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Ekofungi: Waste to taste
Ekofungi is a Serbian company that takes a 100% circular approach to mushroom cultivation. It has pioneered a technology for sustainable cultivation of edible mushrooms using recycled cellulose waste. Each year, Ekofungi grows 130 tons of mushrooms which are either sold fresh or dehydrated and mixed with other vegetables.
UPMADE® by Reet Aus turns textile leftovers from cost into value
The mission of Reet Aus is to minimise the ecological footprint of one of the world's most contaminating businesses – the fashion industry. They do it by industrial upcycling. This not-wasteful way of production is based on a scientific methodology called UPMADE® that has been developed by the designer and founder PhD Reet Aus in cooperation with Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Center.
Auum: a great way to serve drinks in the workplace
The auum-S, a machine designed for workplaces, cleans, dries and disinfects glasses in 10 seconds with only 2 cl of water and no chemicals.
Environmental change project
The Environmental change project promotes proactive reskilling and upskilling to reap the benefits of the ecological transition. The project is in line with the European Green Deal and focuses on the circular economy and sustainable solutions.
APROEMA Conecta of Galicia
The Spanish project APROEMA Conecta aims to encourage the launch of businesses in the environmental sector through circular economy business tables.
The 2021 Catalogue of circular initiatives in Navarra is now available!
The Circular Navarre Catalogue 2021 is an update of the first showcasing booklet published in 2020. This new edition includes 30 organisations - based on circular business models - in the Spanish Navarre region, looking for international cooperation.
RECOTRANS: microwaves and laser welding for recyclable composites in transportation
In keeping with its mission to respond to the social challenges of sustainable mobility, AIMPLAS has been coordinating RECOTRANS, a EU-funded project which has made it possible to develop new design-efficient technologies and solutions to reduce vehicle weight.
How to capture the value of the circular economy with Gate C
The French management consulting firm Gate C helps clients map the benefits and capture the value of the circular economy.
Society 2030: Diageo's action plan to help create a more inclusive and sustainable world
Society 2030: Spirit of Progress is Diageo's 10-year action plan to help create a more inclusive and sustainable world. This global leader in beverage alcohol has set itself 25 goals aligned to the UN's SDGs.
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Leuven Circulair
Leuven Circulair - a detailed programme for circularity, in the context of Leuven 2030 Roadmap
The city of Leuven, in Flanders, aims to play a leading role in initiating systemic change in cities and society at large.
The Roadmap 2025 · 2035 · 2050, drawn up by Leuven 2030 and numerous experts, serves as a guide to achieving the goal of a climate-neutral city by 2050. In September 2019 a professional team of programme managers started on no less than 13 specific programmes, which will transform this unique plan into concrete actions and impact on the field.
Leuven Circulair finds its place in specific programme #09, outlining key actions for circularity in the city with a strong focus on social, repair, refurbishment, knowledge and expertise from the University of Leuven and local fablabs.
Overview Circular Flanders: a 2017-2019 retrospective
This retrospective report is a review of the plans set out by Circular Flanders in the Kick-off Statement.
The most important finding? A good deal more was accomplished than initially anticipated. For example, the opportunity to launch three Open Calls, permitting the funding of over 130 innovative circular economy projects. The Green Deal on Circular Construction was also an unprecedented opportunity, as was the complementary reinforcement of the OVAM team of experts in ecodesign and area-specific operations, allowing the scope to expand.
This retrospective report is an interactive PDF. External links to downloads or online resources have been embedded on each project page for easy accessibility.
A French act of law against waste and for a circular economy
This French act of law contains about 50 measures providing for:
- new obligations with the creation of new producer responsibility sectors to include new product families in the circular economy (toys, sports and do-it-yourself equipment, building materials, cigarette butts, sanitary textiles);
- new prohibitions on single-use plastics and to fight waste of food and non-food unsold products;
- new tools to better control and sanction offences against the environment (greater power for mayors to combat littering and illegal dumping), to support companies in their eco-design initiatives (bonus/malus-type incentives) and to assist citizens in new consumption practices (repairability index, information on environment and health impacts of products, harmonisation of info on sorting, etc.).
Luxembourg launches “Circularity Dataset Initiative” supported by major international industry leaders
The Circularity Dataset Initiative by the Ministry of the Economy of Luxembourg develops an industry standard providing a regulated framework for circular data on products throughout value chains, from raw materials to finished products, from the use phase to re-usage and recycling.
The project addresses the difficulty for stakeholders to access reliable data on the circular properties of a product. Trade secrets are hindering transparency and reporting standards are lacking, forcing manufacturers to send out different data sets in diverse formats to customers and product platforms.
The objective is to save costs, increase value and enable circularity by developing a process and an internationally accepted dataset template, and data is verified through an auditing process.
Riihimäki's circular economy roadmap
In the framework of the CIRCWASTE project, coordinated by SYKE (Finnish Environment Institute), pioneering municipalities have developed local circular economy roadmaps in 2019.
The town of Riihimäki is already a member of FISU (Finnish Sustainable Communities), a network of Finnish municipalities committed to becoming waste-free, and has now adopted a circular economy roadmap focusing on the participation of local actors.
In 2017, the local authorities asked the 29,000 inhabitants of this town what sustainable choices they would be ready to make and how the municipal council could best enable these. Inhabitants also contributed ideas to develop the resource efficiency of Riihimäki.
