Policies and Practices for Eco-Innovation Up-take and Circular Economy Transition

EIO Bi-annual report 2016

Policies and Practices for Eco-Innovation Up-take and Circular Economy Transition

EIObi-annualreport

November2016

AselDoranova,LauraRoman(TechnopolisGroup,Belgium)

BettinaBahn-Walkowiak,HenningWilts,MeghanO’Brien (WuppertalInstituteforClimate,Environment,Energy,Germany)

StefanGiljum(ViennaUniversityofEconomicsandBusiness,Austria)

MaryAnnKong,MathieuHestin(BIObyDeloitte,France)

Eco-InnovationObservatory

TheEco-InnovationObservatoryfunctionsasaplatformforthestructuredcollectionandanalysisof

anextensiverangeofeco-innovationinformation,gatheredfromacrosstheEuropeanUnionandkey

economicregionsaroundtheglobe,providingamuch-neededintegratedinformationsourceoneco-

innovation for companies and innovation service providers, as well as providing a solid decision-

makingbasisforpolicydevelopment.

The Observatory approaches eco-innovation as a persuasive phenomenon present in all economic

sectorsandthereforerelevantforalltypesofinnovation,definingeco-innovationas:

“Eco-innovationisanyinnovationthatreducestheuseofnaturalresourcesanddecreasestherelease

ofharmfulsubstancesacrossthewholelife-cycle”.

Tofindoutmore,visitwww.eco-innovation.euandec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap

Acknowledgments

Wewould liketoexpressourgratitudetothecountryexpertsfortheirworkeffortforthe

preparationof the country reports andgoodpracticeexamples andwewouldalso like to

recognisethecontributionsofthemembersoftheEcoAPHighLevelWorkingGroupfortheir

feedback on the EIO country reports. The authors would like to Paola Migliorini for her

valuablecommentsandthereviewofthisreport.

AnotetoReaders

Anyviewsoropinionsexpressed in this report are solely thoseof theauthorsanddonot

necessarily reflect the position of the European Union. A number of companies are

presentedasillustrativeexamplesofeco-innovationinthisreport.TheEIOdoesnotendorse

these companies and is not an exhaustive source of information on innovation at the

companylevel.

TableofcontentsExecutiveSummary......................................................................................................5Whatiseco-innovation?........................................................................................................................5

The vision: eco-innovation as a means to reach a resource-efficient and circular economy inEurope...................................................................................................................................................5

Topdownandbottom-upcirculareconomychallenges.........................................................................6

Emergingtrendsandbusinessmodels....................................................................................................6

Circulareconomyandeco-innovationperformanceofcountries............................................................7

Towardsaneco-innovationpolicyforaresource-efficientcirculareconomy..........................................7

Keyfindings...........................................................................................................................................8

Mainmessages......................................................................................................................................8

1|Introduction..........................................................................................................10

2|Theroleofpolicyforeco-innovationinthecirculareconomytransition:howchangecanbedriven.................................................................................................132.1|CreatingframeworkconditionsforfosteringtheCircularEconomy...............................................13

2.1.1 Circulareconomyinawiderpolicycontext....................................................................13

2.1.2 Barrierstoabettercircularperformance.......................................................................15

2.1.3 Keyactorsinbuildingacirculareconomy......................................................................16

2.2|Buildingacirculareconomyfromthegroundup...........................................................................17

2.2.1 Re-use,sharingandcollaborativeconsumption.............................................................17

2.2.2 Repairandmaintenance.................................................................................................19

2.2.3 User-ledeco-design........................................................................................................20

2.2.4 Amixofpolicymeasurestosupportcirculareconomyonnationalandlocallevel.......21

3|Towardthecirculareconomy:eco-innovationontheground................................223.1|Emergingtrendsandnewbusinessmodels...................................................................................22

3.2|Sectors:changingvaluechainsandmaterialflows........................................................................27

3.2.1 Plastics............................................................................................................................27

3.2.2 Bio-basedproducts.........................................................................................................28

3.2.3 Foodwaste.....................................................................................................................29

3.2.4 Criticalrawmaterials......................................................................................................29

3.2.5 Constructionanddemolition..........................................................................................31

3.3|BeyondtheEU:competitionandco-operation..............................................................................31

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4|Eco-innovationandcirculareconomyperformanceofcountries............................344.1|EUEco-InnovationScoreboard......................................................................................................34

4.2|CirculareconomyperformanceacrosstheEU...............................................................................41

4.2.1 ThecircularityperformanceofEUMS............................................................................41

4.2.2 Turnoverandemploymentincirculareconomysectors................................................43

4.3Concludingremarks........................................................................................................................45

5|Eco-Innovationpoliciestowardsacirculareconomy..............................................475.1|PolicytrendsintheEUandEUMemberStates..............................................................................47

5.2|Prioritisingcirculareconomyinnationalstrategies.......................................................................48

5.3|Specificpolicymeasuresforcirculareconomy..............................................................................55

5.3.1 |Regulatoryinstruments................................................................................................56

5.3.2 |EconomicInstruments..................................................................................................58

5.3.3 |Research,developmentanddeploymentsupportmeasures.......................................61

5.3.4 |Information,capacitybuildingandnetworkingsupportmeasures..............................64

5.3.5 |Voluntarymeasures......................................................................................................67

6|Keyfindingsandmainmessages............................................................................70

ANNEX1....................................................................................................................73ComplementaryanalysesofEUcirculareconomyperformance............................................................73

A1Wasteintensity...............................................................................................................................73

A2 Resourceproductivity(GDP/DMC)..................................................................................................74

A3Municipalrecyclingrate..................................................................................................................75

A4 ExtendedProducerResponsibility(EPR)schemes,depositschemes,andrepaircafes.....................76

ANNEX2....................................................................................................................79ListofindicatorsintheEUEco-InnovationScoreboard..........................................................................79

ListofindicatorsintheGlobalEco-InnovationScoreboard....................................................................80

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ListoffiguresFigure1-1Asimplifiedillustrationofacirculareconomy..........................................................11

Figure2-1Circulareconomyinthewiderpolicycontext...........................................................13

Figure2-2OverviewofexistinginstrumentsandapproachesforacirculareconomyinEU*...14

Figure2-2Wastehierarchy........................................................................................................15

Figure3-1NumberofpatentapplicationsfiledunderthePTC(totalpatentandwastepatent,

3-yearmovingaverage)..............................................................................................................23

Figure3-2Recoveryratesandmaterialleakages.......................................................................30

Figure3-3FinalfateofplasticwasteexportsofEU-27..............................................................32

Figure3-4Distributionofplasticsheadquarters,productionandleakage................................33

Figure4-1Eco-InnovationScoreboard2015..............................................................................36

Figure4-2ScoresinthefivecomponentsoftheEco-InnovationScoreboard2015,bycountry37

Figure4-3ShareofDMCrecycledin2012perMS(in%)...........................................................42

Figure4-4DMCpercapitaoftopandbottomthreeMSandEU-28average,2012..................43

Figure 4-5 Number of people employed in selected recycling, repair and reuse sectors, per

1000inhabitants,2014...............................................................................................................44

Figure 4-6 Operating turnover per number of people employed in selected recycling, repair

andreusesectors,2014.............................................................................................................45

FigureA-1Totalwastegenerated/GDPfrom2010-2012(intonnes/millioneuro)..................73

FigureA-2WastegenerationoftopthreeandbottomthreecountriesandEU-28average,2012

(inkgpercapita).........................................................................................................................74

FigureA-3ResourceproductivityoftopthreeandbottomthreecountriesandEU-28average

in2012(PurchasingPowerStandardGDPperkilogramDMC)..................................................75

FigureA-4ShareofmunicipalwasterecycledperMSin2014(in%)........................................76

FigureA-5NumberofrepaircafésinEU-28MS........................................................................78

ListoftablesTable1-1Typesofeco-innovationforacirculareconomy........................................................12

Table2-1Keyactorstobeinvolvedandtheirroleinpromotingcirculareconomy..................16

Table2-2:Examplesofnationalandlocalpolicymeasurestosupportcirculareconomy.........21

TableA-1NumberofEPRschemesperMSandproductcategory............................................77

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ListofgoodpracticesGoodpractice1Vigga–circularsubscriptionofbabyclothes,Denmark..................................18

Goodpractice2FreeTradeIreland............................................................................................18

Goodpractice3RemadeinItaly................................................................................................19

Goodpractice4PilotoperationofafurniturereusecentreinPrague,CzechRepublic............20

Goodpractice5QUIB–thecirculareconomyworkspace,Romania.........................................20

Goodpractice6Greenblast.......................................................................................................22

Goodpractice7DreamWindProject.........................................................................................24

Goodpractice8Competition-basedEventsforStart-Ups,Estonia...........................................26

Goodpractice9SuccessfulcasesofindustrialsymbiosisinIT,Italy..........................................26

Goodpractice10Holismarket-zerowastefoodpackaging,Austria........................................27

Goodpractice11BioBaseEuropePilotPlant............................................................................28

Goodpractice12ResQClub-rescuequalityfood.....................................................................29

Goodpractice13ReVolv-recyclingofLCDvisualdisplays,.......................................................30

Goodpractice14GOMOS-modularsystemsofreinforcedconcrete.......................................31

Goodpractice15KTUCentreofPackingInnovationsandResearch.........................................33

Goodpractice16ExtendedproducerresponsibilityforfurniturewasteinFrance...................57

Goodpractice17Estoniancertificationcentreforqualitystandardsofrecyclablegoods........57

Goodpractice18Spain’snewWasteManagementPlan2016-2022........................................58

Goodpractice19EnvironmentaltaxationinFinland.................................................................59

Goodpractice20Tenderingandprocurementrules,Berlin,Germany.....................................60

Goodpractice21Brusselsregionmixofsupportmeasuresforresourceefficiencyandcirculareconomy

....................................................................................................................................................62

Goodpractice22France:Callforprojects–circulareconomy,recyclingandwastetransformation

....................................................................................................................................................63

Goodpractice23TheScottishInstituteforRemanufacture(SIR).............................................63

Goodpractice24Fit4CircularityLuxembourg..........................................................................64

Goodpractice25CollaborationandnetworkingplatformsforthecirculareconomyinBelgium

....................................................................................................................................................65

Goodpractice26RACECoalitionNetherlands...........................................................................65

Goodpractice27RETech-anexportnetworkfortheGermanrecyclingandwastemanagementindustry

....................................................................................................................................................66

Goodpractice28GreenBusinessProgrammeIreland..............................................................66

Goodpractice29Netherlands:GreenDealsforCircularEconomy...........................................67

Goodpractice30VoluntaryagreementsforconsumptionofreusedandrecycledproductsinItaly

....................................................................................................................................................68

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Goodpractice31Sustainabilityagendaforbeveragepackaging-Austria................................69

Goodpractice32Prosperityagreement-Ireland......................................................................69

ListofboxesBox4-1ThestructureoftheEco-InnovationScoreboard..........................................................35

Box4-2BeyondEUborders:theGlobalEco-InnovationScoreboard........................................39

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ExecutiveSummary

The Eco-Innovation Observatory (EIO) is a EU-funded initiative collecting and analysing

informationoneco-innovation trendsandmarkets inEurope.Theannual reports (EIO2011,

EIO 2012, EIO 2013, EIO 2014) introduce and exemplify the concept of eco-innovation and

analyse findings of the EUMember States’ eco-innovation performances based on targeted

indicator systems. They also reflect on emerging trends and developments in the European

MemberStatesinthecontextofresourceefficiencyand,basedontherapidlyexpandingpool

ofgoodpracticeexamplesoftheEuropeancountries,undertakeforesightassessmentsonthe

futureorientationofeco-innovation.

EachEIOannualreport(AR)hasaspecialthematicfocus:ThefirstAR(EIO2011)specifiedthe

role of material resources and resource efficiency for eco-innovation, the second AR (EIO

2012) focused on business opportunities of eco-innovation, the third AR (EIO 2013) on the

issue of how different stakeholders can contribute to building a green economy, and the

fourthAR(EIO2014)focusedonhowatransitiontoacirculareconomycouldbeenabled.

This report further expands the focus on circular economy aspects of a resource-efficient

societyandstrategiestocopewiththechallengesofthesestronglyintertwinedconcepts.Eco-

innovationforacirculareconomymeanscontributingtoresourceefficiency.However,closed

loopcirculationisnoeasytaskinapredominantlineareconomicsystemandcallsforsystemic,

social,organisational,process,marketing,product,anddesigneco-innovation.

Whatiseco-innovation?

“Eco-innovationisanyinnovationthatreducestheuseofnaturalresourcesanddecreasesthereleaseofharmfulsubstancesacrossthewholelife-cycle”(EIO2011).

Recently,theunderstandingofeco-innovationhasevolvedmoreandmorefromacustomary

understanding of innovating to reduce environmental impacts towards a renewed

understanding of innovating to minimise the use of natural resources and the release of

harmful substances over the whole life cycle, i.e. in the design, use, re-use and recycling

phases of products,materials and services related to them. New concepts such as sharing,

leasingandremanufacturingalsocontributetothoseeco-innovationefforts.Themotivations

behind these innovations are not necessarily environmental; rather they often make good

businesssense,withenvironmentalbenefitsafavourableside-effect.

32 good practice examples have been selected from the 28 Eco-Innovation Observatory

countryprofilesandfeaturedinthisannualreport.Theyaltogetherprovideevidenceforthemultifacetedandimpressiveeco-innovationpotentialoftheEUMS.

Thevision:eco-innovationasameanstoreacharesource-efficientandcirculareconomyinEurope

There are manifold approaches to reduce the resource use of the economy and increase

resourceefficiencyandcircularity.Inthecontextofcirculareconomythe3R’saremostwidely

known:reduce,reuseandrecycle.But—consideringthefactthatthe3R’saremainlyfocused

ontheendofthelife-cycle,i.e.wasteoptions—furtherconceptshavebeenbroughtontothe

agenda: waste prevention, sharing/leasing, repair, remanufacturing, and—finally—recovery.

Theseconceptsalsoincludeotherstagesofthelife-cycle,includingthedesignandusephase.

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Thevisionistodeployeco-innovationasameanstomovetowardsaresource-efficientcircular

economy in Europe by intelligently applying all those concepts at those levels where they

contributebest,e.g.sharingandreusingelectronicgoodsandclothes,preventionoffoodand

packagingwaste,orrecoveryofcriticalmaterialsandfertilizers,etc.

Topdownandbottom-upcirculareconomychallenges

InEurope,thecirculareconomyconcepthasbeenembeddedinapolicycontextthatrefersto

thegreeneconomyconceptandtheambitionsforaresource-efficientandlow-carbonsociety.

As this report reveals, the performances across EU countries concerning eco-innovation,

resourceefficiency,recyclingandcircularity,infrastructuresandmeasuresvastlydiverge.

Whilethebenefitsofacirculareconomytransitionareincreasinglyrecognisedbygovernment,

businesses and civil society, there are many barriers hindering investments in necessary

measuresat theEU,national, regionaland local levels.At thesametime, there isaneed to

address and involve key actors and stakeholders for sucha fundamental transition: industry

andbusinesses,citizens,civilsocietyandNGOs,researchanddevelopment,governments.

Thecirculareconomytransitionwillbepoweredbyacombinationofbottom-upmovements

and societal developments and top-down changes of framework conditions from

governments.Inthisrespect,thetransformativepotentialofurbanandregionaldevelopments

likerepaircafés,sharing,reuseandrefurbishmentandwastepreventioninitiativesareneeded

asmuchasorganisationalinnovationinbusinesseslikere-manufacturing,repair,maintenance,

recycling andeco-design,which includemanybusiness opportunities for SMEs.At the same

time, government policies should secure favourable framework conditions pushing for

differenttypesofeco-innovationthatplayaroleforfuturecitizensandbusinessesandinduce

behaviouralandlifestylechangesthataremoresustainablethanexistingsolutions.

Forasuccessfulimplementation,amixofpolicymeasureswillberequiredtosupportcircular

economy at national and local levels by introducing rightly chosen and designed policy

measuresthatmotivateorregulateresourceefficiency,wastereduction,recycling,re-useand

remanufacturing and create demand for sustainably designed products as well as resource

savingservices.

Emergingtrendsandbusinessmodels

Newtechnologies,designconcepts,services,andinnovativeformsofco-operationarealready

contributing to the circular economy across the EU today. However, a fully-fledged circular

economy will require radical and systemic eco-innovations in order to transform the linear

patterns of production and consumption which have evolved over the last two centuries,

creatingwastefulregimesofover-consumingnaturalresources.

Thecirculareconomyinvolveseco-innovationsintwoverydifferentfieldsthatmaybelabelled

as circular economy “hardware” and “software”: The technologies and technical

infrastructures that would allow for turningwaste into resources again (hardware) and the

skills, expertise and business models which would turn this transformation processes into

businessopportunities(software).

Circular economy eco-innovations encounter great challenges in resource intensive sectors

andvaluechains.But,thereareviableeco-innovationactivitiesindifferentfieldsandsectors

that highlight the innovation potential of the circular economy framework. These concern,

inter alia, plastics, bio-based products, food waste, critical raw materials, construction &

demolition. A number of business cases in all EU Member States have already proved

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successfulinkeyareasandhavethepotentialtobetransferredtoothercountries,asthegood

practiceexamplesdemonstrate.

Circulareconomyandeco-innovationperformanceofcountries

Eco-innovationplaysacentralroleintransformingthetraditionallinearsystemofproduction

and consumption into an economic system characterised by circular flows of rawmaterials.

However,performanceacrosstheEUMSisveryheterogeneous.Countriesdifferwidelywith

regard to the share of material use being recycled as well as with regard to many other

aspects,suchasemploymentandturnoverinsectorsengagingincirculareconomyactivities,

waste generation and resourceproductivity. Thecircularityperformanceof EUMS showsahighvariationintherecycledquantityofDMC(DomesticMaterialConsumption),rangingfrom

0.3% in Latvia to36% in Luxembourg.Apart fromdeviations in theactual performance, this

largevariancecanalsobeexplainedbydataconstraintsanddifferentaccountingsystems.The

number of people employed in selected recycling, repair and reuse sectors is between 0.4

(Greece)and3.2(Latvia)perthousandinhabitantsandtheoperatingturnoverpernumberof

peopleemployedshowsthatsomecountriesgeneratesignificantrevenuesinthesesectors.

Inthe2015versionoftheEco-innovationscoreboard,DenmarkscoredbyfarhighestofallEU

countries,withanaggregate scoreof167.Denmarkwas followedbyFinland (scoreof140),

Ireland(134)andGermany(129).AlsoSweden,LuxembourgandFrancehavebeengroupedto

the “eco-innovation leading” countries.NineMember Statesobtained scores around theEU

average of 100 andwere therefore addressed as “average eco-innovation performers”. The

aggregatedeco-innovationscoresinthisgrouprangefrom108(Austria)to96(Slovenia).With

the exception of Greece, all countries found in the group of “countries catching up in eco-

innovation”werenewMemberStates.Aggregatedscoresinthiscountrygrouprangefrom82

inthecaseofRomaniato49inthecaseofBulgaria.

In order to put European eco-innovation performance in an international context, the Eco-

InnovationObservatorystartedtodevelopaGlobalEco-InnovationScoreboard in2013.TheGlobalScoreboardcovers126countries.Thegroupofthetop-20performersisdominatedby

Europeancountries,with13EUcountriesplusSwitzerland,NorwayandIcelandbeingamong

the global eco-innovation leaders. Only Singapore (rank 5), Australia (rank 16) and Canada

(rank20)arealsofoundamongthetop-performingcountries.

Towardsaneco-innovationpolicyforaresource-efficientcirculareconomy

Every EU Member State has a set of policy measures related to elements of a circular

economy,largelyshapedunderthewasteandresourceefficiencypoliciesandwidelyfocusing

onaspectslikeaddressingmaterialresourcelossesviasavings.Afewcountrieshaveadopted

or are close to adopting a dedicated strategy or action plan on the transition to a circular

economy. There are also examples of circular economy focused strategies that have been

takenupbyregionalgovernments.Theseshowanincreasingprioritisingofcirculareconomyinnationalandlocalstrategies.

To promote initiatives of circular eco-innovations, routine practices need to be transformed

into new practices based on sharing, reusing, repairing, as well as remanufacturing. In

addition,inordertoaddressbarriersatthelocallevel,thenationalandlocalgovernmentscan

deployarangeofpolicymeasures.Theseinclude,amongothers:

• Regulatory instruments, such as regulations on recycling, producer responsibilities,

eco-design,mandatorytargets,codes,standards,andcertificationforproducts;

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• Economic instruments, including fiscal and financial incentives, direct funding, and

publicprocurement;

• Research, development and deployment support measures, such as grants for R&D

andpilotingactivities,R&Dinfrastructure,innovationvouchers,supportinginnovation

incubation,andR&Dpersonnel;

• Information, education and networking support measures, for example, advising,

training,offeringdirectsupportinactivitiestoSMEs,customers,technologyadopters,

promotion of networking, providing information, and supporting public private

partnerships,and

• Voluntary measures, such as performance labels and guarantees for products and

services,orvoluntaryagreementsandcommitments.

However,theapplicationofthesemeasures inthecontextofcirculareconomydevelopment

inMemberStatesisratherselectiveandnotverywidespread,thuscallingforexpansioninto

ambitiousmixesofcirculareconomyinstruments.

Keyfindings

• Thetermcirculareconomyiscurrentlypenetratingthestrategicnationalpolicyagendas

ofmanyEUMemberStates.Afewcountriesaddresstheminamoregenericcontextof

theresourceefficiencystrategies(withanarrowdefinitionbasedonmaterialefficiency,

recycling andwaste prevention ormanagement); other examples showmore ambition

anddevelopedcomprehensivestrategies(containingamoresystemicapproachtackling

the products design, durability, reuse, reparability, etc. as well as promoting new

businessmodels).

• Theeco-innovationperformance,asmeasuredwiththeEco-InnovationScoreboard(Eco-

IS) varieswidely across EUMember States. Northern andWestern European countries

(Denmark,Finland,IrelandandGermany)aregenerallycharacterisedbyhighinputsinto

eco-innovationintermsofR&Dspendingandinvestments,higheco-innovationactivityof

companies as well as comparatively high eco-innovation outputs. NewMS are mostly

foundinthegroupof“countriescatchingupineco-innovation”.

• TheGlobalEco-InnovationScoreboard,whichcomparestheeco-innovationperformance

of126countriesworldwide, illustratesthatmanyEuropeancountries, includingnon-EU

countries such as Switzerland, Norway or Iceland, are found among the global eco-

innovationleaders.

• Monitoringandassessingtheperformanceofthecirculareconomyisstillachallengedue

toinsufficientpresentationofthecirculareconomyelementsbyexistingindicators.

• Promisingeco-innovationswiththepotentialtobescaled-upcanbeseenacrosstheEU,

with many eco-innovations however concentrated in market niches. Bottom-up

approacheslikerepair,reuseandsharingsetpowerfulexamplesofchange,buttheyhave

not,yet,reachedthemainstream.

Mainmessages

• Activities at the Member States level are still overwhelmingly focused on waste

managementmeasuresindicatingneedsforsupportforatransformationfromwastetoa circular resourcemanagement and the breaking of the “lock-in” in existing systems.

This could be achieved by moving towards alternative systems for consumption (like

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sharing, reuse), production (e.g. repair, remanufacturing) and eco-innovative product

designandcorrespondingframeworkconditionsasvitalelements.

• Barriers to the transition towards a circular economy are, inter alia, falling commodity

prices, insufficient investment, lack of skills and know-how, limited acceptance of

alternative models of consumption and business, and lack of policy coherence. These

havetobeaddressedinacomprehensivewaybyfavourableframeworkconditions(e.g.embracing regulation, institutional settings, targets, instruments, curricula,

infrastructures,networks,keyactors,etc.).

• National and local governments can deploy a large range of policy measures (i.e.regulatory instruments, economic instruments, R&D support measures, infrastructure

provision, information, education and networking support measures, and voluntary

measures)topromoteinitiativesofcirculareco-innovations.Governmentscanlearnfrom

existingpolicygoodpracticesthathaveemergedinselectedEUMemberStates.

• The circular economy will have different meanings and different roles andresponsibilities fordifferent stakeholders. Framework conditions shouldprovidedirect

or indirect incentivestoact,plan,consume,produceorengageinbusinesscontributing

tothecirculareconomy.

• Different types of eco-innovations, i.e. product, process, organisational, marketing,

social, systemeco-innovation,are instrumental in transforminga lineareconomy intoa

circulareconomy.

Thecirculareconomywill require“hardware”and“software”eco-innovations: technologiesand technical infrastructures and skills, expertise and business models. Supporting the

“hardware”mayrelyontheconventionalinnovationsupportinstruments,butdevelopmentof

“software”requiresinnovativeapproachesinpolicymakinginordertoachievechangingmind-

setsforsharing,remanufacturing,reuseandrepair.

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1 |Introduction

The pace of innovation and technological change is unprecedented today. While many

innovationsandtechnologicalachievementsareexpectedtobehelpful inorder tostrive for

the reduction of environmental pressures and progress towards circularity, there is much

uncertaintyandrisk,andmanyinnovationsdoubtlesslystillcontributetoacceleratingresource

useandwastageduetoreboundeffects.

Thecurrentsystemofproductionandconsumptioncanbecharacterisedasapredominately

linearsystem.Resourcesareextracted,processed,usedanddisposedaswaste.Attheendofa

products’ life cyclewastes are typically incinerated (thermal recovery) or landfilled. In both

cases,materialsarewithdrawnfromoreliminatedwithintheeconomicsystem,evenifsome

energyisregainedthroughthermalutilisation.Suchalineareconomicmodelisabletopersist

as long as resources are abundant within a world of infinite needs. However, the global

demand for resources is still increasing and both non-renewables and also renewables are

limited.Inthelongterm,alineareconomicmodelmustreachitslimits(Wilts2016).

