The European Commission has just launched a new “Have you say” on “Circular economy monitoring framework“. Feedback period open until 03 June 2022  (midnight Brussels time).

In 2018, the Commission adopted a set of indicators to assess progress towards a more circular economy and the effectiveness of action at EU and national level. Citizens can follow progress on a dedicated website (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/circular-economy). The present revision of the monitoring framework aims to better cover the production stage of the economic cycle and the links between circularity, climate neutrality and zero pollution, in line with the European Green Deal ambition.

All the detailed information are available here.

The BIOSWITCH Project is hosting its online Final Conference and Train-the-trainer workshop!

BIOSWITCH aims are to bring Europe to the forefront of the bio-based economy, encouraging and supporting brand owners to switching to bio-based approaches.

On 17 May 2022, the consortium partners will present the project results at the same time will directly interact with the audience and talk about the case studies, steps taken in the development of the BIOSWITCH toolbox, lessons learned and experiences from the project!

During the online Final Conference in the morning, we will present an overall picture and  address such issues as:

• The role of brand owners and consumers in shaping a bio-based transition for Europe
• Concrete tools to support brand owners in the shift from fossil-based to bio-based approaches
• How do you build and strengthen bio-based value chains?

During the online Train-the-trainer workshop in the afternoon we will zoom in on a selection of the tools that we developed:

• Self-assessment tool
• BIOSWITCH Sustainability assessment tool
• BIOSWITCH Build me the value chain tool

You can check out the agenda now and register for FREE here https://bit.ly/bioswfe

The BIOSWITCH Project is hosting its online Final Conference and Train-the-trainer workshop!

On May 17, the consortium partners will present the project results at the same time they will directly interact with the audience and talk about the case studies, steps taken in the development of the BIOSWITCH toolbox, lessons learned and experiences from the project!

🔜 You can check out the agenda now and register for FREE here https://bit.ly/bioswfe

The European Commission is enabling the shift to the circular economy and making sustainable products the norm with a new package of European Green Deal proposals, as part of the Circular Economy Action Plan.

The proposal for a Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products (ESPR) addresses product design by setting new requirements to make almost all products on the EU market more circular, energy efficient, and reduce their environmental and climate footprint.

The webinar “What are its potential implications for product development and corporate strategy?” will take place on 16 May 2022 from 14.30 to 15.30 CET.

What you can expect:

In this webinar we will explore the potential implications for product development and corporate strategy as a result of this proposed regulation.

The webinar will begin with an introduction to the policy area and it’s expected development trajectory presented by Jean-Pierre Schweitzer, Senior Policy Officer for Circular Economy and Product Policy at European Environmental Bureau. Following which, there will be a moderated panel discussion on the potential implications of the proposed regulation according to the following questions:

• How do you think this policy could impact company strategy and business models?
• How do you think this policy could impact the way products are being developed?
• How do you think companies should prepare?

Speakers

The panel will feature the following speakers:

• Thijs Maartens, Sustainability and Circular Economy Lead at Philips
• Mette Bak-Andersen, Designer, Researcher and Sustainability Advisor. Author of the book Reintroducing Materials for Sustainable Design
• Jean-Pierre Schweitzer, Senior Policy Officer for Circular Economy and Product Policy at European Environmental Bureau
• Moderator: Michelle Gordon, Nordic Sustainability

How to join

The webinar will be conducted via Zoom. The link will be sent out to participants prior to the event.
Please note that the webinar will be recorded.

Register here.

Open Research Europe is looking for submissions to the new collection Innovation and Growth in the Bioeconomy. Successful submissions will be published Diamond Open Access at no cost to the author.

Scope

In 2012 the European Commission created its first bioeconomy strategy “Innovating for sustainable growth – A bioeconomy for Europe”. Research shows that in 2017, the bioeconomy in Europe generated 4.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the EU-27 and employed 8.9% of the labour force. However, a decade on from the initial strategy, growth and jobs are unevenly distributed across the Member States.

A successful bioeconomy is expected to generate environmental, social and economic benefits, such as:

• Reducing the carbon footprint of products
• Increasing resilience to climate change shocks
• Improving efficiency and reducing waste in industry and agriculture
• Creating healthy ecosystems
• Reducing land degradation
• Contributing to plastic-free seas and oceans
• Creating jobs in rural and coastal areas
• Knowledge-sharing of value chains that can be used by SMEs
• Improving competition in markets

Research in this collection demonstrates how investment and innovation in the bioeconomy can help different sectors, such as agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, food, and forestry, to translate research into viable products and services. It studies connections between researchers, industry representatives, and regional policy makers and stakeholders, and analyses how these connections can develop business models, new value chains, and investment opportunities to sustain growth and productivity in the bioeconomy.

Guest Advisors

Dr Calliope Panoutsou, Imperial College London (UK)

Professor Justus Wesseler, Wageningen University and Research (Netherlands) How to submit

Please register your interest in submitting to the collection by 31st May 2022 by emailing ruth.fisher@f1000.com.

Submissions to Open Research Europe must have at least one author who is involved in an ongoing or finished Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe project and articles must be a result of that project. Please review the details of Open Research Europe’ post-publication peer-review model and our policies before you submit. We offer a variety of different article types and encourage submissions that are interdisciplinary. Submissions must be in English.

Contact

For any questions about submission or the platform please contact Ruth Fisher at ruth.fisher@f1000.com.