SNEW has developed a circular system reusing the raw materials in existing equipment. It aims to give business telecoms and IT equipment a second life. Companies which hand over their old ICT equipment get either maintenance for their current equipment or money for the old equipment.
Arapaha is a design company which develops and manufactures sustainable, circular household and sports items and clothing. It focuses on circular processes and uses biobased composites. Goods purchased in their webshop can be returned when no longer needed so that the components can be reused.
CuRe has discovered a smarter and scalable technology for creating a fully circular polyester chain. It rejuvenates any type of used polyester by removing the colour and converting it into clear pellets with the same properties as virgin grade polyester. In July 2020, a pilot plant in Emmen (Netherlands) was opened for rapid scale-up.
FIBI-buffer is an eco-friendly alternative to Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) or Polyurethane (PU) foam used to protect products during transport. It is a unique and patented product which offers high-quality protection, is universally applicable, is price competitive, can be reused again and again, and is biobased and 100% compostable.
The Catalogue of Best Practices in Circular Economy identifies good practices carried out in Spain which are transferable and scalable by other stakeholders.
Grover rents technological items such as smartphones, laptops, virtual reality (VR) gear and wearables to customers on a flexible basis and with full usage rights. Customers can choose how long they want to rent a given product.
The cooperative company Tradecowall manages construction and demolition waste in the Belgian Walloon region and comprises a network of companies working with inert waste recycling centres in the region.
Too Good to Go is an app for reducing food waste. It's operated by a Danish company which seeks to inspire and empower individuals to do something to stop food waste.
The Green Alley Award is Europe’s first prize for start-ups active in the circular economy, launched in 2014 by the Landbell Group.
The initiative aims at supporting a climate-neutral circular economy by encouraging and promoting promising business ideas to turn waste into resources and fight the abundance of plastic waste in our economy.
ERC-TECH is a company based in the Czech Republic that provides the construction sector with know-how, licenses and products to reuse 100% of construction and demolition waste in concrete mixtures and other products suitable for use in various construction activities.
Romania’s recycling rate of 13% is one of the lowest in the EU with most waste going to landfill. The publication explains how the city of Sălacea, in the north-west of Romania, not only managed to quickly rise from almost no waste recycling to 40% in 3 months, but also how the community reduced its overall waste by 55%.
The case study also explains how political will, commitment from local waste operators and involvement of the community were key to the success of the strategy. The municipality introduced door-to-door household separate collection for 5 types of waste (paper and cardboard, plastic and metal, glass, bio-waste, residual waste) and implemented a four-week education programme with citizens before changing the collection infrastructure.
This study explores developments in the field of the circular economy in the Arab States of the Gulf region to identify areas where the EU and the GCC countries can strengthen their collaboration. Focusing on two GCC countries with recent policy developments in this area: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the study first examines the current framework conditions that would shape prospects for a circular economy and then explores emerging business opportunities.
The research concludes that there are three main areas where the EU and GCC countries could further collaborate on the circular economy:
The report was first published on the European External Action Service’s website.
More than ever during the COVID-19 crisis, the circular economy has asserted itself as the model that can accompany recovery and enable a higher and better growth, through a systemic vision that makes it possible to tackle the most relevant challenges nowadays: the climate crisis and the environmental impact.
Companies must heighten their ambitions over the next Decade of Action, to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), by adopting a production and consumption model by 2030 that allows societies to keep growing economically, but under planetary boundaries and in the light of societal challenges.
This, in brief, is the content of the report Máxima Ambición Circular para la Década de la Acción (in Spanish) published by Foretica.
ACR+ is launching a publication on the development and implementation of circular bioeconomy strategies in different contexts, focusing on three detailed regional case studies in Navarre, Bayern and Flanders.
Under a cooperation agreement with the French Pays de la Loire region, ACR+ has set up a working group on the circular bioeconomy, with a focus on governance. The working group aims to support the development of local and regional roadmaps for the circular bioeconomy, as public authorities steer and support the development of the circular bioeconomy on their patch.
The publication is the result of activities implemented by ACR+ through the working group.
Commissioned by the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP), which advises the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and co-authored by Circle Economy and Shifting Paradigms, this report uncovers the range of socio-economic and environmental co-benefits that circular mitigation interventions can bring to GEF countries of operation.
The report supports strategic advice by the STAP to the GEF and its implementing partners, and helps carve out a role for these bodies in accelerating the transition to a low-carbon circular economy. Its findings will be highly relevant to the development of future GEF projects and programmes across its different focal areas.
