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.

This session is meant to provide some inspiration from examples of actions regions and municipalities have applied to mobilise change towards a green economy.

Examples include:

• Story of the 360-degree sustainability transformation of Lahti, starting from a conservation initiative to transforming the local economy –  Milla Bruneau, Executive Director of Lahti – European Green Capital 2021, Finland;
• Experience from the MatLust project with the purpose of strengthening growth and sustainability within the food industry in the Stockholm region – Eva Helén, Strategist and Coordinator of MatLust Development, Project Leader at Södertälje Science Park, Sweden;
• The role of the municipality of Skellefteå and the Västerbotten region in mobilizing the wood construction industry – Representative of Skellefteå Municipality, Sweden.

You can still join as a participant by registering until 29th of April: https://sbd.vdu.lt/for-participants/registrations/

This webinar is organised under the framework of the SCALIBUR Horizon 2020 project, with the objective to inform stakeholders, and especially municipalities, on the status of circular bioeconomy trends in selected Central and Eastern European countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia), discuss European projects dealing with bioeconomy and biowaste and introduce the newly launched SCALIBUR e-learning platform to potential end-users. The webinar is free to attend after registration at this link.

Agenda – 13 May 2022

10.00-10.10 Introduction to the webinar and SCALIBUR – James Ling (Greenovate! Europe)

10.10-10.30 Initiatives on biowaste in Hungary – Dr. László Aleksza (Institute for Environmantal Sciences Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences)

10.30-10.45 Bioeconomy initiatives in Slovenia – Representative (Anteja-ECG)

10.45-11.00 Bioeconomy in Slovakia – Representative (Bioeconomy Cluster)

10.00-11.15 Sharing solutions among cities & regions: the HOOP network – Serena Lisai, (ACR+)

11.15-11.25 Introducing the SCALIBUR e-learning platform – María Beatriz Rosell (GEONARDO)

11.25-11.30 Q&A and conclusions

The workshop “Risk reduction of chemical residues in soils due to wastewater reuse” organized by Consorzio Italbiotec will focus on the scientific and technological aspects of risk reduction strategies associated with irrigation with treated wastewater and sewage sludge fertilisation by providing insights on the use of biochar as a valuable soil amendment. The event will take place online next April 26, 2022, at 09:30.

Reclaimed wastewater for agricultural purposes represents a solution for tackling the increasing demand for food and climate change challenges. Reutilizing wastewater includes water conservation and an alternative source of organic matter and nutrients for the agro-environment.
Funded by the PRIMA programme, the RESIDUE project is committed to improving the safety of agricultural products grown under the influence of waste materials used for irrigation and fertilisation by developing an innovative technology that significantly reduces the risks of transferring organic contaminants into the agricultural products.

Registration at this link.

Agenda

9.30 Welcome and Opening

The RESIDUE project: reclaimed wastewater use in agriculture.
Dr Dieter Hennecke – Fraunhofer IME, Schmallenberg

From wastewater treatment plants to our plate – The whole picture of exposure to wastewater-derived pharmaceuticals through food.
Dr Yehoshua Maor- Phytor Lab Jerusalem

Bioavailability of organic chemicals in soils: potential regulatory aspects.
Dr Jose Julio Ortega-Calvo- IRNAS-CSIC, Seville

Biochar and its use as an amendment in the composting process.
Dr Dmitri Drabkin, René Schatten – WG Geoecology, FU Berlin

11.00 Q&A Session

11:30 Conclusion