COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the implementation of the Circular Economy Action Plan
Date: 2019-03-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: circular economy, consumer information, industrial policy, innovation, investment, plastics, prevention of pollution, waste, waste disposal, waste recycling

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.3.2019  SWD(2019) 90 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the implementation of the Circular Economy Action Plan  […] {COM(2019) 190 final}  
 
 
In December 2015, the Commission adopted a Circular Economy Action Plan1 with the aim 
to set the European Union on the course of the transition towards a more sustainable model 
for economic development.  

The action plan looks at the whole lifecycle of products and adopts a systemic approach that 
promotes partnerships  along the entire value chain and across different  sectors. The action 
plan  includes  a  balanced  mix  of  voluntary  initiatives  and  regulatory  actions  along 
production, consumption, waste management and secondary raw materials. It also identifies 
five  priority  sectors:  plastics,  food  waste,  biomass  and  bio-based  products,  critical  raw 
materials and construction and demolition.  

Four  years  after  its  adoption,  the  action  plan  can  be  considered  fully  completed.  Its  54 
actions  have  been  delivered  or  are  being  implemented,  even  if  the  work  on  some  will 
continue  beyond  2019.  This  Staff  Working  Document  accompanying  the  Report  on  the 
Implementation of the Action Plan2 provides details and references for each of the actions in 
the action plan. It follows the structure of the Annex to the Circular Economy Action Plan.  

1 COM(2015) 614 final 
2 COM(2019) 190 

1 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
Actions 

What has been delivered 
Links to individual documents are in the footnotes 

Production 

Emphasis on circular 
economy aspects in future 
product requirements under 
the Eco-design directive. 

Ecodesign Working Plan 
2016-2019 and request to 
European standardisation 
organisations to develop 
standards on material 
efficiency for setting future 
Ecodesign requirements on 
durability, reparability and 
recyclability of products. 

Proposal for an 
implementing regulation on 
televisions and displays 

The  aim  of  this  action  is  to  explore  in  a  more  systematic  way 
mandatory product requirements on durability, recyclability, reusability, 
reparability  and  declaration  of  Critical  Raw  Materials,  as  part  of  the 
implementation of the ecodesign policy framework. 

Product requirements related to circular economy have been included 
in  most  ecodesign  regulations  foreseen  for  adoption  in  2019  in 
accordance  with  to  the  Ecodesign  work  plan,  such  as  on  enterprise 
servers,  welding  equipment,  electronic  displays,  washing  machines, 
dishwashers and refrigerators. 

As  part  of  the  implementation  of  the  Ecodesign  Directive  through 
product  specific  regulations,  the  Commission  adopted  the  Ecodesign 
Working  Plan  2016-20193,  which  proposes  a  list  of  new  product 
groups (building automation and control systems, electric kettles, hand 
dryers, lifts,  solar panels and inverters, refrigerated containers, high-
pressure  cleaner)  and  provides  an  overview  of  which  Ecodesign 
regulations are due for review. A set of revised Ecodesign and Energy 
labelling measures will be adopted in the first half of 2019. 

Following the Commission´s request, the 3 European Standardisation 
Organisations  have  submitted  a  joint  working  plan,  aiming  at  the 
development  of  standards  on  material  efficiency  aspects  such  as 
durability, reparability and recyclability, which in future could facilitate 
requirements related to such material efficiency aspects in Ecodesign 
implementing measures. 

The implementing regulation on electronic displays (including TVs) is 
part  of  the  package  of  revised  ecodesign  and  energy  labelling 
measures  proposed  by  the  Commission  in  2018  and  was  voted 
positively  by  Member  States  in  December  2018.  The  package  of 
measures will be adopted in the first half 2019.  
The  new  measure  on  electronic  displays  builds  on  the  existing 
Ecodesign  measure 
introduces  new  ecodesign 
requirements  for  televisions.  It  sets  the  same  requirements  for  other 
displays  (e.g.  computer  monitors),  thus  widening  the  scope  of  the 
measure.  The  new  measure  further  contains  material  efficiency 
requirements  aimed  at  inter  alia  improving  reparability  (spare  parts 
and  repair  information)  and  recyclability  (easier  dismantling  and 
marking of components with hazardous or critical materials). 

for  TVs  and 

Examine options and 
actions for a more coherent 
policy framework of the 
different strands of work of 

The  Staff  Working  Document  on  Sustainable  Products  in  a  Circular 
Economy4    examines  the  EU  product  policy  framework.  It  identifies 
high  priority  product  for  circularity  and  analyses  to  what  extent  the 
relevant  EU  policies  are  mutually  reinforcing  and  supporting  circular 

3 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/com_2016_773.en_.pdf  
4 SWD(2019) 91  

2 

 
 
                                                           
EU product policy in their 
contribution to the circular 
economy 

economy.  It  finds  that  ensuring  consistent  implementation  of  existing 
EU  product  policies  is  therefore  key,  especially  where  multiple  tools 
apply to the same product.  

Include guidance on circular 
economy into Best Available 
Techniques reference 
documents (BREFs) for 
several industrial sectors 

The  Commission  has  identified  key  environmental  issues  to  be 
addressed  when  revising  BREFs.  These  include  aspects  on  circular 
economy,  issues  concerning  water  use  and  reuse  in  the  relevant 
BREFs  and  the  overall  contribution  of  the  Industrial  Emissions 
Directive to the circular economy. 

Since 2015, Best Available Techniques reference documents including 
guidance on circular economy have been adopted for: 

 Non-ferrous metals5  
 Common  Waste  Water  and  waste  Gas  Treatment  /  Management 

Systems in the Chemical Sector6  

 Intensive Rearing of Poultry and Pigs7  
 Large Volume Organic Chemicals8  
 Large Combustion Plants9  

Guidance and promotion of 
best practices in the mining 
waste management plans 

With  a  view  to  increase  the  energy  efficiency  of  mineral  extraction, 
thus reducing its carbon footprint, and the recovery of extractive waste 
by  recycling  and  reusing,  the  Commission  services  have  prepared 
guidance  based  on 
the  mining  waste 
the  best  practices 
management plans10. 

in 

Establishing an open, pan-
European network of 
technological infrastructures 
for SMEs to integrate 
advanced manufacturing 
technologies into their 
production processes 

The  EU  funded  project  Ket4CleanProduction  has  established  a 
platform11  that  gathers  technology  infrastructures,  SME  users  and 
suppliers  of  innovative  advanced  manufacturing  technologies  to 
upgrade  their  production  processes  towards  resource  and  energy 
efficiency and sustainability. The platform grants  access to a network 
of experts that can provide support for the transition to a Factory of the 
Future.  