The circular economy offers new answers to the question of how 9 billion people can survive on this planet, accepting that there are planetary boundaries and climate change is ongoing.
The aim of this study is to identify drivers of the big five globally largest material flows by mass - ferrous metals, aluminium, paper, glass, asphalt - from a circular perspective and to understand the story behind them.
The focus is on what the development of the BIG 5 tells us about intentions, because this will also reveal the unintended.
This study might inspire industrial managers to take the right decision and pave the pathways to a circular society that is just, balances out social and ecological needs and will provide a solid ground for survival of mankind on planet earth.
REVOLVE magazine has published several articles on waste management and smart cities:
Future is waste. When it comes to climate change and environmental degradation, waste is both the problem and the solution.
This article focuses on the Interreg MED Green Growth Community's work on developing green and smart public services in Euro-Mediterranean cities.
Here’s a look at Euro-Mediterranean projects that have been making progress on the ground.
The term "eco-innovation" basically boils down to innovation. What does eco-innovation really mean? And what is the link between eco-innovation and a more circular economy, particularly in the Mediterranean region?
A wide range of initiatives and programmes point towards innovation being key to enabling green growth. Eco-innovation and the circular economy: are they two sides of the same coin?
It is becoming clearer - and more urgent - every day that we need to abandon the linear economy. The climate emergency together with the economic crisis that the region is experiencing makes a transition based on eco-innovation a priority for a more sustainable future for the Mediterranean.
Read the full article here.
One of the ways we can accelerate the transition to a circular economy is to change our procurement practices. Programmes like ProCirc are running pilot projects to test the waters.
In an article titled Pathways to circular procurement, Joan Prummel and Cuno van Geet, two experts on the subject working at Rijkswaterstaat, part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, explain the benefits of circular procurement and how to get started.
Textile products have a tremendous ecological footprint at all stages of their lives. This new report by the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS), provides a comprehensive analysis of the current situation and goes on to explore the policies and standardisation actions needed to advance towards circular textiles, building on the lessons learnt from the implementation of the ecodesign approach in other sectors.
ECOS argues that textile products put on the EU market should comply with a minimum level of sustainability. Mandatory ecodesign requirements for textiles are needed to address minimum lifetime, as well as durability, reusability, repairability, recyclability, prevent the presence of hazardous chemicals, and limit microplastics release at all stages.
Circular Economy Coalition (CERC) promotes the key objectives of the EC Circular Economy Action Plan in Romania, stimulating the development of new markets, business models, and contributing to economic growth and jobs creation. It facilitates activities for its members, becoming a key player for the domestic business community interested in transitioning towards a circular economic ecosystem.
CERC monitors national and EU policies, and is actively communicating with Romanian authorities to improve the legislative framework on circular economy. It is open to establishing strategic partnerships with similar local and international organisations and academia. The scope is to develop studies and reports on circularity and to support the implementation of circular economy programmes.
The One Planet Network is a platform that assembles information about the state of play in sectors that are particularly relevant to the circular economy and need assistance developing tools and policies to reduce waste and improve sustainability.
It aims to implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, focusing on SDG12. The network consists of stakeholders generating collective impact in public procurement, building and construction, tourism, food systems, consumer information and lifestyles and education.
Countries, stakeholders and organisations are invited to join and participate. The One Planet Network's strategy runs from 2018 to 2022 and was initiated by the UN's Environment Programme.
ReSociety is a global collective initiative which aims to promote and accelerate the transformation to the circular economy. It is a gathering point for circular mindsets to align, share lessons, co-create solutions and spark new innovations. ReSociety is open to consumers, educators, NGOs, journalists, enterprises, policymakers and industries from all over the world. It is founded on the belief that by working together, it is possible to scale solutions for a more sustainable future.
ReSociety was initiated by TOMRA's Circular Economy Division in early 2020 to exchange research and knowledge, establish new partnerships and share ideas on holistic waste and resource systems, which are essential for developing circular value chains.
CIRCULÉIRE is Ireland’s first cross-sectoral circular economy innovation network, first designated EU circular economy hotspot, and is supported by several government departments. Its goal is to accelerate the transition towards a net-zero carbon circular economy in Ireland.
CIRCULÉIRE is co-creating innovative solutions with Irish industry from the agri-food, pharmaceutical, recycling, medical devices, ICT and built environment sectors. It has a dedicated innovation fund to invest in innovation demonstration projects.
