PUBLIC PROCUREMENT NEWS

  

Publication

23 March 2020

New EU Circular Economy Action Plan

The European Commission has published a new Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) as one of the primary pillars of the European Green Deal. As half of total greenhouse gas emissions come from resource extraction and processing, it is not possible to achieve the GD’s climate-neutrality target by 2050 without transitioning to a fully circular economy.The Action Plan presents a package of measures to mainstream sustainable products in the single market, empower consumers and public buyers, promote circular business models and address the value chains of high-impact and resource intensive sectors.

At the core of the Sustainable Product Policy Framework, the Ecodesign Directive will be expanded as a comprehensive set of requirements that make sustainable products the norm in Europe, rolling out mandatory minimum Green Public Procurement criteria and specifically addressing high-impact products such as electronics, cement and chemicals. The CEAP empowers purchasers through access to verified environmental performance information, including supply chain and material traceability, and an enforced ‘right to repair’. The Commission will launch concrete actions on the following value chains: electronics and ICT, batteries and vehicles, packaging, plastics, textiles, construction and buildings, and food. Finally, new waste reduction targets for specific streams complement the new product policy towards the objective to halve residual (non-recycled) municipal waste by 2030.

For more information on the Circular Economy Action Plan, visit the European Commission’s website.

If you want to learn more about ICLEI's work supporting Circular Cities, go the Circular Cities Platform and subscribe to our newsletter