The Circular Economy Action Plan is an EU policy with a multi-sectoral approach. This policy aims at scaling up the circular economy from front-runners to the mainstream economic players in order to make a decisive contribution to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and decoupling economic growth from resource use, while ensuring the long-term competitiveness of the EU and leaving no one behind. This policy lays down circular economy strategies based on the single market and the potential of digital technologies to strengthen the EU’s industrial base and foster business creation and entrepreneurship among small- and medium-scale enterprises. The circularity and also the dematerialization of the economy will be accelerated and the dependence of Europe on primary materials will be lessened through innovative models based on a closer relationship with customers, mass customisation, the sharing and collaborative economy, and powered by digital technologies, big data, blockchain and artificial intelligence. The transformational change required by the European Green Deal needs to be accelerated towards a regenerative growth model that gives back to the planet more than it takes, advance towards keeping its resource consumption within planetary boundaries, and therefore strive to reduce its consumption footprint and double its circular material use rate in the coming decade. A sustainable product policy legislative initiative will be developed for improving product durability, reusability, upgradability and reparability, addressing the presence of hazardous chemicals in products, and increasing their energy and resource efficiency; increasing recycled content in products, while ensuring their performance and safety; enabling remanufacturing and high-quality recycling; reducing carbon and environmental footprints; restricting single-use and countering premature obsolescence; introducing a ban on the destruction of unsold durable goods; incentivising product-as-a-service or other models where producers keep the ownership of the product or the responsibility for its performance throughout its lifecycle; mobilizing the potential of digitalization of product information, including solutions such as digital passports, tagging and watermarks; and rewarding products based on their different sustainability performance, including by linking high performance levels to incentives. Furthermore, consumers and public buyers will be empowered to enhance their participation in the circular economy by providing trustworthy and relevant information on products at the point of sale, including on their lifespan and on the availability of repair services, spare parts and repair manuals and setting minimum requirements for sustainability labels/logos and for information tools. The circularity in industrial processes will be promoted to achieve climate-neutrality and long-term competitiveness. To this end, an industry-led reporting and certification system will be developed, the use of green technologies and digital technologies for tracking, tracing and mapping of resources will be promoted, and the sustainable and circular bio-based sector will be supported. This policy lays down strategies targeting stakeholders in the key product value chains to identify barriers to the expansion of markets for circular products and ways to address those barriers. The Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment and guidance to clarify its links with REACH and Ecodesign requirements will be reviewed. In addition to that, EU regulative and policy frameworks on waste oils, packaging and packaging waste, recycled plastic content and plastic waste, bio-based plastics and biodegradable or compostable plastics, microplastics, and end-of-life vehicles will be reviewed and updated. Biodiversity conservation and restoration, protection of the environment and sustainable use of natural resources will be ensured with key actions of circular economy. Moreover, food waste reduction targets will be addressed comprehensively in the food value chain. Specific measures will be taken to increase the sustainability of food distribution and consumption, such as single-use packaging, using reusable products in food services. Circular approaches to water reuse and efficiency will be encouraged in agriculture and the industry sector. An Integrated Nutrient Management Plan will be developed, with a view to ensuring more sustainable application of nutrients and stimulating the markets for recovered nutrients. This policy sets out measures to reduce and prevent waste. EU-wide harmonized model for separate collection of waste and labelling will be applied to facilitate separate collection. Methodologies will be developed to track and minimize the presence of substances of concern in recycled materials and articles made thereof. The measurement, modelling and policy tools will be improved to capture synergies between the circular economy and climate change mitigation and adaptation at EU and national level. Regulatory framework for the certification of carbon removals will be improved.
2020-01-01