Examine how to improve 
the efficiency and uptake of 
the EU Eco-Management 
and Audit Scheme (EMAS) 
and the pilot programme on 
environmental technology 
verification (ETV) 

The  EMAS  fitness  check  report  was  adopted  on  30  June  201712.  It 
evaluates  the  performance  of  EMAS,  in  particular  its  relevance, 
effectiveness, efficiency,  coherence  and  EU added  value.  It  confirms 
that  EMAS  is  a  useful  tool  at  organisational  level,  and  that  EMAS 
registered  organisations  continuously  improve  their  environmental 
performance  on  all  core  indicators  (energy  and  material  efficiency, 
water  consumption,  waste  generation,  biodiversity  and  emissions). 
The  Commission  has obtained  the  commitment of  Member States  to 
work for increasing the uptake of the scheme13. 

5 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/com_2016_773.en_.pdf  
6 http://eippcb.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reference/BREF/CWW_Bref_2016_published.pdf  
7 http://eippcb.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reference/BREF/IRPP/JRC107189_IRPP_Bref_2017_published.pdf  
8 http://eippcb.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reference/BREF/LVOC/LVOC_Final_Draft_February_2017_website.pdf  
9 http://eippcb.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reference/BREF/LCP/JRC107769_LCP_bref2017.pdf  
10 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/mining/pdf/guidance_extractive_waste.pdf  
11 https://www.ket4sme.eu  
12 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/documents/Report_from_the_Commission.pdf  
13 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52017DC0355&from=EN  

3 

 
 
                                                           
Develop an improved 
knowledge base and 
support to SMEs for the 
substitution of hazardous 
substances of very high 
concern  

The  results  of  the  evaluation  of  the  ETV  pilot  programme  and  the 
conclusions on the way forward are scheduled to be presented in the 
second quarter of 2019. 

Two  actions  have  been  put  forward  to  facilitate  the  substitution  of 
substances  of  potential  concern  used  in  industrial  processes  and 
access to innovative technologies by SMEs: 

 the  project  to  facilitate  and  disseminate  best  practices  on  the 
substitution of certain chemicals substances in specific areas funded 
through COSME14; 

 Support of the European Resource Efficiency Excellence Centre. 

Consumption 

Better enforcement of 
existing guarantees on 
tangible products, 
accompanied by a reflection 
on improvements 
(upcoming Commission 
proposal for online sales of 
goods, and Fitness Check 
of consumer legislation) 

The proposal for a Directive on the online sales of goods15, presented 
in December 2015 was amended in 2017 to extend its scope to also 
cover  sales  of  goods  offline16.  It  includes  provisions,  such  as  on  the 
extension of the reversal of the burden of the proof period which will 
help  consumers  to  apply  their  legal  guarantee  rights.  A  provisional 
agreement was reached by the co-legislators on 29 January 2019. The 
Fitness Check of the Consumer and Marketing Law17 was finalised in 
May  2017.  The  Consumer Protection  Cooperation  (CPC)  Regulation, 
which enables consumer protection authorities to cooperate in case of 
fight  against  widespread 
trans-border 
infringements  was  revised  in  December  2017  and  will  be  applicable 
from 17 January 202018. As a follow-up to the Fitness Check, the 'New 
Deal  for  Consumers'  package19  was  adopted  by  the  Commission  on 
11 April 2018. The “New Deal” and the revised CPC Regulation aim to 
strengthen EU consumer rights and their enforcement. This will help to 
deter unfair commercial practices such as misleading and unfounded 
planned 
('greenwashing'), 
claims 
environmental 
obsolescence practices.  

infringements  and 

undisclosed 

to 

Action on false green 
claims, including updated 
guidance on unfair 
commercial practices 

The Commission has been working with stakeholders to make green 
claims  more  trustworthy  and  transparent  and  to  ensure  better 
enforcement  of  the  rules  in  place  through  updated  guidance  on  the 
Unfair Commercial Practices Directive20, which was published in May 
2016.   

The  revised  guidance  incorporates  key  principles,  developed  by  a 
the  content,  presentation  and 
multi-stakeholder  group,  on 
documentation  of  environmental  claims21. 
the 
application of the  Directive  on  unfair  obsolescence  practices  –  which 
will  allow  a  better  enforcement  by  market  surveillance  authorities  in 

It  also  clarifies 

14 Contract “Substitution of Chemical Substances of Potential Concern (Phase II)”,  EASME/COSME/2017/025 
15 COM(2015)0635 final  
16 COM(2017)0637 final  
17 https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/just/item-detail.cfm?item_id=59332   
18 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32017R2394     
19 https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/communication_11.4.2018.pdf  
20 https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/ucp-guidance-en.pdf  
21 https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/consumers/unfair-treatment/unfair-treatment-policy-information_en#environmental-claims 
4 

 
 
                                                           
Analysis of the possibility to 
propose horizontal 
requirements on repair 
information provision in the 
context of Ecodesign 

Fitness check of Ecolabel, 
to be followed by actions to 
enhance its effectiveness 

this area.   

A  reparability  scoring  system  is  being  developed  by  the  Joint 
Research Center (JRC)22. 

The JRC study will be followed up by a consumer behavioural study to 
better understand how consumers assess and appreciate information 
on  reparability  of  devices,  building  upon  the  behavioural  study  on 
consumer’s  engagement  in  the  circular  economy,  finalised  in  2018.23 
On the basis of these studies, and building on the positive experience 
acquired  under  the  Energy  Labelling  regulation,  the  Commission  is 
developing a scoring system on product reparability.  

The  EU  Ecolabel  guides  consumers  to  the  best  environmentally-
performing  products  on  the  market,  including  on  public  procurement. 
Following  the  conclusion  of  the  EU  Ecolabel  fitness  check24  in  June 
2017, the Commission is strengthening its strategic approach to focus 
on  product  categories  with  significant  uptake  rate,  and  its  monitoring 
and communication activities. The EU Ecolabel catalogue25 has been 
improved.  Since  December  2018,  72 227  products  and  services 
available  on  the  market  have  been  awarded  with  the  EU  Ecolabel, 
27 514  more  than  in  2015.  Current  activities  on  the  EU  Ecolabel 
include the development of criteria for financial products. 