The circular economy and resource efficiency roadmap of Riihimäki covers five themes:
- Carbon neutral energy production and consumption
- Sustainable circulation and ecologically efficient town structure
- Sustainable consumption of natural resources and circular economy
- Diversity of nature and comfortable living environment
- Inhabitant responsibility in Riihimäki.
Every one of these themes is dealt with by taking into account the following points of view:
- Vision for 2050
- Methods of working: who realises the vision
- Actions, ideas, commitments and promises
- Measures and indicators for monitoring and follow-up.
In addition to municipal actions, the Riihimäki roadmap also includes commitments to circular economy by local companies and communities. The roadmap also accentuates the education of students and recent graduates with the aim of incorporating the circular economy into all professional fields.
As cooperation is central to circular economym, the Riihimäki roadmap’s guiding principle is to increase cooperation between different communities and companies. The aim is to share good practice by developing a cluster that will monitor how companies are progressing and promote circular economy cooperation.
Vantaa creating business opportunities based on the circular economy
In the framework of the CIRCWASTE project, coordinated by SYKE (Finnish Environment Institute), pioneering municipalities have developed local circular economy roadmaps in 2019. This roadmap, adopted by Finland's fourth biggest city, is based first and foremost on what stakeholders identify as local strengths, special characteristics and challenges.
Vantaa’s roadmap lists the priorities, objectives and actions to take in 2019-2030 that could a promote circular economy locally. Its priorities are the following:
- circular business models
- circular economy in construction
- circular public procurement
- sharing economy.
The objectives are to be reached by 2030 in four timeframes, with responsibility for implementation shared among several local stakeholders that vary from municipal utilities to private companies. Specific indicators have been developed to measure and report on progress.
To stimulate circular business models locally, the municipality will set up a local cluster in cooperation with Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY.
Vantaa’s roadmap also puts a strong emphasis on construction and land use, committing to increase local (re)-use of soil and recycled materials in construction, which should reduce GHG emissions from transport. The use of demolished concrete has already increased and become fairly commonplace in infrastructure projects. It is used in street structures, repairs of building elevations and green landscaping.
In addition to this, Vantaa aims to develop a set of procurement criteria incorporating circular economy principles. As the circular economy benefits the natural environment, businesses and residents alike, cooperation among stakeholders is central to implementation of the roadmap.
Porvoo's circular economy roadmap
In the framework of the CIRCWASTE project, coordinated by SYKE (Finnish Environment Institute), pioneering municipalities have developed local circular economy roadmaps in 2019. The City of Porvoo is one of these and published its own circular economy roadmap in May 2019 to steer efforts that promote resource efficiency and circular economy in the coming years, so it can build on successes to date that range.
A steering group of 16 municipal civil servants and other local stakeholders drafted this roadmap, which focuses in particular on the following objectives:
- increasing the use of recycled materials in excavation and building sites
- cooperating to improve energy efficiency
- reducing the amount of total waste while increasing the level of recycling municpal waste.
The amount of high-quality soil and rock is not increasing in Finland, nor is the land area growing. This is why in Porvoo stakeholders are desiging a built environment that takes into account the sustainable use of soil materials and other resources.
Porvoo also aims to reduce food waste and improve the recycling of municipal waste through counselling and outreach for and to citizens. The impact of counselling on the volume of food waste is monitored at schools by weighing plate waste, for example. In addition to this, Porvoo will promote waste sorting by improving the quality of the recycling network using life-cycle analysis.
The roadmap also includes specific circular economy tasks and challenges for the local authorities and companies of the City of Porvoo to implement, with the most urgent having a completion date of 2020 while others have targets for 2030.
Central Finland's circular economy roadmap
In the framework of the CIRCWASTE project, Southwest Finland developed a circular economy roadmap in late 2018 to help implementation of the national waste plan and define regional objectives with concrete measures to achieve these.
The Finnish Environment Institute formed an expert network on circular economy, and began identifying regional strengths and special characteristics to start with.
In 2018, the Central Finland region produced approximately 1,8 million tonnes of different kinds of waste. Stakeholders thus sought to focus on waste management during the drafting process, and received training on, for example, plastic lifespan and creativity in the circular economy alongside many networking opportunities.
While the overarching theme is public procurement, the regional strategy focuses on the following sectors in particular:
- construction and demolition waste (62% of all waste in the region)
- biodegradable waste, biogas and the nutrient reuse (approximately 30% of non-recycled waste is biodegradable waste)
- plastics (in 2018 households generated approximately 6,000 tonnes of such waste)
- electric and electronic wreckage (in 2018 citizens generated approximately 6,000 tonnes of such waste)
This roadmap seeks to reduce the amount of construction and demolition waste and increase reuse of such waste to 70%. The partial activities helping to reach the targets are listed in the roadmap.
Different stakeholders, ranging from municipal or regional authorities, to national institutes, educational establishments, and private companies will take responsibility for implementation.
North Karelia's circular economy roadmap
In 2018, Finland's easternmost region of North Karelia adopted a circular economy roadmap as part of the CIRCWASTE project. Its objectives are to:
- enhance material and energy efficiency and improve natural resource use
- make circular economy inherent to industrial production in priority sectors and strengthen the regional cooperation network in the field of circular economy
- strengthen and stimluate new circular business models while developing new technological solutions and know-how in the region.
