Circular economy… worldwide changes

What changes worldwide could have the biggest impact on the circular economy? Read our selection for you for October 2021.

Where is the circular economy on corporate agendas?

A new survey by the certification specialists DNV and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) looks at the importance of the circular economy in the corporate world.

Although the topic is quickly spreading in the media, the survey showed that it is not growing as fast in the corporate world.

In fact, only 5.9% of the companies surveyed indicated that they were taking a leading approach in this area. The survey also revealed a lack of uptake regarding business model innovation.

However, there are some positive takeaways with:

• 39.6% of companies focusing on product life extension, and
• 30.3% focusing on resource recovery

Additionally, the positive impacts of these activities are seen on company spreadsheets with 57.2% of respondents mentioning cost savings as the main benefit.

One actionable takeaway from the survey is the fact that 65.6% of respondents still use their own circular measurement framework to gauge progress, rather than those of established organizations. The survey proposes a shift to standardized frameworks, which will make it much easier to measure progress and plan strategies for the future.

Read more about and download the survey here.

Opinion divided on mandatory EU plastics packaging recycling target

PlasticsEurope, along with plastics producers in the EU, have called for a policy framework to usher in a 30% recycling target for plastics in the EU by 2030.

Members of the group are already channeling billions of Euros worth of investments towards developing high quality recycled plastics – and the necessary cutting-edge technologies to go with them.

However, the European Plastics Converters (EuPC) warned that such a move must benefit all parties involved and share responsibilities across the whole plastics value chain.

EuPC President, Renato Zelcher warned the consequences of rolling out a policy that does not take all players into account, “would seriously jeopardise the economic existence of thousands of medium-sized plastics processors and packaging users in Europe and their investments into circularity.”

The WWF has also completed a study showing the potential of a more circular plastics packaging market in Germany. Their study states that “chemical recycling could provide a viable option to increase food grade packaging circularity in the absence of a changing European Food Safety Authority regulation”.

To reach ambitious recycling targets and hence close the loop, Landbell Group believes that any innovative recycling technologies, such as chemical recycling, must be reviewed and considered.

These new technologies would not only complement the already existing recycling technologies, but would also allow for increased production of recycled materials that can, for example, be used in food contact materials (FCM) packaging (see related comments on the planned revision of EU rules on FCM here).

For more information, please contact us.