However, there are a multitude of alternatives approaches to break up the linear path-

dependenteconomy,reduceitsresourceuse,increaseitsresourceefficiencyandminimiseits

generationofhazardous substances andwastes. Theseare knownas the3R’s: reduce (i.e.,decreasethedemandandtheuseofrawmaterials, intermediatesandproducts);reuse (i.e.,reutilisationofproductsorcomponentsofproducts);andrecycle (i.e., feedbacksubstancesand materials into the system). All those approaches support a circular economy as a

fundamentalalternativetothelineareconomicmodel(EEA2015,p.9).

Besidesthefamous3R’s,furtheressentialelementsofacirculareconomyhavebeenbrought

onto the agenda. These include: refurbish, sharing/leasing, remanufacture, recovery, andrepair while reduce (in the sense of waste prevention and minimisation of hazardous

substances)playsalsoaprominentrole(EuropeanCommission2014).

The vision is to deploy eco-innovation as a means to reach a resource-efficient circular

economyinEurope.

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Figure1-1Asimplifiedillustrationofacirculareconomy

Source:BasedonEIO2014,p.4.

The goal of a sustainable resource andwastemanagementmust be to ultimately achieve a

transition toa fully fledgedcirculareconomywithin this century (WBGU2016,p.85), i.e. to

preservethevalueoftheresourcesandmaterialsaslongaspossible,toreusethemasoften

aspossibleand,ideally,togeneratenooraslittleaspossiblewaste.Theconceptincludesall

sectors of the economy, from resource extraction over the production, storage and

consumption, as well as the disposal or recycling. Through the closing of loops waste shall

become a resource again (so-called "second-sourcing"). But to implement this idea as

extensively as possible, the consideration of reuse, repair, remanufacturing, sharing and

recycling isnecessaryaswellaseco-innovationandcirculareconomyaspects in theproduct

design(Wilts2016).Strongereco-innovationeffortsareneededforeachoption.

Eco-innovation is a vital element of all circular economy efforts. Within the Eco-innovationObservatory, eco-innovation is defined as any innovation that reduces the use of naturalresources and decreases the release of harmful substances across the whole lifecycle (EIO2010). Eco-innovations with the potential to enable the transition to a resource-efficientcirculareconomymodelspaneffortstochangedominantbusinessmodels(fromnovelproductand service design to reconfigured value chains), transform the way citizens interact withproducts and services (ownership, leasing, sharing, etc.) and develop improved systems fordeliveringvalue(sustainablecities,greenmobility,smartenergysystems,etc.)(EIO2014,p.8).

Table 1.1 presents the scope of different types of eco-innovation related to the circular

economy. It portrays the wide array of avenues to eco-innovation that may play a role in

different aspects of the transformation: for example from changing behaviours to adapting

technologies.

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Table1-1Typesofeco-innovationforacirculareconomy

Type Briefdescriptions,examples&keywords

Productdesigneco-

innovation

Overall impact on the environment andmaterial input is minimisedoverthewholeproduct’slifecycle

Allowing for recovery options like repairing, maintenance,

remanufacturing, recycling and cascading use of components and

materials(e.g.Fairphone)

Processeco-innovation Material use, emissions andhazardous substancesare reduced, risksareloweredandcostsaresavedinproductionprocesses

Advancingremanufacturing,suchas

- Refurbishment by replacing or repairing components that are

defective,includingtheupdateofproducts

- Disassembly and recovery at the component, material and

substancelevel

- Upcycling,functionalrecycling,downcycling

àZerowasteproduction,zeroemissions,cleanerproduction

Organisationaleco-

innovation

Methodsandmanagementsystemsreorganisationpushingforclosingtheloopsandincreasingresourceefficiency

New business models e.g. industrial symbiosis, new collection and

recovery schemes for valuable resources (incl. Extended Producer

Responsibility/IndividualProducerResponsibility),

àFromproductstofunctionalservices(product-servicesystems)

Marketingeco-innovation Productandservicedesign,placement,promotion,pricing

Promotionofthereuseforthesamepurpose(e.g.bottles,appliances),

promotion of the reuse for different purposes (e.g. tyres as boat

fenders,forplaygrounds)

àEco-labelling,greenbranding

Socialeco-innovation Behaviouralandlifestylechanges,user-ledinnovation

Sharing (e.g. domestic appliances, books, textiles), collaborative

consumption(e.g.flats,gardentools)sufficiency(e.g.plasticbagbans)

à Smart consumption, responsible shopping, use rather than own

schemes

Systemeco-innovation Entirely new systems are created with completely new functionsreducingtheoverallenvironmentalimpact

Leadingtoasubstantialdematerialisationoftheindustrialsociety

àNewurbangovernance,smartcities,permaculture

Source:AdaptedonthebasisofEIO2014.

13

2 |Theroleofpolicyforeco-innovationinthecirculareconomytransition:howchangecanbedriven

2.1 |CreatingframeworkconditionsforfosteringtheCircularEconomy

2.1.1 Circulareconomyinawiderpolicycontext

Theconceptofa circulareconomy is relativelynewat theEuropean level,but the termhas

been in use for some years, e.g. in China, Japan, andGermany, notwithstanding that those

countries have not implemented a fully-fledged circular economy already. In Europe, the

circulareconomyconcepthasrecentlybeenembeddedinawiderpolicycontextreferringto

thegreeneconomyandthestriveforaresource-efficientand low-carbonsociety (seefigure

below)(EuropeanCommission2015).Asyet,circulareconomyactivitiesattheMemberState

level are still overwhelmingly regardedaswastemanagementmeasures (EEA2016b),which

indicates a lack of knowledge and general uncertainty in the transformation to a circular

resourcemanagementandneglectstheeco-innovationeffortsinthestageofproductdesign.

Figure2-1Circulareconomyinthewiderpolicycontext

Source:EEA2016a,p.31.

However, eco-innovation and circular economy concepts and activities need to be more

closely linked. The Waste Framework Directive provides for technical requirements and

regulations (e.g. mandatory recycling quota for several waste streams) but, as yet, the

institutional settings and the country-specific planning for circular economy issues vary

significantlyfromcountrytocountrywithregardtocontents,ambitions,targetsandchoiceof

policyinstrumentsanditmainlyfocusesonwastemanagement(Bahn-Walkowiaketal.2014).

Thefollowingfigureshowswherethecurrentpolicyframeworkhasdirectandindirectimpacts

onthedifferentoptionsandphasesofacirculareconomy.

31

Circular economy in a wider context

Circular economy in Europe

4 Circular economy in a wider context

4.1 Circular and green economy

For the circular economy to realise its full potential, it is

important to consider how it resides within the wider

policy context, in particular the EU's 7th Environment

Action Programme. Recognising that environmental,

economic and social objectives are essentially

interlinked, the programme's three key objectives are to:

1. protect, conserve and enhance the EU's natural

capital;

2. turn the EU into a resource-efficient, green and

competitive low-carbon economy;

3. safeguard the EU's citizens from environment-

related pressures and risks to health and well-being.

Taken together, these objectives reflect a 'green

economy' policy concept, with 'green growth' and

'sustainable development' related but not synonymous

concepts. In essence, economic growth should be

decoupled from environmental pressures in order to

maintain ecosystem resilience and prevent impacts on

human well-being. Resource efficiency gains would be

central to achieving this.

While a circular economy aims to increase resource

efficiency, and is thus instrumental in realising the

second key objective of the 7th Environment Action

Programme, it does not fully address preservation of

natural capital and prevention of environmental risks

to human health and well-being. In fact, the circular

economy can be represented as the core of a green

economy perspective that widens the focus from waste

and material use to ecosystem resilience and human

health and well-being (Figure 4.1).

This wider interpretation calls for integrated analysis of

the performance of production-consumption systems

that goes beyond the 'core' circular aspects, as outlined

in the previous chapters. Some further issues that merit

broader assessment and policy attention are discussed

below.

Figure 4.1 Circular economy and green economy

Source: EEA.

Circular economy focus

Waste prevention

Waste management

Resource efficiency

Ecosystemresilience Human well-being

Green economy focus

Waste Framework Directive(and other EU waste legislation)

Resource Efficiency Roadmap 7th Environment Action Programme

Circular economy package

14

Figure2-2OverviewofexistinginstrumentsandapproachesforacirculareconomyinEU*

Source:DoranovaandGigli2014.

TheEUMSalsooftenlackanintegratedinfrastructureplanningforwasteinfrastructures,with

corresponding counter and side effects on resource efficiency and circular economy. For

example, regionalwaste incinerationover-capacitiesactasan incentive touse thoseusually

capital-intensiveincinerationplantsatfullcapacitybuttheydonotdriveacirculareconomy.

Thecurrentdivergingcountryperformancesconcerningwasterecyclingrates, infrastructures

andwastepreventionmeasuresinplaceindicatethat—aslongaswasteisstill lookedatasa

cost factor insteadofasa“resource”—regulatory instrumentsareoftenmoreeffective than

economicinstruments(Bahn-Walkowiaketal.2014).

Policyapproachesarefrequentlynotsufficientlyconsideringthewastehierarchyandcircular

necessities and thus lead to unwanted effects. A policy for diverting waste from landfill

withoutconsideringanalternativeandeco-innovativetreatmentforapathwayfurtherupthe

wastehierarchy,whichmightbeenvironmentallyandeconomicallyappropriateinthespecific

context,canleadtoresults,which:

- are ineffective(e.g.recyclingfocuson lessresource-intensivewastefractions instead

oftheresource-intensiveones),

- induceunwantedpathways(e.g.investmentincapital-intensiveincinerationcapacities

withouttakingaccountoffutureshiftssuchasrecycling)or

- haveacompletelycounterproductiveeffect(e.g.illegaldumping).

15

Figure2-3Wastehierarchy

Source:TheEuropeanParliamentandtheCounciloftheEuropeanUnion2008.

2.1.2 Barrierstoabettercircularperformance

While thebenefitsare increasingly recognised therearemanybarriers to the transition toa

circulareconomyindicatinginvestmentinaseriesofnecessarymeasuresatthesametime:

• Insufficient investment in recycling and recovery infrastructure, and eco-innovationandeco-technologiesforclosingtheloops;

• Insufficientskillsandinvestment incircularproductecodesignandproductionwhichcouldfacilitategreaterre-use,remanufacture,repairandrecycling;

• Challengesinobtainingsuitablefinanceforeco-investment;

• Current levels of resource pricing create economic signals that do not encourage

efficientresourceuse,pollutionmitigationorinnovation;

• Limited consumer and business acceptance of potentially more efficient serviceoriented business models, e.g. leasing rather than owning, performance-based

paymentmodels;

• Insufficientwasteseparationatsource(e.g.forfoodwaste,packaging);

• Lackofincentivesduetotheinsufficientinternalisationofexternalitiesthroughpolicyorothermeasures;

• Limited information, know-how and economic incentives for key elements in thesupplyandmaintenancechain,e.g.forrepairandreuse,onchemicalcompositionof

certainproductssuchassubstancesinelectronicdevices;

• Limitedsustainablepublicprocurementincentivesinmostpublicagencies(i.e.Green

PublicProcurement);

• Non-alignment of power and incentives between actors within and across valuechains(e.g.betweenproducersandrecyclers)toimprovecross-cycleandcross-sector

performance;

• Shortfallsinconsumerawareness(e.g.perishabilityoffoodproducts);

9

The policy context

Waste prevention in Europe — the status in 2014

Source: EU, 2008.

Figure 1.1 The waste hierarchy

Prevention

Preparing for reuse

Recycling

Recovery

Disposal

Waste

Product(non-waste)

1 The policy context

1.1 Policy background

In 2012, EU-28 Member States discarded ���bELOOLRQbWRQQHV�RI�ZDVWH��RI�ZKLFK�FORVH�WR����ZDV�hazardous. Although rates of overall waste generation in Europe have declined between 2004 and 2012 by PRUH�WKDQ����LQ�DEVROXWH�WHUPV�DQG�PRUH�WKDQ����SHU�SHUVRQ��WR�FORVH�WR��bWRQQHV�SHU�SHUVRQ���WKH�VKDUH�RI�hazardous waste is slowly increasing (Eurostat, 2015).

The Waste Framework Directive requires EU Member States to establish waste prevention programmes, but it allows some freedom in terms of implementation. The European Commission (EC) developed a guidance document in 2012 to help countries prepare their waste prevention programmes (EC, 2012).

The waste hierarchy (Figure 1.1) is the overarching principle behind EU and national waste policies. Priority is given to waste prevention, followed by (preparing for) reuse, recycling and other recovery, with disposal being the least desirable option.

Although the importance of waste prevention has been recognised in EU waste legislation for almost 40 years, from the 1975 Waste Framework Directive (EEC, 1975) and the 1994 Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (EU, 1994), effective waste prevention measures in EU Member States have not been developed.

In 2005, waste prevention was fast-tracked in a Thematic Strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste (EC, 2005). The importance of the waste hierarchy was then further emphasised in the updated :DVWH�)UDPHZRUN�'LUHFWLYH��ZKLFK�VWDWHG�LQ�$UWLFOHb��that waste prevention measures should be considered a top priority when developing waste policy and legislation in EU Member States. Among the measures incorporated in the Waste Framework Directive is

According to WKH�:DVWH�)UDPHZRUN�'LUHFWLYH��$UWLFOHb��������'Member States shall establish ... waste prevention programmes not later than 12 December 2013'.

Under $UWLFOHb������, 'The European Environment Agency is invited to include in its annual report a review of progress in the completion and implementation of waste prevention programmes' (EU, 2008).

the requirement for all Member States to adopt and implement waste prevention programmes (EU, 2008).The directive is currently under revision (EC, 2015a).

Waste prevention and the use of waste as a resource are becoming more and more important, not only in environmental policies, but also in industrial and raw material policies and form a key element of the transition towards a circular economy. In 2011, the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe set the target that waste generation per person should be in absolute decline by 2020 (EC, 2011). In 2013, the EU's �WKb(QYLURQPHQW�$FWLRQ�3URJUDPPH�UHFRJQLVHG�WKH�need for additional efforts to reduce waste generation both per person and in absolute terms (EU, 2013).

The EC has published on 2 December 2015 an ambitious Circular Economy Package with an emphasis on reusing, repairing, refurbishing and

16

• Weaknessesinpolicycoherenceatdifferentlevels(e.g.bioenergyandwastepolicies)(adaptedfromEuropeanUnion2014).

A circular economy will need to address all stakeholders for such fundamental transition:

businesses,citizens,civilsociety,andgovernments(EEA2016a)aswellastakedifferentaction

attheEU,national,regionalandlocallevels.

2.1.3 Keyactorsinbuildingacirculareconomy

Implementingpoliciestowardsbuildingacirculareconomymodelrequirestheparticipationof

many different types of stakeholders. This is particularly true for implementing a coherent

strategy, when a wide range of actors should be involved, including national/regional/local

governments, local businesses, NGOs, social enterprises, consumers/citizens, academic and

researchcentres.Diverse rolesandpotential inputsbydiverse stakeholdersare summarised

below.

Table2-1Keyactorstobeinvolvedandtheirroleinpromotingcirculareconomy

National,regional,localauthoritiesandagenciesdealingwithindustrialdevelopmentandwaste

• Ensuringpolicy, regulatory support, introductionof supportmeasures, aswell as technical and

financialsupport

• Facilitatingthedialoguewith,andbetween,researchorganisations,businessesandcivilsociety

organisations

• Leading, or involvement in, project development, implementation, monitoring of project

activitiesandthefinancialallocation

• Supporting awareness raising and education amongst the population and promoting more

sustainablelifestyle,sharing,re-use,recycling

Businessesandindustries• Developingandinvestinginnewsustainablebusinesses,businessmodels,productsandservices

basedoncircularityprinciples,symbiosis

• Cooperating with authorities in implementing initiatives and helping to scope visions for the

greeningandcircularityinregions,citiesandcommunities

• Cooperatingwithresearchorganisationsindevelopingneweco-innovativeandcircularsolutions

National,regionalorlocalinnovationagenciesandintermediaries• AdvisingSMEsandorganisationsoninnovationmeasures

• Advising or playing an active role in the development and implementation of projects and

monitoringprojectactivities,outcomesandimpacts

• Cooperatingwith authorities in implementingeco-innovation initiatives and scoping visions for

thegreeningofregions,citiesandcommunities

• Promotingorlobbyingforspecificregulationsorpolicydecisions

Researchorganisations,clusterorganisationsanduniversities• Cooperatingwithauthoritiesinimplementingsustainableinitiativesandhelpingtoscopevisions

forthegreeningandcircularityofregions,citiesandcommunities

• CooperatingwithSMEsandindustriesindevelopingnewsolutions

• Facilitating or taking an active role in project development and implementation, and the

monitoringofprojectactivities,outcomesandimpacts

• NGOs,citizens,usergroups• Participatinginprioritysettingforeco-innovationinitiativeplanning

• Educating and raising awareness amongst the population and promoting social innovations in

areassuchaslifestyleandmobility

17

• Supportingprojectplanning,implementationandmonitoring

• Creatingnetworksandmobilisinglocalefforts

• Lobbyingforspecificregulationsorpolicydecisions

• Co-creatingandco-testingofneweco-innovationsbyusers,NGOs,citizens,usergroups• Supportingthedisseminationofeco-innovationstowardsacirculareconomy

• Supportingeco-innovativeorsustainablesystemssuchasrecycling,eco-mobilityandsustainable

lifestyle

Source:BasedonDoranovaandGigli2014.

Forallthosestakeholders,eco-innovationforacirculareconomywillhavedifferentmeanings

and involvedifferentapproachesandresponsibilities.This requiresasystemicapproachthat

“makesuseofawidetoolkitofpoliciesandmeasures,acrossdifferentpointsofvaluechanges

andaffectingthefullsetofprivateandpublicstakeholders.Giventhemulti-levelgovernance

approachneeded,options canbe structuredacrossdifferentactors (e.g. EU,MemberState,

regional and local authorities, private sector, civil society, citizens), levels and timeframes,

keeping inmind that in some areas circular economybenefitswillmaterialise as a result of

own initiatives by the private sector, while in other areas support (including public

intervention)willbeneededtoencouragetransitions”(EuropeanUnion2014,p.54).

2.2 |Buildingacirculareconomyfromthegroundup

Groundedontheideathatthecirculareconomytransitionwillbepoweredbyacombination

ofbottom-upandtop-downchanges,eco-innovationcantransformindividualbehaviourand

also create new forms of interactions between people or change peoples’ relationshipwith

products.

Thetransformativepotentialofcitiesandurbanregions,forexample,isimportantatdifferent

levelsbycontributingtoasustainabledevelopmentandinpracticebyamultitudeofcircular

economy relevant approaches, like initiating and running repair cafés, sharing, reuse and

refurbish initiatives, and promoting waste prevention approaches, etc. which are, first and

foremost,implementableatlocallevels(MaschkowskiandWanner2014).Atpresent,thisisa

nichedevelopmentmentionedhereinordertoillustratetheideasofbottom-upinitiatives.As

an organisational innovation in businesses re-manufacturing, repair, maintenance, recycling

and eco-design can however create business opportunities for SMEs and “have a great

potential to become drivers of economic growth and job creationwhile, at the same time,

making a significant contribution to addressing environmental challenges” (European

Commission2014).

This sectionbriefly showsdifferent typesofeco-innovation thatplaya rolewithina circular

economy for future citizens and businesses and provides good practice examples from the

country reports. A social (and sometimes user-led niche innovation) can induce behavioural

and lifestyle changes that are more sustainable than existing solutions and thus “reduce

impactson theenvironment,butalso re-structure social relations inone formor theother”

(EIO2013).

2.2.1 Re-use,sharingandcollaborativeconsumption

Re-useisacriticalpartofthe3Rwastemanagementstrategy(reduce,reuse,recycle)andeco-

innovationcanplayacentral role inenablingre-use,sharingandcollaborativeconsumption.

From the product perspective, re-use relates to aspects like longevity, durability, and

reparability,andthuscloselylinkstoproductdesign.Socialeco-innovationsuchassharingand

18

collaborativeconsumption,ofteninducedbyuser-ledsocialeco-innovationandnewbusiness

models,emergeasparticularlyrelevant.Re-useislinkedtosocialenterprisesaswellascitizen

movementsand relates tochanges inconsumptionanddisposalbehaviour.This canplayan

important role notably in eco-innovative businessmodels based on service provision and is

instrumental inmodelsbasedonsharing, leasingandproduct-servicesystems,whichrequire

extensiveuseofgoodsbymultipleusersand increasetheneedforregularmaintenanceand

repair,beitcommercialornon-commercial(seeexamplesforbusinessmodelsinchapter3).

Goodpractice1Vigga–circularsubscriptionofbabyclothes,Denmark

Vigga–circularsubscriptionofbabyclothesOneofthebiggestissuesforparentsisthatbabiesgrowoutoftheirclothsquickly.It’sboth

expensive and a waste of resources. Vigga offers a circular subscription model for baby

clothes. The baby clothes are made from

organicfabricsandoncethebabyhasgrown

out of the clothes they are returned to

Vigga. There the clothes are dry cleaned in

an environmentally friendly way andmade

readyforanotherbaby.

• Keywords:Babyclothes,circular

subscription,reuse

• Link:http://www.vigga.us/in-english/

• Contact:kundeservice@vigga.us

Goodpractice2FreeTradeIreland

FreeTradeIreland Freetradeireland.ieisafreeonlinereuseservice funded by the EPA National Waste Prevention Programme thatallows its users to pass on unwanteditems for free, from furniture toelectronicgoodsandgardenequipment.

In 2014, FreeTrade Ireland diverted18,220items,amountingtomorethan216tonnesofmaterials,awayfromlandfill.Theuseofthe service resulted in CO2 savings of approximately 1,944 tonnes. Using conservativeestimates for item values, it is calculated that FreeTrade users saved €679,000 in 2014 interms of avoided purchases. The service continues to prove an excellent value-for-moneywastepreventioninitiative,witha€17returnonevery€1investedbytheEPAin2014.

FreeTrade Ireland has also developed a partner reuse exchange service for public sectororganisationsinordertomaximiseresourceefficiencyinthepublicsector.

Furtherinformation:http://www.freetradeireland.ie/About.html

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2014, Towards a Resource Efficient Ireland. ANational Strategy to 2020 incorporating Ireland’s National Waste Prevention Programmehttp://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/waste/prevention/towardsaresourceefficientireland.html

Keywords:reuse;wasteprevention;resourceefficiency

19

2.2.2 Repairandmaintenance

Repair1, maintenance

2 and remanufacturing

3 can be characterised as service innovation

activitiesprolongingthe lifetimeofproductswhichallowavoidingbuyingnewreplacements,

thus preventing pollution, dispensable material use and waste arising. There is significant

potential to develop innovative approaches to providingmaintenance and repair services in

the EU. However, the role of repair andmaintenance has not been explored sufficiently in

relation to eco-innovation, nevertheless their role in service based eco-innovative business

models(basedonsharing,rental,product-servicesystems)canbesignificant.

Integratingrepairservicesintheproductcanprovideacompetitiveadvantageforacompany

and repair based business models can offer extended business opportunities for product

suppliers. There are also some practices where producers provide lifetime guarantees and

repair services for their product,which can be seen as a part of the businessmodel. These

products are normally “high end” products, however there are also examples relevant to

“average consumers”. There is a close link to eco-design that has to allow for repair and

maintenance.

Goodpractice3RemadeinItaly

REMADEINITALYRemadeinItalyisanon-profitorganizationfoundedin2009bytheLombardyRegion,CONAI(theItalianUnion for packaging material), the Chamber ofCommerceofMilan andCONAI for thepromotion,at thenational and international level, of products"madeinItaly"arisingfromrecycling.

In 2014, Remade in Italy was recognized byACCREDIA (the Italian body for certification),becoming the first certification scheme accreditedin Italy for the verificationof recycled content in aproduct. The certification Remade in Italy certifiestraceability of production within the sameproduction chain, from the verification of theorigins of incoming rawmaterials to the output ofthe certified products, making it a tool specificallyrecognisedingreenpublicprocurementasamodelfor theverificationof thequalityand sustainabilityofrecycling.

Remade in Italy®products are identifiedbya labelthat contains information about the sustainabilitycharacteristics of the product, in terms of rawmaterialsavings,reductionofenergyconsumptionandreducedCO2emissions.

Sourceandfurtherinformation:http://www.remadeinitaly.it/

1 Repair (refurbish, reconditioning) is defined as a correction of a specified fault in a product/component and returning it to

satisfactoryworkingcondition(CharterandGray2007).

2Maintenancehasawiderscopethan‘repair’anditisdefinedasacriticalactivitycarriedoutintheusephaseoftheproductlife

cycle to prolong system availability. Maintenance offerings can include repairs, servicing, diagnostics (onsite and remote),

technical support (documentation and personal), installation, warranty, courtesy replacement product whilst product is being

repaired,cleaning/valeting(http://circulareconomytoolkit.org/about.html).

3referstousedproductthataftertheremanufacturingprocessisasgoodasanewone;soincludesevenupgrading.

20

Goodpractice4PilotoperationofafurniturereusecentreinPrague,CzechRepublic

The project was supported by theMinistry of Environment’s programme to support NGOprojects. Theprojectaims toopen the first centre for collectingand repairing furniture forreuse,andtopilotaservicethatwouldcollect,repairandre-sellrepairedfurniturecheaply.This would provide solutions for prevention of furniture waste, as well as allowing (low-income) citizens to buy repaired furniture at lowprices. The activities of the centrewouldinclude: regularcollectionofold furnitureandhouseholdequipment inPragueandactivelyraising public awareness about this opportunity. It will also allow the pick-up of furnitureduringofficehours.Inaddition,thecentrewilloffertheopportunityofattendingaseriesofworkshops to repair the furniture under the guidance of experienced instructors. TheseworkshopswillbeorganisedtogetherwiththeprojectZdrojovna,whichorganisesworkshopswiththesupportofthePragueCityauthorities.

