Europe's Circular Economy: A Call for Systemic Reforms

If we grow the circular economy by 1% in ten years (recent calculations from the European Environmental Agency), then clearly.... the current policy approach is falling short. What is needed to make Europe less dependent in terms of resources is a change to the system, making circular economy practices economically attractive. See the below piece by Janez Potocnik !

🌍 A step forward for Europe’s circular economy – but still a mixed picture ahead. The European Commission’s Work Programme for 2026 brings a few promising signs – one of them is that the Circular Economy Act will be presented slightly earlier, in Q3 next year. That might sound like a small scheduling change, but it matters. If Europe wants to stay competitive and independent, we need to move faster on reducing, reusing and recycling our resources. ♻️ Moving away from linear business models will reduce our material footprint and waste. It will lower our carbon emissions. It will reduce our reliance on third countries, as we will keep our critical raw materials in Europe. And it will strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. I hope that the Industrial Accelerator Act will already suggest changes to accelerate the transition in key sectors like plastics, while we await the #CircularEconomyAct. Aside from that, the Commission’s #WorkProgramme offers a mix of encouraging steps and areas of concern. 🟩 There are positive signals – phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, new initiatives for oceans and coastal communities, and a continued focus on climate resilience. 🟥 But there are also uncertainties: possible reopening of existing energy directives, and a strong emphasis on “simplification”, which risks becoming a shortcut for less ambition and potentially deregulation. I believe the next phase for Europe’s green transition should be guided by three ideas: ▶️ The Circular Economy Act must be more than about environmental protection – it should be THE tool for our industrial base to transition towards decarbonisation and material sovereignty ▶️ “Simpler rules” must never mean weaker environmental or social standards. ▶️ The Clean Industrial Deal must live up to its name – clean, circular, and forward-looking. Because if we are serious about industrial renewal in Europe, it has to go hand in hand with climate responsibility. The #CleanIndustrialDeal cannot become a new label for business-as-usual – it should set clear direction, investment, and innovation towards an increasingly sustainable and self-sufficient economy. That means supporting green industries, not locking us into more fossil fuel dependency or outdated production models. Europe stands at an “independence moment,” as the Commission puts it. For me, that means taking charge of our future – by building an economy that works within planetary boundaries, not against them.

Our colleague Kristin Strandberg, together with project partners, will present the Doughnut Toolkit this Thursday during Re:London’s Circular Economy Week. The toolkit provides a practical framework for the highways sector to make decisions at both strategic and project levels that meet people’s needs while staying within planetary boundaries. Read more about the toolkit: https://lnkd.in/e_XrwP4m

The European Commission is now working on a new Circular Economy Act! In response to the public consultation on the act, Circle Economy presented its core reflections on the key challenges that it should address. "the Circular Economy Act must go beyond recycling to reduce the material footprints of key sectors, supported by economic incentives that reflect true environmental and social costs. A well-trained and supported workforce, active city involvement, and strong global cooperation are essential to ensure an inclusive, effective, and truly circular transition across the European Union." See our full response below:

Last week Laura McDermott was at the fantastic RDS Circular Economy Alumni Day, facilitating a workshop that gathered insights for the upcoming EU Circular Economy Act! ♻️ It was an action-oriented session focused on how the Irish circular economy community can actively shape EU policy. The workshop, titled "Workshop for Insights on the EU Circular Economy Act," set out three clear goals: > Empower communities to connect practice with policy. > Gather personal experiences and learnings from the day to create collective insights. > Shape a collective response to the Circular Economy Act. The workshop followed a phenomenal schedule, with thought leaders and industry shapers from across academia, institutions, industry and beyond. A big congratulations to The RDS team for bringing together such a passionate group of change-makers (and doers)! 👏 👏 👏 *** 🚨 EU Circular Economy Act: Have Your Say! Policy that supports circular innovation needs robust input from the businesses and practitioners on the ground. This open Call for Evidence is a key opportunity to ensure your perspective is heard. The European Commission’s public consultation and Call for Evidence for the upcoming Circular Economy Act is open for feedback, with the deadline is fast approaching! The feedback period is open until November 6, 2025. Respond to the Call for Evidence here: https://lnkd.in/gAiTa49k #CircularEconomy #EUCircularEconomyAct #EUConsultation #CircularPolicy #Sustainability #RDS #Colectivo Sarah Keating

