A Digital Circular Economy to Enable the Green Deal and the EU Industrial Strategy
Circular economy is a crucial contributor to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Europe’s climate neutrality by 2050.
At the plenary of the European SDG Summit on “Circular Economy” we discussed with policymakers, leading companies, and stakeholders about the benefits of circular consumption and production patterns and what companies can do to integrate circularity into their business models.
The COVID-19 crisis has shown that digital technologies will play a central role in the future of our society. On 28 October, at the plenary session on Circular Economy of the European SDG Summit 2020, we discussed with policymakers, leading companies, and stakeholders how digitalisation can boost the transformation of linear consumption and production patterns based on ‘take, make, dispose’ towards a more sustainable circular economy.
Digital solutions can provide real-time data about an item’s location, condition and availability; increase traceability of materials; ease access to products and services; and make processes more convenient and effective. In other words, circularity and digitalisation are interrelated, and this symbiosis can be applied through 3 different levels:
Processes: for increased efficiency of materials and product manufacturing
Products: for better tracking and tracing of products and components as well as optimisation of the value chain and the development of products as a service
Platforms: connecting consumers and producers, allowing the development of services and dematerialisation.
Companies like Huawei and Epson are successfully experimenting with new circular concepts. “Sustainability is very important for Huawei, as it is clear that we only have one planet. Directly reducing and improving the materials we use via research is our main circular economy strategy”, said Walter Weigel, Vice-President of the Huawei’s European Research Institute. Henning Ohlsson, Director of Sustainability of Epson Europe and Managing Director of Epson Deutschland, highlighted that to have an impact, circularity should be embedded in a company’s long-term vision. This was done by Epson with the adoption of the Environmental Vision 2050. “The SDGs are the guiding compass of our business. After the current pandemic, we will face a climate catastrophe, so we need to learn from this to minimise the upcoming crisis”, said Ohlsson.
While the technologies that enable a circular economy do exist, they are insufficiently integrated into current business practices. To allow more companies to follow these steps, stronger investment programs are required, such as Horizon Europe and the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF).
The plenary session “Circular Economy” stemmed from CSR Europe’s community of practice on Circular Economy and was organized in collaboration with G-Stic, the global sustainable technology and innovation community. Click here to view the recording of the plenary and other sessions focused on circularity.
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Senior Project Manager