Assessment of the 
possibility of an 
independent testing 
programme on premature 
obsolescence 

In October 2017, the Commission launched a call for an independent 
testing  programme  under  H202026  to  identify  factors  that  cause 
premature  obsolescence  practices  and  way  to  address  them.  With  a 
budget of EUR 5 million, the project is expected to start in June 2019 
with  a  duration  of  four  years.  Therefore,  the  testing  programme  is 
expected to be delivered in 2023. 

Subject to evaluation of the 
current ongoing pilots, 
explore the possible uses of 
the Product Environmental 
Footprint to measure and 
communicate environmental 
information 

The  objective  of  the  Product/Organisation  Environmental  Footprint  is 
to enhance the reliability of environmental claims both in a business-
to-consumer  and  in  a  business-to-business  context,  and  thereby  to 
boost the market of green and circular products. 

Between 2013 and 2018, the Commission tested the application of the 
Product  and  Organisation  Environmental  Footprint  methods  on 
specific  product  groups  and  sectors.  Furthermore, 
tested 
approaches to verifying and communicating the resulting information. 

it 

About  300  companies  and  more  than  2 000  stakeholders  (including 
NGOs,  public  administrations,  academia)  worked  for  5  years  to  test 
the methods. The results of the pilot phase are now available27 and a 
summary is presented in the Staff Working Document on Sustainable 
Products in a Circular Economy. 

22 http://susproc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ScoringSystemOnReparability/index.html  
23 https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/consumers/sustainable-
consumption_en#behaviouralstudyonconsumersengagementinthecirculareconomy  
24 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/documents/Report_from_the_Commission.pdf 
25 http://ec.europa.eu/ecat/  
26 http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/ce-sc5-02-2018.html    
27 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/PEFCR_OEFSR_en.htm  

5 

 
 
                                                           
Action on Green Public 
Procurement: enhanced 
integration of circular 
economy requirements, 
support to higher uptake 
including through training 
schemes, reinforcing its use 
in Commission procurement 
and EU funds 

Revised legislative proposal 
on waste 

New/revised EU green public procurement criteria integrating circular 
economy  requirements  published  since  December  2015  includes 
computers  and  monitors,  textiles,  furniture,  indoor  cleaning  services, 
paints  and  varnishes,  road  design,  construction  and  maintenance, 
office building design, construction and maintenance 

To  support the  uptake of  green  public  procurement,  the  Commission 
published  the  3rd  edition  of  the  "Buying  green"  handbook28  and  the 
brochure  “Public  Procurement  for  a  Circular  Economy29".In  addition, 
the  training  toolkits  are  being  revised  and  training  schemes  with 
national public  authorities will  take  place  in  2019.  Finally,  a  mapping 
exercise  was  initiated  to  identify  how  the  uptake  of  green  public 
the  Commission’s  own 
procurement  could  be  strengthened 
procurement  and  in  the  spending  of  EU  Funds.  The  Monitoring 
framework for circular economy adopted in 2018 include an indicator 
on Green Public Procurement.  

in 

Waste management 

The revised legislation30 was adopted by the co-legislators on 30 May 
2018  and  entered  into  force  on  4  July  2018.  The  outcome  of  the 
review added further ambition, in particular to ensure the application of 
circular economy principles to waste management:  

The legislative framework includes:  
 long-term  recycling  targets  for  municipal  waste  and  packaging 

waste, and provisions reduce landfilling, 

 promotion of economic instruments, 
 general requirements for extended producer responsibility schemes, 
 simplification  and  harmonisation  of  definitions  and  calculation 

methods, 

 strengthened separate collection provisions for plastic, glass, metal 
and  paper  and  new  obligations  for  Member  States  to  separately 
collect  bio-waste,  hazardous  waste  produced  by  households  and 
textile waste, 

 new  measures  requiring  Member  States  to  reduce  food  waste 
generation  at  each  stage  of  the  food  supply  chain,  monitor  and 
report annually on food waste levels, 

 requirement for the Commission to draw up guidelines to assist and 
facilitate  Member  States  in  the  separate  collection  of  hazardous 
waste fractions produced by households. 

28 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/Buying-Green-Handbook-3rd-Edition.pdf  
29 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/cp_european_commission_brochure_en.pdf  
30 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2018:150:FULL  

6 

 
 
                                                           
 
Improved cooperation with 
Member States for better 
implementation of EU waste 
legislation, and combat illicit 
shipment of end of life 
vehicles (ELV) 

Stepping up enforcement of 
revised Waste Shipment 
regulation 

Promotion of industry-led 
voluntary certification of 
treatment facilities for key 
waste/recyclate streams 

Initiative on waste to energy 
in the framework of the 
Energy Union 

The  Commission  has  improved  the  cooperation  with  measures  such 
as:  

 support  to  Member  States  authorities  trough  networks  such  as 

IMPEL, 

 exchange  of  good  practices  on  Member  States  campaigns  for 

inspection of ELV treatment facilities, 

 reinforced  exchange  of 

information 

regarding  certificates  of 

destructions (CoDs). 

The  on-going  review  of  the  End-of-Life  Vehicles  Directive  must 
consider, according to the Directive, the feasibility of setting targets for 
specific materials contained in the end-of-life vehicles, to the shipment 
of  used  vehicles  suspected  to  be  End-of  Life  Vehicles  and  the 
application  of  the  correspondents'  guidelines  on  shipments  of  waste 
vehicles. 

An  Implementing  act  adopted  28  July  2016  sets  out  a  preliminary 
correlation table between customs and waste codes31, which will help 
customs officials to identify more easily potential waste streams. 

In  addition,  the  Commission  is  fostering  the  exchange  of  information 
with  Member  States  and  is  exploring  the  preparation  of  a  set  of 
guidelines to facilitate the interchange of electronic data. Furthermore, 
an evaluation of the inspection requirements is being carried out and is 
expected to be finalised in May 2019. 

The promotion of voluntary schemes has been supported with targeted 
funding from  Horizon  2020,  in  particular for developing  verification of 
treatment  facilities  for  key  types  of  recyclates/waste  containing 
significant  amounts  of  critical  raw  materials.  The  CEWASTE  H2020 
project32 aims at understanding existing recovery practices, standards 
and  verification  schemes;  developing  sustainability  and  traceability 
requirements  and  assurance  system  and 
related  verification 
procedures.  The  project  started  in  December  2018  and  will  last  two 
years,  thereby  by  2020  the  new  voluntary  scheme  will  be  validated 
and its long-term sustainability be ensured.  

