La Tête dans les Nuages gives a second chance to hot air balloons, advertising posters and polystyrene packaging, which would otherwise go to waste, by upcycling them into bean bags.
Reverse Resources is an Estonian company that offers an online “circular” solution that tracks and traces waste flows by connecting manufacturers, waste handlers, recyclers/spinners and brands on one platform by offering 360 degree transparency, data accuracy and real-time transactions on waste flows.
The BlueCity business park is one of Rotterdam's unique landmarks: formerly a water park resort, the complex is now a circular incubator housing over 30 startups experimenting towards a sustainable future.
The Roman public transport provider, Atac, has launched +Ricicli +Viaggi (the more you recycle, the more you travel), a pilot scheme in which riders can pay for travel with PET plastic bottles.
To create a circular economy for Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers, Starlinger, a plastic packaging machinery and process technology engineering company from Austria, has simulated a closed loop for polypropylene - the main component of big bags- in cooperation with renowned big bag manufacturers Louis Blockx and LC Packaging.
At the intersection of science, design, and waste management, PuriFungi develops natural cleaning systems. PuriFungi's new product is an ashtray made of mycelium and cigarette butts.
adidas, one of Europe's premier sportswear manufacturers, is increasing the use of sustainable materials in its product range. From 2024 onwards, only recycled polyester will be used in every product and on every application where a solution exists.
In 2019, Stella McCartney partnered up with adidas to solve the problem of product waste with the introduction of two new apparel innovations.
The SaltGae project hasestablished real scale demonstration sites in Slovenia, Italy and Israel that show the long-term techno-economic performance of microalgae technology for the efficient treatment of saline wastewaters from the food and beverage industries.
The Finnish city of Lahti has been pioneering industrial symbiosis at the Kujala Waste Treatment Centre where all sorts of waste are reused. Several companies have established interconnected material flows, thus making one’s residues another one’s raw materials.
Our world economy is only 9.1% circular, leaving a massive ‘"circularity gap". This alarming statistic is the main output of this first Circularity Gap Report, in which we launch a metric for the circular state of the planet. The Circularity Gap Report provides a framework and fact-based to measure and monitor progress in bridging the gap, year on year. Being able to track and target performance via the Global Circularity Metric will help us engage in uniform goal-setting and guide future action in the most impactful way. Closing the circularity gap serves the higher objective of preventing further and accelerated environmental degradation and social inequality. The transition to circularity is, therefore, a means to an end.
The circular economy is attracting significant interest worldwide, as evidenced by the numerous government strategies, business commitments and partnerships devoted to its development. At the EU level, the Action Plan for the Circular Economy and several other policy documents have demonstrated a strong commitment to move towards a low-carbon and circular economy. While the calls for a new economic model grow louder, it is clear that the transformation of markets and industries on a large scale will not be an easy achievement. It will require well-designed and ambitious policies to foster the transition as well as new business models. Against this background, CEPS brought together executives from major multinational companies as well as representatives of business associations and others.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Join representatives of the OECD Environment Directorate on 25 March at 15:00 CET to discuss the role of international trade in the transition to a resource efficient and circular economy.
As a partner event of the EU Green Week 2021, this conference will focus on the opportunities and challenges of the circular economy for SMEs and show how standards support the green transition. It will explore possible gaps and barriers of the current standardisation and legislative system. The conference will also highlight the role of data and digital technologies.
On 23 March an online event is organised to launch Circular Regions - a data-driven platform bridging bottom-up and top-down circular initiatives for mission-oriented eco-system transformation in a network of regions.
The Policy Lab for stakeholders will feature a discussion about the tools that are better able to speed up the transition towards a circular economy and ensure that it is delivered equitably. The findings of the Policy Lab for Regions will be used to kick off the discussion on 26 March 2021.
LOOPS is a live webinar series organised by Veltha to explore state-of-the-art technology and foster knowledge exchange from research to industry in the field of the circular economy. Each episode will feature a discussion with Horizon2020-funded projects, providing valuable insights into the research produced so far in this field.
To access Recovery and Resilience Facility funds, Member States will need to prepare and submit national recovery and resilience plans. What kind of approaches can governments adopt to classify budget headings and measure the impact on climate change and circularity?
A breakfast briefing will be held on 5 March (9-10 a.m. CET) to launch the Think2030 paper ‘A low-carbon and circular industry for Europe’, co-written by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP).
On 19 March, OVAM, EEB, UNEP partners and ECESP organised a webinar on trade, resource extraction and circular economy. The event brought together the trade and circular economy communities to:
increase awareness of the issues identified in the UNEP-IRP’s report
to feed the upcoming discussion on the EU’s trade policy review and the WTO’s future.
Secondary raw materials have a place of their own in the economy, but sourcing them or selling them can prove difficult in the absence of a structured market. MarketPlaceHub offers great visibility and search options for those economic operators needing easier market identification.
The European Commission has just launched the pilot phase of a new EU-wide framework for sustainable buildings called Level(s).The pilot phase is expected to last until 2019 and stakeholders are warmly invited to participate in the testing phase.
During the CE Stakeholder Conference, held in Brussels on 9-10 March, the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform was presented. The project is well under way and this brand-new website will be its virtual meeting place.