new circular business model for the work clothing used by the municipality’s technical operations department.
The study sheds light on the background of the prevention of plastic waste from packaging and disposable products by explaining the need for action, the environmental impacts and risks to human health.
Experiences of the members of the PREVENT Waste Alliance and their partners in the prevention of plastic waste by multi-actor partnerships are presented by means of 17 best practice examples.
Finally, the study gives recommendations for the reduction of plastic waste and the further work of the PREVENT Waste Alliance. These include success factors for waste prevention, necessary next steps and conclusions regarding the necessary political framework conditions.
The academic paper "Analysing European Union circular economy policies: words versus actions" comprehensively reviews and analyses the EU’s circular economy (CE) policies. Results show a dichotomy between words and actions, with a discourse that is rather holistic, while policies focus on “end of pipe solutions”.
To address these limitations, the paper proposes a set of 32 science-based policy recommendations which can help strengthen circular economy policies both within and outside the EU. This research thus brings key insights for practitioners and academics seeking to better understand the EU’s CE policies and how to improve circular economy implementation at both national and international level.
See here for more results, insights and recommendations.
This report follows on from the publication Circular Czechia from July 2018, exploring the circular economy in the Czech Republic.
The report explains how innovation has developed in this field since 2018, and aims to be an inspiration for firms, organisations and authorities on how to implement circular principles. It sets out a wide selection of good practices from the Czech Republic, and includes the retail, wastewater treatment, transport, construction and furniture sectors.
The report analyses the relationship between resilience and the circular economy.
It presents socio-ecological resilience mechanisms, with particular reference to the impacts of COVID-19.
It explores various relevant topics such as resource efficiency, shared resources, regenerative resources, decentralisation, skills transferability, lifelong learning, flexible labour contracts and the strengthening of the sociological foundation.
It also presents three case studies from the Netherlands, Ecuador and India, showing how local companies enhance resilience and reduce vulnerability in various sectors.
Lastly, it gives recommendations for educating stakeholders in how to improve and implement stronger circular economy strategies.
This report describes innovation competition as a method of tackling major environmental challenges, specifically how to provide food sustainably and resource-efficiently in the future.
Two teams with expertise in plastics, logistics and sustainability developed solutions focused on a more regional food supply enabling us to reduce the amount of plastic, packaging and transport used. The winning submission is a conversion tool describing the principles of sustainable production and consumption of food.
How can design help the circular economy? Design is born from the need to find or adapt solutions to everyday problems.
Design is present throughout the value chain: production, location, distribution, transformation, transport, sales and user experience. Design can minimise the impact on the environment and simultaneously empower people in their habits and environmental preservation. This is done through shapes, materials, production processes, colours, legibility, concept and narratives that value what is systemic.
A design project starts by thinking about what you intend to achieve. A design collaboration (a dynamic of cause and effect) helps identify weaknesses and opportunities when it comes to adopting a circular design to each stage of the process.
In its position paper, Eurocities aims at contributing to the revision of the EU legislation on packaging and packaging waste by making proposals on:
This report explores the implications of the transition towards the circular economy for the Scottish labour market. It presents a baseline measurement of the number and geographical distribution of jobs currently related to the circular economy in Scotland and explores the types of circular jobs, roles and skills associated with opportunity areas in three value chains: construction, bioeconomy and capital equipment.
Circle Economy and Zero Waste Scotland designed this report to support enterprise agencies, workforce development, governments, universities, employers and other representatives to recognise the potential of the circular economy for the Scottish labour market and the related skills development needs of its workforce as part of a just transition.
This publication sets out the state of play of the circular economy concept in Serbia and identifies the main obstacles that may hamper the shift to the circular economy paradigm. It also includes circular economy initiatives in Serbia and an analysis of linkages between the circular economy concept and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Addressing the circular economy only through waste management shows that the circular economy concept is still in its infancy in Serbia. According to the conclusions, the circular economy goes beyond
The circular economy and the Covid-19 recovery published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation shows how policymakers can pave the way towards a low-carbon and prosperous economic recovery. The paper highlights 10 circular investment opportunities across five key sectors:
Addressing the growing calls for a recovery response that is in alignment with other global challenges, these specifically selected opportunities all optimise the use and circulation of assets, materials and nutrients. As governments take the critical action necessary to safeguard national economies and work towards a transformation that is resilient to future global risks, the circular economy has never been more relevant.
Cities are where the future happens first. The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group connects more than 90 of the world’s greatest cities, representing over 650 million people and one quarter of the global economy. Created and led by cities, C40 is focused on tackling climate change and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities of urban citizens.
As a part of the circular economy, Eco-design is a way for enterprises to reduce the impacts of their products or services at each step of their life cycle.
Since 2012, UCM help SMEs to integrate this approach in order to make their business less impacting, but also compatible with the evolution of the reglementation, cost-effective and connected to the new customers markets.