The  Communication  ''The  role  of  waste-to-energy  in  the  circular 
economy"33 was adopted on 26 January 2017 with the aim to get more 
energy from less waste. It also clarifies the position of different waste-
to-energy  processes  in  the  waste  hierarchy;  provides  guidance  to 
Member  States  on  how  to  make  better  use  of  economic  instruments 
and  capacity  planning;  and  identifies  the  technology  and  processes 
which  currently  hold  the  greatest  potential  to  optimise  energy  and 
material  outputs,  taking  into  account  expected  changes  in  the 
feedstock for waste-to-energy processes. 

31 https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/b5a3c820-5546-11e6-89bd-01aa75ed71a1/language-en  
32 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/218283/factsheet/en  
33 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/waste-to-energy.pdf  

7 

 
 
                                                           
Identification and 
dissemination of good 
practices in waste collection 
systems 

Development of quality 
standards for secondary 
raw materials  (in particular 
for plastics) 

Proposal for a revised 
fertilisers regulation 

Proposed legislation setting 
minimum requirements for 
reused water for irrigation 
and groundwater recharge 

Separate  collection  is  a  pre-condition  for  fostering  high  quality 
recycling  and  high  recycling  rates.  In  2015,  a  study34  assessed  the 
separate collection schemes for municipal waste in the capital cities of 
all  EU  Member  States.  Furthermore,  the  Horizon  2020  project 
ImpactPapeRec  on  good  practices  in  paper  collection  systems  was 
completed in March 201835. 

Guidelines  on  the  implementation  of  separate  collection  obligations 
and best practices, in particular focusing on key waste streams, such 
as  plastics,  bio-waste  and  textiles  are  to  be  adopted  by  the  end  of 
2019. 

Market for secondary raw materials 

In  order  to  identify  standardisation  needs,  the  Commission  has 
requested  the  European  Committee  for  Standardisation  (CEN)  to 
perform  a  comprehensive  mapping  exercise  of  existing  or  ongoing 
standardisation work related to the treatment of waste and the quality 
of  secondary  raw  materials,  in  particular  for  plastics.  This  includes 
work  by  industry  and  other  organisations  in  this  area  at  national, 
European  and  international  level.  The  report  of  the  European 
Committee for Standardisation (CEN) was delivered in June 2018.  

Specific  studies  are  currently  focusing  on  the  development  of 
standards for sustainable chemicals and for secondary raw materials. 

The  European  Parliament and  the  Council  reached on  12  December  
2018  a  political  agreement  on  a  new  Regulation  on  fertilisers36.  The 
new Regulation, among others, grants a level playing field to organic 
fertilising products that would now have the CE marking. As such, the 
Fertilising  Products  Regulation  boosts  the  European  market  for 
innovative  organic  fertilisers  manufactured  from  by-products  and 
recovered bio-waste. It therefore makes European farming much less 
dependent on imported mined and fossil raw materials, like natural gas 
and phosphate rock.  

Current reuse of water in the EU is far below its significant potential. 
The Commission estimates that water reuse can yield environmental, 
economic  and  social  benefits  even 
lower 
environmental impact than water transfers or desalination. 

it  has  a 

though 

A proposal for a Regulation on minimum requirements for water reuse 
was  adopted  on  28  May  201837.  The  proposed  legislation  sets 
minimum  requirements  for  reused  water  for  agricultural  irrigation.  It 
aims  at  encouraging  the  safe,  efficient  and  cost-effective  reuse  of 
treated  urban  wastewater,  thus  turning  a  wasted  resource  into  a 
valuable one for further use and addressing water scarcity.   

34 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/studies/pdf/Separate%20collection_Final%20Report.pdf  
35 http://impactpaperec.eu/en/home/  
36 COM(2016) 157, 2016/0084 (COD) political agreement reached on 12 December 2018,  http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-
6161_en.htm  
37 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52018PC0337  

8 

 
 
                                                           
Promotion of safe and cost-
effective water reuse, 
including guidance on the 
integration of water reuse in 
water planning and 
management, inclusion of 
best practices in relevant 
BREFs, and support to 
innovation (through the 
European Innovation 
Partnership and Horizon 
2020) and investments 

In July 2016, the Commission issued Guidelines on Integrating Water 
Reuse  and  Water  Planning  and  Management38  in  the  context  of  the 
Water  Framework  Directive.  These  guidelines  encourage  Member 
States to systematically consider water reuse when implementing the 
EU  water  legislation.  Water  saving,  reuse  and  recycling  is  also 
considered  in  the  development  and  review  of  BREFs39  for  relevant 
(agro)industrial  sectors  under  the  scope  of  the  Industrial  Emissions 
Directive. Water reuse was made a top priority area in the European 
Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Water. Dedicated funding is available 
in European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), H2020, and LIFE. 
Support for water reuse infrastructure is made available by the ERDF, 
the  Cohesion  Fund  and  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural 
Development (EARDF). 

The  Commission  Communication  on  options  to address  the  interface 
between chemicals, product and waste legislations was adopted on 16 
January  201840, 
its  accompanying  staff-working 
document41. The Communication explores the four most critical issues 
identified in the way the legislation on chemicals, products and waste 
work  together  and  how  these  are  hampering  a  circular  economy 
development, namely: 

together  with 

 information  on  presence  of  substances  of  concern  is  not  readily 

available to those who handle waste and prepare it for recovery, 

 waste  may  contain  substances  that  are  no  longer  allowed  in  new 

products, 

 EU's  rules  on  end-of-waste  are  not  fully  harmonised,  making  it 

uncertain how waste becomes a new material and product, 

 rules to decide which wastes and chemicals are hazardous are not 
well aligned and this affects the uptake of secondary raw materials. 

Analysis and policy options 
to address the interface 
between chemicals, 
products and waste 
legislation, including how to 
reduce the presence and 
improve the tracking of 
chemicals of concern in 
products 

The ultimate aim is promoting the uptake of secondary raw materials 
from  waste  while  at  the  same  time  ensuring  that  substances  of 
concern are substituted and, when this is not possible, their presence 
is  reduced  and 
improved.  A  12-week  public 
is 
consultation  closed  on  29  October  2018.  The  Commission  Services 
are  now  preparing  a  summary  report  of  the  results  of  the  public 
consultation that should be published in first quarter of 2019. 

tracking 

their 

Measures to facilitate waste 
shipment across the EU, 
including electronic data 
exchange  

In 2020 the Commission will review the Waste Shipment Regulation to 
assess  whether  the  regulation  meets  its  objectives  and  is  coherent 
with  the  general  objectives  of  EU  environmental  policy,  CE  and  the 
internal market. Preparatory work for the review includes consultations 
and  workshops  with  stakeholders.  In  view  to  prepare  guidelines,  a 
working group of Member States and stakeholders representatives is 
addressing issues related to electronic data interchange.  