Keywords:reuse,repairoffurniture,socialinclusion,publicawareness

Link:http://spojenehlavy.siknese.cz/

2.2.3 User-ledeco-design

Theconceptofeco-designhasafocusontheenvironmentalimpactsofproductsduringtheir

wholelifecycleandaimstooffernewsolutionsthatareprofitableandattractivebutleadto

anoverallreductionintheconsumptionofmaterialsandenergyatthesametime(EIO2014).

Inadditiontothat,user-ledeco-innovationisdrivenbycustomerdemandsfornewgoodsand

servicesordevelopedwith stakeholders, therebyminimising the riskof superfluousproduct

featuresorfunctionality.

Theconceptofeco-designhasbeenevolvingfromafocusonsingleaspectsoftheproduct,like

energyconsumption,toamoreholistic, life-cycleapproach.This isaclear linktothecircular

economymodelasitmeansthateachphaseoftheproductlifecycle—includingrawmaterials,

production, distribution, use, re-use, re-manufacturing, recycling and disposal—is taken into

considerationinthedesignofaproduct.Inpractice,however,theapplicationoftheconceptis

stillrathernarrow:whileenergyperformancehasbecomeastandardelementofawiderange

of products (home appliances, vehicles, etc.), life-cycle thinking has only been applied to a

limitednumberofexamplesandhasnot,yet,brokenoutofnichemarkets(EIO2014).

Goodpractice5QUIB–thecirculareconomyworkspace,Romania

QUIB–thecirculareconomyworkspace-RomaniaQUIB is the first circular economy workspace in Romania,promoting cradle-to-cradle design and circular economyproduction principles. All of the products developed here aremadeofreusedmaterialswithoutgeneratingwaste.Theservicesoffered include support to product design and prototyping,accesstoafullrangeofequipmentforwood,metalandtextilesprocessing, and several advanced technical tools such as a 3Dprinter, a CNC router and laser printer. It also offers variouscreativity and technical design classes. So far, since opening in2015, the centre has supported 100 makers to develop 125productsoutof430tonnesofreusedmaterials.

Themaindrivers for opening the spacewere environmental, aswell as the range of economic opportunities that the circular economy offers. Barriers todeveloping the business further include the scarcity of Romanian suppliers of organic rawmaterials. The company had to import the raw materials from Germany or Italy, becausebusinessesarehardtoconvincetogiveupmaterialstheydonotuse.Moreover,theworkersarenotaccustomedtousingaslittlematerialaspossible,whiletheRomanianconsumersplacelessvalueonthesustainabilityofproducts,butmoreonthedesign.ThisiswhytheproductsdevelopedinQUIBareprimarilymeantforexport.

21

ThedevelopmentofQUIBwasfundedwiththehelpoftheEuropeanSocialFund.

Keywords: Cradle-to-cradle; circular economy; eco-design;maker-spaces; reuse; sustainableproduction

Contact:QUIBcentre,contact@quib.ro;adriana.cojocaru@quib.ro;bogdan.cojocaru@quib.ro

Links:quib.ro-Picturesource:http://quib.ro/quib-start-up-ecosystem-and-services/

2.2.4 Amixofpolicymeasurestosupportcirculareconomyonnationalandlocallevel

Introducing rightly chosen and designed policymeasures canmotivate or regulate resource

efficiency, waste reduction, recycling, re-use, and remanufacturing, and create demand for

sustainablydesignedproductsaswellasresourcesavingservices.There isaneedtodirectly

supportresourcesavingandeco-innovation inSMEs,asunderlinedbytheGreenActionPlan

forSMEs“thussupportinggreenbusinessdevelopmentsacrossallEuropeanregions,notably

in view of the fact that, at this stage, significant differences in resource efficiency exist

betweensectorsandMemberStates”(EuropeanCommission2014).

The scope of policy measures to support eco-innovations for circular economy, resource

saving, and sustainable design can be quite wide. Many traditional innovation support

measures can be adapted to support eco-innovations basedon circularity. The figure below

presentspolicymeasuresthatcanbeadoptedtosupportcirculareconomyobjectives.

Table2-2:Examplesofnationalandlocalpolicymeasurestosupportcirculareconomy

Categoriesofpolicymeasures

Examplesofpolicymeasures

Regulatoryinstruments

• Regulations (e.g. onwaste recycling, extendedproducers responsibility, eco-

design,take-back,transparencyinmaterialchainandresponsibilities,etc.)

• Qualityandothermandatorytargets(e.g.wasterecycling,re-use)

• Codes, standards, certification for products, recycled material content,

packaging,emissions,aswellastheonestriggeringinnovationpriortosetting

newminimumperformancelimits

Economicinstruments

• Fiscal/financial instruments and incentives, including, charges and taxes for

waste,incineration,landfill,subsidiesandtaxreliefs,payasyouthrow

• Directinvestment/funding(e.g.infrastructure,programme,etc.)

• Demandpullinstruments,includingpublicprocurement

• Marketbasedinstruments,etc.

Research,development

anddeployment

• FundingforR&DinCErelatedthemes(e.g.directorcompetitivegrants)

• Pre-commercial/R&Dprocurementforproductsandserviceswithsustainable

design

• ProvidingR&Dinfrastructure

• InnovationvouchersschemesforSMEonCErelatedinnovations

• SupporttoinnovationincubatorsfocusingonCErelatedareas

• SupportprogrammesandincentivesforR&Dpersonnel

Information,capacitybuildingandnetworking

support

• Advisory services & information provision (to companies, start-ups,

customers,technologyadopters,etc.)

• Professional trainingandqualificationandskillsenhancementcourses, i.e. in

materialchainmanagement

• Supportnetworkingviamatchmaking,technologyplatforms

Voluntarymeasures

• Performancelabelforproductsandservices

• Guaranteeforproductdurability,repair,

• Negotiatedagreements(public-privatesector)

• Publicorunilateralvoluntarycommitments(byprivatesector)

Source:DoranovaandGigli2014.

3 |Towardthecirculareconomy:eco-innovationontheground

ThecirculareconomyaimstoboosttheEU'scompetitivenessbyprotectingbusinessesagainst

scarcityof resourcesandvolatilepricesbyhelpingtocreatenewbusinessopportunitiesand

innovativemoreefficientwaysofproducingandconsuming(EuropeanCommission2015,p.2).

Policy frameworks like the European Commission´s Circular Economy Action Plan or similar

nationalinitiativesaimtoinitiateeco-innovationsthatwouldenablefulfillingtheseambitious

objectives.Forthecirculareconomytogofromanattractiveconcepttowardsbusinessreality,

pioneersalongthewholevaluechainarechallengedtodevelopalternativestothetraditional

“make-use-dispose”approach.

Already today new technologies, design concepts, services, and innovative forms of co-

operation are contributing to the circular economy across the EU. This chapter aims to

highlight the different types of eco-innovations and related challenges (Chapter 3.1), the

priority fields of action (Chapter 3.2) and in a final step looks beyond the European border

takingtheexampleofChina´sroleinplasticsrecycling.

3.1 |Emergingtrendsandnewbusinessmodels

Becoming a circular economy will require radical eco-innovations that enable completely

transformingthelinearpatternsofproductionandconsumptionthatdevelopedoverthelast

twocenturiesandbecameanobviouslywastefulbutstableregimeofover-consumingnatural

resources.Thecirculareconomywillthusrequireeco-innovations intwoverydifferentfields

thatcouldbelabelledascirculareconomy“hardware”and“software”:Thetechnologiesand

technical infrastructures that would allow to turn waste (like glass, see the following good

practice example) into resources (hardware) and at the same time the skills, expertise and

businessmodelsthatwouldturnthistransformationintoabusinesscase(software).

Goodpractice6Greenblast

GREENBLASTDue to the lack of demand there is an excess of greencolouredglass,whichmustbestoredorsenttoa landfill.The Greenblast project aims to prevent this through aneco-innovative solution, which also offers two newbusiness models: A “double recycling”. During the firststage thewaste glass canbeused for a technique calledblasting, which forms a large part of shipyard work.Throughtheuseofglassthemostcommonlyusedblastingmediacopperslagorgrit,whichproducestoxicdustandisnotenvironmentallyfriendly,canbereplaced.InadditionGreenblasteliminatestheneedforlandfillingtheglass,whichisreusedforblasting,asitgetsdoublerecycled.Duringthesecondstagethewasteglasscanbeusedintheheavyclayindustry,asitenableslowtemperaturekilnfiringand/orhigherqualityendproducts,whichcanreducecostsandtheenvironmentalimpact.

The project’s planned results include: creating a newmarket for green colouredwaste glass;decreasing hazardouswaste and reducingwaste stream processing costs; converting awastestreamtoanincomestream;loweringcostsofrawmaterials;andtestingnewbusinessmodels.

Source:www.greenblast.eu

The“hardware”perspective

Thebroad fieldofwaste,wastecollectionandwastemanagement formsagreatpartof the

circular economy approach.With regard to the rising publicity of the concept of a circular

economy as analogous to highly efficientwaste treatment onemight expect an increase of

patents in the waste sector as an indication of technological innovation. However a study

conducted by FrancescoNicolli in 2013 suggests otherwise. This study took into account 28

countries(includinge.g.UK,US,Germany,Japan,NewZealand,Mexico)andallpatentsinthe

wastesectorfiledunderthePatentCooperationTreaty(PCT)forover25years.Thesenumbers

were then compared to the total patent applications. It shows, that unlike the total patent

applications,thenumberofpatentapplicationsinthefieldofwasteisstagnatingandattimes

(e.g.1997,2002and2005)evendecreased.Ifdividedintofivecategories(wastemanagement,

materialrecycling,solidwastecollection, incinerationandrecovery, fertilizersfromwaste) in

ordertogainbetter insights intothistrend,thetwomostthemostdynamiccategoriesfora

circular economy with the most patent applications (waste management and material

recycling)followthisstagnatingandattimesdecreasingtrend.

Figure3-1NumberofpatentapplicationsfiledunderthePTC(totalpatentandwastepatent,

3-yearmovingaverage)

Source:Nicolli2013,p.189.

Delvingfurther intothequestionofwhythenumbersofwastepatentsarestagnatingbrings

further insight. Inmanycountriesenvironmentalproblemsassociatedwiththeexistenceand

treatment of waste have been substantially reduced, and “security of disposal” has been

broadly established as the objective of the waste management. Waste is in principle

comprehensivelycollectedandcouldbereturnedtothematerialscycles.Infact,manyactors

nowregardwasteasaproblemthathasbeen“technicallysolved”(Wilts,vonGries,andBahn-

Walkowiak 2016)—although of course new challenges emerge from new products like for

examplewindturbines.

24

Goodpractice7DreamWindProject

TheDreamWindproject –How to recycle glass fibre fromusedwindturbineblades

Old or broken wind turbine blades are currently mostly

crushedandputonlandfill.TheobjectiveoftheDreamWind

project is to develop a chemical substance, with which

composite materials can be separated from each other.

Aftertheglasshasbeencleaneditshallpossiblybereusedin

new fibreglass components and structures, e.g. wind

turbines,aircraftorcars.

Thisnewtechnologyofferseconomicbenefitsandcanalsoreducecarbondioxideemission

bylessentheneedforproducingnewfiberglass.

Sources:www.innovationsfonden.dk/en/node/789and

www.stateofgreen.com/en/profiles/state-of-green/news/recyclable-wind-turbine-blades

The“software”perspective

Completelydifferentkindsofeco-innovationscanbefoundonwhatcouldbedescribedasthe

software of the circular economy: Innovative forms of business models and consumption

patternsthatenablemaintainingthevalueofproductsandrawmaterialsaslongaspossible.

Notallbusinessmodels inacirculareconomyneedtobehighly innovativeorbecompletely

new compared to the business models in place today, but some business models will be.

Ideally theywill all support the circular economy and form a part of it—either because the

businessmodel itself iscompletelyfocussedonthecirculareconomyorbecauseit isat least

partlyusingtheprovidedinfrastructures,productsorservicesenablingthecirculareconomy.

Somebusinesses’businessmodelswillfocusonprovidingtheseinfrastructures,productsand

services. Other businesseswill use them either to build their businessmodel based on this

provisionortheywillmakeuseofitinordertoroundouttheirbusinessmodelortofulfillegal

orotherrequirements.Assuchmostofthefollowingconceptscanbeseenaseitherthecore

partofbusinessmodelsprovidingtheinfrastructureorasapartofotherbusinesses’business

model.

Thebasicinfrastructurestoacirculareconomyarecollectionsystemsorplatformslinkingthe

demandandsupplysideinordertoenablewaste-as-a-resourceproceduresorthedistributionand use of secondary raw materials. These systems will most likely benefit from a cross-

border,cross-industryandcross-sectorreachandfromglobalsupplychains,whichwillforma

majorpartofreversecyclenetworksandthedistributionof(used)products,componentsand

materials(EllenMacArthurFoundation2014).Businessesareneededwhichofferthefacilities

orservicestotreatproductsandmaterialsinordertoreuse,repair,remanufactureorrecycle

them.Manybusinesseswillincorporatethiswaste-as-a-resource,eitherdirectlythroughusing

bought or self-produced waste, by-products or end-of-life products or components or

indirectlythroughsellingthem.

But sometimes it might not be so easy to determine whether reusing, repairing,

remanufacturing,recyclingorsellingwouldbetherighttreatmentforaproduct,component

ormaterial.Thebusinessesinacirculareconomywillthereforeneedsupportinthisdecision-

making process, for example through tools that take into account various factors like for

example the product’s condition, themarket situation, environmental effects and economic

factors and so on. The provision of such tools could be another business model (Ellen

25

MacArthur Foundation 2016). Strongly linked to the ability ofmaking these decisions is the

ideaofeco-design.Already in thedesignstageofdevelopingnewmaterials, componentsor

products, businesses in a circular economyneed to think about the after-use-spanandhow

theproductcanbetreatedandideallyenteranothercascadesteporlife-cycle.Eco-designhas

to dealwith the question of how the design enables easy reuse, repair, recycling etc., how

disassembling(manually,technically,chemically,biologicallyetc.)withoutanylossesinterms

ofqualityorquantitycanbefacilitatedandwhatmaterialsshouldbeused(e.g.composition,

hazardous material content, pure material content). Through these considerations the

durabilityshouldbeenhanced,sothatthematerials,componentsorproductscaneitherenter

more cascade stepsor life-cyclesor spendmore timewithinone cycle. Thebenefitsof eco-

designwouldbeenergyandmaterialsavingsandthechancetodesignoutwaste(EEA2015,EllenMacArthurFoundation2013).

Todaymostbusinessmodels, regardingtheprovisionofproducts,arebasedonselling items

andgeneratingone-timeearnings.Theenhanceddurabilityofproductsmightthereforeseem

contra productive—but service- and function-based business models (where product-as-a-serviceformsonepartoftenreferredto)willbenefitfromthis

4.Leasing,renting,sharing,and

pooling and the so called collaborative consumption, performance contracts, predictive

maintenance, and remanufacturingwill form typical parts of the new service- and function-

basedbusinessmodels (EEA2016a, p. 15). As the earnings generatedwithin thesebusiness

modelsareratherperformance-basedandarereoccurring, insteadofone-timeearnings,the

financial structure of such businesses will change compared to the financial structure of

businesseswithtraditionalconcepts.Aslargescalepaymentsatthestartoftheproducts’life-

cyclearenotgenerated,butreoccurringpayments,thesebusinessmodelsmightevenrequire

newfinancialmodels(EEA2016a).

Somenewbusinessmodelswillagaindealwiththeprovisionof thenecessary infrastructure

likemarket places in order tomatch the offers and the demand side, some businesseswill

incorporate the services related to for example leasing, others will offer to provide these

servicesforotherbusinessesandwithintheorganisation,andsomewillfocusontheprovision

ofcompletingserviceslikeinsurances,whichwillbeespeciallyinterestingforbusinessmodels

focussingonproduct-as-a-serviceoptionsorsharing.

Generallymoreconnectionsbetweenplayersoftheeconomywillexistinacirculareconomy,

either directly between for example businesses or indirectly through infrastructure and/or

globalsupplychains.Anotheroptioncouldbethroughsomekindofmarketspace,whichaims

tomatchexistingoffersanddemandintermsofproducts,components,materialsandservices

inordertoenablecascadeusage,andlongerormorecycles.Andmorebusinessmodelsthan

todaywillrelyontheInternetofThingsorIndustry4.0,asitwillhelptorunbusinessmodels

containing for example product-as-a-service offerings, which require (real-time) information

abouttheusageofaproductorcomponentaswellasitscondition5.Feedbackfromproducts

couldalsobeusedforproductenhancements(EllenMacArthurFoundation2016).

4Ofcourseenhancingthedurabilityofmaterialsandleadingthemintocascadedusage,reusingthemorrecyclingthemisalsoa

crucialbenefit.

5ExamplecouldbePhilips–Lightingasaservice.

26

Goodpractice8Competition-basedEventsforStart-Ups,Estonia

Competition-basedeventsforstart-upsThe best chance for eco-innovative entrepreneurs to findfunding for their idea is to participate in one of Estonia’smanyentrepreneurshipcompetitionsaimedatselectingthebest ideasandteamsforstart-ups. Inadditiontomonetarysupport,thewinnersoftengetmuch-neededknow-howandadvice on running a business and are widely promoted inEstoniaaswellasabroad.

Over the years many ideas were generated, also coveringtheareasofeco-invention,eco-innovations,circulareconomyandgreentechnology.

ThebiggestentrepreneurshipcompetitionAjujaht forexamplechallengesitsparticipantstopresenttheirideasinaliveTV-show.Thebesteco-innovationsreceiveaspecialaward.

Sources: www.prototron.ee, www.ajujaht.ee/en, www.negavatt.ee, www.garage48.org,www.rakett69.ee

Goodpractice9SuccessfulcasesofindustrialsymbiosisinIT,Italy

SuccessfulcasesofindustrialsymbiosisinIT:IndustrialSymbiosispilotprojectsweredeveloped,bothwithnetworkandecoindustrialparkapproaches:

• Networkingapproach:

o IndustrialSymbiosisinSicily(IT).Results:morethan600potentialsynergies;focusforindustrialsymbiosispathwaysonagroindustry,constructionandplasticsresidues;

o “Green Economy and Sustainable Development”. Results: 90 potential synergieswithinandoutsidethenetwork;focusonresiduesfromagroindustrysector(mainsynergiesforenergy,bioplasticsandnutraceuticalsubstancesproduction).

• IndustrialAreaapproach:greendevelopmentwithfocusonWEEE,plastics,agrifood,and construction residues.Main results: 25 companies involved,more than 140 resourcesshared,approximately110potentialmatchesand30technicallyverifiedmatches.

Source:www.industrialsymbiosis.it

But also eco-innovations in the field of consumption will be necessary to support the

development of the circular economy, e.g. sharing products or infrastructures (collaborative

economy),consumingservicesratherthanproducts,orusingITordigitalplatforms(Fischeret

al.2015;Leismannetal.2013).Andespeciallysuch“Industry4.0”approachesorweb-based

applicationscouldbecomepowerfulenablersofacirculareconomy,especially inthefieldof

collaborativeconsumptionbasedonsharing,swapping,bartering,tradingorleasingproducts

andother assets such as landor time (Botsman andRogers 2010).While suchpeer-to-peer

interactions have longbeenpractisedon a local scale, theyhavedeveloped into a different

dimension through the use of online sharing marketplaces, through which the demand for

certainassets,productsorservicesismatchedwiththeirsupply,usuallythroughconsumer-to-

consumer (C2C) channels. A key challenge will be to set the right policy and incentives

frameworks thatensures that the transition fromconsumers to“prosumers”actuallyboosts

eco-innovations and does not simply lead to rebounds regarding traditional or even more

resource intensive consumptionpatterns,e.g. spendingvacationmoney savedbyAirBnB for

buyingmorelong-distanceflights.

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3.2 |Sectors:changingvaluechainsandmaterialflows

Circular economy eco-innovations in the European Union are clearly linked to challenges in

specific sectorsandvaluechain thatareoftencharacterisedbyparticular resource intensity.

WithinitsCircularEconomyActionPlantheEuropeanCommissionidentifiedsocalledpriority

wastestreamsasstartingpointsfortargetedmeasuresthataddressthevariousphasesofthe

cyclealongthewholevaluechain.Despitetheserelevantchallenges,therearealreadyviable

eco-innovationactivitiesinthesedifferentfieldsthathighlighttheinnovationpotentialofthe

circulareconomyframework.

3.2.1 Plastics

The CE Action Plan has clearly stated that especially increasing plastic recycling will be

essentialforthetransitiontoacirculareconomy.Theuseofplasticshasgrownsteadily.The

globalproductionincreasedfrom1.7milliontonsin1950to288milliontonsin2012ofwhich

around20%wereproducedinEurope.Thishasledtoagenerationofplasticwasteofabout25

milliontons;lessthan25%ofcollectedplasticwasteisrecycledandabout50%goestolandfill

orevenworseendsupintheoceansasmarinelitter(PlasticsEurope2013).Thepresenceof

hazardouschemicaladditivescanposetechnicaldifficultiesandtheemergenceof innovative

typesofplasticsraisesnewquestions,e.g.asregardsplasticsbiodegradability.

However, our current consumption patterns would not be imaginable without the use of

plastics. The innovation in plastics can contribute to lowering environmental impacts and

developing the circular economy by better preserving food, improving the recyclability of

plasticsorreducingtheweightofmaterialsusedinvehicles—leadingtosignificantlyreduced

fuelconsumptionandCO2emissions.On-goingeco-innovationsinthisfieldalsoincludemore

integratedpackagingconceptsthataimtominimisetheuseofunnecessaryplasticsorplastics

ofenvironmentalconcernandinthiswaysupportthepreventionofplasticswaste.Concepts

liketheHolismarketinAustriaalsoofferconsumersthepossibilitytopurchaseonlytheexact

amountoffoodthattheywantinsteadofbeinglimitedtospecificpackagingsizes.

Goodpractice10Holismarket-zerowastefoodpackaging,Austria

Holismarket

©holis-market.at

Holis is derived from “holistic” and is an innovative concept for a new generation of food

retailmarkets,combiningaradicalzero-waste foodpackagingphilosophywith initiatives to

raisepublicawarenessandinformationwithregardtodietchange.AllproductsintheHolis

marketaresoldwithoutpackaging.

Holismarketreceivedthe2015AustrianNationalCleanTechnologyAwardinthecategoryof

start-upsfocusingonresourceefficiency.

Source:www.holis-market.at

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3.2.2 Bio-basedproducts

Bio-basedproductsmadeoutofrenewablebiologicalresources(suchaswood,cropsorfibres)

will have to play a crucial role in a circular economy. Bio-based materials can present

advantageslinkedtotheirrenewabilityandbiodegradability;suchelementsofabio-economy

provide alternatives to fossil-based products and energy, e.g. in the fields of construction,

furniture, paper, food, textile, chemicals as well as energy uses like biofuels (European

Commission2015).Thedrivetoshiftthematerialcompositionofconsumablesfromtechnical

towardsbiologicalnutrientsandtohavethosecascadethroughdifferentapplicationsbefore

extracting valuable feedstock and finally re-introducing their nutrients into the biosphere,

roundsoutthecoreprinciplesofarestorativecirculareconomy(EllenMacArthurFoundation

2014,p.23).

At the same time, the objective of replacing non-renewablewith renewable resourcesmay

increasecompetitionforlandinacirculareconomyandtherebyincreasepressuresonnatural

capital. Bio-basedmaterials competewith production of both food and biomass for energy

generation, as well as with land use for other purposes (including e.g. conservation of

biodiversity). Ingeneral,biomass isbestused inacascade inwhichenergygeneration is the

last step rather than the first. But even if biomass is primarily used for durable products,

environmental impacts are not straightforward. A key example is wood as a construction

material. The benefits of this renewable resource should be offset against the biodiversity

impactsof increasedwoodharvest,withcurrentharvestingrates inEuropealreadyreaching

65 % of the annual increment and imports on the rise in many European countries, in

particular to meet renewable energy targets. Analogous to the debate on bio-energy, the

potential for uptake of bio-based materials should be critically analysed in view of overall

biomassproductionandecosystemresilience(EEA2015).

Nevertheless,theEuropeanCommissionhashighlightedthateco-innovationsinthebio-based

sector have already shown their potential for innovation in new materials, chemicals and

processes,whichcanbeanintegralpartofthecirculareconomy.Researchersareworkingto

developnovelapplicationsandprocessesthatcouldpotentiallygenerateahigheraddedvalue

than existing uses, such as biorefining, insect breeding, the production of C5 and C6 sugars,

solidstatefermentation,andmoreefficientbiogasproductionprocesses(Basteinetal.2013).

The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is an excellent example for infrastructures to test these

innovationsformarketreadinessandtoupscaletheir implementationandcontributionstoa

circulareconomy.

Goodpractice11BioBaseEuropePilotPlant

BioBaseEuropePilotPlant:SpeedingupbiobasedinnovationBioBaseEuropePilotPlant isan independent, state-of-the-art facility thatoperates froma

laboratoryleveltoamulti-levelscale.Itisaserviceproviderforprocess development, scale-up and custommanufacturing ofbio-basedproductsandprocesses.BioBaseEuropePilotPlantenables the conversionofbiomassintobiochemical,biomaterials,biofuelsandotherbio-products.