You want to improve your life cycle management? Take opportunities in the Circular economy? Or even change your business model? Don’t hesitate to make your first step with us. We propose short and mid-term supports, customs tools and seminars, and grant research for circular projects.
The CircE Project (European regions toward Circular Economy) involves 8 partners both at regional and local scale and representatives of different European social and economic scenarios. The project aims at strengthening the diffusion of Circular Economy in Europe, consistently with the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package (2015). In particular the project aims at helping the partners involved to increase the capability of their policy instruments to steer economy towards a circular model. The project carries out this task by aiming at modifying or readdressing the selected policy instruments through an exchange of knowledge/experiences among Partners, through a continuous involvement of Stakeholders and through a deeper analysis of economic system.
Circular Europe Network gathers ACR+ members committed to improve their resource strategies and strengthen the sustainable development of their territory. The CEN will be helped by an Advisory Committee involving European experts from various backgrounds, in order to provide a multi-stakeholders input.
The Directorate-General ENV of the European Commission is inviting you to participate in a webinar on Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) for newbies - a basic training on the PEF method - on 8 October 2021. No previous experience in the field is needed.
EU Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius will join RREUSE to explore the meaning of social value in the circular economy and whether social dynamics have been inherent factors in developing EU policies related to the green transition.
The webinar on 17 December 2021 will also focus on the way forward in ensuring that tools such as the Social Economy Action Plan and the Circular Economy Action Plan work together to create a more favourable policy and funding environment for social enterprises, safeguarding a socially fair and inclusive circular transition.
On 27 September, take part in Going Global with a Data-Driven Nordic Circular Model - a webinar organised by Circular Regions during Oslo Innovation Week 2021.
TOMRA, a global leader in collecting beverage containers for recycling, invites you to attend its second webinar on lessons learned from the world's highest-performing deposit return systems. This webinar will take a deep dive into how high-performing systems make retrieving containers convenient, and why convenience is key to an effective deposit recycling programme.
To register, please click here.
What is a blockchain? Why is it increasingly used in the circular economy? In which cases is it relevant?
To understand it all, join the INEC at its dynamic and educational webinar Blockchain for Circular Economy actors in 10 questions on 11 October!
The workshop on Delivering the EU Green Deal through Circular Procurement will take place on 14 October during the European Week of Regions and Cities. This event will help procurement specialists, policy makers and other stakeholders understand how public procurement can accelerate local and regional transitions towards a circular economy.
Join the EU Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) programme's online webinar on 29 September 2021 to learn how ETV can help innovators, investors, and buyers improve their confidence in new environmental technologies through verification. ETV works to boost innovative environmental technologies adoption and contribute to the circular economy.
High-level foresight conference on positioning sustainable and circular bioeconomies in Central and Eastern Europe to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
The Making It Circular Challenge is a two-day event on circular economy for plastics in Europe. This free-of-charge event will take place online on 29-30 September 2021.
The European Union, the Canada Plastic Pact, the Circular Economy Coalition and the project Reducing Plastic Waste in Canada are hosting a WCEF21 two-hour Accelerator Session on circular economy for plastics with a focus on global supply chains on 15 September 2021.
The Sustainable products initiative, which will revise the Ecodesign Directive and propose additional legislative measures as appropriate, aims to make products placed on the EU market more sustainable. You are welcome to give your feedback on it until 2 November 2020.
The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste publishes a monthly newsletter to help Platform members stay connected, inform all interested stakeholders about Platform members’ activities and inspire further action in food loss and waste prevention.
The 5th Circular Change Conference, one of key European meeting points of circular economy changemakers, was transformed this year into a “virtual roadshow” consisting of 5 events based on 5 partnerships
We are launching a Call for Expression of Interest for the new mandate of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform Conference (ECESP), that will run from November 2020 to May 2022, open to stakeholders who wish to take part in this unique European initiative.
A new project addressing the systemic complexities of the Circular Economy is being submitted as a Marie Curie (MSCA) post doc proposal. As these aspects build upon multi-stakeholder knowledge and insights, you are kindly invited to join the project community and collaborate.
The European Commission has launched the public consultation on the green claims initiative. It will be open until 3 December 2020.
The European project DigiCirc aims to boost the circular economy using digital tools by supporting very innovative SMEs. In order to define the current challenges of a Circular City, DigiCirc is collecting the testimonies of different key actors of the market (local authorities, companies, citizens, etc.) through a questionnaire.
AIMPLAS employee is the only qualified auditor in Spain for new certification launched by Recyclass to guarantee traceability of recycled content.
On 23 July 2020, Chile, The Netherlands, and Slovenia are again joining forces to create a circular future, discussing how to achieve sustainable recovery in Chile and what is the role of the circular economy.
Last 20 July, the European Commission opened a roadmap for feedback for the "Legislative proposal on substantial green claims". The roadmap is open until 31 August. The outcome will serve for further development and fine-tuning of the initiative.
