This report seeks to help policy makers to better understand the circular economy, by focusing on four of its dimensions; the main enabling factors and transition challenges, indicators for measuring progress and contextual issues. One of the main conclusions regarding the monitoring of progress is that for now the focus is on developments in resource efficiency and waste management, which covers a part, but not the whole, of the circular economy. More data is needed on eco-design, the sharing economy, and repair and reuse. Furthermore, social indicators, industrial symbiosis indicators...

"This report explores the circular economy from a product perspective, applying a systemic approach and transition theory. Drivers of product design and usage are discussed in the context of emerging consumption trends and business models. For governance to be effective, it has to address the product life-cycle and the societal context determining it. Indicators and assessment tools will be needed to fill the current data and knowledge gaps." (p. 6)

"European climate and energy policies are built on the myth that all bioenergy - being a renewable energy source - is good for the climate and good for the environment. As the use of bioenergy in the EU is expected to more than double by 2020 compared to 2005, it's becoming clear that bioenergy is not the clean dream we all hoped it would be. In some cases it can even increase CO2 emissions (compared to fossil fuels) and in numerous instances it threatens nature by putting additional pressure on already burdened agricultural land and forests. As the demand for bioenergy grows (pushed by...

"The current use of natural resources is already far exceeding the Earth’s regenerative capacity. A responsible and efficient use of natural resources will therefore be a key competence for any society seeking to ensure its future viability. Improving resource efficiency can limit environmental damage, strengthen the competitiveness of the German economy, create new jobs and secure long-term employment. Therefore, on 29 February 2012, the Federal Cabinet adopted the German Resource Efficiency Programme (ProgRess). With this, the German government implemented the decision in its Raw...

"CarbonNext is a Horizon2020 project funded by the European Commission to investigate the opportunities for alternative carbon feedstocks as we move away from using fossil fuels as the main source. We need to find new sources of carbon for industrial process if we are to create a sustainable chemical process industry in Europe that reduces its carbon dioxide emissions. CarbonNext's objective is to evaluate the potential of new carbon sources in Europe. It will pri-marily focus on new sources of carbon to be used as a feedstock and secondarily the impact this will have on on energy...

"The ROMEO project tackles process intensification for catalytic-driven and eco-friendly reaction systems. ROMEO stands for "Reactor Optimisation by Membrane Enhanced Operation". It is a Research and Innovation project and has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. ROMEO focuses on a new reactor concept to drasti-cally reduce energy consumption. It will lead to the manufacturing of bulk chemicals at consider-ably lower operational and investment costs. The aim of ROMEO is to reduce energy consump-tion by up to 80% and emissions by up to...

"MEthane activation via integrated MEmbrane REactors (MEMERE) responds to the EU Horizon 2020 call SPIRE-05-2015 and is a research and innovation project aiming at methane activation towards C2+ . The focus of the project is on the air separation through novel MIEC membranes integrated within a reactor operated at high temperature for OCM allowing integration of different process steps in a single multifunctional unit and achieving much higher yields compared with conventional reactor." (https://www.spire2030.eu/memere)

"Methanol represents one of the most common and widespread platform chemicals and precursors for further synthesis, and is traditionally produced from synthesis gas, obtained by the reforming of natural gas. This methanol synthesis process operates in a stable, high-throughput manner and demands low carbon dioxide/carbon monoxide ratios in feed. The current project is to encompass flexible (in operation and feed) methanol synthesis with high carbon dioxide concentration-streams as an input, the latter originating from thermal power stations using fossil fuels. The technology is also...

"This report is based on the proceedings of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) Demonstration and Deployment (D&D) Strategy Workshop, held on March 12–13, 2014, at Argonne National Laboratory. The workshop gathered stakeholders from industry, academia, national laboratories, and government to discuss the issues and potential for demonstration and deployment activities to pave the way for large-scale production of cost-competitive, renewable fuels from biomass resources. The ideas provided here represent a snapshot of the perspectives and ideas generated...

"This report provides a status of the markets and technology development involved in growing a domestic bioenergy economy. It compiles and integrates information to provide a snapshot of the current state and historical trends influencing the development of bioenergy markets. This information is intended for policy-makers as well as technology developers and investors tracking bioenergy developments. It also highlights some of the key energy and regulatory drivers of bioenergy markets. This report is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO...