In ‘Vision 2050. A long-term strategy for Flanders’, the circular economy is one of seven transition priorities. New business models play a key role in this transition.

This paper explores incentives and barriers for consumers in adopting new circular business models - such as Product-Service Systems (PSS). Eight B2C suppliers were interviewed in the sectors of coffee, housing, electrical appliances and clothing.

The study confirms that PSS are context-dependent and emphasises the dynamic relation between producers and consumers in PSS.

Future research priorities include uncovering practical and cultural aspects of PSS, as well as exploring what it takes for PSS to be transformative in the context of a transition towards the circular economy.

This study focuses on the willingness of consumers to use circular business models (CBMs).

It assesses the ‘suitability’ of a product or sector for a particular circular business model from a consumer-based perspective: is it likely that a sufficient number of consumers would be willing to adopt the CBM to make it worthwhile for providers to enter this market? The study aims to provide an overview of different attitudes towards a diverse set of CBMs. Specifically, it takes six scenarios concentrating on coffee, printing, housing, clothing, household chores and secondhand markets. This approach makes it possible to compare results for a variety of CBMs as well as to identify general trends in consumers’ intentions and reported behaviour.

This report assesses how the circular economy contributes to reaching climate goals with regard to residential housing.

The draft Flemish climate policy plan covers the operational phase of housing and the material and carbon footprints of building and renovation. The report explores two ways to reduce these footprints: reducing the size of new housing and splitting existing buildings, and applying alternative construction methods or building materials and increasing the use of recycled and reused materials.

This report details the research conducted by the Steunpunt Circulaire Economie, covering the results of a consumer survey with over 2000 respondents, as well as four interviews with car-sharing companies and interest groups.

The main objective is to get a better understanding of the position of car-sharing in Flanders, what people think of car-sharing, including the barriers people face, and what impact car-sharing is having on behaviour and the environment.

The report concludes with a set of implications and recommendations for policy relating to car-sharing and its place in the circular economy. 

This short-term assignment attempts to improve our understanding of the data availability of biomass flows within the Flemish economy and develops a methodology to approximate the flow of biomass between different industries. 

This needs to be done in order to maximise their potential and reduce unnecessary waste flows. However, the report finds that the data currently available are insufficient, and considers that the construction of a physical counterpart to monetary input/output tables might be the answer.

The production of Portland cement (PC) is responsible for 8-10 % of the global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. PC and PC-based blends are the most common binder in concrete production (< 99 % of cases). As PC is accountable for 74-81% of the CO₂ footprint, substantial climate impact reductions for concrete requires eco-innovation at the cement level.

One of the most promising technologies to lower CO₂ emissions consists in partially replacing traditional PC with industrial byproducts displaying cementitious properties, such as blast furnace slag from iron production, or coal combustion fly ashes from power generation, but their availability and properties are rather constrained.

A diversification of local (secondary) raw materials to extend partial substitution of PC is ongoing. 

This study aims to gain insight into how the transition to a more circular economy could impact the labour market, with a focus on net job creation or loss, job creation at different skill levels and geographical job concentration.

The methodology used was a combination of literature review and exploratory data analysis, the latter mainly focused on the Belgian region of Flanders.

It concluded that the transition will positively affect employment for vulnerable groups and reduce overall unemployment. The transition also has the potential to reduce the educational and geographical mismatches present in the Flemish labour market.

However, opportunities will vary between regions and the quality of jobs is key (some jobs in the waste sector are 'dirty jobs').

To evaluate the impact of adopting circular economy principles in cities – in terms of emissions, quality of life and resilience – Enel and ARUP, with the scientific support of the Enel Foundation, have collaborated on a research project focusing on four cities: Bogotá, Genoa, Glasgow and Milan, all committed to enhancing the energy transition.

The study concerns three key urban sectors:

1. mobility
2. built environment
3. energy systems.

It entailed interviews with stakeholders and analyses of existing decarbonisation policies and circular strategies. A reference model was used to help identify the most significant circular actions that could lead to a reduction in GHG emissions in three sectors.

The results could be used as a guide for decision makers.

This study highlights that, while international trade has a vital role to play, policy responses to-date have largely been designed at the national level and in an uncoordinated manner.

ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton says that "the report shines a light on how well-intentioned national policies are inadvertently hindering the adoption of circular solutions in the real-economy. Simply put: the transition to a circular economy can only be enabled at scale by harnessing the power of cross-border trade to unlock economies of scale and comparative advantages. We hope our analysis will serve as a clarion call for a concerted global effort under the auspices of the World Trade Organization to enable new patterns of trade capable of meeting global climate and sustainability goals".

Recycling is key for the circular economy. Chemical recycling could one day become a trouble-shooter solution for any remaining unrecyclable applications and replace incineration. However, it is not yet a sustainable technology.

Ecopreneur.eu - the European Sustainable Business Federation - has concerns about linear economy lock-ins, high CO₂ emissions, competition with mechanical recycling, lack of scale, low quality, toxic residues and large investments being drawn away from SMEs going circular.

Therefore it advocates supporting the development of chemical recycling only if it is:

1. net-carbon positive,
2. used for otherwise unrecyclable residues,
3. with maximum quality,
4. scalable,
5. at costs reflecting the waste hierarchy, and
6. matched by equal support for SMEs on circular design.