Itsexpertisecoversthewholevaluechainfrombiomasstorefinedproducts.One example of the different consortium-based projects initiated in 2015 is CARBOSURF(2015-2018):Theprojectaimstodevelopnewbiobasedprocessesaswellasproductsandsolvesbottlenecksinthefermentativeproductionofbiobasedbiosurfactantsandspecialtycarbohydrates.

Source:www.bbeu.org/pilotplant

29

3.2.3 Foodwaste

The European Commission has identified food waste as an increasing concern in Europe.

Acrosstheglobe,nearly30%offoodiswastedthroughouttheagrifoodsupplychain.Around

100milliontonsoffoodiswastedannuallyintheEU(estimatefor2012).Modellingsuggests—

ifnothingisdone—foodwastecouldrisetoover120milliontonsby2020.Thefoodresources

beinglostandwastedinEuropewouldbeenoughtofeedallthehungrypeopleintheworld

twotimesover. InSeptember2015,aspartofthe2030SustainableDevelopmentGoals, the

United Nations General Assembly adopted a target of halving per capita foodwaste at the

retailandconsumer level,andreducing food lossesalongproductionandsupplychains.The

EUanditsMemberStatesarecommittedtomeetingthistarget.

Togetherwithshiftingtomoresustainablediets,reducingfoodwasteboth inandoutofthe

homeisthemostsignificantdemand-sidemeasureforreducingthecarbonimpactofthefood

system. But also supply-side eco-innovationswill be able to contribute to the prevention of

food becoming waste: It will require to design and develop technological innovations to

improve valorisationof foodwaste, e.g. from foodprocessing, and ICT-basedplatforms and

tools tosupportnewandexistingsolutions toreduce foodwaste6.TheResQClub inFinland

can be considered as one of the most promising eco-innovations in this specific area of a

circulareconomy.

Goodpractice12ResQClub-rescuequalityfood

ResQClubResQClub is a start-upwith amission tohelppeople

rescuequalityfoodfromgoingtowaste.

Users receive notifications directly from local

restaurants (via the ResQ-App) that have food that is

about to go to waste. They can buy selected food

directlyintheappandpickitupatachosentime–withanaffordablepricetag.

ResQ is a great example of small-scale eco-innovation based on ICT, intuition and the

emergingenvironmentalconscienceamongthegeneralpublic.

Source:www.resq.club

3.2.4 Criticalrawmaterials

Anincreasingnumberofrawmaterialscanbeclassifiedas“critical”becausetheyarebothof

high economic importance for the EU and vulnerable to supply disruption. The European

Commissionhaspublishedalistofsuchcriticalrawmaterialsthatincludes,forexample,rare

earthelementsandotherpreciousmetals,butalsophosphorus.Thefollowingfigureillustrates

the specific challenge of so far disappointingly low recovery rates and missed economic

opportunities. The European Commission states that increasing the recovery of critical raw

materialsisoneofthechallengesthatmustbeaddressedinthemovetoacirculareconomy.

6http://eu-refresh.org/about-refresh#background

30

Figure3-2Recoveryratesandmaterialleakages

Source:http://www.criticalrawmaterialrecovery.eu/project-summary.

Keybarriersincludeinsufficientinformationexchangebetweenmanufacturersandrecyclersof

electronic products, the absence of recycling standards, and a lack of data for economic

operators on the potential for recycled critical raw materials. Against this background,

technicalandorganisationaleco-innovationswillhavetoplayacrucialroleinordertosecure

thesupplyofcriticalrawmaterials—thataretorelevantamountsusedforgreentechnologies

like fuel cells or photovoltaic panels. Projects like ReVolv aim to develop product-specific

technologiesthatwouldallowinthiscaseindiumfromLCDdisplays.

Goodpractice13ReVolv-recyclingofLCDvisualdisplays,

ReVolv:RecyclingofLCDVisualdisplaysThemajorityofrecyclersofLCDVisualDisplaysuseaslow

andlabour-intensivemanualdisassemblyprocess.The

difficultyofLCDdisassemblycombinedwiththehigh

costshasledtoasituationofstockpilingofLCDsat

recyclingfacilitiesacrossEurope.

AnEPA-fundedprojectanalysedLCDsinordertoidentify

traitswhichmaymaketreatmentlessofachallenge.The

project culminated in an automated technology

(Trumaster-ALRTM)forthesaferemovalofthehazardousmaterialsfoundinLCDs.Thisledto

the establishment of a start-up company, Votechnik, at the University of Limerick and a

follow-upEU-fundedprojectaimedatupscalingandcommercialisationofthetechnology.

Source:www.revolvproject.eu

VotechnikLCDRecyclingMachine

31

3.2.5 Constructionanddemolition

The final, and in volume terms most relevant waste stream stems from construction and

demolitionactivities:Itaccountsforapproximately25%-30%ofallwastegeneratedintheEU

andconsistsofnumerousmaterials, includingconcrete,bricks,gypsum,wood,glass,metals,

plastic,solvents,asbestosandexcavatedsoil.Manyofthematerialsarerecyclableorcanbe

reused,butreuseandrecyclingratesvarywidelyacrosstheEU.

The recycling of construction and demolitionwaste is encouraged by a EU-widemandatory

target,butchallengeson thegroundstillhave tobeaddressed ifwastemanagement in this

sector is to improve. For example, valuable materials are not always identified, collected

separately, or adequately recovered. Given the long lifetime of buildings, it is essential to

encouragedesignimprovementsthatwillreducetheirenvironmentalimpactsandincreasethe

durabilityandrecyclabilityof theircomponents.TheGOMOSsystem isanexcellentexample

for necessary eco-innovations that bridge the design phase with the end-of-life phase of

buildings.

Goodpractice14GOMOS-modularsystemsofreinforcedconcrete

GOMOSThe Gomos system results from a

collaborative R&D project between

architects and engineering companies

(18companies). It isamodular system

of reinforced concrete that simplifies

and speeds up the construction

process. It is scalable, in which each

module,or‘bud’(gomoinPortuguese),comes out of the factory completely

ready,includingallneededparts.Theassemblytakesplaceinafewdays,simplyaddingthese

modules.

Theconstructionisflexibleenoughtobereused,expandedordisassembledforrecycling,and

itsdesignandmaterialsallowforittobealowenergy-consumptionbuilding.

Source: www.inhabitat.com/new-gomos-system-allows-tiny-homes-in-portugal-to-be-built-

in-mere-daysandwww.farcimar.ptamuel

3.3 |BeyondtheEU:competitionandco-operation

Lookingatwasteasapotentialresourcealsoleadstothesituationthatmoreandmorewaste

streamsareincreasinglytradedascommoditiesonaglobalscale.Againstthisbackground,one

ofthekeychallengesforEuropeasacirculareconomywillbetodevelopbettercoordination

schemesofwastepoliciesthatsofararemainlydominatedbynationalperspectives.Especially

Chinacanbeseenasanexampleofhowstrategicandforward-lookingapproachescanleadto

eco-innovationsasaprerequisiteforincreasingmarketsharesandeconomicgrowth.

This canbe especially illustrated taking the exampleof plasticwaste: The annual volumeof

globally tradedwasteplastics in 2012was around15Mt. Plastic scrap flows fromWestern

countries with established collection systems mainly to China, which dominates the

internationalmarket, receiving around 56%wt. of global imports. Europe collectively is the

major exporter: The EuropeanUnion (EU 27) collectively exports almost half of the plastics

collected for recycling (3.4 Mt, worth of €1.7B), corresponding to 12% of the entire post-

www.p3.publico.pt

32

consumer plastic waste arising. Europe depends entirely on China to absorb its exports as

illustratedinthefigurebelow.

Figure3-3FinalfateofplasticwasteexportsofEU-27

Source:Velis2014.

Due to its size and rapid financial developmentChinahasbecomeadominantplayer in the

global recycling market for paper and metals, but particularly for plastics (Velis 2014).

Economicconsiderationshavebeenthekeydriverforthisdevelopment,especiallythescarcity

of plastic raw material has been a continuing problem in China and recycled plastics are

valuable sources to cover this need: The long term demand for waste plastics in China is

closely related to the gap between the supply and demand of primary plastics. The circular

economyisthusanecessityforChinathatdominatestheglobalplasticproductionwithmore

than40%ofallplasticproducedinChina.

Inthepast(andinmanyregionsstilltoday)plasticrecyclinginChinahasbeendominatedby

thousands of small manufacturers/re-processors using low-tech equipment and pollution

practices, often family-run, without any environmental protection controls. Following the

objectives of the Chinese government to become more independent from importing high

quality virgin plastics for its manufacturing industry, it has strategically invested inmodern

centralized manufacturing and reprocessing facilities: China’s Ministry of Environment

reportedlyestimatesthatuptoUS$2.6trillioncouldbeallocatedtoenvironmentalprotection

projects in the 13th Five Year Plan, up from EUR 689 billion in the previous five-year plan

(Chipman Koty 2016). These efforts could potentially benefit several recycling-related

industries that are already encouraged for investment according to the “Catalogue for the

Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries (2015)”, specifically mentioning the recycling of

plastics.

The following figure illustrates theoveralldynamicof thisdevelopment:Asiaandspecifically

Chinaalreadydominate theproductionofplastics andareeager toexpand their role in the

valuechainasthemainvalueaddedisstillconcentratedintheUSandEuropewhilemostof

the plastic leakage that causes marine littering with all its negative impacts on the

environment,healthandwellbeing is concentrated inAsia.As such, fromanenvironmental

pointofviewitseemsrationaltofocusinvestmentsinrecyclingtechnologiesinChina.

33

Figure3-4Distributionofplasticsheadquarters,productionandleakage

Source: EllenMacArthur Foundation,World Economic Forum, andMcKinsey Center for Business and

Environment2016,p.38.

On the other hand, this development might influence the future level of eco-innovations

especiallyinEuropeanSMEs.TheEUplasticsrecyclingmarketisdominatedbysmallSMEsthat

might lack the financial resources for necessary investments in high quality technologies;

especiallycomparedtothenowemergingstate-fundedcompaniesinChina.Alogicalpathway

for European companies could be to go beyond end-of-pipe technologies and to focus on

integrated circular concepts as for example illustratedby KTZCentre of Packing Innovations

andResearchinLithuania.

Goodpractice15KTUCentreofPackingInnovationsandResearch

KTUCentreofPackingInnovationsandResearchTheCentreofPackingInnovationsandResearchatKaunasUniversity

of Technology (KTU) offers services related to the life-cycle of

packaging: fromselectionofenvironmentally friendlyrawmaterials,

package design, preparation for press and press processes,

engineering of packing processes, tomanagement of safe packages

whichbecomewasteandrecyclingsolutions.Thecentrealsoconsults

businessesandpolicymakersontheseissues.

Source:www.ktu.edu/en/faculty-mechanical-engineering-and-

design/packaging-innovations-and-research-centre

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4 |Eco-innovationandcirculareconomyperformanceofcountries

As chapters 2 and 3 above argued, eco-innovation plays a central role in transforming the

traditional linear system of production and consumption into an economic system

characterised by circular flows of rawmaterials. A large number of business cases in all EU

MemberStates(MS)havealreadyprovedsuccessful inkeyareassuchasbio-basedproducts

andconstruction(seechapter3).

Thischapterexpandstheanalysisfromthecompanyandsectortothenationallevel.First,the

focusissetontheeco-innovationperformanceacrossEUcountries,featuringkeyresultsfrom

the latest versions of the EU and global Eco-Innovation Scoreboards (Eco-IS) (section 4.1).

Subsequently, the chapter assesses the circular economy performance of EUMS as well as

turnover and employment in key circular economy sectors (section 4.2). The chapter closes

withsomeconcludingremarks.

4.1 |EUEco-InnovationScoreboard

With regard to circular economy aspects, performance across the EU MS is very

heterogeneous.Countriesdifferwidelywithregardtotheshareofmaterialusebeingrecycled

aswell aswith regard tomany other aspects, such as employment and turnover in sectors

engagingincirculareconomyactivities,wastegenerationandresourceproductivity.Wenow

turn to theeco-innovationperformanceacross theEU, inorder to analyse,which countries

havehighversusloweco-innovationperformance.

InordertoevaluatethisspecificperformanceacrossEUcountries,acompositeindexhasbeen

developedbytheEco-InnovationObservatory:theEco-InnovationScoreboard(Eco-IS;seeBox

4-1 formoredetails).Regarding itsstructureandtheunderlyingcalculationprocedures, this

indexisorientedatotherscoreboardsinsimilarthematicfields,mostnotablytheInnovation

UnionScoreboard(EuropeanCommission2015b).

35

Box4-1ThestructureoftheEco-InnovationScoreboard

TheEco-InnovationScoreboard(Eco-IS) illustrateseco-innovationperformanceacrosstheEU

MemberStates.Thescoreboardaimsatcapturingthedifferentaspectsofeco-innovationby

applying16 indicatorsgrouped into five thematicareas.The full listof indicators included in

theEco-IScanbefoundinAnnex2.

(1)Eco-innovationinputscomprisinginvestments(financialorhumanresources),whichaimat

triggeringeco-innovationactivities,

(2) Eco-innovation activities, illustrating to what extent companies in a specific country are

activeineco-innovation,

(3) Eco-innovation outputs, quantifying the outputs of eco-innovation activities in terms of

patents,academicliteratureandmediacontributions,

(4) Resource efficiency outcomes, putting eco-innovation performance in the context of a

country’sresource(material,energy,water)efficiencyandGHGemissionintensity,

(5) Socio-economic outcomes, illustrating to what extent eco-innovation performance

generatespositiveoutcomesforsocialaspects(employment)andeconomicaspects(turnover,

exports).

TheEco-ISthusshowshowwellindividualMemberStatesperformindifferentdimensionsof

eco-innovation compared to the EU average and presents their strengths and weaknesses.

Detailsaboutthecalculationproceduresandthemetainformationonthesingleindicatorscan

befoundinthetechnicalnoteaccompanyingthescoreboard(Giljumetal.2016).

Figure 4-1 shows the results from the aggregated Eco-IS in its 2015 version. For illustrative

purposes,countrieshavebeenclusteredintothreegroups:

1. Eco-innovationleaders,scoringsignificantlyhigherthantheEUaverage;

2. Averageeco-innovationperformerswithscoresaroundtheEUaverage;and

3. Countries catching up in eco-innovation, with around 80% or less performance

comparedtotheEUaverage.

36

Figure4-1Eco-InnovationScoreboard2015

Inthe2015versionoftheEco-IS,DenmarkscoredbyfarhighestofallEUcountries,withan

aggregate score of 167. Denmarkwas followed by Finland (score of 140), Ireland (134) and

Germany (129). Also Sweden, Luxembourg and France have been grouped to the “eco-

innovationleading”countries.NineMemberStatesobtainedscoresaroundtheEUaverageof

100 andwere therefore addressed as “average eco-innovationperformers”. The aggregated

eco-innovation scores in this group range from 108 (Austria) to 96 (Slovenia). With the

exception of Greece, all countries found in the group of “countries catching up in eco-

innovation”werenewMemberStates.Aggregatedscoresinthiscountrygrouprangefrom82

inthecaseofRomaniato49inthecaseofBulgaria.

While this aggregated index provides an overview of the geographical structure of country

performancesacrosstheEU,itdoesnotallowidentifyingstrongorweakareasforthevarious

Member States. Therefore, Figure 4-2 illustrates the single scores of the five components.

Greencolourillustrateshigherscores,redcolourlowerscores.Toillustratethediversityacross

theEUcountries, theminimumandmaximumscores, theoverall score rangeaswell as the

standard deviation is illustrated for each of the five components, aswell as the aggregated

Eco-IS.

37

Figure4-2ScoresinthefivecomponentsoftheEco-InnovationScoreboard2015,bycountry

Theperformanceregardingeco-innovationinputswasgenerallyabovetheEUaverageforalltop-performing countries. Denmark and Ireland were outstanding cases, where the

performanceinthiscomponentofthescoreboardwasfarbeyondallothermemberstates.For

thesetwocountries,theindicatorof“greenearlystageinvestments,2012-2015”wasthemain

determiningfactor,whereDenmarkandIrelandhadexceptionallyhighnumbers.Inthecaseof

Denmark,investmentsofmorethan1,200US$percapitawerereportedbytheprimarydata

source(Cleantech).ForIreland,therespectivenumberwasmorethan900US$.Thiscompares

to theEUaverageof around90US$andvaluesas lowas4US$ forPortugal and2US$ for

Poland. Regarding “eco-innovation inputs”, countries at the lower end of the performance

spectrum all had scores far below the EU average. Due to the outstanding performance of

DenmarkandIreland,thiscomponent isalsotheonewithbyfarthehighestrangeofscores

(differenceof354pointsbetweenthehighestandthelowestscore)andthehigheststandard

deviationacrossthesetofresults.

In the second component of eco-innovation activities, the overall top-performing country

Denmarkhad a remarkably low value (scoreof 71). This is a result of the fact that data for

Denmarkweremissing in Eurostat’s Community Innovation Survey (CIS) and thuswereonly

available for one of the three indicators in this component. Consequently, the overall score

wasdeterminedbytheindicatorof“ISO14001registeredorganisations”,wereDenmarkhada

comparably low performance. Less than 900 companies in Denmark are currently certified

following the ISO 14001 standards. The Czech Republic leads the score list for the second

38

scoreboardcomponent,withhighscoresintheCIS-basedindicatorsofinnovationactivitiesin

companiesaimingatareductionofmaterialaswellasenergyinputperunitoutput,aswellas

regardingISO14001certifications.Portugal,Germany,SwedenandFinlandfollowed.Allthese

countrieshada relativelyhigh shareof companies indicating tobeactive in eco-innovation.

Forexample, inGermanyin2008,morethan37%ofallcompanies includedinEurostat’sCIS

indicatedthattheyhadimplementedinnovationsthatledtoareductionofenergyinputsper

unit of output. In Portugal, this share was 24%, in Sweden 15%. In the group of countries

catchingupineco-innovation,RomaniaandEstoniaperformedremarkablywell,mainlydueto

ahighshareofcompanieswith ISO14001certifications.Withanoverall rangeof144points

between the minimum and maximum scores, EU countries showed a more homogeneous

performancecomparedtotheeco-innovationinputs.

High performance regarding eco-innovation outputs was also found in the group of eco-innovation leaders. With a component score of 205, Luxembourg led the ranking, mainly

determinedbyaveryhighperformanceregardingeco-innovationrelatedpublications(almost

50 publications per onemillion inhabitants) and eco-innovation relatedmedia coverage (on

average, each electronic media source published one story on eco-innovation in 2015).

Ireland’slowscoreof65standsoutinthegroupoftop-performingcountries,whichisdueto

low performances regarding eco-innovation related patents (only 5 patents per onemillion

inhabitants)aswellasalowperformanceregardingmediacoverage.Ontheothersideofthe

spectrum,Cyprusinthegroupofcatchingupcountrieshadacomparativelyhighperformance,

mainlydeterminedbytheeco-innovationpublicationrecord.

Inthecomponentofresourceefficiencyoutcomes, scoresacrossallEUcountriesweremost

similar,rangingfromascoreof36inthecaseofBulgariauptoascoreof136forLuxembourg

(standarddeviationof22.7).Thisrelatestoafactalreadyaddressed inevaluationsofearlier

versions of the scoreboard, i.e. that top-performing eco-innovation countries in general are

characterised by comparatively high values of per capitamaterial, energy andwater use as

wellashighGHGemissions.Although levelsofGDParesignificantlyhighercomparedto the

third group of countries catching up in eco-innovation, the high absolute environmental

pressures translate in only modest advancements in resource productivity. For example,

Finland,amongtheeco-innovationleaders,hasaremarkablylowscoreof77.Thisresultsfrom

itshighmaterialandenergyconsumptionlevels,causedbythecomparativelyhighimportance

ofprimaryindustries(suchaswoodandpaperindustries).

Performanceisverymixedacrossthethreecountrygroupswithregardtothefifthcomponent

ofsocio-economicoutcomes.Bothhighandlowperformingcountriesarefoundineachofthe

groups. For example,with scoresof 126 and120, respectively,Hungary andRomaniahad a

betterperformancethanmanyoftheeco-innovationleaders.Inbothcountries,employment

in eco-industries as a share of total employmentwas one of the highest in the EU. On the

otherhand,IrelandandLuxembourgreceivedscoressignificantlybelowtheEUaverage.While

Irelandhadaparticularlylowperformanceregardingexportsofproductsfromeco-industries,

Luxembourghadalowshareofeco-industrieswithregardtobothemploymentandturnover.

39

Box4-2BeyondEUborders:theGlobalEco-InnovationScoreboard

Chapter 3 above highlighted the importance of looking beyond European borders when

evaluatingcurrenttrendsinthetransitiontowardsacirculareconomy.Astheexampleofthe

rapid transformation of the Chinese recycling sectors illustrated, key players in otherworld

regionshaveincreasingimpactalsoonEuropeanindustries.

In order to put European eco-innovation performance in an international context, the Eco-

InnovationObservatorystartedtodevelopaGlobalEco-InnovationScoreboard(GlobalEco-IS)

in2013.TheGlobalEco-ISisstructuredinthesamefivethematiccomponentsastheEUEco-IS

(see Box 4-1 above) and consists of 14 indicators. In the 2015 version of theGlobal Eco-IS,

mostof the indicatorshavetheirmostrecentdataavailable for theyears2012to2014(see

Annex 2 for the full list of indicators). The Global Eco-IS covers 126 countries with the

minimumcriterionthatdataareavailableatleastfor50%oftheindicators.However,114of

these126haddatacoverageabove75%.

Figure 4-3 illustrates the aggregated result for the Global Eco-IS in the form of a map.

Countries with dark colour have high eco-innovation performance, while lighter colours

illustrate lower performance. As in the EU Eco-IS, the average performance across all 126

countrieswassetatascoreof100.

Figure4-3:OverallscorefromtheGlobalEco-InnovationScoreboard,2015

Figure4-3illustratesthattheoverallrangeoftheindexscoresismuchlargerintheGlobalEco-

IScomparedtotheEUEco-IS,rangingfromanindexscoreofalmost400forsomeEuropean

countries down to a score of around 20 for some developing countries, such as Nepal,

MozambiqueorGuyana. Thiswider range is a result of the significantly higher variability of

dataacrosscountriesforeachoftheindicatorsintheGlobalEco-IS.

Thegroupofthetop-20performersisdominatedbyEuropeancountries,with13EUcountries

plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland being among the global eco-innovation leaders. Only

Singapore (rank5),Australia (rank16) andCanada (rank20) are also foundamong the top-

performingcountries.OthermajoreconomiccompetitorsoftheEUhavelowerranks,among

themJapan(rank23),theUnitedStates(rank25),SouthKorea(30),China(52),SouthAfrica

(54),Brazil(60),Russia(75),Argentina(93)andIndia(115).

40

Figure4-4illustratestheperformanceprofilesofselectedEUcountries,otherindustrialisedcountries

andtheBRICScountries,indicatingthescoresofeachcomponentintheGlobalEco-IS.

Figure4-4:ScoresbycomponentinselectedcountriesoftheGlobalEco-IS

In a comparative assessmentwith themain competitors, the performance of EU countrieswith

regardtoeco-innovationinputsrevealsmixedresults.Somecountries,notablytheUSandCanada,

have higher scores in this component, mainly due to significantly larger amounts of green

investmentspercapita,whiletheR&Dexpendituresonenvironmentalandenergytopicsareequal

or below the EU level. Scores for BRICS countries are much lower, mainly due to lower green

investmentefforts.

Compared to the selected EU countries, other industrialised countries also partly have a better

performance regarding eco-innovation activities. For example, Japan scores particularly high

regarding the share of companies engaged in eco-industry, but also regarding the number of

companies with ISO 14001 certifications. In contrast, the US performs very low regarding both

indicatorsinthiscomponent.

ItcanbeseenfromFigure4-4that–apartfromPoland–theselectedmajorEUcountrieshavea

comparatively high performance in the area ofeco-innovation outputs. Comparedwith Japan or

theUSA,Europeancountriesdeliveracomparableamountofeco-innovationrelatedpatentsper

capita,however,producealargernumberofscientificoutputsrelatedtoeco-innovationandhave

alsoahighermediapresenceofeco-innovationtopics.

Also resource efficiency outcomes are a component of the Global Eco-IS where EU countries

generallyreceivehigherscorescomparedbothtootherindustrialisedandtheBRICScountries.EU

countries perform comparatively betterwith regard to all four indicators in this component, i.e.

material,waterandenergyproductivityaswellasgreenhousegasemission intensity.OnlyJapan

hasaperformancecomparabletothatofEUcountries.

ThegroupofBRICScountries scorecomparativelybest in the fifthcomponentofsocio-economicoutcomes.Mostnotably,SouthAfricaperformsbetterthanmanyindustrialisedcountriesregarding

the revenues generatedwitheco-innovationand circular economy-related companyactivities. In

addition,employmentinthesecompaniesiscomparativelyhigh.AlsotheperformanceofAustralia

andSouthKorearesultsinhighscoresforthesetwoindicators.

41

4.2 |CirculareconomyperformanceacrosstheEU

Underacirculareconomy,materialsfromproductsattheendoftheirlifecyclearerecovered

through dismantling and recycling and consequently re-injected into the beginning of the

product lifecycle, therebyreducingenvironmental impactsandproductioncosts.Recycling is

therefore a necessary precondition for a circular economy – resources and materials are

recycled, returned back to the economy and used again. However, to maximise the

effectiveness of recycling and the economic potential of secondary raw materials, eco-

innovationiskey.Eco-innovationallowsforthepossibilitytotransformwasteintoavaluable

resource through the development of new technologies, processes, services and business

models. SMEs, including a qualified workforce working in eco-industry sectors related to

recycling,repair,andreusearethereforeanecessarycontributiontothecirculareconomyand

actasvectorsforboostingtherecyclingandreusemarket.

