The EU legislature has been working on legislation to transform the European economy into a circular one. One of the focal points of that legislation is the extension of the useful lifespan of products on the EU market.

This report analyses the legislative initiatives containing such measures. First, it describes their potential impact for the Belgian and Flemish policy level. Second, it explains their potential impact on businesses active in the Flemish region. Third, it describes how Belgian policymakers could help ensure that EU legislation reaches the fullest circular potential within its framework.

It also highlights potential shortcomings of EU legislation, where Belgian policymakers could consider advocating changes to that framework at EU level.

This research aims to map the magnitude and value associated with repair as a circular strategy in Flanders.

Repair is a key element in any circular economy strategy, preventing resource depletion, keeping goods in circulation longer, and reducing environmental impacts related to the energy needed for new products. However, the development of metrics to measure progress in scaling up repair efforts is incomplete. Knowledge gaps exist in sectors such as textiles and furniture, while more is known about electronic and digital devices.

The study concludes with recommendations to promote a repair culture, focus on textiles, recognise the value of informal repair activities, encourage repair skill acquisition, address gendered patterns and combat the throwaway culture that hinders repair.

The inclusion of green clauses in public procurement contracts is gradually becoming an obligation in certain sectors in the EU.

This report highlights the role of green public procurement (GPP) in the transition to a circular economy through an analysis of the European regulatory framework. It looks at both hard (e.g. Batteries Regulation) and soft law (European Commission working documents). Relevant European legislation that is still in the adoption phase (e.g. Construction Products Regulation) is also considered. 

An overview of useful model clauses for implementing GPP shows how these clauses can contribute to promoting the circular economy in public procurement. The study lists measures that could make GPP a more effective tool in the circular economy transition.

In a rapidly urbanising world, efficient waste management has become a critical challenge for cities striving for sustainability and cleanliness. 

This study explores the experiences of six, highly urbanised European cities: Antwerp, Porto, Rotterdam, Florence, Hamburg and Barcelona. Each has implemented various types of underground waste containers but they all aim to optimise efficiency, improve urban aesthetics and enhance waste sorting. 

For each city, the study examines the system's impact in terms of organisation, performance, cleanliness and savings and sets out city-specific conclusions.

The study finds that while this type of waste system has advantages, implementation poses challenges. It's a very useful resource for city officials looking at changing waste collection methods.

This report explores ways to boost stakeholder engagement in EU bioeconomy policy, a crucial step in shaping a sustainable and circular economy. 

After identifying key gaps and opportunities, the study proposes seven recommendations to enhance stakeholder involvement, such as setting up an EU Bioeconomy Stakeholder Platform and a Bioeconomy Youth Forum. This will enable the EU to ensure that its bioeconomy policy is more inclusive, effective and responsive to the needs of all stakeholders.

The report sets out four case studies of successful stakeholder engagement initiatives. This includes the ECESP, which is described as having been highly successful in achieving its objectives and having inspired the establishment of similar platforms in other regions. 

This book looks at Flush and Forget (FaF) systems, a traditional method of dealing with sewage which mixes everything (urine, faeces, pharmaceuticals, antibiotic-resistant material, personal care products, forever-chemicals, microplastics and a wider range of other pollutants) together and transports it by water. FaF cannot deal with these components and incineration is generally the only option.

There are better, less wasteful alternatives; vacuum  toilets, for instance, 'flush' using the force of vacuum rather than water and separate faeces and urine at source. There is far less waste water to be treated, creating opportunities for anaerobic digestion for green biogas followed by hyperthermophilic composting of the residue, and saving huge amounts of clean water.

Decarbonising mobility will leverage efficiency, modal shift, vehicle electrification and a reduced production footprint of vehicles.

With a focus on dismantling, this study looks at steel decarbonisation. This is a priority since steel is the most widely used material in cars and trucks and the second-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in vehicle manufacturing.

It recommends establishing a new commercial standard which accounts for improved shredded scrap quality, thereby increasing its market value and benefiting the entire value chain. This added value creation could also help limit the export of ELVs outside the EU, which poses multiple concerns, including safety issues and the loss of strategic materials critical for European industry resilience.

This reading guide is designed to help architects, building companies, real estate developers, material suppliers, policymakers and other stakeholders navigate the wealth of information available on circular principles in the built environment. 

By curating key publications, guides and tools, the Leadership Group on the Circular Built Environment aims to provide a comprehensive starting point for stakeholders to integrate circular practices into their organisations. The guide is structured around key themes, followed by a detailed list of the publications for further reading. 

This guide was presented during the EU Circular Talk on Navigating the Circular Built Environment: presentation of the ECESP Reading Guide.

This report makes a solid business case for building circular, exploring five enabling strategies which showcase how built environment players can unlock robust, long-term value by embracing the circular economy.

Specifically, it examines five different circular strategies, buildings and building components, predominantly from an asset owners’ perspective, and has sought to understand the associated value that these strategies provide.

Value needs to be considered holistically across the supply chain. Understanding the business case for building circular means considering the value - current and future - of all its different elements and layers, and input from all the stakeholders involved.

(The report cannot be downloaded: you will have to read it online.)

This highly theoretical research paper aims to map out ways and means to build a body of knowledge on the process of regeneration and the ways in which regenerative circular economies may function.

Ultimately, it finds that if stakeholders are willing to follow a bio-inspired approach for co-investing resources, time and planning while considering specific system characteristics and the underlying contexts, then small changes in governance, behavioural patterns and technology improvement may contribute substantially to the development of regenerative circular economies.