Regarding waste management overall, this strategy aims to increase knowledge and change overall consumer attitudes.
A system to recycle construction waste is set for development, and will focus on logistics, demolition methods and supervision. This strategy aims to improve training concerning waste management in particular, and motivate companies to consider waste already in the planning stage.
As for municipal waste management, the strategy hopes to improve the collection network and logistics by creating incentives and introducing monitoring systems.
The objectives are to be reached in different timeframes by 2030. For each partial target, responsibilities have been shared among various actors: municipalities, the Regional Council of North Karelia, private companies, educational establishments, organisations etc.
South Karelia's circular economy roadmap
The circular economy roadmap of the South Karelia region in Finland, along the Russian border, was drawn up at the end of 2018 in the framework of the CIRCWASTE project. The Finnish Environment Institute formed an expert network on circular economy, and began by identifying regional strengths and specific characteristics.
In South Karelia, stakeholders set the objectives of circular economy as
- Sustainable wellbeing, no emissions, no waste, or excessive consumption
- More jobs and business activity in the field of environment
- Strengthening of knowledge and training in environmental and circular economy issues.
Stakeholders at different levels are responsible for achieving specific targets, and range from the regional development council to municipalities, private companies, networks, universities and other educational establishments, etc.
For manufacturing, this strategy focuses on construction and mining, energy efficiency, renewable energies, reducing CO2 emissions, increasing recycling and improving waste management.
Regarding bio-based industries such as forestry in particular, this strategy focuses on by-products, nutrient recycling, and developing new products and materials.
To develop intelligent public services, the region is hoping to stimulate the sharing economy and improve digital services.
This strategy perceives the factors enabling circular economy as citizen engagement, research cooperation, developing educational curricula, and the role of government procurement.
South Karelia's performance will be monitored using the following indicators:
- the amount and level of recycled municipal waste
- the amount and level of recycled construction and demolition waste
- the amount of biodegradable municipal waste and the amounts of composted or decomposed biodegradable municipal waste
- the amount and level of electrical or electronics waste.
The region has also set itself goals to:
- create 500 new jobs in environmental businesses by 2030
- increase by 20% the number of businesses in waste management and recycling within the region.
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The Circular Economy and Green Jobs in the EU and Beyond
The Circular Economy and Green Jobs in the EU and Beyond
The circular economy is a model of production and consumption that is underpinned by a transition to renewable energy and materials. It is a resilient system - good for business, people and the environment. The book titled The Circular Economy and Green Jobs in the EU and Beyond examines what the circular economy means, why the transition from a linear economy to a circular one is important, and how we can achieve it.
The book offers clarification on the meaning and the implications of the circular economy across different contexts – economic, social, cultural, legal and international. Particular emphasis is placed on the implications for jobs and different business models as well as on questions of equity.
Circular Infrastructure: the road towards a sustainable future
Circular infrastructure: the road towards a sustainable future
The availability of a quality infrastructure system – networks of roads, railways, bridges and waterways – is a prerequisite for all economic activity to flourish and is also paramount for people’s health, wellbeing and safety. Infrastructure is very important for human society - but its adverse environmental impact on our planet is undeniable.
To mitigate the long-term catastrophic effects of climate change and depleting material resources, a circular economy for infrastructure is crucial. The publication Circular Infrastructure: the road towards a sustainable future aims to bring this aspect into the limelight to inspire action by public actors and practitioners.
A two-year stakeholders’ consultation on the construction and infrastructure value chains
A two-year stakeholders’ consultation on the construction and infrastructure value chains
This paper by ENEA focuses on circular economy in the construction sector, by illustrating the main market dynamics related to materials for buildings and infrastructures, and active and/or potential value chain collaborations in a circular and industrial symbiosis perspective.
The paper offers an overview of:
- the relevance of construction and infrastructure value chains within the EU economy,
- their potential for circularity, resource efficiency and decarbonisation and
- the main barriers and levers.
Contributors:
- the Environmental European Bureau (EEB), within the ECESP Leadership Group Construction, led by ENEA in 2020, and
- alchemia-nova and Innowo, within the ECESP Leadership Group Construction & Infrastructure, led by Holland Circular Hotspot in 2021.
Why Steel recycles for ever
Why steel recycles forever: How to collect, sort and recycle steel for packaging
This report, which contains best practices and policy recommendations, provides updated information relevant to all organisations and stakeholders, both in the public and private sector, who wish to learn more about material recycling.
The objective is to help stakeholders - throughout the whole value chain - work collaboratively to achieve APEAL’s vision of zero steel packaging to landfill by 2025.
Steel for packaging is already the most recycled primary packaging material in Europe (2019 recycling rate: 84%), bringing great savings in emissions, resource and energy use.
Steel’s unique inherent qualities give it a natural advantage. Its magnetic properties make it easy and economical to recycle. As a permanent material, it can also be recycled forever.
Industrial Transformation 2050
Industrial Transformation 2050 - - Pathways to Net-Zero Emissions from EU Heavy Industry
There is an intense debate about how to close the gap between the current climate policy and the aim of the Paris Agreement to achieve close to net-zero emissions by mid-century. The materials and chemicals that heavy industry produces are essential inputs to major value chains: transportation, infrastructure, construction, consumer goods, agriculture.