InordertoassesscirculareconomyperformanceacrosstheEU,itisimportanttoapplyasetof

reliable indicators. Data from Eurostat, the Resource Efficiency Scoreboard and the Raw

MaterialsScoreboardallcontainrelevantindicatorsandanalysis,whichareusefulfortracking

progress. For the purposes of this exercise,we have selected onemain indicator related to

recycling (Total waste recycled/Domestic Material Consumption (DMC)) to provide some

insight on MS performance in terms of the circularity of their economies. Following the

analysisofthecircularityperformance,weprovideacomparativeassessmentofEUcountries

withregardtoemploymentandturnoverinkeycirculareconomysectors.

4.2.1 ThecircularityperformanceofEUMS

Thefollowingfigureshowstherelationofthetotalamountsofrecycledwastetotheindicator

DomesticMaterialConsumption(DMC)perMSforallEU-28countriesandtheEU-28average.

DMCmeasuresthetotalamountofmaterialsusedbyaneconomy.Itisdefinedasthequantity

of raw materials extracted from the domestic territory, plus all physical imports minus all

physical exports.7 In order to refine the results to the extent possible, DMC data extracted

fromEurostatwasfurtherdisaggregatedtoexcludematerialsthatmaybeinvolvedinactivities

suchasenergyproductionand recovery inorder toavoid“double-counting” thequantityof

DMC that is recycled. DMC includes allmaterial typeswith the exception ofmainly energy-

relatedones.8Estimationsofrecycledquantitiesincludealltypesofrecoveryexceptforenergy

recovery and back filling. The ranking of MS in Figure 4-5 is based on the share of DMC

recycledin2012.

7Seehttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Material_flow_indicators

8 The sectors exempted from the DMC include: Biomass, Fossil energy materials/carriers, Coal and other solid energy

materials/carriers, Lignite (brown coal), Hard coal,Oil shale and tar sands, Peat, Liquid and gaseous energymaterials/carriers,

Crudeoil,condensateandnaturalgasliquids,Naturalgas,Fuelsbunkered,Fuelforland,waterorairtransport,Productsmainly

from fossil energyproducts,Other products,Waste for final treatment anddisposal, StageofManufacturing – Finished, semi-

finishedandrawproducts.

42

Figure4-3ShareofDMCrecycledin2012perMS(in%)

Source:owncalculationbasedondatafromEurostat.

Figure 4-5 indicates that the highest performers in 2012 were Luxembourg (35.9%), the

Netherlands(25%)andFrance(11.2%),while Ireland(0.6%),Croatia (0.5%)andLatvia (0.3%)

rankedlowest.TheEUaveragewas7.2%.

Results fromthe figureabove indicatehighvariation in the recycledquantityofDMCacross

theMS.Severalpossiblereasonscanexplainthis.Firstly,MSdonotalwaysreporttheirdatain

aharmonisedmanner.Forexample,MScanhavedifferentinterpretationsonthetypeofdata

to report (e.g. definitions on different waste streams, distinguishing the waste treatment

techniquesthatcanbedefinedasrecovery,theparametersofdatareporting,etc.).Eurostat

pointsoutthatoneimportantfactorthatcaninfluencethehighvarietybetweencountriesin

relation to the figures reported forwaste treatmentmaybe the ‘other treatment’ category,

which iscalculatedas thedifferencebetweenthesumof theamountsofwaste treatedand

the amounts of waste generated. This difference arises in countries that have to estimate

wastegenerationinareasnotcoveredbyamunicipalwastecollectionschemeandthusreport

morewaste generated than treated. In addition, the ‘other treatment’ category reflects the

effects of import and export, weight losses, double-counting of secondary waste (e.g.

landfillingandrecyclingofresiduesfromincineration),differencesduetotimelags,temporary

storage and, increasingly, theuseof pre-treatment, such asmechanical biological treatment

(MBT).”9

In order to put the results from Figure 4-5 into a larger context, Figure 4-6 shows DMC in

tonnespercapitaforthetopandbottomthreeEUMSplustheEU-28average.Finland(64.1

tonnes per capita), Sweden (46.5) and Ireland (42.2) showed the highest DMC per capita

valuesofallEU-28countries.Luxembourgfollowedcloselybehindwith31.8DMCtonnesper

9http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Municipal_waste_statistics#Database

43

capita.TheNetherlands(13.3),Greece(13)andtheUK(12.3)hadthelowestDMCtonnesper

capitaoutoftheEU-28.

Figure4-4DMCpercapitaoftopandbottomthreeMSandEU-28average,2012

Source:Eurostat.

Consideringbothoftheaboveindicators,weclearlyseethattheNetherlandshadthesecond

highest DMC recycling rate (25%), coupled with a low DMC consumption value

(13.3tonnes/capita).ThisisalsothecasefortheUKwhichranked4thfortheamountofDMC

recycled(10.8%)andalowDMCvalue(12.3tonnes/percapita).TheinverseistrueforIreland,

whichhadaDMCrecycledrateofonly0.6%,whilerankingthird intermsDMCconsumption

(42.2tonnes/capita). Sweden followed a similar patternwith a high DMC tonnes/per capita

valueand relatively lowDMCrecycling rate (3.5%).These results indicate that for someMS,

theDMCpercapitaiscorrelatedwiththeDMCrecycledrate:lowDMCpercapita=highDMC

recycledrate.

However,comparedtothefindingsabove,resultsforLuxembourgandtosomeextentFinland

andGreecestandout.LuxembourghadthehighestDMCrecycledrateat35.9%outoftheEU-

28aswellasa relativelyhighDMCpercapita rate (31.8 tonnes).This is incontrast toother

highDMC recycledperformers– theNetherlandsand theUKwhohad lowDMCper capita.

Results for Finland also follow a similar logic with the highest DMC value (64.1 tonnes/per

capita)andanaboveEU-average recycling rateat8.3%.Greece,on theotherhandnotonly

hadarelativelylowDMCrecycledrateat3.6%butalsoaverylowDMCpercapitavalueat13

tonnes.

AnalysisonhowDMCiscalculatedcanprovidesomeadditional insights intotheresults.The

scope of DMC is limited to the amount of materials directly used by an economy (raw

materials extracted from the domestic territory plus all physical imports minus all physical

exports). It does not, however, include thematerials indirectly consumed through imported

productsandmaterials indirectlyrequiredforexportproduction.Therefore,DMCdatacould

be underestimating the amount of raw materials consumed in MS with material-intensive

industries and overestimate raw material consumption in MS with less material-intensive

industries that export heavily, e.g. which may be the case for Luxembourg, as it is

characterisedbymoreservices-intensiveindustries.

4.2.2 Turnoverandemploymentincirculareconomysectors

Indicators related to revenues and employment generated in eco-industries provide further

insightonMSperformanceinareassuchasrecycling,repairandreuse,whicharefundamental

sectorsforacirculareconomy.

44

Data on eco-industry activity in the EU was extracted from the Orbis database10, a

comprehensivedatabasecoveringaround80millioncompaniesinEurope.Theextracteddata

is based on 1,260,000 records from the Orbis database, which correspond to 24 selected

sectorsinwhichcompaniesareactiveintheareasofeco-industryandcirculareconomy,e.g.

activities related to recycling, reuse and repair.11 After formatting and refining the data, it

comprisedabout290,000companyrecords.

Resultsofthedataextractionindicatethatin2014,theUK(146,247),Germany(123,632)and

France(71,803)hadthehighestnumberofpeopleemployedintherecycling,repairandreuse

sectorsintermsofabsolutevalues.Luxembourg(553)andSlovenia(1,596)andEstonia(2,832)

had the lowest number of employees in these sectors. These results correspond to earlier

findings forMS such as Luxembourg,which is characterised by services-intensive industries,

thereforelowemploymentinrecycling,repairandreusesectorsisnotsurprisingifweassume

that the majority of the country’s industries are services-related, rather than material-

intensive.

The following figure below provides another angle of analysis concerning the employment

data.Thedatashowsthenumberofemployeesinselectedrecycling,repairandreusesectors

per1000inhabitants.

Figure 4-5 Number of people employed in selected recycling, repair and reuse sectors, per

1000inhabitants,2014

Source:Orbisdatabase.

10Seehttp://www.bvdinfo.com/en-gb/our-products/company-information/international-products/orbis

11The24selectedsectorsare:Recyclingdrycleaningfluids;TireRetreading;MotorVehicleParts(Used)MerchantWholesalers;

RecyclableMaterialMerchantWholesalers;UsedMerchandiseStores;PassengerCarRental;PassengerCarLeasing;Truck,UtilityTrailer,andRV(RecreationalVehicle)RentalandLeasing;ConsumerElectronicsandAppliancesRental;FormalWearandCostumeRental; Video Tape and Disc Rental; Recreational Goods Rental; All Other Consumer Goods Rental; General Rental Centers;CommercialAir,Rail,andWaterTransportationEquipmentRentalandLeasing;Construction,Mining,andForestryMachineryandEquipmentRentalandLeasing;OfficeMachineryandEquipmentRentalandLeasing;OtherCommercialandIndustrialMachineryandEquipmentRentalandLeasing;MaterialsRecoveryFacilities;GeneralAutomotiveRepair;AutomotiveExhaustSystemRepair;AutomotiveTransmissionRepair;OtherAutomotiveMechanicalandElectricalRepairandmaintenance;AutomotiveBody,Paint,andInteriorRepairandMaintenance.

45

Basedonthisformula,Latvia,FinlandandSwedenhadthehighestproportionofemployeesin

theselectedeco-industrysectorscomparedtotheirpopulations.TheUKcamein4thforthe

highestproportion(numberofeco-industryjobs/1000inhabitants).

Thefollowingfigureprovidesresultsonanadditionalindicatorcomparingtheselectedsectors’

combinedoperatingturnoverfor2014withthenumberofemployees.

Figure 4-6 Operating turnover per number of people employed in selected recycling, repair

andreusesectors,2014

Source:Orbisdatabase.

Findings show that Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands had the highest operating

turnoverpernumberofemployeesin2014.Akeyobservationbasedonthesefindingsisthat

MS such as Ireland and especially Luxembourg have significant revenue generated in these

sectors compared to the relatively low number of employees. This could be explained by

comparatively higher costs for the services provided in these MS or other factors such as

highersalaries.

Additionalanalysesbasedonotherkeycirculareconomy indicators, suchaswaste intensity,

resource productivity, as well as specific policy measures such as Extended Producer

Responsibility(EPR)schemesanddepositschemescanbefoundinAnnex1tothisreport.

4.3 Concludingremarks

Theobjectiveof the analyseson circular economyandeco-innovationacross theEUwas to

identifypatternsofhighversuslowperformanceacrosstheEUandtospecifyareasofstrong

versusweakperformanceineachoftheEUMS.

Theanalysisprovidedapreliminaryoutlookonprogresstowardscirculareconomyacrossthe

EU. However, it did not provide a detailed picture of the current situation in each country,

whichwouldrequiremorein-depthanalysistakingintoaccountalargersetofindicatorsand

factors. For example, to investigate the degree of circularity, focus was set on the DMC

indicator, which only accounts formaterial directly consumed and not indirectly consumed

throughimportedproducts.Theuseofotherindicatorsthatalsoreflectmaterialsembodiedin

46

trade, such as Raw Material Consumption (RMC), could provide an important additional

perspective. Other relevant indicators to help measure circular economy progress include

greeninvestments,recyclingratesofspecificwastestreams,e.g.packagingwasteanddataon

landfillrates.

Further,boththeanalysisofthecirculareconomyaswellastheeco-innovationperformance

focusedonthe latestavailableyearonly. Itwouldbe important toalso investigate trends in

progressmadeoveraperiodofseveralyears,inordertoobtainamorecomprehensivepicture

ofcurrentdevelopmenttrends.Thiswouldallowidentifyingsignificanteventsthatoccurredin

specificyearsthataffectedobservedtrends,suchastheimpactoftheeconomiccrisisorthe

implementationofcertainpoliciesandinitiatives.

Reliableandrelevantdataisessentialinordertomonitorprogresstowardsacirculareconomy

andtoanalysetheroleofeco-innovationinthisprocess.ThisallowsMSandpolicymakersto

identifyareasof improvementaswellashighperformingcountries,whocouldparticipate in

knowledgeexchangeonbestpracticesandguidance. IntherecentECCommunicationonan

EU action plan for the circular economy (European Commission, 2015a), the Commissions

statesitsintentiontoworkcloselywiththeEuropeanEnvironmentAgency(EEA)andMember

Statestoproposeasimpleandeffectivemonitoringframeworkforthecirculareconomy.This

willbeaveryimportantinitiativetowardsmonitoringcirculareconomyprogress.Inaddition,it

is also important that circular economy indicators are also more closely linked to eco-

innovation and eco-industries aswell as take into accountmaterial consumption related to

internationaltrade.

47

5 |Eco-Innovationpoliciestowardsacirculareconomy

5.1 |PolicytrendsintheEUandEUMemberStates

EveryEUmemberstatehasasetofpolicymeasuresthatcanberelatedtosomeelementsof

circular economy. They have been largely shaped under the waste and resource efficiency

policies, mainly focusing on aspects like addressing material resource losses via savings,

implementing waste and packaging recycling schemes. The recent European Environmental

Agency (EEA2016b)surveyof theMembersStatesshowedthatalsowastepreventionplans

andinitiativesontheuseofsecondaryrawmaterialsfeaturedprominently.

The circular economy concept is penetrating the policy discourse in the Members States,

largelyduetogivenpoliticalprioritytoitattheEUlevel inlastyearsandintroductionofthe

EuropeanActionPlanforCircularEconomyinDecember2015.TheCircularEconomyPackage,

doesnotenvisageworkonatargetforresourceproductivity,eitherfortheEUasablocorfor

Member States individually.12 However, nine EU Member States have adopted their own

targets for improving resource productivity (EEA2016b). These are in addition to thewaste

andenergytargetthataredefinedbytheEUlegislations.

EEAstudy:CircularEconomyrelatedconsiderationforpolicy

• Themajority of reported initiatives on the circular economy in European countries are

targetedatwasteandsecondaryrawmaterialsandattheabioticpartoftheeconomy.

Only two countries explicitly commented that the circular economy requires going

beyond increasingrecyclingratesandahigheruseofsecondaryrawmaterials. Itmight

therefore be worth reflecting on how policies on the transition to a circular economy

couldencourageinitiativesbeyondwasteandrecycling.

• Approaches to closing material loops in a circular economy are still developing, and

differentstakeholdersandcountriesinterpretthetopicdifferently.Itwouldbeusefulto

disseminate information on successful initiatives in which the circular economy helps

achieveotherkeypolicyobjectives,suchasthoserelatedtotheclimate,competitiveness

oremploymentagendas.

• For themajority of countries, compliancewith existing legislation is themaindriver of

any action taken at the national level. Targets seemparticularly effective in energising

policydevelopmentandguidingpolicyimplementation.

• Regional (subnational) initiatives can take advantage of physical proximity, reduced

distancesandastrong incentiveonthepartof localstakeholders.Whenexpandingthe

knowledge base for the circular economy, it is worth keeping an eye on emerging

regionalandlocalinitiatives.

Source:EEA2016b,Morefromless—materialresourceefficiencyinEurope2015overviewofpolicies,instrumentsandtargetsin32countries,http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/more-from-less/

Most countries incorporate material use and resource efficiency in a wide variety of other

strategies and policies, including on waste and energy, industrial development and reform

programmes,orinnationalenvironmentalstrategies.Itisthereforemostimportanttoclearly

link the new circular economy policy with the resource efficiency agenda (European

12 As EEA was invited to develop an indicator framework for the CE, there might be options for broader targets to be re-

introduced.

48

Commission2011a)andwiththeEco-InnovationActionPlan(EuropeanCommission2011b),in

order tostrengthen theactivitiesof theMemberStates thatarepartlyveryprogressiveand

innovative. The new policy should not produce any shift of focus thatwould competewith

resource efficiency and other eco-innovation policies but rather integrate the strategies for

policycoherenceandbettercoordination,unlockingofpotentialsanduseofsynergies(Bilsen

etal.2015).

EEA (2016b) survey of Member States found the economic considerations to be the most

important factors driving their efforts in resource efficiency policies inmost countries. This

indicatesthatmaterialuseandresourceefficiencyarenowcoreeconomicandstrategicissues,

andthatthelogicofdoingmorewithlesshasbeenwidelyembraced.Amongotherdriversfor

policieswerethedesiretoincreasecompetitivenessandtosecurethesupplyofrawmaterials

andenergy aswell as to reducedependenceon imports on theonehand, and theneed to

reduce pressures on the environment on the other. Other frequentlymentioned incentives

weretheneedtoimproveproductionefficiencyandtheperformanceoftheenergysector,the

creationofnewgreen-sector jobsor jobcreation ingeneral,andtheneedto improvewaste

managementandtheuseofsecondaryrawmaterials.

5.2 |Prioritisingcirculareconomyinnationalstrategies

Afewcountrieshavingadoptedorbeingclosetoadoptingadedicatedstrategyoractionplan

on the transition to a circular economy. These includeBelgiumand the roadmap “Vers une

Belgique Pionnière de l’Economie Circulaire” (“Towards a circular economy pioneering

Belgium”) developed by the federal government, theNetherlandswith the “FromWaste to

Resourceprogramme”,Irelandwithitsstrategy“TowardsaresourceefficientIreland”,Austria

with its “Resource efficiency action plan”, Finland with the National Material Efficiency

Programme—SustainableGrowththroughMaterialEfficiencyaswellastheupcomingin2016

national Action Plan towards circular economy, and Germany with its Resource Efficiency

Programme(ProgRess)anditsClosedCycleManagementAct.

Therearealsoexamplesofcirculareconomyfocusedstrategiesthathavebeenuptakenbythe

regional governments too. These include Scotlandwhich in early 2016 launched its Circular

economy strategy “Making things last”, the 2012 Flemish region's Sustainable Materials

Management Programme, including anAction Plan, theCatalonia’s Strategy to promote the

greenandcirculareconomy.Moredetailsofthesestrategiesarepresentedbelow.

A fewothercountries in theEEAsurvey reportedplans toadoptadedicatedstrategy in the

near future. In some countries, e.g. Sweden circular economy concept is referred to and

envisaged to be addressed in several national strategies in the frontier areas of waste

managementandwasteprevention.

However,therearecountriessuchasDenmark,wherethereisaperceivedreversalofpolicies

from investing in circular economy and sustainability. This is felt at the level of the funding

allocations for these priorities, as major cuts in funding have been introduced for the

environmentandclimate initiatives (amounting toDKK340m), including theFund forGreen

Business Development that was investing in resource efficient activities and industrial

symbiosis(seeEIO2015ReportforDenmark).

AustrianResourceEfficiencyActionPlan

While there is no dedicated Circular economy strategy in Austria, the national Resource

Efficiency Action Plan (REAP), published in 2012 identifies resource efficient production,publicprocurement,thecirculareconomyandawarenessraisingasitsmajorfieldsofaction

(EEA2016reportonAustria).

49

REAP’s2012–2013actionprogramme includesmeasureson the recyclingofmaterialswhich

are critical for the Austrian economy. Target areas for the specified measures are the

production industryasawhole,theconstruction industry,woodindustry, industriesthatuse

critical materials (mainly the high-value metal industry, car industry, renewable energy

industryandelectronicsindustry)andtherepair/reusesector.

CurrentfocusareasandmeasuresforfurtherimprovementsasdefinedbyREAPcomprise:

• a pilot project to investigate whichmaterials are of high criticality for the Austrian

economy,whichwillprovidethebasisfordevelopingacorrespondingstrategy;

• the ordinance on recycling of constructionmaterials (Recyclingbaustoffverordnung),

underpreparation,whichwillspecifyend-of-wastecriteriafordifferentmaterialsasa

preconditionfortheirrecycling;

• the ordinance on recycling wood (Recyclingholzverordnung BGBl. II Nr. 160/2012),

whichbecameeffectivein2012,definingqualitycriteriaforrecyclingwood.

Towardsacirculareconomypioneering,Belgium

In 2014, federal administrations prepared a roadmap proposal entitled “Vers une BelgiquePionnièrede l’EconomieCirculaire” (“TowardsacirculareconomypioneeringBelgium”)that

laidoutproposalsforactiontotransitiontowardsamorecirculareconomy(EIO2015report

onBelgium).Althoughnotformallyadopted,severalofthoseproposalsforactionarealready

being implemented. In addition, upon request of the Federal minister of Environment and

ministerofEconomy,anewroadmapversion isunderpreparation, taking intoconsideration

the circular economy package of the European Commission and expected to be released in

2016.

PotentialactionsunderconsiderationinBelgium:

• Inclusionofthefederalstrategyfortheefficientuseofresourcestheefficientuseof

resourcesintotheBelgiumNationalReformProgramme

• The creationof aplatformgathering industries, regional and federal administrations

andministries to share information and best practices, the identification of federal

legislativeandlegalbarriersinordertoremovethem• Several other actions also refer to the contribution of the establishment of a new

Europeanproductpolicy:studyonrecycledcontentinplasticsinproducts(theoutput

couldbethedevelopmentofarecycledcontentcertificationforproducerswhowould

liketomentionit),informationondismantlingandrepairofend-of-lifeproducts,etc.

On the regional level of Flanders, the “Plan C” should also be mentioned

(http://www.plan-c.eu/en) The federal level also supports some Belgian SMEs for

taking part in PEF/OEF (Product Environmental Footprint and Organisation

EnvironmentalFootprint)pilotprojectslaunchedin2014bytheEuropeanCommission

and aiming at developing environmental impacts calculation methodologies for

differentproductsandsectors

Finland:frommaterialefficiencytocirculareconomy

Since2013,FinlandhasbeenpursuingitsNationalMaterialEfficiencyProgramme,whichhasagoaltostimulatethedevelopmentoftheEuropeanUnion’s(EU)materialresourceefficiency

policyinstruments(EEA2016reportonFinland).Themainimplementationcomponentshave

been a research and innovation programme supporting developing new technologies and

business development areas, and fixed-termmaterial review project focusing on supporting

businessesinclarifyingtheflowofmaterialsandrecognisepossibilitiesforgreaterefficiency.

50

Furthermore, following the experience of the Netherlands “green deals” between the

Governmentandcompanieshasbeensuggestedasamethodofencouraginggreatermaterial

efficiency

Since early 2016, Finland has been facilitation a discussion that aim to create a circulareconomyActionplananda roadmap for Finland.13Agroupofhigh-rankingFinnishofficialsand industry representatives gathered in April and May to discuss how to make Finland a

circular economy forerunner by 2025. The Finnish Innovation Fund, Sitra is in charge of

developmentof the circulareconomy roadmap.Despiteall the interest in circulareconomy,

translatingtheinterestintoactualresultsisstillachallenge.Oneofthemostpressingissuesis

getting the Finnish SMEs on board the transition, considering that only 25% surveyed

companies saw business potential in circular economy. The roadmap combined with the

roundtable discussions will help tackle these issues and gather momentum. A draft of the

actionplan isalreadyavailableonSitra’swebsiteandstakeholders’consultation ison-going.

ThefinalversionoftheactionplanwillbereleasedinSeptember2016.

Germany’sResourceEfficiencyProgramme(ProgRess)

The circular economy concept increasingly seeps into other political programmes and

objectives inGermany. In2002, theFederalGovernmenthadalreadyembedded thegoal to

double the German resource productivity by 2020 compared to 1994 in its sustainable

developmentstrategy,interalia,throughtheclosingofmaterialcycles.TheGermanResourceEfficiencyProgramme (ProgRess I and II) nowaims todecisively contribute to thisend (EIO

2015reportonGermany).

The new programme 2016-2019 encompasses in total 116 different proposals for resource

efficiency measures. The waste and circular economy policy realm in the programme was

fundamentallyandstronglyexpandedandgainedtherankofafocusareabesidesrawmaterial

supply, production, consumption, and overarching instruments. Overall, the programme

providessomecrucialcontentsforthe(further)developmentofthecirculareconomy.

Theprogrammehasfourguidingprinciples(EEA2016b):

• joiningecologicalnecessitieswitheconomicopportunities,supportinginnovationand

socialresponsibility;

• viewingglobalresponsibilityasakeyfocusofGermannationalresourcepolicy;

• graduallymaking economic and production practices inGermany less dependent on

primaryresources,anddevelopingandexpandingclosed-cyclemanagement;

• securingsustainableresourceuseinthelongtermbyguidingsocietytowardsquality

growth.

ProgRess covers the entire value chain. It is about securing a sustainable supply of raw

materials, raising resource efficiency in production, making consumption more resource

efficient, enhancing resource-efficient closed-cycle management and using overarching

instruments. A total of 20 strategic approaches are identified together with implementing

measures.ProgRessattachesparticular importancetomarket incentives, information,expert

advice, education, research and innovation, and to strengthening voluntary measures and

initiatives taken by industry and society. Since movement towards resource efficiency

objectiveswill be reportedevery four years, theprogrammemarks thebeginningof a long-

termprocessinpolicymaking,scienceandsociety(EEA2016b).

13http://circulatenews.org/2016/06/finlands-action-plan-that-will-make-it-a-circular-economy-forerunner-by-2025/

51

‘TowardsaresourceefficientIreland’

InIreland,animportantpolicydevelopmentrelatedtothecirculareconomyistheadoptionof

a national strategy on resource efficiency in 2014 (EPA 2014). The strategy ‘Towards aresource efficient Ireland’ incorporates the fourth NationalWaste Prevention Programmeand sets out a framework for delivering the vision of ‘living better, using less’. The specific

objectivessetoutinclude:

• reducingwastefulconsumptionofmaterial,waterandenergyresourcesbychanging

behavioursinbusinesses,householdsandthepublicsector;

• enhancingcompetivenessandreducingbusinesscostsbydeliveringprogrammesthat

stimulateresourceefficiencyandthecirculareconomy;

• supportingsustainablegrowthandemploymentinthegreeneconomy–includingre-

useenterprises;

• minimising generation of hazardous wastes through efficient practices and use of

saferalternatives;

• managinghazardoussubstancesinproductsthroughefficientregulation;

• informing and influencing evidence-based decision-making by compiling and

publishinghigh-qualitydataonwaste.

