France's Law Against Food Waste has become an international model for sustainable food policy. The law is often described as combining economic efficiency with environmental protection and social equity. However, stakeholder narratives cast doubt on whether this French CE law really contributes to social justice in the long run. This discourse analysis shows that:

• the ban on food waste institutionalised a narrative about food waste that prioritises profit over social equity
• the traditionally dominant solidarity narrative about food waste has been pushed back by the emerging CE discourse
• As a consequence of this shift, activities enacted in the name of the CE may counteract social equity goals (for instance by establishing competition with charities).

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Policies are focusing on halving food waste to help conserve increasingly strained food resources. However, expanding their scope of action to include dietary changes and complement targets with resource footprints has greater potential to save resources while avoiding trade-offs.

This paper shows that in Germany:

• Healthy, plant-based diets are more effective at reducing land and biomass use than halving food waste
• A combination of more plant-based food consumption and food waste reduction in distribution and consumption is most effective at saving resources
• Focusing exclusively on food waste reduction as a policy target can be detrimental to the overarching goal of saving resources because it deflects attention away from more effective alternatives.

Many political, business and civil society stakeholders are disappointed with the German Packaging Act. They feel it makes a comparatively small contribution to the circular economy. This study explains why they are disappointed:

• Policy-making became entangled in disputes between proponents of a private and a public system for waste collection. Stakeholder fears of potential radical changes led to a stalemate
• Fears allowed only incremental changes in the Packaging Act
• The incremental changes could not resolve existing conflicts.

Based on its findings, the paper proposes possible courses of action. To create a shift to a circular economy, dialogue is needed using methods which explicitly address fears and overcome the current stalemate.

134 people died in the devastating flooding in the German region of Ahrweiler in July 2021, caused by a climate change-induced weather situation. Over 400 000 tonnes of waste were created by the floods in one night. 40 000 households were hit, and massive damage to infrastructure such as roads, schools and hospitals was reported. The situation was described as being similar to the massive destruction following a war.

Thinking Circular’s report summarises the process of waste management and learning from this regional crisis.

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.

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.