It is possible to make products safer and more sustainable by assessing their performance at the design stage of product development, according to the EEA. This approach would reduce risks from chemical pollution and support Europe’s transition to a circular and low-carbon economy.

In March Ecopreneur.eu published the preliminary results of a study on the potential impacts of an EU circular fashion industry on non-EU textile producing countries.

The French "Institut National de l'Economie Circulaire" (INEC) and Orée have published a co-authored study to better understand circular economy initiatives dynamics at work in different countries.

Check out the Circular Conversation - A Circular Bridge for Europe - with Ladeja Godina Košir, Chair of the Coordination Group of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP).

The Beyond Growth -conference was held in Helsinki in October 2019. The conference report has been published.

A new web-portal to help cities become circular: the Circular City Funding Guide was launched 31 January 2020 at the Cities Forum in Porto, Portugal.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN Environment Programme have published the first annual New Plastics Economy Global Commitment progress report. Presented at the Our Ocean Conference in Oslo, the report provides an unprecedented level of transparency on how almost 200 businesses and governments are reshaping the plastics system.

At the beginning of June, Circle Economy and Altstoff Recycling Austria (ARA) released the Circularity Gap Report Austria, which makes Austria the first nation to measure the Circularity Gap. This landmark report paves the way for nations to lead the transition from a linear economy of Take-Make-Waste to a circular economy.
 
The analysis, commissioned by ARA, found a circularity rate for Austria of 9.7%, ahead of the  figure of 9.1% in Circle Economy’s Global Circularity Gap report published in January 2019. The Austria report will enable political and business leaders to identify and monitor the best interventions to boost the circularity rate, the proportion of materials that are recycled, re-used and re-manufactured in the Austrian economy.
 

The updated bioeconomy strategy for Europe was launched on Monday 22 October as part of an event held under the Austrian Presidency.

The quarterly newsletter "Beyond GDP" discusses the use of economic, social and environmental indicators in monitoring key policies, beyond the GDP indicator.

New Plastic Planet campaign animations have been developed, which are now available for use and download for free from WRAP' Resource Library.

The first Slovenian Circular Economy Roadmap will pave the way towards a circular economy.

Study on the benefits case for remanufacturing.

Reducing marine litter: action on single use plastics and fishing gear

New report: How circular is our world today?

The Commission's Plastic Strategy in early 2018 will address possible approaches to address some single-use plastic items and marine litter including lost or abandoned fishing gear.

There is growing optimism about the potential of the circular economy as a new model for sustainable growth in developing countries.

There is much talk about circular economy, but how far has its mitigation effect reached the circle of climate policies? With this publication, Circle Economy advocates for a deeper and stronger integration between circular economy and addressing climate change.