Thestrategylists‘stimulatinginnovationforefficiency’amongtheprioritystrandsoftheEPA’s

resourceefficiencyandwastepreventionprogramme.Activities foreseenunder thisheading

include, among others: providing expertise and financial backing for existing successful

initiatives to support resource efficiency and waste prevention in businesses and in public

sector organisations (includingGreen Business; the Local Authority PreventionNetwork;andtheStopFoodWasteprogramme);

14developingprojectstoengageprioritysectors,buildingon

successfulactivitiessuchasGreenHealthcare;GreenHospitality;andSmartFarming;horizonscanningto identifynovelapproaches, includinga focusonefficientproductionprocessesto

prevent loss of raw materials in processing through the Green Enterprise programme;

formulatingnewbusinessmodelsandprotocols for socialenterprisesandSMEsundertaking

re-useoperations.Intermsofknowledge-building,thestrategyalsoforeseesthedevelopment

of indicators for waste prevention and resource efficiency and of metrics for re-use and

industrial symbiosis activities, as well as the establishment of a research fellowship dealing

withchallengesandsolutionsforachievingthebehaviourchangesassociatedwithsustainable

consumptionandproductionchoices.

Netherlands:Fromwastetoresource

AllpolicyeffortsintheNetherlandsrelatedtothecirculareconomyarecapturedintheaction

plan ‘From waste to resource’ (“Van Afval Naar Grondstof- VANG) (EIO 2016 Netherlandsreport).AlthoughVANGisagovernmentprogramme,itincludesactivitiesincooperationwith

enterprises from various industry sectors, as well as civilians and consumers, civil society,

financialandlegalserviceproviders,andscientists. TheVANG-programmehasnineoveralloperationalgoalsand,atpresent,54actionsintotal.It

is also flexible to introducing new goals if need emerges. Examples of actions undertaken

include: a Digital Atlas Natural Capital that shows the availability of ‘green zones’ in the

Netherlandsatahighlevelofdetailinordertobettermanagetheuseofthisnaturalcapital;

theprogrammeCreatingbusiness throughCircularDesign (CIRCO),with theaim todiminish

material losses by 50%, to 5milliontonnes, within 10 years; an educational programme –

14Seehttp://www.epa.ie/begreen/

52

PracticeResearchFromWastetoResource(PROCATCH)wasintroducedattechnicalcolleges

to integrate circular economy in the curricula of relevant educational courses andwork inpartnership with business students on specific technical solutions that fit into the circular

economy.

Furthermore, within the VANG-programme the Dutch National government has taken the

initiative to cooperate with societal leaders to accelerate the transition towards a circular

economy.Thus,theRACE-coalition(RealisationAccelerationCircularEconomy)wassetupto

coordinateaccelerationofthecirculareconomy.

In addition, in order to promote resource-independent entrepreneurship, companies are

supported in assessing their risks in relation to resources. This included research on the

resourcesituation for64possiblycriticalmaterials (andactivities to translate the findings to

usefulinformationforentrepreneurs),twoactivitiesonpromotingtheroleofharboursinthe

circular economy, and support for theDutch participation in the Knowledge and Innovation

Community(KIC)forRawMaterials.Itisthegovernment’sambitiontoworktowardsclosing

at least 10material chains. Green Deals, (which are non-financial support actions to create

conditions for innovation) and other agreements have already been concluded for the

material/productchainsofconcrete, food,packaging,phosphate,wood,textiles,plasticsand

bioticchains.

Financial and other market incentives have been developed to promote circular

entrepreneurship. Since 1 January 2015, the waste tax is extended fromwaste deposit to

waste incineration. Work is in progress on adapting other taxes for waste. CircularProcurementispromotedaswellascircularconsumptionpatterns.Variousexperimentshave

beensetup,includingreuseofICTequipmentthatisdiscardedbythegovernment.Aspecific

project isset-uptoremoveregulatorybarriers forthecirculareconomyand increasewasteseparationbyhouseholdtoatleast75%in2020(ormax.100kgofresidualhouseholdwaste

perinhabitantperyear).Finally,indicatorsandstatisticsaredevelopedtoincreaseinsightindevelopmentsthatmaypromotethecirculareconomy.

Denmark:circulareconomystrategies

TogetherwiththeDanishEPA(EnvironmentalAgency),theDanishBusinessAuthorityoperates

aTask Force for Resource Efficiency. The Task Forcewas set upwith aimof increasing the

competitivenessof theDanisheconomyandwaspartof thenationalgrowthstrategyof the

DanishGovernment,publishedbytheMinistryofFinancein2014.Itsaimistoreviewexisting

regulations affecting resource productivity and circular economy practices, identify barriers

andworktofindsolutions.Itwilluseexplorativestudiesoftheexperiencesanddailyworkof

companies to understand how barriers appear and affect the behaviour of the companies,

coveringtherulesthemselves,howtheyareadministeredandthehelpbusinessesreceiveto

navigate them. In 2015 the taskforce will identify barriers blocking potential increases in

resource efficiency. In its second and third years (2016–2017) the task force will work on

selectedbarrierstofindthemosteffectivewaytoovercomethem.

Italy:Bill“Collegatoambientale”/“EnvironmentalAnnex”15

The “Collegato Ambiente” (Environmental Annex) to the Financial-Stability Law can be

considered a strategic tool to support at national level the transition towards circular

economy.Itenteredintoforceon2ndFebruary2016underthenameofMeasuresforgreen

economyandresourceefficiency. Itcontainsseveralmeasures for improving thesustainable

15http://www.techitaly.eu/circular-economy-in-italy/

53

use of resources through bioenergy, green public procurement, environmental footprint,

sustainable consumption and production, market for recycled products, circular waste

management,soilprotectionandwatermanagement,naturalcapitalandecosystemservices

accountingsystem.

Concerning in particular themarket for recycled products, Italy is identifying incentives for

enterprises, local authorities and NGOs to support the purchase of products made with

secondary rawmaterials, but also specificmeasures to increasewaste prevention, separate

collectionandrecycling,bio-wastecomposting,take-backmechanismsforreuse.Inthefieldof

GPP (Green Public Procurement), the use of the “minimum environmental criteria” for

electronic devices, lighting, supply of paper, cleaning products, catering, sustainable

constructionmaterials has becomemandatory. Furthermore, on the basis of the successful

experience of the Italian Environmental Footprint Program launched in 2011, a national

voluntary scheme (so called Made Green in Italy) in line with EC Recommendation

2013/179/EU (PEF) will be set up through a national regulation to increase the

competitiveness of the Italian eco-products on national and international markets. EUR 35

million has been dedicated for an experimental program at national level for sustainable

mobility(e.g.car-pooling,bikesharing),home-schoolingandhome-working.

France:“Actontheenergytransitionforgreengrowth”.

InJuly2015,Franceadoptedits“Acttotheenergytransitionforgreengrowth”(Loirelativeà

latransitionénergétiquepourunecroissanceverte),whichsignificantlyincreasedtheFrance’s

commitments to sustainability andmade it a reference. Amongmany objectives, it sets the

nationalobjectivesandstrategytomovetowardsacirculareconomyandzerowaste.

ThemaindispositionsoftheActaimtopromotethecirculareconomythroughseveralaspects.

Notablytheyaimtoimplementdepositsonseveralpackaging,encouragefunctionaleconomy

practices, fight against planned obsolescence of manufactured products, foster re-use and

wastesubjecttopreparationforre-use,improvematerialrecovery,extendselectivecollection

ofwastetobio-wasteandimplementincentivetaxation,promoteindustrialecology.Theyalso

set quantitative targets for some specific sectors or waste categories and identify general

objectives.

Makingthingslast–ACirculareconomystrategyforScotland

Scotland'svisionofbecomingEurope'sfirstzerowasteeconomytookastepforwardinearly

2016 with the publication of a new circular economy strategy that promises to slash food

waste levels, nurture the country's remanufacturing sector, and promote eco-design

principles.

This strategy builds on the progress that has been made on the zero waste and resource

efficiencyagenda,butscopesoutambitionandactionintoamuchbroadersetofbusinessand

CircularEconomyObjectivesinNumbers- 10%reductioninmunicipalhouseholdandassimilatedwaste;

- Increasethequantityofwastethataresubjecttomaterialrecoveryby55%in2020and65%

by2025(inweight);

- Materialrecoveryof70%ofconstructionwaste;

- 30%reductioninlandfillingofnon-hazardousnon-inertwasteby2020(50%by2025);

- 50%reductionofthequantityofnon-recyclablemanufactureproductsby2020;

- 30%increasebetween2010and2030oftheratiobetweenGDPanditsinternal

consumptionofprimaryresources.

54

industry opportunities. The key elements of the Zero Waste Plan (2010) and Safeguarding

Scotland’s Resources (2013) were integrated into the new strategy (Scottish Government,

2016)

The strategy, identifies four main areas where circular economymodels can be embraced:food and drink and the wider bio-economy, remanufacturing, construction and the builtenvironment;andenergyinfrastructure.

ThestrategyalsoincludesanewScottishfoodwastereductiontarget,whichisthefirstofits

kindinEurope.Thistarget,tocutfoodwastebyathirdby2025,isexpectedtoputScotlandat

the front of global action to tackle food waste, achieve hundreds of million euro savings

annuallyandtoincreasecompetitivenessofthefocalfoodanddrinkssector.

Undertheplan,thegovernmentwillprovidefurthersupporttoaremanufacturingsectorthat

is alreadyworth £1.1bn a year to the Scottish economy and is tipped to grow by a further

£620mayearby2020, introduce initiatives toencouragemoreefficientuseof construction

materials, andexploit considerableopportunities in theenergy industry to reuseequipment

fromwindturbinesanddecommissionedoilandgasplatforms.

The strategy will promote a new approach to producer responsibility, through a single

frameworkforallproducttypesthatdriveschoicesforreuse,repairandremanufacture,while

morefullyexposingandaddressingthecostsofrecyclinganddisposal.Inadditiontoexisting

producer responsibility schemes forbatteries, electronicequipment, endof life vehiclesand

packaging,Scotlandwillalsoprioritiseschemesfortyres,furnitureandmattresses.

Thestrategyrecognisesthepotentialforpublicprocurementtosupportthedevelopmentofa

more circular economy building on the statutory guidance on the sustainable procurement

dutyundertheProcurementReform(Scotland)Act2014andtheextensivetrainingoncircular

economyprinciplesoftheprocurementprofessionals.

All inall,thestrategysetsthewell-definedambitions,priorityactionsinsuchareasaswasteprevention,design,reuse,repair,remanufacture,recycling,producerresponsibilityforreuseand recycling, recovering value from biological resources, energy recovery, landfill. It alsodefines as cope of action for communications and engagement of wide groups of actors,buildingskillsforacirculareconomy,andmeasuringprogress inachievingcirculareconomy

targetsandactivities(ScottishGoverment2016).

Catalonia:Shiftingfromwastemanagementtocirculareconomy

TheregionofCataloniaisatthevanguardintheshiftfrom

traditional waste management schemes towards a model

based on the principles of the circular economy (EIO 2015

report for Spain). The Strategy for Smart Specialization of

Catalonia(RIS3CAT)from2014guaranteesthepromotionof

circular economy through fourmain lines of action: a) the

integration of circular economy into seven leading sectors,

with specific initiatives driven by a private public steering

committeethatenablestheirefficientimplementation,b)to

support emerging activities related to circular economy, c) to develop opportunities arising

fromcross-cuttingenablingtechnologies,d)toboostaninnovationecosystemthatprioritises

eco-innovation16.

In2015 the region launcheda strategicplan to increase the region’seffortand improve the

consistencyof regional programmes in favourof a greener andmore circular economy. The

16https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/ce100/directory/catalonia-accio

55

strategic plan supports cross-sectorial integration of circular economy and coordination

between related regional programmes, such as the Catalan general waste and resource

management and prevention program 2013-2020, the Catalan Eco design strategy and the

Industrial Strategy for Catalonia. The plan defines key strategic axes, in particular the

generationofdemandand creationofnewmarkets, the improvementof access to funding,

thepromotionofR&D,supporttointernationalisationandpromotionofentrepreneurship.

TheCatalanEcodesignStrategyseekstopromotedesignofeco-productsandeco-servicesand

encourage sustainable production and consumption patterns, establish synergies among

stakeholders (companies, research organisations, designers, consultants, consumers, etc.),

establish the necessary organisations, and adapting to EU regulatory requirements17. It also

aims to advance green procurement for products and services with low ecological impact

across life cycle and develop initiatives that will increase the range of more sustainable

productsandservicesaswellasboostdemand.

CirculareconomypriorityareainSlovenia’sSmartSpecialisationStrategy

The circular economy is also one of the nine priorities of the Slovenia’s Smart Strategy

Specialisation. The first objective in this priority area is to connect stakeholders – business

entities, educational and research system, non-governmental organisations, the state and

individuals–intovaluechainsaccordingtotheprinciple“economyofclosedmaterialcycles”

todevelopnewbusinessmodels for the transition towardsacirculareconomy.Sloveniahas

relatively well-preserved natural resources, but better and more efficient preservation and

management of natural resources is needed. “Consequently, economic systems of linear

economieshave to transformtocircularonesbyeliminating theconceptofwaste,and thus

provideconditionsfor longcirculationperiodofproducts inuse,theircascadinguseandthe

provision of clean and unpolluted materials which can be reused. For establishing such a

systeminnovationatthelevelofbusinessmodelsandtheestablishmentofadequatesystems

of the so-called reverse logistics are essential.” The focus will be on technologies for

sustainable biomass transformation and new bio-based materials; technologies for use of

secondary and raw materials and reuse of waste; and production of energy based on

alternativeresources.Inthisregardthe2023objectivesareto(i)raisethematerialefficiency

index(of1.07 in2011to1.50 in2020)andto(ii)establishfivenewvaluechainswithclosed

materialcycles.

5.3 |Specificpolicymeasuresforcirculareconomy

Topromote initiatives of circular eco-innovations, initiate changes from routine practices to

the practices based on sharing, reusing, repairing, remanufacturing, as well as to address

barriers on a local level, the national and local government can deploy a range of policy

measures.Thesecanbe:

• Regulatory instruments including the regulations on recycling, producers

responsibilities, eco-design, mandatory targets, codes, standards, certification for

products

• Economic instruments, such as fiscal and financial incentives (taxes, fees), directfunding,demandpullinstruments(e.g.procurement)

• Research,developmentanddeployment supportmeasures, suchas grants forR&Dandpilotingactivities,R&Dinfrastructure,innovationvouchers,supportinginnovation

incubation,andR&Dpersonnel

17http://mediambient.gencat.cat/web/.content/home/actualitat/2015/docs/4_Presentacio_conferencia_ecodisseny.pdfand

http://afersexteriors.gencat.cat/en/detalls/noticia/20150612_estrategiaecodisseny

56

• Information,educationandnetworkingsupportmeasures,which focusonadvising,training,offeringdirectsupportinactivitiestoSMEs,customers,technologyadopters,

promotion of networking, providing information, and supporting public private

partnerships

• Voluntarymeasures, including performance labels and guarantees for products and

services,voluntaryagreementsandcommitments

Application of thesemeasures in the context of circular economy development inMember

states is not verywide.Although somenewpracticesonnational andmunicipal levelshave

beenemerging.Sectionsbelowprovideoverviewofsuchexamples.

5.3.1 |Regulatoryinstruments

RegulatorymeasuresatMSlevelaretoalargeextentdrivenbytheEU-legislation,whichsofar

hasbeenpushingMStoupgradetheirnationalframeworkstowardsbetterenvironmentaland

wastemanagement (including generalwaste legislation, end-of-waste,waste treatment and

recovery,legislationonspecifictypesofwastes,productsandactivities,wasteshipmentsetc.).

Further legislation that is common across MS is related to environmental management

standards (e.g. ISO 14001),aswellas totheEMASscheme.Austriahas, for instancehad its

own ecological certification scheme that has been similar to the EMAS one. A new

developmentisinEstonia,whereacertificationcentrewasestablishedtoprovidecertification

forgoodsthathavebeenmadeusingrecycledmaterials,forexample,compostproducedfrom

productionwaste(seegoodpracticeexamplebelow).

TherearefewexampleswheretheMemberStatesuseregulatory instrumentssystematically

topromote thecirculareconomyorwhere theyaregoingbeyond themeasuresneeded for

compliancewith EU legislation. Several piecesof the EU legislationprovide requirements to

use circular economy policy approaches in implementing environmental regulation. For

instance,theEnd-of-lifevehiclesDirective(2000/53/EC),theWEEEDirective2012/19/EUand

the Batteries Directive 2006/66/EC use Extended producers’ responsibility (EPR) as an

approach.

AnexampleisinSweden,wheretheadoptedlegislationonaEuropeanInsuranceSolutionSCC

made it mandatory to have a specific insurance for all electronic products on the Swedish

market thatcovers futurecollectionandrecyclingcosts.Restorationofnewwindturbines is

alsocoveredthroughthisscheme18.AFurtherexampleisdescribedbelowfromFrance,where

extended producer responsibility schemes have been running since 1992. A recent onewas

introducedforfurniturewasteinordertohelpfurniturereuseandrecycling.

However,astudybyZeroWasteEuropehighlightsthatcurrentEPRschemesarenotdesigned

for the circular economy and do not cover product waste, do not include incentives to re-

design systems to drive product waste prevention and re-use and have been ineffective in

driving eco-design19. TheGermany’sWaste Prevention Programme (2013) also confirms this

andproposes toenhanceknowledgeand investigatewhether “producer responsibility could

focusmorestronglyonwasteprevention,byrequiringproductstobedesignedinawaythat

minimisestheincidenceofwasteduringtheirmanufactureanduse”.20

18SeeEISPCC,2015:http://www.govsgocircular.com/cases/european-insurance-solution-pcc/

19 See Zero Waste Europe, 2015: Redesigning Producer Responsibility: A new EPR is needed for a circular economy,

https://www.zerowasteeurope.eu/downloads/redesigning-producer-responsibility-a-new-epr-is-needed-for-a-circular-economy/

20 German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, 2013: Waste Prevention Programme,

http://www.bmub.bund.de/fileadmin/Daten_BMU/Pools/Broschueren/abfallvermeidungsprogramm_en_bf.pdf

57

Goodpractice16ExtendedproducerresponsibilityforfurniturewasteinFrance

Thefurniturescheme isoneof themorerecent (2012)FrenchEPRschemes.Coveringboth

householdandprofessionalfurniturewaste,itisexpectedtogenerateoverEUR300milliona

year to help develop furniture reuse and recycling, and help create jobs and structure

industrial activities around furniturewastemanagement – leading to the creationofmany

new companies, including in relation to mattress and wood recycling, which were not

profitableenoughtogeneratesustainableactivitiespriortotheestablishmentofthescheme.

The scheme also strongly promotes furniture reuse, closely involving social economy

structuresinitsorganisationmodelandhavingagoalofdoublingreuseactivitiesattheend

ofthefirstapprovalperiod(2017).

Themainobjectivesare:

• reuseandrecyclingof45%ofhouseholdfurniturebyendof2015;

• reuseandrecyclingof75%ofprofessionalfurniturebyendof2015;

• recovery(includingreuse,recyclingandotherformsofrecovery)of80%offurniture

byendof2015

source:EEA,CountryprofileFRANCE2015 reviewofmaterial resourceefficiencypolicies in

Europe,http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/more-from-less

Goodpractice17Estoniancertificationcentreforqualitystandardsofrecyclablegoods

CertificationCentreforRecyclableGoods

Thecreationofthecentreisoneofthefirstinitiatives

inEstoniaclearlytargetedatimprovementsincircular

economy.Thecentre received itsoperatingpermit in

spring 2016, starting its activities soon after. The

centre will be providing certification for goods that

have been made using recycled materials, for

example,compostproducedfromproductionwaste.

The initiative aims to reassure consumers that the

goodsbought areof goodquality andmeet specific

standards.Thelong-termperspectiveofthecentreis

to become an autonomous conformity assessment

unit for different types of productsmade of recycledwaste, including fermentationwaste

frombiogasproduction,sewagesludgecompostandgoodsproducedfromconstructionand

demolitionwaste

Source:http://www.recycling.ee/

Amorehands-onapproachtotacklingregulatorychallengesforthecirculareconomyhasbeen

pioneeredbytheNetherlands(seegoodpracticeexampleinsection5.3.5),thoughthe“Green

Deals”approach.Thisinvolvesthegovernmentworkingtogetherwithbusinessesandbusiness

associations and offering non-financial support. A specific project is set-up to remove

regulatorybarriersforthecirculareconomyandincreasewasteseparationbyhouseholdtoat

least75%in2020(ormax.100kgofresidualhouseholdwasteperinhabitantperyear).

(Source:http://www.recycling.ee/)

58

Intermsofsettingambitioustargetsforthecirculareconomy,Spain’snewlypublishedWaste

Management Plan for 2016-22 can be a good example of using targets to shift the system

awayfromlandfillingandincineration,towardsmorecircularmodels.Inparticular,Spainisthe

firstcountrytosettargets fordifferentcategoriesofwastetobepreparedforre-use,which

can provide interesting learning experience for other Member States to follow (see good

practiceexamplebelow).

Regions have also played a role in promoting the circular economy through specific soft

regulatory instruments. The Italian region of Lazio promotes the development of industrial

symbiosis through a set of guidelines (the "APEAs Guidelines") for the development of

EcologicallyEquippedProductiveAreasinLazio.

Flanders also has a legal framework to ensure the quality of recycled aggregates –

“Eenheidsreglement” since 2011. To implement this regulation, there are two certification

institutionsthatbasecertificationproceduresonthiscommonregulation.

Goodpractice18Spain’snewWasteManagementPlan2016-2022

Spain’snewlypublishedWasteManagementPlanfor2016-22(PlanEstatalMarcodeGestióndeResiduos(PEMAR)2016-2022)canbeagoodexampleforregulationsettingaroadmapand

strategic guidelines for substituting linear economic models by circular models, and re-

integratingwastematerialsintoproductioncycles.

Oneimportantinstrumentisthetargetsettingforwasterecyclingandre-use.Inparticular,the

planitsetsoveralltargetsof50%ofmunicipalwastetobepreparedforre-useorrecycled,or

which2%mustbepreparedforre-useincludingtextiles,WEEE,furnitureand“othersuitable

wastestreams”.Thisisconsideredthefirsttimethatsuchatargetcoverspreparationforre-

useofmanywastecategoriesinanationalwastemanagementplan.

Municipal waste authorities aremandated to work with social enterprises and other social

economy actors to implement the plan. According to RREUSE estimates, this can lead to

havingover200,000tonnesofgoodsre-enteringthesecond-handmarket.21

More information: EIO 2015 Country Report on Spain, and RREUSE

(http://www.rreuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2016-04-11-Expert-workshop-Reuse-Margarita-

Ruiz-1.pdf)

5.3.2 |EconomicInstruments

Environmental fiscal instruments and incentives, including charges and taxes for waste,

incineration, landfill, subsidiesandtax reliefs,orpayasyouthrowarecommonmeasures in

EUMemberStates,butmostlybelongtoalinearthinkingoftheeconomy.Ontheotherhand,

there are specific tax rebates, or premiums that aim to incentivise consumption of specific

ecological products. For instance, Belgium has tax cuts for passive houses, as well as “low

energy” and “zero energy” houses. The Brussels Capital Region also has an incineration tax

since2013.AGreenTaxReformintroducedinPortugalin2014includedthe€0.10levyonlight

plasticbags, the increaseof landfill taxes to€11per tonne in2020,carbontaxoneconomic

sectors outside the scope of the EU Emissions Trading System and several incentives for

electricvehiclesandLPG-andLNG-basedvehicles(seeEIO2015countryreportonPortugal).

InAustria,taxreductionsarebeinggrantedforsomeenvironmentalfriendlyproductssuchas

electricvehicles.Inthiscase,thecarpurchasetax(NOVA)isnotchargedforelectricvehicles,

21SeeRREUSE,2016:Governmentexpertssharebestpracticeonre-use,http://www.rreuse.org/government-experts-share-best-

practice-on-re-use/

59

resulting in an around 16% reduction of the overall price (see EIO 2015 country report on

Austria).

InFinland,environmentaltaxationisanimportantrevenue,covering2.9%ofGDP,abovethe

EUaverageof2.5% (EIO2015country reportonFinland).Thegoodpracticeexamplebelow

detailsthelargevarietyinFinland’senvironmentaltaxes,includingtherecentchangesthatare

introducedtothetaxsystemthatrefundtheminingindustryandthereductionincartaxation.

This also goes back to the core issues related to taxation policies, which are a politically

sensitive instrument. This is why environmental taxes require wide societal debates and

consensus.

Goodpractice19EnvironmentaltaxationinFinland

Environmentaltaxationisoneofthemoreimportantpartsoftherelatedpolicylandscape.In

2014, Finland’s revenue from environmental taxation, 2.9% of gross domestic product, was

above the EU average of 2.5%. The share of environmental taxes in tax revenues has also

graduallyincreased,whilethecompositionhaschanged:taxesoncarbondioxidefromheating,

powerplantsandmachineryaswellasthewastetaxhaveallbeengradually increased.Such

changesmayreflectmarginalimprovementsinincentivesforeco-innovationinthecountry.