38 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/pdf/Guidelines_on_water_reuse.pdf  
39 "Common Waste Water and Waste Gas Treatment / Management Systems in the Chemical Sector" ,  “Intensive Rearing of Poultry or 

Pigs” and "Food, Drink and Milk" 

40 https://www.eumonitor.eu/9353000/1/j4nvke1fm2yd1u0_j9vvik7m1c3gyxp/vkl2na5lcqz6/v=s7z/f=/com(2018)32_en.pdf  
41 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018SC0020&from=EN  

9 

 
 
                                                           
Further development of the 
EU raw materials 
information system 

Strategy on plastics in the 
circular economy  

A  series  of  actions have been  started  to  improve  information  on  raw 
materials:  the  Raw  Materials  Information  System42  (RMIS)  launched 
by  JRC  in  November  2017,  the  Raw  Materials  Scoreboard43  of 
indicators,  and  several  Horizon  2020  projects.  The  new  RMIS  was 
presented  in  November  2017  and  it  includes  12  thematic  blocks 
covering the most relevant aspects/topics related to the raw materials 
sectors,  including  critical  raw  materials;  raw  materials  monitoring 
frameworks;  circular  economy  and  secondary 
raw  materials; 
environmental and social sustainability; economics & trade; industry & 
innovation; country & raw material profiles. 

Sectorial action 

Plastics 

The  EU  Strategy  for  Plastics  in  a  Circular  Economy44  and  a  Staff 
Working  Document45  were  published  on  16  January  2018  in  the 
context of the Circular Economy Package, along with a report on oxo-
degradable plastics.46  

The EU Strategy for Plastics builds upon 4 pillars: 

 improving  the  economics  and  quality  of  plastics  recycling,  with 
actions  related  to  improving  product  design,  boosting  recycled 
content and improving separate collection of plastic waste, 

 curbing plastic waste and littering, with actions to reduce single-use 
plastics, tackle sea-based sources of marine litter, monitor and curb 
marine 
litter  more  effectively,  actions  on  compostable  and 
biodegradable plastics and actions to curb microplastics pollution, 
 driving  investment  and  innovation  towards  circular  solutions,  with 

actions to promote investment and innovation in the value chain, 
 harnessing  global  action,  with  actions  at  bilateral  and  multilateral 

level as well as actions related to international trade. 

As  part of  the  implementation  of  the  actions  to  address  marine  litter, 
the  Commission  proposed  in  May  2018  new  EU-wide  rules  to  target 
the 10 single-use plastic items most often found on Europe's beaches 
and seas, as well as lost and abandoned fishing gear. Co-legislators 
found an agreement on this proposal on 19 December 2018.   

Agreement  was  also  found  in  December  2018  on  the  proposed  new 
rules  on  port  reception  facilities  for  the  delivery  of  waste  from  ships, 
which should ensure that the waste is delivered to adequate facilities 
on  shore,  instead  of  being  discharged  at  sea.  The  proposal,  which 
covers  different  types  of  waste  from  ships,  has  a  particular  focus  on 
reducing marine (plastic) litter, and includes waste from fishing vessels 
and passively fished waste. 

42 http://rmis.jrc.ec.europa.eu   
43 https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/117c8d9b-e3d3-11e8-b690-01aa75ed71a1     
44 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/plastics-strategy.pdf  
45 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018SC0016&from=EN  
46 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/oxo-plastics.pdf  

10 

 
 
 
                                                           
The  Commission  also  organised  a  pledging  campaign,  calling 
industrial stakeholders to make voluntary pledges to boost the uptake 
of recycled plastics in products put on the EU market. 70 pledges were 
received. While pledges received from suppliers of recycled plastics, if 
delivered as expected, are sufficient to meet the target set out in the 
Strategy, namely to ensure that 10 million tonnes of recycled plastics 
find  their  way  into  new  products  by  2025,  the  demand  for  recycled 
plastics based on the industry’s pledges amounts to approximately 6.2 
million  tonnes  per  year  by  202547.  The  recently  established  Circular 
Plastics Alliance will facilitate next steps by businesses to bridge this 
mismatch  between  the  pledges  received  from  the  supply  and  the 
demand side, and help achieve the above-mentioned target in line with 
the objective of the Strategy to improve the quality and economics of 
plastics recycling in Europe. 

The Commission has also submitted a file to ECHA48 in order to seek 
restrictions for microplastics intentionally added to products. 

On 20 June 2018, the Commission and UN Environment agreed to the 
2018 Oceans Roadmap 2 addressing in particular threats of pollution 
and  marine  litter49,  in  line  with  international  commitments  and  the 
implementation of ocean related SDGs. 

Programmes  of  measures  under  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework 
Directive  (MSFD)  were  submitted  in  2016  by  MS  for  reaching  good 
environmental  status  by  2020  (e.g.  beach  cleaning  and  awareness 
raising campaigns). A series of projects and initiatives under FP7 and 
H2020  address  marine  litter,  the  ecological  aspects  of  microplastics 
and bio-based solutions. Follow-up actions under the EU Strategy for 
Plastics  in  a  Circular  Economy,  notably  on  single  use  plastic  items, 
microplastics  and  coordinated 
implementation  of  EU  waste 
management and marine environment legislation are also expected to 
contribute to reaching good environmental status.  

Specific action to reduce 
marine litter implementing 
the 2030 Sustainable 
Development Goals 

in 

litter 

14  Member  States  committed  resources  for  the  collection  of  lost 
fishing  gear  and  marine 
their  respective  Operational 
Programmes  for  the  European  Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund  (EMFF) 
The target number of operations in the OPs is 108 with planned public 
and  EU  contributions  of  EUR  31  million  and  EUR  22   million 
respectively. Such support is expected to continue. The Commission’s 
new  MFF  proposal  includes  the  possibility  of  financial  support  for 
compensation  to  fishers  for  the  collection  of  lost  fishing  gears  and 
marine  litter  from  the  sea,  and  investments  in  ports  to  provide 
adequate reception facilities for such recovered material. 