CIRCULÉIRE also engages with a wide range of stakeholders from the Irish innovation ecosystem through our open-access circular economy knowledge library and capacity building activities including annual thematic working groups and workshops.
Initiated under the patronage of the German Development Minister Gerd Müller, the PREVENT Waste Alliance was launched in May 2019. It serves as a platform for exchange and international cooperation. Organisations from the private sector, academia, civil society and public institutions jointly engage for a circular economy.
The PREVENT Waste Alliance wants to contribute to minimising waste, eliminating pollutants and maximising the reuse of resources in the economy worldwide. Members of the platform work together for waste prevention, collection, and recycling as well as the increased uptake of secondary resources in low- and middle-income countries.
The platform focuses on waste from plastic packaging and single use products as well as waste electrical and electronic equipment.
CircLean is a network of businesses and SMEs that participate in the reuse of raw materials through industrial symbiosis. The network aims at mobilising industries and relevant stakeholders to overcome the challenges of industrial symbiosis today for its increased uptake in Europe.
The network will create:
CircLean is an initiative of the European Commission. It is implemented by a consortium led by Technopolis Group, involving Trinomics, International Synergies, and Arctik as partners, and supported by A’SPIRE, EIT Raw Materials and ACR+.
RCUBE is a Federation of French companies active in the Reuse/Reduce/Repair sectors and covering a very wide range of products and services (such as smartphones, computers, tyres, toys, electronics and bicycles).
By promoting the exchange of best practices with regard to reconditioning, training and public affairs, RCUBE helps and supports companies as they shift to circular economy business models.
REFLOW is an EU H2020 funded project that seeks to understand and transform urban material flows, co-create and test regenerative solutions at business, governance, and citizen levels to create a resilient circular economy.
The project aims to develop circular and regenerative cities through enabling active citizen involvement and systemic change to re-think the current approach to material flows in cities. For more info, read the Reflow whitepaper.
Hosted on the REFLOW website, the Community of Practice (CoP) houses a Forum for exchange, a Best Practice Database and a host of Circular Resources. By becoming a member of the community, you join an ecosystem that is designed to share resources, knowledge and practical solutions to accelerate the transition towards circular cities.
The Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA) is an open platform for public and private actors in the European plastics value chain that want to help increase the EU market for recycled plastics to 10 million tonnes by 2025.
Companies and business associations are encouraged to submit their voluntary pledge here. Voluntary pledges consist of a quantity of recycled polymer(s) to be produced or used by your organisation by 2025. The CPA is an initiative under the European Strategy for Plastics. 240 signatories work together to implement the content of the CPA declaration. For more information, you can watch the CPA video or visit the EU Commission website.
The Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging (CEFLEX) initiative is a collaboration of over 160 European companies, associations and organisations representing the entire value chain of flexible packaging. CEFLEX wants all flexible packaging to be designed for easy collection, sorting and recycling, with valuable new markets and applications created for the recycled materials.
CEFLEX stakeholders represent the full value chain including: raw material producers (plastics, paper and aluminium foil), ink, coating and adhesive suppliers, film producers and flexible packaging converters, brand owners, waste management companies, recyclers, extended producer responsibility organisations and technology suppliers.
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.
According to the UN, in 2021 each person on the planet will produce on average 7.6 kg of e-waste, meaning that a massive 57.4 million tonnes will be generated worldwide. Only 17.4% of this electronic waste, containing a mixture of harmful substances and precious materials, will be recorded as being properly collected, processed and recycled.
Many initiatives are underway to tackle this growing concern, but none of them can be fully effective unless consumers are properly informed and really play their part. This year’s International E-Waste Day will focus on the crucial part each of us has to play in making circularity a reality for e-products.
The building and infrastructure sectors show high potential for circularity given their significant resource and energy consumptions. Despite several EU initiatives in the sector, little attention is given to sustainable and circular infrastructure. ENEA, Alchemia-Nova, Innowo, the ECESP Coordination Group on construction and infrastructure and the ECESP invite you to the twin #EUCircularTalks on 28 and 30 September at 10:00 a.m. CEST.
Join us and learn more on connections between the construction and infrastructure value chain and the other value chains, and also the strength and weaknesses of using secondary materials in the market.
This hybrid event, Mazovia Circular Congress, part of Circular Week 2021, will take place on 15 October. It is aimed at representatives of public administration, local government, enterprises, managers dealing with sustainable development and CSR, start-ups and media. We also plan to organise a panel discussion for various stakeholder groups (entrepreneurs, non-governmental organisations, representatives of state administration and local government) on how to use circular economy solutions.
