Measuring the IMPACTS of the transition to the CIRCULAR economy

Project Information

CIRCULAR IMPACTS

Grant agreement ID: 730316

DOI

10.3030/730316

Project closed

EC signature date 7 September 2016

Start date 1 October 2016

End date 30 September 2018

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

Total cost

€ 501 280,00

EU contribution

€ 501 280,00

Coordinated by

ECOLOGIC INSTITUT GEMEINNUTZIGE GMBH
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CIRCULAR IMPACTS (Measuring the IMPACTS of the transition to the CIRCULAR economy)

Reporting period: 2017-10-01 to 2018-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In a linear economy, natural resources are obtained, turned into products and discarded as waste after a limited time. However, over the years, it has become clear that the growth of such a linear economy is not sustainable. To address this issue, the European Commission seeks to stimulate Member States to make the transition to a more circular economy, as reflected in the Circular Economy Package.

A circular economy addresses the problems that linear economies pose by shifting the focus from a model of “take, make and dispose” to regenerative design and maximizing the potential of natural resources by recycling the re-usable components of products, keeping them longer (or even permanently) in the economic process. However, a better understanding of the environmental, economic and social impacts of such a transition is needed.

The CIRCULAR IMPACTS project had several objectives:
• Develop a theoretical structure of the circular economy in order to understand the evidence base needed to conduct impact assessments
• Collect and unify current collections and databases of evidence useful for this purpose, making them available to all stakeholders
• Conduct case studies in different Member States and different sectors of the circular economy to understand good practices and the economic, societal and resource-efficiency impacts of transitions to circular economy processes
• Understand via those case studies the impact of the transition on different sectors and stakeholders and the conditions and limits of the transition
• Use the assembled existing evidence base and the evidence from case studies to estimate the impacts in the short, medium and long-term
• Develop scenarios for mainstreaming and estimating the impacts of mainstreaming.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

CIRCULAR IMPACTS started in October 2016 and ran for two years. The project achieved the following main results:

• Theoretical structure - The project helped to create a theoretical structure for the circular economy that formed the foundation for the rest of the work to be conducted within CIRCULAR IMPACTS. The main associated markets were identified and a review of definitions, processes and impacts was published.

• Policy integration - The project helped establish better insight into the interplay of the European Semester and the circular economy, which was achieved by identifying and interviewing key stakeholders. The results were incorporated into a study elaborating on the position of the European Semester within the EU’s economic governance framework. Via a policy brief, infographics, various workshops and the final conference, the CIRCULAR IMPACTS team effectively disseminated project results among key audiences.

• Evidence base - The project identified information available on impact assessments for the circular economy and developed an online search tool that makes that information more easily available to policy-makers and other potential users, such as journalists, scientists and NGOs. The database of relevant evidence incorporates reports, indicators, models and other types of evidence and is available online at http://circular-impacts.eu/library.

• Case studies - Four case studies were conducted: car sharing in Germany; recycled concrete in France; lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles; and phosphorus recycling. The four case studies investigated the different economic process changes that could result from specific circular-economy transitions and identified what the likely economic, social and environmental impacts would be of such changes. The studies provide both policy-makers and the public with a better understanding of not only what the circular economy is, but also what its potential benefits are.

• Future scenarios - The project also looked at the future of the circular economy, and described some of the different types of scenario analysis that have been used to predict the economic, social and environmental impacts of different circular economy opportunities. Examples of such are scenarios based on specific technological measures, scenarios based on resource-efficiency targets and scenarios based on specific policy measures. The project conducted an extensive review of the macroeconomic modelling literature regarding economic, social and environmental impacts of circular-economy transitions, combining quantitative results into an overview for practitioners and policymakers that compares the methods used.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The work carried out in CIRCULAR IMPACTS has helped clarify what a circular economy comprises and important effects of shifting away from the linear economy. The project has made a valuable contribution to the debate by aggregating the available literature, interviewing key actors, generating quantitative estimates of the impacts of specific circular-economy transitions and combining the existing literature in ways that enhance the information base for policy-makers and further research work in the field.

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