Environment: Response to Commission circular economy roadmap consultation

A Circular Economy supporting Europe’s Green Deal climate ambition and the implementation of the UN SDGs drives systemic change and the sustainable use of resources throughout the economy (“doing more with less”): 

Optimising the use of resources throughout the economy makes environmental and economic sense and contributes to climate mitigation. The co-benefits of achieving energy efficiency in a wider resource efficiency agenda should contribute to meeting the goals in a faster and cost-efficient manner. Coupled with the possibilities of digitalisation and data analysis, Circular Economy creates space for new business models and enables the optimisation of energy and resource use throughout the life cycle. It is important that concrete implementation remains open, market driven and globally connectable. 

Creating the market through coherent policy objectives coupled with incentives throughout all strands of policies needs to be prioritised since retail markets do not reward for circularity today: 

Removing existing conflicts between EU waste, product and chemicals policy objectives and public authorities leading by example by buying sustainable products would be important first steps. The life cycle costing principle should be applied in public procurement. Carbon needs a meaningful and impactful price that creates the right market signal in a revenue neutral manner targeting high impact areas. Energy taxation should reflect carbon content and industrial symbiosis should be promoted. 

To read all the concrete actions recommended by Orgalim, please download the position paper above.