Plateforme des acteurs européens de l'économie circulaire

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.

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:

1. the relevance of construction and infrastructure value chains within the EU economy,
2. their potential for circularity, resource efficiency and decarbonisation and
3. 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.

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.

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.

In this project, a subset of Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) partners have developed an approach with Bel Group for setting Science-Based Targets (SBTs) for nature in a single dairy farming landscape. A proof of concept for determining ecological thresholds has been developed that can be used as the basis for setting science-based targets for nature within a Dutch dairy landscape.

Project partners have worked with the Initial Guidance of the SBTN, and used the Biodiversity Monitor for the Dairy Farming Sector (Biodiversity Monitor) (an instrument developed through a collaboration of FrieslandCampina, Rabobank and the Dutch chapter of the WWF) as the basis for target and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) development.

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.

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.

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.

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:

1. longevity and durability
2. optimised resource use
3. collection and reuse
4. 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.

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.