Someenvironmentaltaxesarebeingreduced.Asanimportantexample,effectiveasof2017,

Finlandwillreintroducetaxrefundsfortheminingindustry.Whiletheannualvehicletaxhas

beenincreased,cartaxationiscurrentlybeingreduced.Accordingtosomeestimates,inorder

tomeetenvironmentaltargets,afurtherreviewofenvironmentallyharmfulsubsidiesmaybe

needed:thereducedratesonspecific industrialactivitiesandfuelsamountedto€3billionin

2014(EC,2016a).

FinlandalsoexperimentedwithatemporaryR&Dtaxreliefin2013–15,offeringanadditional

100% deduction for R&D personnel wages, set against corporate tax. The eligible R&Dwas

defined as basic, industrial and experimental research activities. According to the Research

Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA, 2016), the tax break did not achieve its goals,

especially since thecompanies thatbenefitted fromthepolicywereonaverageolder,more

profitableandlargerthanthosewhodidnotrelyonorbenefitfromit.

Moreinformation:EIO2015countryreportonFinland

Theprogrammesofferingdirect investmentor funding to resourceefficiency activities or to

infrastructure,etc.areverydiverseacrosstheMemberStates.Thereisarisingtrendofdirect

supportforSMEsdevelopingcirculareconomysolutions.

Demand-pull instruments, includinggreenpublicprocurement (GPP)arebeginningtospread

intheEU.ThereareonlyfiveEUcountrieswheretherearenoActionPlansforGPP(Estonia,

Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg and Romania) at the time ofwriting this report (June 2016).

There is EU-wide GPP resources available including GPP criteria for 21 product and service

groups; the European Commission Helpdesk for GPP offers direct support including regular

webinarsandinformation.However,inspiteoftheadoptionofguidelinesoractionplansfor

GPP, this practice is not widely common especially in countries from Central and Eastern

Europe(EIO2015countryreportonLithuania).

At the same time, it is interesting to note that there are countries where sustainable

procurement guidelines go beyond the common practice and also include circular economy

principles.Forexample,inAustria,in2016,afocalareaisbeingseton“circularprocurement”,

i.e.purchaseofproductswithahighdegreeofcircularityof the involvedrawmaterials (EIO

60

2015 country report on Austria).22 Circular Procurement is promoted as well as circular

consumption patterns in the Netherlands. Here, various experiments have been set up,

including reuse of ICT equipment that is discarded by the government (EIO 2015 country

reportonNetherlands).

Furthermore,countrieshavevarioussupportmeasures inplacethatfavourtheconsumption

of sustainable goods. For instance, Belgium has a wide array, including: subsidies for the

construction of a single family passive house in Wallonia amounting to € 6,500 for the

constructionofapassivesingle familyhome; theEcoPack–a loan tohouseholdswishing to

renovatingandimprovingenergyperformanceat0%interestrate;eco-vouchersareprovided

bytheemployersassupplement“green”bonustothesalaries,whichallowbuyingsustainable

products and services). Enterprise Flanders provided subsidies for sustainable site

management inbusinessparks, including for sustainable grouppurchases and infrastructure

neededtoreach‘CO2neutrality’.However,itisnotwidelyseenthatcountriesoffersubsidies

specificallytargetedatpurchasesoftechnologiesorproductsboughtonsecond-handmarkets

orforre-manufacturedorre-usedgoods.

Irelandhasbeenmakinguseofdirect fundingprogrammestosupportgreenbusinessesand

waste prevention. The Irish Green Enterprise programme has supported the formulation of

new business models and protocols for social enterprises involved in re-use operations,

offeringincentivesforcompaniestousecleanerproductionmethodsandprovideservicesin

anenvironmentallyfriendlierway23.

Some Central and Eastern European Member States are also prioritising the use of EU

StructuralFundssupporttoenterprisesdeveloping„greeneconomy“solutions.Forinstance,

the Romanian government is expected to announce a public support scheme to fund eco-

innovativeSMEsin2016.However,itisnotacommonpracticeamongthelatterstatestofund

circulareconomysolutionsdirectly.

Goodpractice20Tenderingandprocurementrules,Berlin,Germany

Withanannualvolumeofapprox.260billioneuros,ofwhichaboutEUR50billionrelateto

environmental futuremarkets, thepublic sector inGermanyhas largemarket potential. In

Berlinonly,themarketvolumeofthepublicsectorcoversaround4-5billionEURperyear.

Since 2013, public institutions and companies of the Federal State of Berlin are obliged to

defineecologicalrequirementsfordeliveryservices,constructionandotherservices,aswell

astotakeaccountoflife-cyclecostswithinthescopeoftheirprocurementactivities.Results

from an investigation of the environmental impacts of 15 products groups that have been

purchased under these specific conditions reveal a potential CO2eq reduction of 355,000

tonnes per annum. In addition, the environmentally sound public procurement led to a

reductionincostsofpublicbudgetsofEUR38millionperyear(minus3.8%).Althoughsome

productsareassociatedwithadditionalcosts,thesumofenvironmentallyfriendlypurchased

products are economically more advantageous than the procurement of conventional

productsovertheirlifetime.Theproductgroupswiththelargestpotentialforgreenhousegas

reduction are green energy, the renovation of buildings to passive house standard, the

recycling of industrialwaste, aswell as the renovation of the street lighting through high-

efficiencyLEDlights.

Source:http://www.oeko.de/oekodoc/2379/2015-541-de.pdf

22SeeAustrianSustainablePublicProcurementwebsite,http://www.nachhaltigebeschaffung.at

23Seehttp://www.epa.ie/researchandeducation/research/epafunding/greenenterprise/

61

5.3.3 |Research,developmentanddeploymentsupportmeasures

FundingforRDIinthecirculareconomyislinkedtotheeco-innovationsupportmeasures,but

alsoincludesmeasuressuchas:

• FundingforR&DinCErelatedthemes(e.g.directorcompetitivegrants)

• Pre-commercial/R&Dprocurementforproductsandserviceswithsustainabledesign

• ProvidingR&Dinfrastructure

• InnovationvouchersschemesforSMEonCErelatedinnovations

• SupporttoinnovationincubatorsfocusingonCErelatedareas

• SupportprogrammesandincentivesforR&Dpersonnel

There has been increasing use of such instruments for eco-innovation and development of

environmentaltechnologiesalongtheinnovationcycleinEU.EIO2015countryreportsprovide

a good overview of such instruments in EU. EU15 Member States have more mature RDI

policiesandhaveamoreadvancedpolicymixtargeting“green”andeco-innovationandhave

startedtointroducesupportforcirculareconomyRDIanddemonstration.CentralandEastern

European countries also started to converge to adopting traditional eco-innovation support

prioritiesintotheirsmartspecialisationstrategiesandintonationalorregionalstructuralfunds

operational programmes. The latter Member States are, however, overall not active in

adoptingcirculareconomysupportapproachesintoRDIpolicies.

• ThereareseveralexampleswheremostlytheEU15MemberStates’RDIpoliciestarget

specifically the circular economy. An example is Luxembourg, which introduced a

schemetosupportSMEsdevelopproductsaccording tocirculareconomyprinciples.

InFrance,ADEME–theAgencysupportingtheentrepreneurialenvironmentlaunched

acallforSMEprojectsdevelopingtechnologicalororganisationalinnovationsdealing

with circular economy challenges (see good practice examples below). France also

funds Eco-tech competitiveness clusters network, where member clusters support

private-public innovationpartnerships and aim todevelop common solutions across

sectors, i.e. on eco-efficient cities, environmental impacts, sustainable mining,

secondary raw materials and the circular economy, eco-efficient industry and

metrology(seeEIO2015countryreportonFrance).

• IntheNetherlands,theVANGprogramme(‘Fromwastetoresource’)includesfunding

onthethemeofProductdesignforcircularitytheaimistodiminishmateriallossesby

50%, to5million tonnes,within10years. In thepastperiodaprogramme,Creating

business throughCircularDesign (CIRCO),was launched and inputwas provided for

theEuropeanpolicyprocesstointegrateEUproductlegislationwiththeEUEco-design

Directive(seeEIO2015countryreportonNetherlands).

In Austria, the biggest programme supporting eco-innovation is the Programme on

TechnologiesforSustainableDevelopment,managedbytheMinistryofTransport,Innovation

andTechnology.Itaimsatsupportingtheeconomywithfuture-orientedinnovations,initiates

and supports trendsetting research and development projects and the implementation of

exemplarypilotprojects.Itconsistsofthefoursub-programmes“BuildingofTomorrow”,“City

oftheFuture”,“FactoryofTomorrow”,“EnergysystemsofTomorrow”.Asignificantshareof

Austria’s passive house and ecological construction knowledge stems from this programme

(EIO2015countryreportonAustria).

InFinland,GreenNet isacleantechbusinessnetworkthatbringstogethertheexpertiseand

resources of Finnish cleantech companies, scientific and educational institutions and public

authorities.Thethematicfocusincleantechisurbancleantech,comprising:smartandenergy

efficient construction and living, and circular economy in the urban environment. Several

62

business parks and clusters accommodate companies focusing on eco-innovations and the

circulareconomy,includingtheLahtiRegionDevelopmentLADECLtd(previouslyLahtiScience

andBusinessPark)andSmartChemistryParkinTurku.

In Belgium – the region of Brussels, there are several examples of measure, which offer

innovativebusinesses the initial fundingorcoaching todevelopprojects incirculareconomy

areas(seegoodpracticeexamplebelow).

Goodpractice21Brusselsregionmixofsupportmeasuresforresourceefficiencyandcirculareconomy

TheregionofBrusselsofBelgiumhas implementedanumberofmeasurestoboosttheeco-

innovation capabilities of businesses. They include the BSE Academy, renamed

Greenlab.brussels in2016,a6-monthprogrammeaimedatacceleratingthedevelopmentof

innovative start-ups dealing with circular economy projects, renewable energy or

environmental protection24; ResilieNtWeb, a strategic pilot project helping SMEs become

moreresilienttoeconomic,socialandenvironmentalchallenges25;or Irisphere,an industrial

ecology pilot project on two economic activities and parks encouraging synergies (water,

equipment,wastecollection,etc.)betweenbusinesses26.

Access for SMEs to research centres and expertise is also facilitated through the “Boost”innovation checks. A business incubator – Greenbizz.brussels27 – has also been set up todevelopthegreeneconomyandenvironmentalentrepreneurship.

Theregionalsosupportsresearchandinnovationwiththe“co-create”programmethatbringstogethercitizens,researchersandbusinessestoencourageco-creationinlivinglabs.For2014-

2015,thefocuswasonthedevelopmentofsustainablefoodsystems.28

TheregionofBrusselsCapital,togetherwiththeCityofBrusselsandtheFEDEREuropeanfund

for regional development also fund theMad Brussels eco-design platform that promotes

innovationinthedesignandfashionsector29.

24Forfurtherinformation,pleasevisit:http://www.greentechbrussels.be/en/component/k2/item/227/227

25ResilieNtWEBwebsite:http://resilientweb.eu/en/

26Irispherewebsite:http://irisphere.be/fr#synergy

27Greenbizzwebsite:http://www.greenbizz.be/en/

28SeeInnoviris,http://www.innoviris.be/fr/documents/synthese-projets-co-create-2015.pdf

29MadBrusselswebsite:http://mad.brussels/en

63

Goodpractice22France:Callforprojects–circulareconomy,recyclingandwastetransformation

As part of the “Investments for the Future” Programme, ADEME

launched in September 2015 a call for projects dedicated to circular

economy, recycling and waste transformation. The objective is to

support technology and/or organisational innovations, as well as

innovative industrial solutions related to these issues, especially in

relation to the following topics: eco-design, re-use, recycling,

transformation of recycled materials, recycling centres, recycling of

plasticandcomposites,andwastefromconstructionwork.

This call for projects targets projects with a budget of at least €2million, from individual

companiesorfromconsortia(withacompanyasaleader).

Support fromADEME comes as grants and repayable advances – in case of success of the

project.

Source: https://appelsaprojets.ademe.fr/aap/DECHETS2015-95?ref=DECHETS2015-95 ;

http://www.ademe.fr/recherche-et-innovation

Goodpractice23TheScottishInstituteforRemanufacture(SIR)

SIRwas launchedon21st January2015byRichardLochhead,

Scotland’sEnvironmentSecretary.HostedattheUniversityof

Strathclyde, it is one of only four centres of excellence forremanufacturing in the world. Its assigned objectives arethreefold:

1. Increase innovation through stimulating and co-

funding collaborative projects bridging the gap between

academicexpertsandtheindustry;

2. Increaseactivityandengagementfromtheacademiccommunitytobuildcapacity;

3. Establish the Scottish remanufacturing community and provide networkingopportunities

According to SIR, remanufacture “returns a used product to at least as new performance

specification and gives the resultant product awarranty that is at least equal to that of a

newlymanufacturedequivalent.”

Remanufacturing projects nurtured by SIR entail economic, social and environmentalbenefitsfortheindustryandScotland:Reductioninrawmaterials,waste,energyusageand

carbon footprint, improveddesign forproducts, closercustomer relationshipand increased

creationofskilledjobs.

Source:http://www.scot-reman.ac.uk/

64

Goodpractice24Fit4CircularityLuxembourg

5.3.4 |Information,capacitybuildingandnetworkingsupportmeasures

SoftmeasurestargetingadvisoryservicesandinformationprovisionforCEandeco-innovation

offered to companies, customers, or technology adopters have become more widespread.

Thereisalsoanincreasingtrendtowardsestablishingnetworkingandcollaborationplatforms

to strengthen the ties in a crosscutting field such as the circular economy. See for instance

boxes below for good practice examples of specific networking initiatives and platforms in

BelgiumandGermany,and foradvisory services tobusinesseswanting todevelop industrial

symbiosis,circulareconomyproductsorreducewasteinBelgiumandIreland.

Supportmeasuresforprofessionaltrainingorskillsenhancementare,ontheotherhand,less

mentionedasinitiativesintheEIOcountryreports.IntheNetherlands,thereareeffortsmade

toalsointegratethecirculareconomyinthecurriculaofrelevanteducationalcourses.Thisis

thepurposeofthePracticeResearchfromWastetoResource(PROCATCH)programme,which

hasbeensetupsothattechnicalcollegescanworkinpartnershipwithbusinessstudentson

specific technical solutions that fit into the circular economy. Results are used in the

development of training programmes. Furthermore, within this activity the RACE-coalition

(RealisationAccelerationCircularEconomy, seebelowgoodpracticeexample)was setup to

coordinateaccelerationofthecirculareconomy.

An innovativemodelofapublicprivatepartnership ispromotedunderan instrumentcalled

“Green deals”,which has been pioneered by theNetherlands, and now being picked up by

other member states, as well as by the international organisation30. Green Deals is an

accessiblewayforcompanies,otherstakeholderorganisations,localandregionalgovernment

andinterestgroupstoworkwithCentralGovernmentongreengrowthandsocialissues.The

aim is to remove barriers in order to help sustainable initiatives get off the ground and to

accelerate this process where possible. Central Government plays a key role in this area.

Initiativesoftenstart fromthebottomup, in response tosocietaldynamics.TheGreenDeal

approach has gained international interest from the governments of France, the United

Kingdom,Germany,Belgium,SwedenandFinland,fromtheEuropeanCommission,fromOECD

andfromUNEP.31

30http://www.greendeals.nl/english/

31http://www.greendeals.nl/english/going-international/

Fit4Circularity is a new support scheme created in 2015 by

LuxInnovationandtargetingSMEs,followingtheFit4Digitaland

Fit4Innovationinitiatives.

Fit4Circularity isdedicatedtohelpingSMEs thatarewilling to

make a more substantial commitment to sustainable

development practices and to implement a circular economy

approach.Theobjectivesaretolimittheuseofrawmaterials,maximisetheuseofrenewable

sources, develop innovative products and services for sustainable growth, reduce energy

consumptionandincreaserecyclability.

LuxInnovation,theInnovationAgencyofLuxembourg,alongwithexternalconsultants,willhelp

SMEsapplyfortheschemeandimplementtheirprojects.ExpectedresultsoftheFit4Circularity

scheme are improved competitiveness and increased revenues for SMEs. Different kinds of

projects can be eligible for support: technological innovation, organisational innovation and

investment.

Source:http://en.luxinnovation.lu/News/Archives/Renforcer-sa-compétitivité-grâce-à-l’économie-circulaire

65

Goodpractice25CollaborationandnetworkingplatformsforthecirculareconomyinBelgium

Brussels Waste Network, founded by a public-private partnership and BECI (Chamber of

Commerce andUnionof Brussels Enterprises) to reduce the amount ofwaste generatedby

businessesandenhancewastesorting32

Wallonia: The NEXT-platform- Circular Economy platform: It is a programme designed to

promoteprojectsofindustrialsymbiosisandcirculareconomyinordertominimizethelossof

resources (energy,materials, andwater). Theoverall objectiveof theprogram is to support

the sustainable competitiveness of companies through actions involving awareness raising,

specialistsupport,detectionofpotentialsynergiesandmutualisation.

The Short Cycles Reference Centre33was launched in 2013. It is the contact point for anyaccompanyingstructureregarding“shortcycles”. Ithasestablishedacatalogueofdirectand

indirect actors in Wallonia, connects and strengthens actors and fosters the emergence of

innovativesustainable“shortcycles”projects.Thisobjectiveistohighlightlocalproducersandtobringthemintorelationshipwithconsumerstohelpthemdevelop.TheCircularEconomyReferenceCentrewascreatedin2014andfocusesonraisingWalloon

businesses’ awareness about the challenges and opportunities of the circular economy and

resource management, coordinates field players on this topic and manages the circular

economyfundfortheWalloonSMEstohelpprojectsmaterialize.

Goodpractice26RACECoalitionNetherlands

Within the VANG-programme, the Dutch National government has taken the initiative to

cooperatewith societal leaders to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy. In

the RACE-coalition (Realisation Acceleration Circular Economy), the cooperative company

CircleEconomy(withmembersincludingcompanies,researchersandpublicbodies,ClickNL,

DeGroeneZaak,HetGroeneBrein andMVONederland) is supportedbyRVONetherlands

and theMinistries of Economic Affairs, and Infrastructure and Environment, to realise the

advantagesofacirculareconomy.

RACEgoalsinclude:

1 Defineandstimulatecirculardesign

2 Stimulatehigh-qualityreuseofproducts

3 Analysethebarrierstothecirculareconomy

4 Createaportfolioofcircularprojectsthatwillserveasexamples

5 Raisepublicawarenessaboutthecirculareconomy

6 Involveyoungpeopleinthetransitiontoacirculareconomy.

RACE is a young initiative but it has already created a set of guiding principles for circular

designandstartedtotestthem.These,accordingtoRACE,“challengedesignerstofirstmake

a statement about the need they are going to fulfil with their design, rather than directly

focusingonaphysicalproduct.”

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap/about-eco-innovation/policies-

matters/netherlands/netherlands-pulls-ahead-in-circular-economy-race_en

More:http://www.circle-economy.com/projects/regional/netherland-circular-hotspot/

32BrusselsWasteNetworkwebsite:http://www.brusselswastenetwork.eu/

33 Agence de stimulation économique (Economic stimulation agency): http://as-e.be/outil/le-centre-de-reference-des-circuits-

courts

66

Goodpractice27RETech-anexportnetworkfortheGermanrecyclingandwastemanagementindustry

The German Recycling

Technologies and Waste

Management Partnership e.V.

was established in 2011 as a

result of the Recycling and

EfficiencyTechnologyinitiativeoftheFederalMinistryoftheEnvironment.RETechactivities

are focused on the promotion of applying sustainable environmental technology of the

Germanrecyclingabroad.RETechisthecontactforallpublicandprivateorganisationsand/or

institutions domestic and abroad, taking an interest in theGerman resource and efficiency

technology. RETech offers a neutral platform for companies interested in innovative

technologies for recycling and waste management issues and their export. Within this

platformmembersmayexchangeinformationontechnicalissuessuchasthefinancingorthe

hedging of foreign business. Due to this network the RETech platform provides a unique

opportunityforsupportingtheestablishmentofawell-orderedwastemanagementindustry,

improving the requirements significantly for theexportofGermanwastemanagementand

recyclingtechnology.

Source:http://www.retech-germany.net

Goodpractice28GreenBusinessProgrammeIreland

GreenBusinessThe Green Business programme is an EPA-

funded initiative that provides free resource

efficiency audits and recommendations to

SMEs. By the end of 2014, 180 companies participated in the programme, with identified

savingstotalling€6.7million.Anumberofparticipatingcompanieshavealreadyactedupon

Green Business advice and have achieved significant cost savings and reduced their

environmentalimpacts.

GreenBusinessalsoholdsregionalworkshopstointroducetheconceptofwasteprevention

anddiscussresourceefficiency issueswithbusinesses.Anumberofguidancedocuments in

theareaofresourceefficiencyandenvironmentalmanagementhavealsobeendeveloped.

Source:GreenBusinesswebsitehttp://greenbusiness.ie/

EPA (2015) National Waste Prevention Programme Annual report 2014,

https://www.epa.ie/waste/nwpp/reports/NWPP%202014%20Report.pdf

Dr. Armin Vogel Executive Chairman armin.vogel@retech-germany.net

Karin Opphard Managing Director karin.opphard@retech-germany.net

German Recycling Technologies and Waste Management Partnership e.V.

Kalckreuthstr. 4 | 10777 Berlin Germany

Phone: +49 30 707601 96 Fax: +49 30 707601 97 info@retech-germany.net

www.retech-germany.net Printed on 100% recycled paper.

Advisory Board

Contact

German RETech Partnership is an independent network of companies and institutions in the German waste manage-ment and recycling sector. Its purpose is to enable world-wide technology transfer and to offer access to German expertise.

You are welcome to contact RETech if you are interested in cooperation with the German waste management and recy-cling industry. We will assist you in finding the right partner for your solution Made in Germany .

BMUB Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conser-vation, Building and Nuclear Safety

BMWi Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

GIZ Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH

GTAI Germany Trade and Invest - Gesellschaft für Außen-wirtschaft und Standortmarketing mbH (Foreign Trade and Inward Investment Agency)

KfW Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau

UBA Federal Environment Agency

SRU German Advisory Council on the Environment

BDE Bundesverband der Deutschen Entsorgungs-, Wasser- und Rohstoffwirtschaft e.V. (Federation of the German Waste, Water and Raw Materials Management Indus-try Industrial and Empolyers Association)

bvse Bundesverband Sekundärrohstoffe und Entsorgung e.V. (German Association for Secondary Raw Materi-als and Disposal)

VAK Verband der Arbeitsgeräte- und Kommunalfahrzeug-Industrie e.V. (Municipal Vehicles and Equipment In-dustry Association)

VDMA Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V. (German Engineering Federation)

VKU Verband kommunaler Unternehmen e. V. (Association of Local Public Utilities in Germany)

www.RETech-Germany.net

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67

Goodpractice29Netherlands:GreenDealsforCircularEconomy

GreenDeals (introduced in2011)arenon-financial supportactions tocreateconditions for

innovation and new sustainable entrepreneurial activities. In the period 2011-2014, 176

GreenDealswere closed in theNetherlands, involving a total of 1,090participants.Within

the Waste to Resource programme Green Deals are now used to systematically address

majorissuesforabroadrangeofpolicies,withtheCirculareconomybeingthekey.

As part of the Dutch EU Presidency, a first international Green Deal was closed inMarch

2016, in the fieldofcirculareconomy,withparticipation fromtheNetherlands,France, the

UK, Flanders, businesses and environmental NGOs. With the North Sea Resources

Roundabout (NSRR) the parties involved want to streamline the regulation for recovering

resourcesfromwasteandfacilitateresponsibleinternationaltradeinwastestreamssuchas

aluminiumandlead.

ThisyeartheNetherlandsMinistryofInfrastructureandtheEnvironmentandtheMinistryof

Economic Affairs will explore the possible contributions of transnational or international

GreenDealstothetransitiontowardsacirculareconomy.

Sources: I&M, 2015; https://www.europadecentraal.nl/eerste-internationale-green-deal-

gesloten-ter-bevordering-van-circulaire-economie/

More:http://www.greendeals.nl/english/

5.3.5 |Voluntarymeasures

The voluntary policy measures can also be used to encourage innovations for circular

economy. Such measures can include performance labels for products and services,

guaranteesforproductdurabilityandrepair,aswellasnegotiatedagreementsbetweenpublic

andprivatesector,withthepublicorunilateralvoluntarycommitmentsbyprivatesector.

International voluntary environmental instruments arewell established throughoutMember

states.These includetheEUEco-ManagementandAuditScheme(EMAS)andEnvironmental

Management System under ISO 14001 (EMS); environmental labelling of products,

implementedthroughtheEuropeanandnationaleco-labellingschemes, suchasEUEcolabel

and Environmentally Friendly Products. Many member states have introduced national

schemes for communication of ecological footprint of the products and services that are

voluntary.Forexample,anationalvoluntaryschemeinItaly,definedas“madegreeninItaly”

hasbeen introduced in2015withtheoverallobjectivetosustainthecompetitivenessofthe

Italian economy in light of the increasing demand for green products (EIO 2015 report on

Italy). TheGermany’sWastePreventionProgramme (2013) recommends to extend theBlue

Angel eco-label scheme to further selectedproduct groups inorder to recognise andaward

waste-minimisingmanufacturingtechniques34

Overtheyearsthevoluntaryenvironmentalmanagementcertificationtoolshaveshowntobe

supportive in summoning eco-efficiency and environmental management practices in

industries,aswellasinpublicorganisationandservice-orientedcompanies.Theapplicationof

varioustypeofsustainableproductlabellinghasgrownmassivelyintheEUandglobally,which

helpconsumertomakemoreinformedchoicesintheconsumption.However,thecontribution

oftheseinstrumentstocirculareconomypracticesandbusinessmodelisratherlimitedtothe

material efficiency optimisation, better waste management practices and recycling, while

reuse, remanufacturing, repair and circulardesign still need to find theirway for systematic

34 German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, 2013: Waste Prevention Programme,

http://www.bmub.bund.de/fileadmin/Daten_BMU/Pools/Broschueren/abfallvermeidungsprogramm_en_bf.pdf

68

integrationintotheseinstruments.AflagshipexampleisdemonstratedinFrance.Its2015Act

onenergytransitionforgreengrowth is launchingexperimentationwithvoluntarydisplayof

the lifespanofseveralconsumerproductswithpossiblerepairscriteria includingreparability

(meaninganetworkofservicestations),possibilitytodisassemble,availabilityofsparepartsat

agivencostandwithagivendurationaftertheendofproductionline.