Material Economics' study Industrial Transformation 2050 - Pathways to Net-Zero Emissions from EU Heavy Industry starts with a broad mapping of options to eliminate fossil CO2-emissions from production, including many emerging innovations in production processes. It also integrates them with the potential for a more circular economy: making a better use of the materials already produced and so reducing the need for new production.
Circularity Gap Report 2022
Circularity Gap Report 2022: five years of analysis by Circle Economy
The Circularity Gap Report 2022 draws on five years of analysis to show the power of the circular economy to equitably fulfil our global needs and wants, with radically fewer materials and emissions.
The 2022 report by impact organisation Circle Economy reveals that the throwaway global economy is fuelling the climate crisis, with more than half a trillion tonnes of virgin materials consumed since the 2015 Paris Agreement was signed.
Circular economy solutions can have a huge impact on climate change. This is because 70% of greenhouse gas emissions are related to the production and use of products – from the buildings we live in and the transport we use to the food we eat and the clothes we wear.
Circular Economy: Leveraging a Sustainable Transformation
Circular Economy: Leveraging a Sustainable Transformation
It has been established that the circular economy has a high leverage effect and some progress in this field has been made, but the circular economy has yet to top the political agenda. A strategic approach to circularity is urgently needed and should be developed, managed and implemented in a cross-ministerial capacity in line with efforts at EU level and together with partner nations.
Against this backdrop, the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) recommends organising the transition to circularity via a new, cross-ministerial governance mechanism coordinated by the German Federal Chancellery. RNE’s statement covers a further 13 recommendations, ranging from the need for social safeguarding instruments to expanding education and research.
Microplastics from textiles: towards a circular economy for textiles in Europe
Microplastics from textiles: towards a circular economy for textiles in Europe
Awareness is increasing about the presence of microplastics in our environment and their negative impact on ecosystems, animals and people. The wearing/washing of textiles made from synthetic fibers is one recognised source of microplastics in the environment. Textiles and plastics are among the key value chains in the EU circular economy action plan.
It is possible to reduce or prevent the release of microplastics from textiles by implementing sustainable design and production processes and caretaking measures that control microplastic emissions during use, and by improving disposal and end-of-life processing.
This briefing aims to improve our understanding of microplastics released from textiles from a European perspective and identify pathways to reduce or prevent this release.
Textiles and the Environment The role of design in Europe's circular economy
Textiles and the environment: The role of design in Europe’s circular economy
Circular design is an important enabler of the transition towards sustainable production and consumption of textiles through circular business models. The design phase plays a critical role in each of the four pathways to achieving a circular textile sector:
- longevity and durability
- optimised resource use
- collection and reuse
- recycling and material use.
This briefing aims to improve our understanding of the environmental and climate impacts of textiles from a European perspective and to identify design principles and measures to increase circularity in textiles. It is underpinned by a report from the EEA's European Topic Centre on Circular Economy and Resource Use available here.
Towards a circular energy transition
Towards A Circular Energy Transition
Concern continues to grow regarding the availability of critical metals. Such rare or scarce metals, like lithium or cobalt, are not only vital to the world’s major economies. They are also crucial for a transition to a renewable energy system in the Netherlands. At current levels, the global supply of these metals is insufficient, and the Dutch demand for them is no exception.
This study Towards A Circular Energy Transition serves to provide insight into the demand for critical metals domestically over the next few decades, to offer perspectives on how to reduce this demand, and to demonstrate the opportunities these new measures present to industry in the Netherlands.
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ReziProK programme run by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
ReziProK is a funding programme focusing on a resource-efficient circular economy and innovative product cycles, and is run by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). It supports research and development projects which will help reach these goals. The projects seek to close product cycles by developing appropriate business models, design concepts and digital technologies and thus contribute to the implementation of a resource-efficient circular economy.
The projects focus on:
- Promoting the use of recycled materials
- Extending or stepping up product use
- Improving the recyclability of electric vehicles
- Optimising and expanding remanufacturing
- General developments on the topic of blockchain.
SUSTAINair: circular economy for the aviation and aerospace sectors
SUSTAINair is an H2020-funded platform developing circular economy principles for the aviation and aerospace design, manufacturing, operations and end-of-life phases. This EU-funded research project aims to make the entire supply chain ecosystem greener, in line with the Circular Economy Action Plan, and to set new standards for aerospace manufacturing, enabling an increase in cross-sector synergies.
The SUSTAINair project provides the aviation sector with a path to a more cost-effective, low-carbon economy, while tackling the increase in resource consumption, waste and emissions. Because of this, the SUSTAINair project has been endorsed by the Future Sky research initiative of the Association of European Research Establishments in Aeronautics (EREA).
The Danish Knowledge Centre for Circular Construction launches a network for professionals
VCØB aims to guide, support and involve actors from the construction value chain in Denmark. They help identify issues and barriers to the circular economy in construction, through increased knowledge sharing and dialogue.
Ultimately, VCØB wants Denmark to have a flexible market for the circular economy. It is working on:
- gathering and providing technical expert knowledge, facts and figures on the circular economy for all actors in the construction value chain
- developing new knowledge and tools, both as part of their own activities and in collaboration with other networks and stakeholders
- conducting a number of activities, such as partnering with networks/projects, conferences, workshops and webinars.
Hungary's Circular Economy Platform
The Circular Economy Platform was officially established in November 2018 in Hungary as an initiative of the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH), the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology.
