"Addressing climate change and natural resource depletion has been key to the international and national sustainability agenda for almost 30 years. Despite existing efforts, global CO2 emissions and raw material use levels continue to grow. This seems to suggest the need for more systemic approaches in environmental policy. Our paper contributes modelling results to assess the potential of efficiency improvements to achieve absolute decoupling of global raw material use and environmental impacts from economic growth. We apply the global, dynamic MRIO model GINFORS to simulate potential...

"The extensive use of natural resources threatens to exceed the carrying capacity of the Earth. The concept of a circular economy offers an avenue to sustainable growth, good health and decent jobs, while saving the environment and its natural resources. Further, the change from a linear economy (take, make, dispose) to a circular economy (renew, remake, share) is expected to support significantly the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production. So far, however, the coverage of the health implications of a transition...

"This is the third in a series of reports on the circular economy in support of the framing, implementation and evaluation of European circular economy policy from an environmental perspective. The two previous reports applied a systemic approach to framing a circular economy and to the products within it. This report on the bioeconomy addresses circularity aspects of bio-based products and the sustainable use of renewable natural resources." (https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/circular-economy-and-...

"Circular City Governance - An explorative research study into current barriers and governance practices in circular city transitions across Europe presents the results of an empirical research study carried out by a team of the Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University Nijmegen (The Netherlands), commissioned by the EIB. The research activities ran from October to December 2017. The main objective of the study was to support the EIB and other members of the UAPCE involved in the working group on “Circular City Governance” (CCG) with the identification, analysis and elaboration of...

"The circular economy concept is much discussed in the European Union (EU), but only limited progress has been accomplished so far regarding its implementation. Most scholarly studies blame this on various technological barriers. Our work rebuts these studies. We present the first large-N-study on circular economy barriers in the EU (208 survey respondents, 47 expert interviews). We find that cultural barriers, particularly a lack of consumer interest and awareness as well as a hesitant company culture, are considered the main circular economy barriers by businesses and policy-makers....

"The Finnish Roadmap to achieve a Circular Economy goal is to create a shared mindset in Finnish society to promote the circular economy and determine the most effective means to do it. The Roadmap focuses on 5 focus areas, topics that will initially be used in advancing the circular economy in Finland. Based on Finland’s traditional strengths, these topics include a sustainable food system, forest-based loops, technical loops, transport and logistics, and joint actions." (https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/en/...

"The London circular economy route map outlines a vision of a capital city thriving through the adoption of the principles of circular economy: an economy which keeps products, components and materials at their highest use and value at all times." (https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/en/strategies)

"Germany is world champion when it comes to its recycling rate - but it's still a long way to a circular economy, says Henning Wilts from the Wuppertal Institute, who has analysed the status quo of the circular economy in Germany for the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES). Its development is not only justified from the point of view of climate and environmental policies but it is also on economic-political grounds an integrated part of a resource efficiency strategy." (https://wupperinst.org/en/a/wi/a/s/ad/3551/)

"This background paper was prepared in the context of the stakeholders’ workshop that will be held the 25 May 2016 at the premises of the European Commission in Brussels, in the framework of the project ‘Resource efficient use of mixed waste’. The purpose of this background paper is to:

Introduce the seminar on “Improving management of construction and demolition waste”

• Objectives
• Programme
• Practical details

Present the study “Resource efficient use of mixed waste”

• Objectives
• Content
• Performance of the Member
...

"In its report “Recycling Concrete” the CSI argues that the recycling of concrete can reduce natural resource exploitation and waste going to landfill. The report asks for an ultimate goal of “zero landfill” of concrete. The recovery of concrete falls between standard definitions of reuse and recycling: concrete is broken down into aggregates (granular material), generally to be used in road works, but also as aggregates in new concrete. Recovering concrete has two main advantages: it reduces the use of new virgin aggregate and the associated environmental costs of exploitation and...