Development of a common 
methodology and indicators 

The  revised  Waste  Framework  Directive  requires  Member  States  to 
reduce food waste generation at each stage in the food chain. In order 

Food waste 

47 SWD(2019) 92 
48 https://echa.europa.eu/registry-of-restriction-intentions/-/dislist/details/0b0236e18244cd73  
49 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/international-cooperation/pdf/2018_UNEP_EU_roadmap.pdf 

11 

 
 
                                                           
to measure food waste 

Stakeholders platform to 
examine how to achieve 
SDGs goals on food waste, 
share best practice and 
evaluate progress 

Clarify relevant EU 
legislation related to waste, 
food and feed in order to 
facilitate food donation and 
utilisation of former 
foodstuffs for animal feed 

to  support  food  waste  prevention  and  monitoring  towards  the  global 
Sustainable  Development  Goal  food  waste  target  (SDG  12.3),  the 
Commission  is  elaborating  a  harmonised  methodology  to  measure 
food waste at each stage of the food supply chain. The EU Platform on 
Food  Losses  and  Food  Waste50  contributed 
to  key  concepts 
underlying the methodology for measuring and monitoring food waste. 
The  definition  of  food  waste  is  now  included  in  the  revised  waste 
framework  directive,  while  the  methodology  is  transposed  in  a 
delegated  act  on  food  waste  measurement,  to be adopted  by end  of 
March 2019. Food waste is also included in the Monitoring Framework 
of indicators. 

The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, bringing together 
international  organisations,  Member  States  and  stakeholders,  was 
launched in August 2016 to help accelerate the EU‘s progress towards 
the  SDG  12.3  target  of  halving  food  waste  by  2030.    The  Platform 
supports  all  key  players  in  taking  effective  measures  to  prevent  and 
reduce food loss and waste, facilitate inter-sector cooperation, define 
good practice and share results achieved.   

A digital network was also set up in 2017 to improve collaboration and 
exchange  amongst  Platform  members.  The  Platform  has  partnered 
with  Horizon  2020  project  REFRESH51  to  establish  a  community  of 
experts on food waste prevention allowing engagement with a broader 
stakeholder network. 

Clarifying  EU  legislation  related  to  waste,  food  and  feed  is  one  the 
areas  where  EU  action  can  contribute  to  reduce  food  waste. 
Therefore, the Commission published EU Guidelines for the feed use 
of food no longer intended for human consumption52.  

Facilitating  food  donation  is  also  crucial  to  fight  food  poverty  and 
prevent food waste. With support of the EU Platform on Food Losses 
and  Food  Waste,  the  Commission  adopted  EU  guidelines  on  food 
donation53  in  October  2017,  and  the  Platform  is  expected  to  adopt, 
early  2019,  a  document  illustrating  Member  States  food  donation 
practices. This document will help key players to learn from each other 
to  facilitate  food  donation  at  national  level,  in  line  with  the  EU 
regulatory framework. 

An  ongoing  EU  pilot  project  on  food  redistribution  (2018-2020)  will 
further  explore  the  policy,  regulatory  and  operational  frameworks 
existing in the Member States as well as promote dissemination of the 
EU  food  donation  guidelines  and  stakeholder  engagement  in  this 
regard. 

50https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_waste/eu_actions/eu-platform_en  
51 https://eu-refresh.org/  
52 Commission Notice — Guidelines for the feed use of food no longer intended for human consumption, C/2018/2035  
53 Commission Notice — EU guidelines on food donation, C(2017) 6872 final  

12 

 
 
                                                           
Explore options for more 
effective use and 
understanding of date 
marking on food 

Report on critical raw 
materials and the circular 
economy 

Improve exchange of 
information between 
manufacturers and 
recyclers on electronic 
products 

In  February  2018,  the  European  Commission  published  a  market 
study  on  date  marking  practices54  in  the  EU,  thus  increasing  the 
understanding  of  date  marking  and  its  effects  on  food  waste 
generation. The study found that up to 10% of the 88 million tonnes of 
food  waste  generated  annually  in  the  EU  are  linked  to  date  marking 
(i.e. "use by" and "best before" dates). 

In  regard  to  the  role  of  date  marking  in  food  waste  prevention,  the 
differentiation between the concepts of "use by" and "best before" will 
be improved so as to facilitate common understanding and use of date 
marking.  Technical  guidance  is  currently  under  preparation,  with 
support of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, in order 
to promote more consistent date marking practices in line with EU date 
marking rules. 

Critical raw materials 

The  report  on  critical  raw  materials55  was  published  on  16  January 
2018.  The  report  provides  key  data  sources  and,  looking  at  eight 
sectors  (e.g.  mining,  electric  and  electronic  equipment,  batteries, 
renewable  energy),  promotes  best  practices  and  identifies  actions  to 
improve recycling. These include: facilitating extraction at end-of-life of 
key  components,  improve  data  management  on  mining  waste, 
mobilising  funding  to  ensure  an  efficient  use  of  critical  raw  materials 
and technologies for materials not recycled in Europe. 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  preparation  for  re-use  and  the  correct  and 
environmentally sound treatment of electronic waste, the Directive on 
waste  electrical  and  electronic  equipment  (WEEE  Directive)  requires 
that  producers  of  such  equipment  provide  information  free  of  charge 
about  preparation  for  re-use  and  treatment  in  respect  of  new 
equipment  placed  for  the  first  time  on  the  Union  market.  The 
Commission  facilitated  this  process  by  initiating  a  joint  dialogue  with 
the  different  actors  of  the  value  chain  (representatives  of  EEE 
producers,  recyclers,  reuse  operators).  Furthermore, 
the  "i4R" 
platform56 was launched to allow the exchange of information between 
producers  of  electrical  and  electronic  equipment  and  recyclers  of 
WEEE.  

European standards for 
material-efficient recycling 
of electronic waste, waste 
batteries and other relevant 
complex end-of-life products 

A  first  series  of  standards  for  the  treatment  of  WEEE  has  been 
developed by CENELEC57. The Commission requested the European 
Standardisation Organisations to further develop European standards 
for material-efficient recycling of electronic waste and waste batteries 
with  the  objective  of  increasing  high-quality  recycling  of  Critical  Raw 
Materials. 