The aim of the platform is to facilitate the paradigm shift and joint thinking, along with building a community of forward-thinking change leaders and sharing business solutions that make a real impact. For the new model to develop and spread, collaboration and knowledge sharing are required, with the involvement of businesses, government and science.
Danish DigitalLead
DigitalLead is Denmark's national cluster for digital technologies. They organise yearly network sessions on circular economy called Green Tech - Cirkulær økonomi.
Employees and managers in related businesses can join the network and participate in meetings to discuss the development of the circular economy and how digital technologies can be applied.
Alliance for Women in a Circular Economy
The Alliance for Women in a Circular Economy was created in 2019 in the Czech Republic, and it aims to help project managers interested in the topic get together, discuss, and implement circular economy initiatives.
The alliance has been founded by women, but is also open to men.
A Circular Economy Network run by the Swabian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The Circular Economy Network of Swabia is organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of the Bavarian part of Swabia (Germany). It is open to companies that are members of the CCI. The network organises discussions and exchange of experiences on circular economy topics.
Current topics mostly handle activities in the field of waste disposal.
WFZruhr: a network with an added value
WFZruhr is a network of public organisations and private companies who share circular economy competences in the Ruhr area (Germany). The network members cover the whole range of circular economy services.
WFZruhr allows member companies to take part in industrial symbiosis processes, to cooperate in the field of waste management and to receive support on circular economy issues (including IT, management, etc.).
WFZruhr also organizes top-class events on key circular topics.
The Danube Goes Circular - a platform for collaboration and awareness raising
The Danube Goes Circular is a circular economy platform, under the Interreg MOVECO project, which involves sixteen partners from the ten Danube countries. The platform offers a space for collaboration, awareness raising and a market place for reusable materials. Hence, it provides opportunities for trading materials and expanding their circularity.
Moreover, the platform offers information on how to extend a product’s useful life cycle and on legal requirements and business good practices linked to the promotion of circular economy.
Another benefit of the platform is that various stakeholders interested in circular topics can team up, which would ideally encourage the formation of partnerships.
For more information on the strategy named The Danube goes Circular, please click here.
The Confederation of Danish Industry: Network for Circular Economy
The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) is a private business and employers' organisation representing approximately 18 000 companies in Denmark. They aim to provide the best possible corporate conditions for their member companies.
The DI network for circular economy (text in Danish only) aims to create a platform for companies that are interested in, working with or want to be updated on the circular economy. It organises three meetings a year, and is open to members of the Confederation of Danish Industry. The network has around 150 members and growing.
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Kari Herlevi
About this contact:
Kari Herlevi is a circular economy multitalent. He is currently leading the circular economy area at Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund. There, he is focusing on the transition to a fair and competitive economy that tackles the root causes of biodiversity loss, climate change and overconsumption of resources, by facilitating the development and scaling up of the best circular solutions from Finland and the world. Previously, he worked at Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, where he was responsible for the Green Growth and Vigo accelerator programmes. Kari also worked in the Tekes Silicon Valley office for a few years, and is particularly interested in new ideas and fast-growing firms in the circular economy, not least on the African continent.
Leon de Graaf
About this contact:
As an adviser for environmental and climate policy, Leon de Graaf particularly follows policies related to the circular economy, trade and climate, low-emission mobility, implementation of the Paris climate agreement (COP21) and the European emission trading system (EU ETS). He is also deputy manager of BusinessEurope's corporate Advisory and Support Group (ASGroup). Prior to joining BusinessEurope, Leon worked at the research consultancy Ecorys, focusing on renewable energy and international development issues, at DG COMP on energy and environmental subsidies in Europe, and at the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) on indirect ETS costs for energy-intensive industries. Leon has a MSc in environmental economics and climate change from the London School of Economics, and a BSc in business economics from the University of Groningen.
Ladeja Godina Košir
About this contact:
Ladeja Godina Košir, Founder and Executive Director of Circular Change, is an internationally renowned expert on the circular economy, speaker, (co)author of several CE reports and articles, and co-creator of international circular economy events. Ladeja was the finalist for the Circular Leadership Award 2018 (Davos WEF) and named in "The #EUwomen4future campaign” featuring extraordinary women active in research, innovation, education, culture and sport by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth in 2020. She is recognised as the regional "engine of circular economy transition". She is co-author of the first Roadmap towards the Circular Economy and creator and team leader of the annual international Circular Change Conference. Ladeja has consulted on the national circular economy roadmapping process based on stakeholder engagement for several countries and cities (Serbia, Montenegro, Norway, Israel, Chile, etc.).
Ladeja has several international roles: chair of the coordination group of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) in Brussels (2018/20), visiting professor at Doshisha University in Kyoto and co-leader of the Research Group Circular Economy Systems at the Bertalanfy Center for the Study of Systems Science (BCSSS) in Vienna.
Ladeja takes a transdisciplinary systemic approach and holistic view as an entrepreneur, communications professional, speaker, moderator, lecturer, mentor and passionate connector. She is empowering a new narrative and circular culture. She bridges the bioeconomy and the circular economy; one of the EU projects to which she contributes is Effective (Horizon 2020 & BBI JU), a multi-company collaboration to produce more sustainable, bio-based fibres and plastics for large consumer products using renewable feedstocks and innovative technologies. She also chairs the expert group for the BIOeast Foresight Exercise 2050. Ladeja works with governments, city authorities, companies, NGOs, media and universities, empowering true collaboration to enable circular change.
