Plateforme des acteurs européens de l'économie circulaire

Toxic substances linked to a range of adverse health impacts can be present in carpets sold in the European Union, the European Public Health Alliance and the Health and Environment Alliance warned today following a new study by Anthesis. The study identifies over 59 hazardous substances found in carpets sold in the EU, including endocrine disruptors and carcinogens, linked to serious health conditions such as cancers, learning disabilities and fertility problems.

Transforming the linear economy, which has remained the dominant model since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, into a circular one is by no means an easy task. Such a radical change entails a major transformation of our current production and consumption patterns, which in turn will have a significant impact on the economy, the environment and society. Understanding these impacts is crucial for researchers as well as for policy-makers engaged in designing future policies in the field. This requires developing an in-depth knowledge of the concept of the circular economy, its processes and their expected effects on sectors and value chains.

This paper reviews the growing literature on the circular economy with the aim of improving our understanding of the concept as well as its various dimensions and expected impacts. On the basis of this review, it attempts to map the processes involved and their application in different sectors.

The paper suggests that research on the circular economy is currently fragmented across various disciplines and there are often different perspectives and interpretations of the concept and the related aspects that need to be assessed. This fragmentation is also evident in the available studies that adopt different approaches in calculating the impacts, which makes efforts at comparing the results from different sources very challenging.

Finally, this paper suggests that there is limited information on the indirect effects on the economy (e.g. impacts on the value chain or changes in consumption spending patterns) as well as the social impacts of the circular economy transition.

8 billion plastic bags end up in the environment in Europe every year. They have dramatic impacts on the environment, and especially on marine ecosystems, killing every year thousands of marine animals, and affecting no less than 260 different species.

Au sein du défi global qu’est le développement durable, l’économie circulaire est un levier important pour les autorités publiques et les industriels. Le recyclage est l’un des leviers qui permet d’atteindre les objectifs d’économie de ressources et de diminution des émissions de gaz à effet de serre fixés à travers différents textes européens et nationaux. Ainsi, En France, on peut citer la loi n° 2015-992 du 17 août 2015 relative à la transition énergétique pour la croissance verte fixant, parmi d’autres, l’objectif d’augmentation de la quantité de déchets non dangereux non inertes valorisés sous forme de matière à 55% (en masse) en 2020 et 65% en 2025 ainsi que l’objectif spécifique aux déchets du bâtiment et des travaux publics de valoriser sous forme de matière 70 % des déchets en 2020.

As is the case with Mr. Jourdain, who was unaware of what he was writing, industries involved in packaging have already implemented the circular economy model. Results in material recycling are relevant proof thereof. Industries are not getting involved in this process out for ideological reasons but because it often makes sense from an economical point of view. Since we were lucky enough not to be starting from scratch, we offered a tangible approach through illustration for each main material and/or packaging category from: glass to paper, cardboard, food cartons, steel, aluminum, wood, and plastic materials. This also includes the energy consumed by the different materials and the waste produced by all the different activities involved. By digesting some of the best existing or developing practices, we wish to make the circular economy model a fully-fledged part of the packaging sector.

The report highlights real-life and practical examples on how to rethink the way we create the built environment, one that currently uses 40% of all extracted minerals worldwide. It offers a systematic view of the sector and identifies clear levers for circular change. With learning by doing in mind, Circle Economy and ABN AMRO share the insights gained during the build of the first fully circular building in Amsterdam’s financial district: ABN AMRO’s Cirl pavilion. With this report, Circle Economy wants to highlight the possibilities in the built environment sector – with all positive economic, social and environmental consequences that a circular building and planning process entails. This report follows the launch of Circle Economy’s Circle Built Environment Programme, a new programme that builds on the expertise the organisation has gained over the last four years in identifying and implementing circular strategies across industries.

This White Paper deals with the role of logistics in the Circular Economy as well as trends and developments in logistics which will enable the transformation of economy towards the Circular Economy.

The following publication provides an overview of why the cement and concrete industry is central to the circular economy and what can be done to leverage the opportunities.

The most used resources in the building sector, such as sand and metals, are non-renewable resources. Extracted, transported and processed in ever-increasing quantities, at ever-higher energy costs and with consequences which are far from negligible for the environment, their use does not fit with a sustainable logic. Thinking in terms of circular economy prompts us to take another look at these linear and consuming models, at both the level of materials for building, energy, land, and that of waste management.

This book will help you discovering a large number of experiments and actions which can be reproduced on your level of action. Their generalisation to the whole France is currently a priority if we want to lead the ecological transition of our society. Nevertheless, circular economy is not something which can be decreed, and each territory wishing to invest in it has to reinvent its own process to adapt and implement the concept to its own specificities.