This event explores the development of taxonomies globally as well as the status of the EU and UK taxonomies.
The design stage will determine up to 80% of a product’s environmental impact. Designing better is key to reduce this impact. But what do these principles mean in practice for textiles? Where are the gaps in current standards and benchmarks, and how can we account for the variability of textile products when deciding on specific ecodesign criteria?
ECOS, OVAM, EMF, EuroCommerce, the Policy Hub, the Leadership Group on Textile and ECESP invite you on 9 November at 10:00 CET to this #EUCircularTalks event to discuss and expand the current Ecodesign directive to include textiles and within the upcoming EU Textile Strategy. Speakers and experts will set the scene for the forthcoming SPI and provide the theoretical framework for applying eco-design principles to textile products. Business owners will present cases of how they used these ideas in practice.
The participatory info session Circular solutions for regions and cities – how to make it work will take place on Wednesday 13 October, 11:00 a.m. (CEST). Participants will learn more about the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), which offers possibilities for cities and regions, ranging from knowledge-sharing and technical expertise to financial opportunities, and get insights and experiences from the local perspective.
The Asia-Europe Environment Forum (ENVForum) Workshop Series on Circular Plastic Use: Innovate & Change to Close the Loop offers participants the opportunity to design and implement innovative solutions in the field of circular plastic use and waste management. This project planned for June 2021 is organized in association with INNOWO.
"Innovative Business Practices and Economic Models in the Textile Value Chain" (InTex) is a three-year UNEP project funded by the European Union. The InTex project has five components, two with global reach and three focusing on national implementation in three African countries: Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia.
The 2021-2027 programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) will become the EU’s most ambitious climate and environmental programme. It will enter into force retroactively from 1 January 2021.
A new partnership led by the UNIDO is looking for interested organisations to express their interest in joining ‘SWITCH to Circular Economy Value Chains’ - a five-year European Union-funded project that aims to accelerate the transition to more circular value chains (namely textiles and garments, and plastic packaging) in developing countries.
Five consortium partners, including Ecopreneur.eu, have kicked off an EU-COSME funded project “Fashion For Change”. Over the next 3 years, they will help SMEs, designers and start-ups from the European fashion sector scale-up and accelerate their sustainable businesses while increasing awareness about circular fashion among stakeholders, including consumers. Share your views in the quick poll.
The European Commission is organising a series of targeted stakeholder workshops to gather input on challenges and gaps as well as opportunities for the textile sector towards sustainability.
The first workshop on 26 May 2021, at 13.30-17.30 CEST, focuses on “management of used textiles”.
The European Commission is working to ensure that the EU is the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Here's a video setting out their vision.
Every day, it is clearer that we cannot lose any more time in switching away from a linear economy. The climate emergency together with the economic crisis bringing the region to its knees are basically a perfect storm: to avoid being hit by it, we need to make an eco-innovative transition a priority if we want a more sustainable future for the Mediterranean.
Brupartners invites you to La Semaine de l’Économie Circulaire de Brupartners, from 26 to 30 April 2021 to highlight the progress made by the Brussels Region in the field of circular economy.
Spain manufactures 14% of all agricultural plastics in Europe. To optimize recovery of mulch films in the form of quality compost, AIMPLAS is developing the AGRO+ Project with funding from the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI)
In the framework of the Urban Agenda Partnership on Circular Economy, ACR+ co-organised a workshop with its member OVAM, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions and Eurocities.
The Austrian Circular Economy Platform Circular Futures was launched in March 2018 at the House of the European Union in Vienna.
The Coordination Group of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform plays a key role in guiding the Platform's activities: reinforcing interaction between stakeholders, facilitating the exchange of good practices and fostering a European debate on how to transition to a circular economy.
On the 24th of May, C&A Foundation, together with Ecopreneur.EU hosted a Circular Fashion Policy Lab in Brussels at the European Economic and Social Committee in the context of the Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform. The purpose of the event was to bring together representatives from across the fashion industry to discuss key policy measures to make a meaningful impact for a green economy.
Two years after the adoption of the first EU Circular Economy Package, more than half of the initiatives included in the Action Plan were delivered. The first Circular Economy Stakeholder Annual Conference took place in Brussels in February 2018 to discuss upcoming deliverables, explore new areas of action, and share the first achievements of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform.