Carsten Wachholz
About this contact:
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity which aims to speed up the transition to the circular economy. Since it was set up, the charity has emerged as a global thought leader, putting the circular economy on the agenda of decision makers across business, government and academia.
Carsten Wachholz joined the Foundation in 2020 after spending two years working for the European Investment Bank on Corporate Responsibility and another four years working for the European Environmental Bureau on the first EU Circular Economy Action Plan. Carsten leads the Foundation's newly established Brussels-based team supporting the development of circular economy policies at EU and international level (e.g. G20, OECD), in close collaboration with the Foundation's systemic initiatives on plastics, fashion and food.
Laurent Zibell
About this contact:
Dr Laurent Zibell led the development of industriAll European trade union's positions on the circular economy, innovation and digitalisation of industry.
He started his career as an R&D engineer and worked in the field of high-tech and industrial innovation. He is a member of the French trade union CFDT. He holds MScs in Engineering from École Polytechnique and from Mines Paristech (FR), and a PhD in innovation economics from Cranfield University (UK).
Vanya Veras
About this contact:
Municipal Waste Europe is the European umbrella association representing public responsibility for waste.
The members are national public waste associations and similar national or regional associations. They are committed to sustainable waste management that minimises the impact of waste on the environment and promotes resource efficiency, taking into account local conditions. Municipal Waste Europe promotes the interests of its members at European level, through joint positions on waste management issues and legislation and keeps its members informed on the latest EU policy developments. The association encourages the sharing of information among its members, including the exchange of good practice in the local management of waste.
Waste management services are a crucial aspect of the social responsibility for the environment and public health in Europe. This service, including collection and treatment systems, is best developed at national, regional and local level. For these reasons and also for the reason of continuity in the delivery of this indispensable service, regardless of market forces, Municipal Waste Europe promotes waste management as a service of general interest.
Francesco Lembo
About this contact:
The Association of Cities and Regions for sustainable Resource management is an international network of cities and regions sharing the aim of promoting a sustainable resource management, through prevention at source, reuse and recycling, and accelerating the transition towards a circular economy on their territories and beyond. The network currently counts about 100 members, mainly local and regional authorities as well as national networks of local authorities representing around 1100 municipalities. ACR+ is directly represented in 23 countries of the European Union, and the network can also rely on members in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine and Jordan
Francesco LEMBO is Managing Director at ACR+, overseeing programs and projects, and ensuring that strategic plans and realistic objectives are in place and monitored. His key duties include fundraising, marketing, community and stakeholders’ outreach. He has over ten years of experience in supporting public administrations, SMEs, employers' associations, NGOs and universities in the design and management of international programs on lifelong learning and sustainable development. He has been advocating for the active involvement of citizens in the development of local and EU policies and the dissemination of inclusive educational models, also designing training programs focused on sustainable development and social inclusion. He wrote about inclusive pedagogy and recognition of prior learnings, and circular economy education. He has a Bachelor in contemporary history, and then followed MA studies in Lifelong Learning Sciences.
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18 May 2022
Achieving circularity for plastics and meeting ambitious plastic waste reduction goals is a complex mission. Flexible plastic packaging is a growing and challenging segment of the plastic stream that needs its own strategies and investments to progress towards circularity.
Join the webinar on 18 May on Advances in collection and sorting technologies for flexible packaging, focusing on innovation in flexible packaging.
17 May 2022
The second Circular City Centre (C3) webinar in the morning of 17 May will focus on circular city actions and solutions. A new C3 guidance document on this topic will be presented and cities will share information and experiences about their circular actions and initiatives.
13 May 2022
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.
01 Jun 2022
The Interreg MED Green Growth Community will celebrate its final event in person in Brussels on 1 June. The event will highlight the role of businesses and public authorities in the transition towards climate neutrality, sharing the project’s best practices in supporting these actors across the Euro-Mediterranean region.
The final event will also emphasise the importance of cooperation to boost the circular economy by putting forward the Community’s policy recommendations.
31 May 2022
DiCE Lab organizes another interesting webinar on digitalization applied to the circular economy on 31 May. This time the focus is on the Internet of Things for the Circular Economy.
24 May 2022 to 08 Jun 2022
The UNECE webinar series on "Empowering MSMEs to harness opportunities in the transition to sustainable trade and a circular economy in the context of the post-COVID recovery" will take place from 24 May to 8 June 2022.
The webinars focus on the green resurgence of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) through entrepreneurship skills facilitation, circular economy, innovation and sustainable trade. They aim to raise awareness and build the capacity of policymakers and MSMEs in the UNECE region.
28 Jun 2022
The circular economy is about designing out waste, but what about the emissions resulting from the manufacture and use of products and services?
Switching to a circular economy could help reduce carbon emissions and avoid climate breakdown. To stabilise global temperatures, businesses and governments must reach net zero emissions. This means that they need to implement measures first to reduce emissions as far as humanly possible and then to remove all artificial greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere.
In May and June, the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) and Normative will be holding a two-part #EUCircularTalks to discuss the role of carbon emissions in closing the loops in a circular economy and discuss the role played by EU policies and legislation in reducing carbon emissions.
