Until 30 September 2020, the University of Helsinki is seeking contributions for a planned edited volume, exploring the various social and cultural aspects of the shift from the current take-make-waste extractive industrial model to the restorative circular economy concept.

The Sustainable products initiative, which will revise the Ecodesign Directive and propose additional legislative measures as appropriate, aims to make products placed on the EU market more sustainable. You are welcome to give your feedback on it until 2 November 2020.

The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste publishes a monthly newsletter to help Platform members stay connected, inform all interested stakeholders about Platform members’ activities and inspire further action in food loss and waste prevention.

We are launching a Call for Expression of Interest for the new mandate of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform Conference (ECESP), that will run from November 2020 to May 2022, open to stakeholders who wish to take part in this unique European initiative.

A new project addressing the systemic complexities of the Circular Economy is being submitted as a Marie Curie (MSCA) post doc proposal. As these aspects build upon multi-stakeholder knowledge and insights, you are kindly invited to join the project community and collaborate.

The European Commission has launched the public consultation on the green claims initiative. It will be open until 3 December 2020.

The European project DigiCirc aims to boost the circular economy using digital tools by supporting very innovative SMEs. In order to define the current challenges of a Circular City, DigiCirc is collecting the testimonies of different key actors of the market (local authorities, companies, citizens, etc.) through a questionnaire.

The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a challenge called 'Innovating a Circular Economy for soft plastic in Ireland' under Enterprise Ireland’s Small Business Innovation Research programme. The challenge focuses on reducing/eliminating soft plastic waste generated through the provision of school meals in Ireland.

WCEFonline - the first fully virtual event as part of the World Circular Economy Forum - will dive into why and how a circular economy can help reboot and build resilience in the economy.

The European Commission is launching an impact assessment for its new initiative: Empowering the consumer for the green transition, and would be keen on some stakeholders' and citizens' feedback until 1 September 2020.

The European Commission Joint Research Centre's (JRC) EU Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria for Road transport is now open for revision. Be part of the process, register as interested stakeholder and comment on the draft Technical report and draft criteria proposal.

Following the adoption of the Taxonomy Regulation, the European Commission has launched a call for applications to select members of the Platform on Sustainable Finance. The deadline is 16 July.

As part of the European Vocational Skills Week, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment has launched Excellence Awards to celebrate the good practices and innovative work of Vocational Education and Training providers, trainers, tutors, companies, apprentices, etc.

ACR+ has created 3 new working groups on circular economy focusing on governance, procurement, and monitoring. They will bring together front-runners and learners to work on improving local and regional strategies on circular economy and resource efficiency.

LIFE - the European Programme for the Environment and Climate Action - has been financing Eco-Innovation and Circular Economy related projects since its start in 1992. The call for LIFE 2020 proposals is now open, with more than €450 million earmarked for nature conservation, environmental protection and climate action projects.

All citizens and the wider community of stakeholders are welcome to express their views in a consultation on Waste shipments – revision of EU rules before 30 July 2020 (midnight CEST).

Business4Change is a 2-day Hackathon and initiative of the European Commission to be held on 16-17 November 2020 in Brussels, Belgium. The focus of the Hackathon is to support businesses with their transition to the circular economy. They are currently looking for "challenge owners" to pitch the circular challenges they are facing.

The major circular economy event, the World Circular Economy Forum, will be postponed until 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A virtual WCEFonline event in September 2020 will address how the circular economy can help reboot the economy. (Image: Topias Dean, Sitra)

PackAlliance aims to modernise Higher Education curricula to better serve the plastic packaging sector's labour market needs. It has therefor prepared a questionnaire to gather information on the skills needed in the circular economy applied to this sector. Which skills are vital in the plastic packaging transition to circular economy?

ACI’s Future of Polyolefins Summit, on 20 and 21 January 2021 in Antwerp,  will provide the perfect opportunity to meet with leading executives and experts from across the entire value chain.

Le Fonds ING pour une Economie plus Circulaire apporte son soutien à celles et ceux qui exercent leurs compétences et leur métier en vue d’une utilisation optimale des ressources naturelles.

The BeCircular call for projects is open to all circular innovators in the Brussels Region. Due to exceptional circumstances, the deadline of the 2020 edition has been extended to 19 June 2020.

At times of Covid-19 quarantine, Belgian startup ASmartWorld who reconditions second-hand smartphones, took the initiative to distribute them free of charge in old people's homes to help guests reconnect with their families.

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is offering a 100 % online course on Sustainable Packaging in a Circular Economy.

Due to the current Corona virus crisis, this year's annual Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference in Brussels has been postponed to a later date.

Applications to the European Social Innovation Competition 2020 are now open! Under the theme Reimagine Fashion: Changing behaviours for sustainable fashion, the 2020 competition is looking for projects and ideas that will change the ways we produce, buy, use and recycle fashion, moving towards increased global sustainability and changing consumer behaviour at local, national and European levels.

New Circular Economy Action Plan – Consultation on the Roadmap is open!

The European Commission published a dedicated Roadmap for the new Action Plan on the EU Better Regulation Portal and invites all interested stakeholders to provide feedback. The consultation on the roadmap is open until 20 January.