Apromisingtrendhasbeenemerging inapplicationofanothersoft instrument—avoluntary

agreementbetween industriesandpublicauthoritieson sustainablepractices.Theobserved

examplesshowthatsuchagreementsareconsideredusefulforpromotingcirculareconomies

on local and national levels. Examples from selectedMembers States are presented below.

Interestingly,suchvoluntaryagreementscanhaveratherdiversfocus:sometargetingspecific

productsandclosingtheloopinthelifecycleofproducts(seeexampleofbeveragepackaging

in Austria below), others havemore horizontal outreach addressing, e.g. reuse and recycle

practices across industries (see below the case from Italy and Ireland). Discussed in section

5.3.4“Greendeals”instrumentcanalsobeseenasavoluntarynegotiatedagreementbetween

governmentandbusinesscompanies,wherecompaniesmustmakesubstantialcontributionto

environmental goals via, for example, circular economy practices, in return to the

government’sassuranceofremovingspecific,oftenregulatorybarrier.Allinall,thevoluntary

agreementsarenotyetawidelydiffusedpractice,howeverthereisclearlyagrowinginterest

tothem.

Goodpractice30VoluntaryagreementsforconsumptionofreusedandrecycledproductsinItaly

Voluntary agreements and incentives to support the consumption of productsmade from

waste (postconsumptionmaterials), recoveredmaterials,andpartsofdismantledproducts

havebeenestablished(Article23ofBill28December2015–221).TheMinistryofEconomic

development can set agreementswith public bodies, economic associations, private firms,

etc.andprovidefinancialincentivestosupportbusinessactivitiesthatproducegoodsmade

from reused and recycledmaterials and dismantledmaterials. Incentives are provided to

commercial activities that sell recycled products defined under these rules:UNI EN 13242:

2013, UNI EN 12620:2013, and UNI 10667-13:2013. Funding resources for the (fiscal)

incentivesaredefined,asaretherecyclingstandardsunderwhichthefundingisprovided.

Source:EIO2015reportonItaly

69

Goodpractice31Sustainabilityagendaforbeveragepackaging-Austria

Already more than 1,000 Austrian companies are involved in the initiative “Sustainability

agendaforbeveragepackaging”,whichwasinitiatedby

the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. With this

voluntary agreement between beverage producers, all

major food and beverage retailers and recycling

companiesinAustria,thetargetwasdefinedtoreduce

greenhouse gas emissions by at least 10% in absolute

terms between 2008 and 2017. The strategies to

achieve this overarching target are on the one hand

oriented towards stabilising the share of reusable

packaging through investigating in technical improvements and raise awareness. On the

other hand, thematerial efficiency of disposable packaging, particularly plastics andmetal

packaging,isbeingincreasedthroughfurtherraisingrecyclingratiosandinvestinginrecycling

technologies,suchasPET-to-PETrecycling.

Source:www.nachhaltigkeitsagenda.at

Goodpractice32Prosperityagreement-Ireland

Northern IrelandEnvironmentAgency (NIEA) introduced theProsperityAgreements anewapproach to help meet strategic goals on resource efficiency and environmental impact.

Through the Agreements NIEA supports responsible businesses tomove beyondminimum

compliance and towards harnessing value from innovation particularly in energy use and

resourcemanagement. The Prosperity Agreements are voluntary partnerships that seek to

improve the relationship between Northern Ireland’s environmental regulator and key

stakeholderswhilstfacilitatingmutualgainsineconomicandenvironmentalperformance

Source: Department of the Environment, Prosperity Agreements:

https://www.doeni.gov.uk/articles/prosperity-agreements

©www.nachhaltigkeitsagenda.at

70

6 |Keyfindingsandmainmessages

CirculareconomyincreasinglyrepresentedinthestrategicnationalpolicyagendasoftheEUMemberStates

• Evidenceof thebenefitsof a transition towardsa circulareconomyhas increasedover

recentyears.Thishasledtotheincreasedembracementofthecirculareconomyconcept

insociety.Circulareconomyiscurrentlypenetratingthestrategicnationalpolicyagendas

oftheEUMemberStates.Afewcountriesaddresscirculareconomyinthemoregeneric

context of their resource efficiency strategies, where it is addressed in a somewhat

narrow definition based on material efficiency, recycling and waste prevention or

management.However,thereareexamplesofmoreambitiousandmorecomprehensive

strategies, such as the recent circular economy strategy of Scotland that has a more

systemicapproachtacklingtheproductsdesign,durability,reuse,reparability,etc.aswell

aspromotingnewbusinessmodelsthatcanbeatthecoreofthecirculareconomy.

Promising eco-innovations across the EU but gaps between good intentions and changedbehaviours

• Promisingeco-innovationscanbeseenacrosstheEUwiththepotentialtobescaled-up.

This includes in particular eco-innovations at the design phase. However,most efforts

seemtobeconcentrated in individualmarketsormarketniches insteadofbridgingthe

full circular model from design to disposal. Citizens seem willing to embrace

environmental products through their purchasing decisions, but confusion exists as

regards what is "green" and there seems to be a gap between good intentions and

changedbehaviours.Bottom-upapproachessuchasrepair,reuseandsharinginitiatives

set powerful examples of how change may be implemented, but seem to remain in

certainsocialnichesinsteadofpenetratingthemainstream.

Lackof knowledgeanduncertainty in the transformation fromwaste toa circular resourcemanagement

• Despite the increased presence of the circular economy in the policy discourse, the

majorityofactivitiesattheMemberStateslevelisstilloverwhelminglyregardedaswaste

managementmeasures,which indicatesa lackofknowledgeandgeneraluncertainty in

the transformation fromwaste to a circular resourcemanagement. Existing regulatory

frameworkconditionsarenotfavourableforengagingincirculareconomyactivities.On

the one hand, there is a need to break the “lock-in” in existing systems for waste

management.On theotherhand, there isaneed tomove towardsalternativesystems

for consumption (e.g. sharing, reuse) and production (e.g. repair, remanufacturing).

Productdesignisanimportantelementinshiftingtothesealternativesystems,therefore

creating framework conditions forpromoting thealternativedesignofproducts should

beoneofthemainemphasesofthecirculareconomypolicies.

Barrierstothetransitiontowardsacirculareconomy

• There are also a number of barriers to the transition towards a circular economy,

including the falling commodity prices sincemid 2014, insufficient investment, lack of

skills and know-how, limited acceptance of alternative models of consumption and

business,andlackofpolicycoherence.Inshiftingtocirculareconomy,thereshouldbea

systemic approach that addresses many barriers in a comprehensive way and creates

favourable framework conditions (e.g. embracing regulation, institutional settings,

targets, instruments, curricula, infrastructures, networks, key actors, etc.). Policies will

playakeyroleinthis.

71

Eco-innovation:Hardwareandsoftwaresolutions

• Eco-innovationisanimportantelementofallcirculareconomyefforts.Differenttypesof

eco-innovations, i.e. product, process, organisational, marketing, social, system eco-

innovation,are instrumental in transforminga lineareconomy intoacirculareconomy.

Buildingacirculareconomywill requireboostingandcreatingfavourableconditionsfor

alltypesofeco-innovation.

• The circular economywill require eco-innovations in two different fields that could be

labelledasthecirculareconomy“hardware”and“software”:firstbeingtechnologiesand

technical infrastructures and second being skills, expertise and business models that

wouldturnthistransformationintoabusinesscase.

o The patents statistics shows that whilst the growth rate of overall

technological inventions is constantly growing, inventions focused on waste

managementandrecyclinghasnotbeendevelopingtothesameextentover

the last decade. Thiswas due to limited focus onwaste disposal,which has

been seen as a “technically solved” problem. There is a strong need to

promote R&D addressing wider concepts of circular economy, including

circular design of products (e.g. durable, repairable, remanufacturable, etc.),

aswellasrecycling,urbanmining,andvalorisationofwasteasresources.

o The“Software”ofcirculareconomyisanotherhighly importantelementthat

needs a strong support and framework conditions in order to develop.

Business models based on the new consumption patterns and offering

functionalities of products rather than the products themselveswill need to

gainbiggerdiffusion.

• Creating favourable conditions for both the “hardware” and the “software” for the

circular economy should become a part of a holistic policy support strategy. While

supportingthe“hardware”issomethingwherepolicymakerscanrelyonthetraditional

innovation support instruments, development of “software” requires innovative

approaches in policymaking. Much of the efforts should be focused on changing the

mind-sets of consumers and creating an environment where companies can find

economic prospects in businessmodels based on sharing, remanufacturing, reuse and

repair.

Stakeholders,policiesandresponsibilities

• For different stakeholders, circular economy will have different meanings and involve

different roles and responsibilities. For each of them, framework conditions should

providedirectorindirectincentivestoact,plan,consume,produceorengageinbusiness

inamannerthatcontributestocirculareconomy.

• Topromoteinitiativesofcirculareco-innovationsthenationalandlocalgovernmentscan

deploy a range of policy measures. These can be regulatory instruments, economic

instruments,suchas fiscalandfinancial incentives (taxes, fees),direct funding,demand

pull instruments (e.g. procurement), R&D support measures, such as grants,

infrastructure provision, supporting R&D personnel, information, education and

networkingsupportmeasures,andvoluntarymeasuresincludingperformancelabelsand

guarantees forproducts, voluntary agreements and commitments.Applicationof these

measures in thecontextof circulareconomydevelopment inMemberStates isnotyet

verywide.However,thereisanopportunitytolearnfromselectedpolicyinitiativesand

newpracticesonnationalandmunicipallevelsthathavebeenemerging.

72

Monitoringandeco-innovationperformance

• Monitoringandassessingtheperformanceofthecirculareconomyisstillachallengedue

to insufficientpresentationofthecirculareconomyelementsbytheexisting indicators.

This study focused on analysis of specific indicators such as DMC, which accounts for

material directly consumed (excluding accounting of imported products), and

employmentandturnoverinselectedrecycling,repairandreusesectors.Latvia,Finland,

SwedenandtheUKhadthehighestproportionofemployeesintheselectedeco-industry

sectorscomparedtotheirpopulations(Nofjobsper1000inhabitants).Atthesametime

MSsuchasIreland,LuxembourgandtheNetherlandhavesignificantrevenuegenerated

inthesesectorscomparedtoarelativelylownumberofemployees.Thesecountrieshad

thehighestoperatingturnoverpernumberofemployeesin2014.

• Theeco-innovationperformance,asmeasuredwiththeEco-InnovationScoreboard(Eco-

IS) varies widely across EUMember States. Northern and Central European countries,

suchasDenmark, Finland, IrelandandGermany lead theeco-innovation ranking in the

EU. These countries are generally characterised by high inputs into eco-innovation in

terms of R&D spending and investments, high eco-innovation activity of companies as

wellascomparativelyhigheco-innovationoutputs,forexampleregardingpatents.Most

newMSarefoundinthegroupof“countriescatchingupineco-innovation”.Whilethese

countriesperformworseregardingeco-innovationinputs,activitiesandoutputs,insome

categoriestheyhaveasimilarorevenbetterperformancethaneco-innovation leaders.

Forexample,countriessuchHungary,RomaniaorLatvia,reachcomparativelyhighscores

regarding socio-economic outcomes, as they have relatively high exports from and

employmentineco-industrysectors.

• Applying international datasets allows expanding the analysis beyond the European

borders. The Global Eco-Innovation Scoreboard, which compares the eco-innovation

performance of 126 countries worldwide, illustrates that many European countries,

includingnon-EUcountriessuchasSwitzerland,NorwayorIceland,arefoundamongthe

globaleco-innovationleaders.Amongthetop-20countries,onlySingapore,Australiaand

Canada are top-performers beyond Europe. The comparatively low ranking of many

Asian,AfricanandLatinAmericancountriesillustratestheneedtheseeconomiesfaceto

furtherexpandtheireco-innovationandcirculareconomyactivities.

73

ANNEX1

ComplementaryanalysesofEUcirculareconomyperformance

InthisAnnex,wepresenttheanalysisbasedonadditionalcomplementaryindicatorsanddata

relatingtowastegeneration,recyclingandeco-innovationactivities.Analysesarepresented

forthefollowingindicators:

a. Wasteintensity(wastegeneration/GDP/capita)

b. Resourceproductivity(GDP/DMC)

c. Municipalrecyclingrate(municipalwasterecycled/municipalwastegenerated)

d. ExistenceofEPRschemes,depositrefundschemesandrepaircafes

A1 Wasteintensity

MeasuringthewasteintensityofaMSprovidesinsightsonthemagnitudeofwastegenerated

compared to the country’s GDP and population. For this, the following calculation was

performed:wasteintensityequalswastegenerated(intonnes)perGDP(inmillioneuro)using

data from 2012. Based on data extracted from Eurostat, results were most pronounced in

Romania (3,546t/M€), Bulgaria(1,995t/M€) and Estonia(728t/M€) meaning that a large

amountofwastewasgeneratedwithrespecttoGDP,asshowninFigureA1-1.

FigureA-1Totalwastegenerated/GDPfrom2010-2012(intonnes/millioneuro)

Source:Eurostat.

All three highly waste-intensive countries ranked relatively low in terms of GDP for 2012

comparedtoEU-28.Romaniaranked17th,Bulgaria22ndandEstonia27th.Intermsofwaste

generation, Bulgaria generated the most waste per capita in 2012 with 20,236 kilograms.

Romania and Estonia ranked 5th and 6th respectively with 13,277 kilograms and 9,702

kilogramsofgeneratedwaste(seeFigureA1-2).

74

FigureA-2WastegenerationoftopthreeandbottomthreecountriesandEU-28average,2012

(inkgpercapita)

Source:Eurostat.

ResultsindicatethatthebottomthreeleastwasteintensivecountriesareDenmark(60t/M€),

Ireland(69t/M€)andCroatia(74t/M€). In termsofGDP in thesameyear theyranked11th,

14th and 20th respectively. As for waste generated per capita, Denmark came

17th(2,708kg/capita),Ireland18th(2,624kg/capita)andCroatia28th(763kg/capita).

This indicatorhighlights inparticular thewaste intensityperformanceofMSsuchasCroatia,

whichhas both lowwaste generatedper capita andperGDP. ForMS such as Romania and

Bulgaria, the high amount of waste generated per GDP and per capita could indicate that

furthermeasuresareneededtoreducehouseholdconsumptionandreducewastegenerated

fromindustry.

A2 Resourceproductivity(GDP/DMC)

Eurostat provides an indicator on resource productivity, which is a measure of the total

amountofmaterialsdirectlyusedbyaneconomy(DMC)inrelationtoGDP.Itprovidesinsights

intowhetherdecouplingbetweentheuseofnaturalresourcesandeconomicgrowthistaking

place.Resourceproductivity(GDP/DMC)isusedastheEUsustainabledevelopmentindicator

forpolicyevaluation.35

Figure A1-3 shows the results for resource productivity in 2012. Results indicate that

Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the UK were the highest performers, whereas Estonia,

Bulgaria andRomaniawere theweakest performers. Interestingly enough, these results are

alsoverysimilartothetopandbottomMSperformersforthecircularityindicatorusedforthe

ranking(seechapter4inmaintext).

35 Eurostat website on resource productivity indicator, http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-

explained/index.php/Resource_productivity_statistics

75

FigureA-3ResourceproductivityoftopthreeandbottomthreecountriesandEU-28average

in2012(PurchasingPowerStandardGDPperkilogramDMC)

Source:Eurostat.

TheanalysisbyEurostat indicatesthatthereisacorrelationbetweenresourceuse(DMCper

capita)andGDP(inpurchasingpowerstandard (PPS)percapita) i.e.environmentalpressure

decreasesuptoacertainlevelastheeconomicactivitygoesup.However,Eurostatalsowarns

against some limitations of the results related to DMC figures, which does not take into

accountoutsourcingmaterial-intensiveproductiontootherpartsoftheworld.Thislimitation

was also highlighted concerning the results of the circularity indicator (see main text of

Chapter4).Further,impactsoftheeconomiccrisisonmaterial-intensiveindustriescouldalso

playakeyfactoronmaterialconsumptionandthustheDMCvalueforcertainMS.

A3 Municipalrecyclingrate

The EuropeanCommission’s Circular EconomyPackage includes revised legislative proposals

on waste to stimulate Europe's transition towards a circular economy. One such proposal

includesacommonEUtargetforrecycling65%ofmunicipalwasteby2030.36Estimatesbased

on the latest available figures extracted from Eurostat for 2014 (municipal waste

recycled/municipalwastegenerated, seeFigureA1-4) indicate thatGermany (47%),Belgium

(34%) and Sweden (33%) are the closest to meeting the municipal waste recycled target

comparedtoSlovakia,RomaniaandMaltawithanestimatedmunicipal recyclingrateat5%,

6%and7%respectively.TheEUaverage is22%in2014.FortheMSwithvery lowmunicipal

recyclingrates,muchprogresswouldberequiredtomeetthe65%recycledmunicipalwaste

targetby2030.

36 European Commission website on Circular Economy Package: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-

economy/index_en.htm

76

FigureA-4ShareofmunicipalwasterecycledperMSin2014(in%)

Source:Eurostat.

A4 ExtendedProducerResponsibility(EPR)schemes,depositschemes,andrepaircafes

Finally, someother interestingaspects related tocirculareconomyperformance that canbe

retrieved include informationon the existenceof EPR schemes, deposit schemes and repair

cafes.

EPR is a widely used environmental policy, applicable to many product categories. The

principalofEPRistoensurethatproducerstakeovertheresponsibilityforcollectingortaking

backusedgoodsand for sortingand treating for theireventual recycling. EPRwasoriginally

used for packaging waste, and since has broadened to incorporate many other product

categories and waste streams such as used oils, used tyres, graphic paper and textile,

medicines,etc.AreportonEPRfrom2014carriedoutabenchmarkontheperformanceofEPR

schemesacross theEU.Comparisonof EPRperformancewasdifficult due to inaccessibleor

incomparabledata,howeveritdidprovideagoodoverviewoftheexistingEPRschemes,which

isshowninTableA1-1.37

37 BIO (2014), Development of Guidance on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/pdf/target_review/Guidance%20on%20EPR%20-%20Final%20Report.pdf

77

TableA-1NumberofEPRschemesperMSandproductcategory

Source:BIO2014.

DepositschemeshavealsobeenimplementedinanumberofMS,especiallyinDenmark,the

Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Sweden and Norway.38 Several MS have passed national

legislation on deposit schemes in order to fulfil recycling targets of beverage packaging as

required under the EU Packaging Directive (2004/12/EC). Deposit systems allow for high

collection rates and high quality of material that can be reused again as packaging. High

performing deposit schemes can be particularly highlighted in Germany and Sweden. The

introductionofthedepositonone-waybeveragepackaging inGermanyresulted in98.5%of

refillablebottlesbeingreturnedbyconsumers.InSweden,thedepositsystemforcansandPET

plasticbottlesforone-waycontainersreachedrecoveryratesof86%forcansand77%forPET.

Finally, theexistenceof repair centres is also a good indicatorofMSactivities in the repair

sector.DataretrievedfromtheRepairCaféFoundationwebsiteprovidessomeinformationon

thenumberof“repaircafes“foundintheEU(A1-5). ItshouldbenotedthattheRepairCafé

FoundationwasfirstlaunchedintheNetherlandsin2011,whichcanexplainthehighnumber

ofrepaircafésthere.Othersourcescouldprovidedifferentdata.Repaircafés inthiscontext

aredefinedasfreemeetingplaceswherecitizensandcanbringinalargevarietyofobjectsto

be repaired through the provision of tools andmaterials and expert volunteers with repair

skills.

38 Zerowastewebsite:www.zerowasteeurope.eu/2010/09/beverage-packaging-and-zero-waste/

MS Batteries WEEE Packaging ELV TyresGraphic

paperOils

Medical waste

Agriculturalfilm

AT X X X X X X X

BE X X X X X X X X X

BG X X X X XCY X X X X X X XCZ X X X XDK X X ∆ X X X

EE X X X O X O

FI X X X X X X X X

FR X X X X X X X X

DE X X X O X X

GR X X X X X

HU X X ∆ X ∆IE X X X X X X

IT X X X X X X

LV X X X X X X X

LT X X X X X X

LU X X X X

MT X X X N/A

NL X X X X X X

PL X X X X X X

PT X X X X X X X

RO X X X O

SE X X X X X X X X

SK X X X X X X

SI X X X X X X X

ES X X X X X X X X

UK X X X X

HR X X X X X X X

Total 28 28 27 27 20 11 10 10 8

X EPRscheme O TakebackobligationbutnoPRO ∆ Productfeelegislation/Govtfund

78

FigureA-5NumberofrepaircafésinEU-28MS

Source:RepairCaféFoundation,http://repaircafe.org.

79

ANNEX2

ListofindicatorsintheEUEco-InnovationScoreboard

Nameofindicator Source Year

1.Eco-innovationinputs

1.1.GovernmentsenvironmentalandenergyR&Dappropriationsandoutlays(%ofGDP) EUROSTAT 2014

1.2.TotalR&Dpersonnelandresearchers(%oftotalemployment) EUROSTAT 2014

1.3.Totalvalueofgreenearlystageinvestments(USD/capita) Cleantech 2012-2015

2.Eco-innovationactivities

2.1.Firmshavingimplementedinnovationactivitiesaimingatareductionofmaterialinputperunitoutput(%oftotalfirms) EUROSTAT 2008

2.2.Firmshavingimplementedinnovationactivitiesaimingatareductionofenergyinputperunitoutput(%oftotalfirms) EUROSTAT 2008

2.3.ISO14001registeredorganisations(permlnpopulation) ISOSurveyof

Certifications2014

3.Eco-innovationoutputs

3.1.Eco-innovationrelatedpatents(permlnpopulation) Patstat 2012

3.2.Eco-innovationrelatedacademicpublications(permlnpopulation) Scopus 2014

3.3.Eco-innovationrelatedmediacoverage(pernumbersofelectronicmedia) Meltwater 2015

4.Resourceefficiencyoutcomes

4.1.Materialproductivity(GDP/DomesticMaterialConsumption) EUROSTAT 2013

4.2.Waterproductivity(GDP/WaterFootprint)Water

Footprint

Network

1996-2005

4.3.Energyproductivity(GDP/grossinlandenergyconsumption) EUROSTAT 2013

4.4.GHGemissionsintensity(CO2e/GDP) EEA 2013

5.Socio-economicoutcomes

5.1.Exportsofproductsfromeco-industries(%oftotalexports) EUROSTAT 2014

5.2.Employmentineco-industriesandcirculareconomy(%oftotalemploymentacrossallcompanies) Orbis 2014

5.3.Revenueineco-industriesandcirculareconomy(%oftotalrevenueacrossallcompanies) Orbis 2014

80

ListofindicatorsintheGlobalEco-InnovationScoreboard

Nameofindicator Source Year CountryCoverage

1.Eco-innovationinputs

1.1.GovernmentsenvironmentalandenergyR&Dappropriationsandoutlays(%ofGDP) OECD 2014 35

1.2.Totalvalueofgreenearlystageinvestments(USD/capita)* Cleantech 2012-2015 227

2.Eco-innovationactivities

2.1.NumberofISO14001certificates(per1000population) ISOSurveyof

Certifications2014 166

2.2.Companiesengagedineco-industryactivities(%oftotalcompanies)* Orbis 2014 138

3.Eco-innovationoutputs

3.1.Numberofenvironmentalpatents(permlnpopulation) Patstat 2012 227

3.2.Numberofpublications(per1000population) Scopus 2014 227

3.3.Eco-innovationrelatedmediacoverage(permlnpopulation) Meltwater 2015 121

4.Resourceefficiencyoutcomes

4.1.Materialproductivity(GDP/DomesticMaterialConsumption)

UNEPGlobal

MaterialFlow

Database

2010 225

4.2.Waterproductivity(GDP/WaterFootprint) WaterFootprint

Network1996-2005 171

4.3.Energyproductivity(GDP/unitofenergyuse) International

EnergyAgency(IEA)2012 130

4.4.GHGemissionsintensity(CO2e/GDP) WorldResources

Institute(WRI)2012 183

5.Socio-economicoutcomes

5.1.EnvironmentalGoods(EG)shareintotaltrade(%oftotalexports) UNCOMTRADE 2014 163

5.2.Employmentineco-industriesandcirculareconomy(%oftotalemploymentacrossallcompanies) Orbis 2014 127

5.3.Revenueineco-industriesandcirculareconomy(%oftotalrevenueacrossallcompanies) Orbis 2014 115

81

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of Key Countries : Report about Drivers for Resource Decoupling and the Role of NationalPolicies.” POLFREE - Policy Options for a Resource efficient Economy; Project funded by the

EuropeanCommissionunderGrant308371.London:UniversityCollegeLondon.

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AbouttheEco-InnovationObservatory(EIO)

TheEco-InnovationObservatory(EIO)istheinitiativefinancedbytheEuropeanCommission’s

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