05 May 2022
Flexible plastic packaging is a growing and challenging segment of the plastic stream that deserves its own strategies and investments. On 5 May, the first webinar will feature perspectives and lessons from four leading organisations that have developed comprehensive roadmaps and plans to step up the recovery of flexible plastics.
09 Jun 2022 to 10 Jun 2022
The European Food Safety Authority EFSA foresight workshop Circular Future: emerging feed sources, technologies & related risks will take place online on 9-10 June 2022. The event is open to policymakers, practitioners and stakeholders from along the feed value chain, as well as scientists and experts in emerging risk identification, risk assessment and foresight selected from among participants.
25 May 2022
The Final Conference of the WINPOL project on 25 May will give an overview of the work accomplished over more than four years. It will review the successes achieved at project level and the progress made in the use of intelligent systems and policies in the field of waste management.
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01 Mar 2022
AIMPLAS organises its 1st International Seminar on Biotechnology Applied to the Plastics Sector on 1-2 March 2022, to discuss the main RDI developments and global solutions for the entire value chain. It tackles the use of organic waste to obtain new plastics, enzymatic recycling processes for plastics, the role of biotechnology in recovering complex waste, converting plastic industry scrap, etc.
28 Jan 2022
DigiPrime is selecting expert evaluators to support the review process of the proposals received from two of its Open Calls in the field of Information Technology and Circular Economy.
20 Jan 2022
On 17 and 18 January, the ECESP Coordination Group showcased Europe's pioneering work in the field of the circular economy at the Dubai Expo 2020.
19 Jan 2022
The call for nominations of the Meeting Pack 2022 Awards (deadline: 14 February) is targeted at national and international companies whose innovations in sustainable packaging solutions contribute to industry development. Barrier packaging is a challenge for the circular economy.
18 Jan 2022
The European Commission is sounding out citizens, consumers and expert stakeholders with a view to the preparation of an EU-wide policy framework for biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics.
The consultation is open for feedback until 15 March 2022.
14 Jan 2022
The final part of the LIFE 2021 call for proposals is open! The deadline for applications is 10 March 2022 at 17:00 CET.
Under the topics Circular Economy & Quality of Life and Nature & Biodiversity, specific projects are financed concerning, amongst others, used textiles/textile waste and high quality compost from collected organic waste.
17 Dec 2021
The Commission has published a call for tenders: ENV/2021/OP/0018- The EU Textile Agenda and a New European Movement – Stakeholder Representation - Three Lots. The overall objective of this call for tenders is to support the transformation of how Europe produces and consumes fashion through stakeholder engagement.
01 Mar 2021
The Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference is the main gathering of the European Circular Economy community. Now in its 5th edition, the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee joined forces with the French EU Council Presidency to organise this flagship stakeholder conference on 1 and 2 March 2022.
15 Dec 2021
Once you start to think beyond material presents, there’s an incredible range of original, planet-saving gift ideas you could offer this winter.
14 Dec 2021
The Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) is a new EU funding programme focused on bringing digital technology to businesses, citizens and public administrations. The calls for proposals are now open for submissions for Digital Product Passport: sustainable and circular systems. The deadline is 22 February 2022.
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Circular Schools Programme (PEC by INEC)
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The National Institute for Circular Economy (INEC) in France is launching the Circular Schools Programme (PEC), an operational project aimed at making schools a model for the circular economy.
Webinar: The circular economy’s potential for fostering decent jobs
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This webinar, organised by Circle Economy, explored the interlinkages between the transition to a more circular economy and quality jobs, drawing on Circle Economy’s recent report on Jobs & Skills in the Circular Economy: State of Play and Future Pathways.
Learning Hub by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation invites everyone to discover the circular economy. You are free to explore their learning hub to learn more about the vision for a circular economy.
Green Deal on circular procurement in France
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The French National Institute for Circular Economy (INEC), the Great Paris Area (MGP) and the Responsible Procurement Observatory (OBSAR) launched the "Circular procurement" action-programme in December 2018. The programme aimed to bring together stakeholders to foster the circular economy in the purchase decision-making.
Circular economy brings value for real estate businesses
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Research led by Ellen McArthur Foundation in cooperation with Arup highlights the benefits of the circular economy. It outlines five models for real estate business.
ENEA is actively involved in the development of circular economy indicators
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ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, is directly involved in activities focused on the assessment, proposal and selection of circular economy indicators.
BusinessEurope scaling up circular economy solutions in Member States
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BusinessEurope organised two events for businesses and policymakers on challenges and opportunities for scaling up circular economy solutions in Brno and Madrid in October 2018.
IRCEM leads research on Circular Economy in Romania
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In its role developing scientific research and innovation in various fields, including the circular economy, IRCEM has organised several thematic workshops and conferences.
Ecopreneur.eu: Circular fashion and textile producing countries
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This research note produced by Ecopreneur.eu is a 1st inventory of the potential impacts of future EU circular fashion on non-European textile producing countries. It uses existing literature and input from four circular economy experts to analyse the economic, social and environmental impacts.
Circular case studies developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation regularly shares case studies that are relevant to the circular economy.
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The Stars Are Circular Foundation: empowering children to participate in the circular economy
The Stars Are Circular Foundation educates children and families about the circular economy. It aims to provide them with the tools to become conscious, innovative and collaborative participants in the circular economy. Its educational programmes seek to develop children's social, creative and entrepreneurial skills to ensure a mindset that believes in a healthy planet.