54 https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/e7be006f-0d55-11e8-966a-01aa75ed71a1/language-en  
55 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/report-critical-raw-materials-and-circular-economy_en  
56 http://www.i4r-platform.eu  
57 https://www.cencenelec.eu/news/publications/publications/weee-brochure.pdf  

13 

 
 
                                                           
Sharing of best practice for 
the recovery of critical raw 
materials from mining waste 
and landfills 

Pre-demolition assessment 
guidelines for the 
construction sector 

Voluntary industry-wide 
recycling protocol for 
construction and demolition 
waste 

Core indicators for the 
assessment of the lifecycle 
environmental performance 
of a building, and incentives 
for their use 

With regard to mining waste, the review of the state of implementation 
of the Extractive Waste Directive58 by Member States was published in 
2017. In addition, the Commission’s Joint Research Centre is finalizing 
(due in April 2019) a report gathering best practices on non-critical and 
critical  raw  material  recovery  from  mining  waste  and  landfills,  as  a 
supporting  action 
for  Extractive  Waste  Management  Plans. 
Furthermore, two Horizon 2020 projects59 are completing a secondary 
raw materials inventory as regards mining waste and landfills.  

Construction and demolition 

The  outcomes  of  the  study  on  Pre-demolition  &  Renovation  Waste 
Audits  were  released  as  Guidelines  for  Assessment  of  Construction 
and Demolition Waste Streams prior to the  Demolition or Renovation 
of Buildings and Infrastructures60 (known as Waste Audit Guidelines).  
A waste audit is a specific task necessary to understand the type and 
amount  of  elements  and  materials  that  will  be  deconstructed/ 
demolished and to issue recommendations on their further handling. 

The  EU  Construction  and  Demolition  waste  management  protocol61 
was  published  in  October  2016.  Dissemination  and  communication 
actions  on  the  protocol  have  been  implemented  in  order  to  assist 
Member States, regional, local authorities and private practitioners in 
adopting it in their construction market. In 2017, in parallel to the Pre-
demolition  assessment  guidelines  a  communication  campaign  was 
performed  with  participation  to  several  conferences  and  congresses 
and roadshow events in 6 EU capitals.  

Level(s)62, the European reporting framework for sustainable buildings 
with its indicators and life cycle tools, has been developed via a major 
stakeholder  exercise.  It  includes  both  resource  use  indicators  and 
indicators  linked  to  the  quality  and  the  value  of  buildings.  Together 
they provide a common language for communicating on environmental 
performance to the mainstream market. The test phase, dedicated to 
test  the  usefulness  and  robustness  of  the  different  parts  of  the 
framework,  is now ongoing  and  will  last until summer 2019.  A public 
consultation is foreseen early 2020.  

Biomass and bio-based materials 

Guidance and 
dissemination of best 
practice on the cascading 
use of biomass and support 

Guidance  on  cascading  use  of  biomass  was  published  on  16 
November  201863  to  promote  efficient  use  of  bio-based  resources 
through dissemination of best  practices and  support  for innovation  in 
the  bio-economy'.  The  guidance  explains  cascading  and  provides 

58 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/studies/pdf/KH-01-17-904-EN-N.pdf  
59 Horizon 2020 topic ref: WASTE-4c-2014  —  2 projects, 32 teams, EU funding 5.5 mio €. 
60 https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/eu-construction-and-demolition-waste-protocol-0_en  
61 https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/commission-introduces-eu-construction-and-demolition-waste-protocol-1_en  
62 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/buildings.htm  
63 https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/9b823034-ebad-11e8-b690-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-

PDF/source-80148793  

14 

 
 
                                                           
to innovation in this domain 
through Horizon 2020 

some principles and practices to inspire stakeholders when applying it. 

Ensuring coherence and 
synergies  with the circular 
economy when examining 
the sustainability of 
bioenergy under the Energy 
Union 

The  new  Renewable  Energy  Directive64  contains  provisions  referring 
to  circular  economy  and  waste  hierarchy.  These  address  the  risk  of 
conflicting use of biomass resources between energy and non-energy 
sectors and of creating financial incentives that would undermine the 
separate  collection  obligations  set  out  in  the  Waste  Framework 
Directive. 

The  updated  Bioeconomy  Strategy65  and  Action  plan  propose  14 
concrete actions along three priority areas:  

 strengthen and scale-up the bio-based sectors, unlock investments 

and markets, 

 deploy rapidly bioeconomies across the whole of Europe, 
 understand the ecological boundaries of the bioeconomy. 

The  promotion  of  bio-based  materials  and  products,  whenever 
possible and relevant, will be ensured during the development of EU 
Ecolabel  and  GPP  criteria  for  new  or  existing  product  groups, 
according to Environmental Footprint results, and in line with available 
EU  standards  and  technical  reports,  as  well  as  with  the  strategic 
approach for EU Ecolabel and GPP. 

Innovation and Investments 

Two "focus areas" have been dedicated to the circular economy in the 
Work  Programmes  2016-17  and  2018-20  of  Horizon  2020,  covering 
call  topics  specifically  developed  to  address  the  needs  related  to  a 
circular  economy  in  a  systematic  and  comprehensive  way.  The  total 
investment is 900 M€ in 2016-17, in focus area "Industry 2020 and the 
circular  economy",  of  which  320M€  is  exclusively  for  the  circular 
economy; and around 950M€ are expected for the period 2018-20, in 
focus  area  "Connecting  economic  and  environmental  gains  -  the 
Circular  Economy  (CE)".  In  particular,  a  200M€  crosscutting  call  on 
“competitive,  low-carbon  and  circular  industries”  has  been  designed 
for the 2020 Work Programme. 

The Commission has published an inventory of the projects relevant to 
the circular economy funded under H2020 between 2016 and 201866. 

The first call for pilot projects received 32 proposals from 14 different 
countries.  The 
focus  on:  
(1) sustainable  wastewater  treatment  and  (2)  optimising  e-vehicle 
battery  usage.  Work  on  the  two  Innovation  Deals  is  ongoing.  An 
evaluation of the pilot will take place early 2019.  

Innovation  Deals67 

two  selected 

Assessment of the 
contribution of the 2012 Bio-
economy Strategy to the 
circular economy and 
possible review 

Initiative "Industry 2020 and 
the circular economy" under 
Horizon 2020 

Pilot project for "innovation 
deals" to address possible 
regulatory obstacles for 
innovators 

64 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2018:328:FULL&from=EN  
65 https://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/pdf/ec_bioeconomy_strategy_2018.pdf#view=fit&pagemode=none 
66 https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=output&pubs=thematic 
67 https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/law-and-regulations/innovation-friendly-legislation/identifying-barriers_en  

15 

 
 
                                                           
Targeted outreach to 
encourage applications for 
funding under EFSI, and 
support the development of 
projects and investment 
platforms relevant to the 
circular economy 

Awareness  raising  and  thematic  workshops  started  in  2016  and 
continue in 2019 to increase the use of funds for the circular economy 
through EFSI with a focus on green investments for environment and 
resource efficiency projects (including energy efficiency and renewable 
energy  projects).  To  provide  advice  on  funding  opportunities  the 
European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH) was launched, while EUR 
100 million are made available via the Circular Bioeconomy Thematic 
Investment Platform.  