The Scottish Government’s Circular Economy Consultation is now open, giving businesses across Scotland a real opportunity to shape the nation’s future. This is your chance to influence how Scotland moves from a linear model to a fully circular economy by 2045. The draft strategy shows that circularity isn’t just about the environment. It’s a powerful economic driver. It fuels growth, sparks innovation, strengthens supply-chain resilience, and helps future-proof Scottish industry. The consultation explores sector-specific roadmaps plus key levers such as behaviour change, data, procurement, skills, and place-based action. If your business cares about sustainable growth, long-term competitiveness, and influencing the policies that will shape Scotland’s economy for decades, now’s the moment to get involved. Have your say. Strengthen your sector. Help build a greener, stronger Scottish economy. 👉 Find out more https://lnkd.in/eZs2cEaF

♻️ Did you miss our event on the Circular Economy Act last week? Here are some soundbites from the panel discussion: 💬 “We must protect our single market; we can’t say we want to protect it and then, when adopting laws, start building new barriers.” — Luis Planas Herrera (Cabinet member of Commissioner Jessika Roswall) 💬 “If we don’t see circularity as the industrial revolution we need, we are not going to succeed.” — Rasmus Nordqvist (MEP, Greens/EFA, Denmark) 💬 “Circularity measures are good for the economy — let’s stop treating them as a luxury and make them Europe’s competitive edge.” — Alexandra de Schonen (Head of EU Affairs, SUEZ) 💬 “We can’t scale circularity with 27 different definitions of ‘waste.’ We need one single rulebook — from Lisbon to Tallinn.” — Leonardo Veneziani (Sustainability Manager, CCIA Europe) 💬 “You can’t recycle what isn’t collected — sorting is the key that unlocks Europe’s circular potential.” — Mette Kahlin McVeigh (SVP Corporate Affairs, Stora Enso) #CircularEconomy #WasteManagement #Sustainability

It was great speaking at this Brussels Sustainability Club event last week. If you weren’t in the room, my points were that to accelerate the shift to a circular bioeconomy, we need to ensure that materials actually stay in circulation. Today, one of the biggest barriers we see is that valuable material is still lost because it is not collected separately or is of too low quality to re-enter production. So the foundation is very clear: we need binding, EU-wide separate collection targets. A legally binding 90% separate collection target for packaging waste by 2030 would create the scale, predictability, and consistency needed to secure high quality material streams. Quite simply, we cannot recycle what we do not collect. High quality separate collection then enables reliable secondary raw materials, which is what unlocks investment. If companies and recyclers know that good quality material will be available at scale, they will invest in new sorting, recycling, and innovation capacity. This is where the Circular Economy Act can make a step change. Second, we need harmonised Extended Producer Responsibility rules across the EU. At the moment, EPR systems differ from country to country, which creates fragmentation and inefficiencies for both industry and waste operators. Harmonisation would support a genuine single market for waste and improve cross-border flows of recyclable materials. This reduces administrative burden and increases market certainty, both of which are essential for investment decisions. Finally, shifting to a circular bioeconomy also means accelerating the move away from fossil based materials. Clear market signals, such as measurable targets for bio-based content in end products, will help stimulate demand for renewable alternatives and drive innovation and competitiveness in European value chains.

We now have confirmation of what many in the industry anticipated: the publication of the UK Circular Economy Strategy has been delayed until next year. While disappointing, this does give us more time to engage meaningfully with the Taskforce and DEFRA, both informally and through the formal consultation process. It’s notable that the strategy is being positioned as a "growth plan". This is something our members consistently emphasize. When implemented holistically and equitably, a Circular Economy is not just an environmental imperative - it’s an economic opportunity. It can drive prosperity, resilience, and security; create good-quality jobs across regions; and help ease cost-of-living pressures. To support this, ISEP’s Circular Economy Steering Group has developed a framework of policy recommendations informed by international evidence and best practice. Explore our recommendations here: https://lnkd.in/eNbW6H9b Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP) #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #UKPolicy #NetZero #GreenGrowth #ResourceEfficiency #IndustrialStrategy

Great to see the government’s Circular Economy Strategy being framed as a Circular Economy Growth Plan, ahead of its launch next year. I truly believe a more circular approach within and across sectors, creates job opportunities, new skills training, resource resiliency and economic opportunity. Additionally, it creates positive social, economic and environmental outcomes. As we await the plan- we’ll continue to promote schemes such as O2 Recycle, Like New and Community Calling device rehoming. Schemes which aim to extend the life of devices- preventing hoarding and Ewaste. We’re also developing our partnership with Coventry City Council as we establish Coventry as the UK’s first self sustaining localised device reuse city. So much to go for…the future’s circular! #circulareconomy #circulareconomytaskforce #circulartech