Circular Economy Research Center (CERC)
Circular economy will profoundly impact business. The Circular Economy Research Center of the Paris based École des Ponts Business School wants to enable current and prospective students as well as the alumni of the School to learn more about the upcoming transformation so that they can understand it, embrace it and prepare for it in their domains of professional interest.
PackAlliance - European alliance for innovation training & collaboration towards future packaging
PackAlliance is a Knowledge Alliance that brings together academic and industry partners from 4 EU countries (ES, PL, FI and IT) committed to fostering Academia-Industry collaboration for the development of new skills and competence building for innovation towards the transition of the plastics packaging industry to a circular economy model.
CIRCO Training Programme - Creating business through circular design
The CIRCO training programme supports creatives and professionals within the manufacturing industry to create circular business.
Ecopack Bulgaria: recycling education through innovation
Two of Ecopack's latest and more innovative projects are aimed at raising public awareness on the separate collection and recycling of packaging waste.
Walki Circular Classroom: co-created learning material stimulates circular thinking at school
The Circular Classroom is a new educational platform for learning about the circular economy. This open platform provides secondary schools and upper secondary schools with new tools for discussing the circular economy within a curriculum that promotes phenomenon-based learning and integrated subjects.
Circul'R: Unlocking the circular economy's potential
Circul'R is an international network of circular economy startups. Its mission is to unlock the circular economy's potential by connecting innovative startups with companies so that they can co-create solutions to accelerate their transition towards the circular economy.
The DGNB Academy - Disseminating knowledge on circular economy throughout the construction sector
The DGNB Academy provides professionals from the construction and real estate sectors with up-to-date knowledge on sustainable construction, including circular economy principles which have been made assessable in the DGNB Certification System.
Working with Industrial Spaces to Exemplify Reuse - WISER LIFE
The WISER project impacts positively upon behavioural change in relation to resource efficiency and reuse principles. Through its activities WISER raises awareness relating to resource consumption and waste generation building upon pilot project activities of the Rediscovery Centre that hosts 4 social enterprises (upcycling paints, furniture, fashion and bicycles).
The Basque Ecodesign Hub: Training on Circular Economy
The Basque Ecodesign HUB is the centre of training activities on Ecodesign and Circular Economy in the Basque Country, resulting from the collaboration of the Basque Government, through Ihobe, with Novia Salcedo Foundation and a number of other Basque socio-economic actors.
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ESPON: Policy Guide on Circular Economy and Territorial Consequences (CIRCTER)
This interactive policy guide aims to inspire local and regional policy makers to develop circular economy strategies that can change the structure and operations of their economies and industries so that they better contribute to more sustainable economic growth in Europe.
Circular Economy Guidebook for Cities
In this guidebook, the CSCP classifies cities into four broad categories: a legacy city or a pioneering city in a developed or an emerging economy. Based on this classification, a number of examples from cities across the continents this guidebook documents the journey towards becoming more circular, and provides suggestions for cities seeking to make the shift.
6 guidelines to empower financial decision-making in the circular economy
This paper aims to outline the new role financiers have to play to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy. This guide will help financiers thrive in the circular economy through 6 practical guidelines.
Create a financeable circular business in 10 steps
In order to better understand how to address the challenges in implementing circular strategies, Circle Economy and the Sustainable Finance Lab worked with circular business managers and financiers to identify ways to fund circular businesses, a key element they desperately need to achieve. Building on this research the authors outline 10 Steps to Financeability.
Building Value: A pathway to circular construction finance
The transition to a Circular Economy requires innovative business models that stimulate optimised use of repairable products, reusable components and recycling of materials. Experts from different fields have collaborated in a Community of Practice (CoP) to improve the financeability of circular construction. This report retraces the 'learning-by-doing' trajectory of this CoP.
Circular Economy Finance Guidelines
ABN AMRO, ING and Rabobank, all members of the FinanCE working group alongside FGGM and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, have published the first publicly available finance guidelines for the circular economy in July 2018 as input to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. These guidelines aim to promote and develop the role finance can play in the transition.
EIB Guide to Circular Economy
The EIB has already supported the transition to a circular economy with over €2.1 bn in project financing, including the first of a kind Äänekoski bio-pulp mill in Finland, the largest circular investment to date in Europe. This guide contains an overview of such projects, the bank's perception of the drivers to a circular economy, corresponding opportunities and potential business models.
EU guidelines on food donation
As part of the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Commission has adopted EU food donation guidelines in order to facilitate the recovery and redistribution of safe, edible food to those in need. The guidelines have been developed in consultation with the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste.
Organising for the Circular Economy - A Workbook for Developing Circular Business Models.
The workbook 'Organising for the Circular Economy - A Workbook for Developing Circular Business Models' supports companies and other organisations that aim to become circular by providing a unique model that highlights the various building blocks of circular business models. A concrete step-by-step approach allows organisations to work on the development of their own circular business model.
Guide to Circular and Green Economy in the local world: How to get into action and tools for local entities
The Guide to Circular and Green Economy in the local world was published as part of the 2016-2019 Business and Green Economy Economy Plan for Local authorities promoted by the Network of Cities and Peoples towards Sustainability. This guide is based on the experience of its authors as well as municipalities participating in the Workshops organised by the Generalitat of Catalonia.