Targeted outreach and 
communication activities to 
assist Member States and 
regions for the uptake of 
Cohesion Policy funds for 
the circular economy 

Support to Member States 
and regions to strengthen 
innovation for the circular 
economy through smart 
specialisation 

From 2014 to 2020, cohesion policy allocates around EUR 150 billion 
to objectives with a direct relevance to the circular economy, such as 
research  and  innovation,  SMEs,  low-carbon  economy,  resource 
efficiency and waste management. The implementation of the national 
and  regional  programmes  is  now  fully  underway  and  projects  are 
being selected by the Member States. The Commission offers various 
mechanisms  to  help  Member States  implement the  programmes  and 
carry out projects in order to use the available resources in an optimal 
way (including Jaspers for Major Projects, focused state aid seminars, 
fi-compass for financial instruments, the REGIO-TAIEX PEER2PEER 
interregional 
tool).  There  are  several  programmes 
cooperation  on  circular  economy  activities.  The  allocations  and 
expected  results  are  visualised  in  the  new  Open  Data  Platform68. 
Circular  economy  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  categories  for  the 
RegioStars  Awards  in  2016,  which  exemplify  outstanding  EU  funded 
regional development projects. 

fostering 

About  EUR  41  billion  are  available  to  implement  the  so-called  smart 
specialisation  strategies  of  regions  and  Member  States.  In  these 
strategies,  several  regions  have  selected  priorities  related  to  the 
circular  economy  such  as  the  bio-economy,  composite  material 
innovative  production  processes.  The  Smart 
technology  or 
Specialisation  Platform69  and  the  thematic  platforms  on  energy,  agri-
food,  and  industrial  modernisation  hosted  by  the  JRC  help  the 
implementation of  those  strategies,  including  on  circular economy.  In 
2018,  pilot  actions  have  been  launched  to  further  support  innovation 
projects  proposed  by 
to  strengthen 
commercialisation  and  scale-up  activities  and  foster  investments. 
Several of those actions are pertinent to circular economy, such as de- 
&  re-manufacturing  for  circular  economy,  3D  printing  and  bio-
economy. 

interregional  partnerships 

Assessment of the 
possibility of launching a 
platform together with the 
EIB and national banks to 
support the financing of the 

The Circular Economy Finance Support Platform was launched on 26 
January 2017. The Platform aims to increase awareness of the circular 
economy business logic and improve the uptake of circular economy 
projects by investors.  

A  Commission  expert  group70  was  set-up  to  coordinate  activities 

68 https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/  
69 http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/  
70 http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=3517  

16 

 
 
                                                           
circular economy 

regarding the financing of the circular economy and to develop general 
recommendations71  on  structuring  and  improving  the  bankability  of 
circular economy projects.  

Engagement with 
stakeholders in the 
implementation of this 
action plan through existing 
fora in key sectors 

Support to a range of 
stakeholders through 
actions on public-private 
partnerships, cooperation 
platforms, support to 
voluntary business 
approaches, and exchanges 
of best practices 

The European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform72 was launched 
in March 2017 to foster policy dialogue, to exchange expertise among 
stakeholders  and  to  identify  barriers  in  relation  to  the  circular 
economy. Its website includes good practices, national, regional, local 
strategies,  studies  and  report  and  voluntary  commitments,  etc.  A 
Coordination  Group  composed  of 
from  existing 
networks  working  on  circular  economy  was  set  up  to  multiply  the 
impact  of 
the  platform.  The  platform’s  website  provides  a 
comprehensive overview of the activities of  the platform and beyond. 
The  implementation  of  the  action  plan  has  also  been  supported  with 
specific communication activities carried out in all Member States.  

representative 

A Smart Specialisation Platform on Industrial Modernisation has been 
launched in June 2016 to facilitate cross-regional cooperation towards 
industrial  modernisation  projects,  e.g.  on 
resource  efficiency, 
remanufacturing/sustainable manufacturing. 

in  Europe’  provided  online 

In  2018  the  Pilot  Project  ‘Boosting  the  circular  economy  amongst 
SMEs 
to  SME  support 
organisations  and policy advice  to  regional authorities.  It also helped 
companies which offer highly promising green solutions for a circular 
economy to scale-up their solutions across Europe73. In addition, the 
European Resource Efficiency Knowledge Centre was also set up74.  

training 

In 2017, a partnership on Circular Economy within the Urban Agenda 
for the EU75 was launched, to identify innovative, feasible solutions for 
making European cities transition to a circular economy. In support of 
the  partnership, 
for  Urban 
Innovative  Actions  on  circular  economy  to  8  cities  in  October  2017. 
This initiative aims to provide urban areas throughout Europe with new 
resources  to  test  new  and  unproven  solutions  to  address  the 
challenges of the circular economy. 

the  Commission  awarded  projects 

through 

The  transition  towards  a  circular  economy  has  also  been  promoted 
either 
the  Commission’s 
organised 
Representations,  through  corporate  communication  campaigns,  or 
through Citizens’ Dialogues76.   

events 

by 

Monitoring 

Development of a 

A Monitoring Framework of Indicators for the Circular Economy77 was 
published  on  16  January  2018.  The  framework  helps  to  measure 

71 https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/accelerating-transition-circular-economy_en 
72 https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/  
73 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/sme/circular_economy_boost_en.htm  
74 https://www.resourceefficient.eu  
75 https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/circular-economy  
76 A series of 63 Citizens’ Dialogues, including six Facebook live broadcasts, reaching out to all regions in the EU.   
77 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/monitoring-framework.pdf  

17 

 
 
 
                                                           
monitoring framework for 
the circular economy 

progress  towards  a  circular  economy  at  EU  and  national  level.  It  is 
composed of a set of ten key indicators which cover each phase – i.e. 
production,  consumption,  waste  management  and  secondary  raw 
materials – as well as economic aspects i.e. investments, jobs, gross 
value added and innovation. Consistency with the monitoring of other 
measureable  trends  such  as  the  progress  on  the  implementation  of 
2030  Agenda  is  ensured  by  establishing  common  indicators  .The 
indicators  and  underlying  data  are  publicly  available  on  a  dedicated 
EUROSTAT website78. 

78 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/circular-economy/indicators/monitoring-framework  

18