Michael Brunn

Biogas is often underestimated in the energy policy debate or treated as an obsolete model. However, the study "Future Prospects of the Biogas Industry", which was prepared by the Institute for Future Energy and Material Flow Systems on behalf of the German Biogas Association, shows that as an energy and carbon carrier from residues and waste materials, biogas can make a key contribution to the energy transition and the circular economy.

The transformation to a circular economy poses far-reaching challenges for industry, educational institutions and policymakers. The chemical industry and materials science in particular play a central role in this: they create the technological and scientific prerequisites for using materials more efficiently, making products more durable and closing material cycles. The report "Jobs and skills for a circular economy: a cross-sector perspective from the chemical and materials science and engineering communities" summarises key findings from a joint study by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). The focus is on changes in the need for skills, the demands on educational pathways, difficulties in recruiting skilled workers and the political options for action.

With the Zero Pollution Action Plan, the European Union is pursuing the goal of reducing environmental pollution to a level that is harmless to humans and nature by 2050. The mid-term review presented by the European Commission shows that significant progress has already been made in individual areas, but at the same time structural deficits in implementation, governance and policy integration remain.

The report "Nature Positive: Role of the Technology Sector" presented by the World Economic Forum positions the digital and technology industries as potentially key players in the protection of biodiversity and natural resources. The report is embedded in the international "Nature Positive" narrative, which has increasingly served as a guiding principle for business and politics since the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. According to the report, the tech sector should not only reduce its own environmental impact, but also contribute to the ecological transformation of other industries through digitalisation, data availability and efficiency gains. This perspective is ambitious - and of immediate importance for the circular and waste management industry.

The production of information and communication technologies generates high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, while the useful life of many devices is becoming ever shorter. The study "Greenhouse Gas Savings through the Reuse of Selected ICT Devices" conducted by Fraunhofer Umsicht uses a life cycle analysis to investigate the extent to which the reuse and refurbishment of smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs can contribute to reducing these emissions.

The increasing quantities of waste electrical and electronic equipment are posing considerable challenges for policy-makers, businesses and waste management systems worldwide. An effective circular economy requires that both formal and informal material flows are transparently recorded and quantified. Using the Netherlands as an example, the study "Improving WEEE monitoring: insights from the Netherlands" conducted by Dutch scientists analyses how an almost closed monitoring system for WEEE can be established, which data gaps still exist, and which measures are suitable to improve the recording of informal flows in the future. The study was published in the journal "Resources, Conservation & Recycling".

Japan is considered a recycling pioneer with a high level of technical competence and a pronounced sense of efficiency. But how is the circular economy model developing there beyond conventional recycling? The study "Circular business models in Japan: Analysis of circular business transformation through an institutional approach" conducted by researchers from the Netherlands and Japan shows that the transformation is less disruptive and more cooperative. The study was published in the journal "Sustainable Production and Consumption".

Global supply chains are faltering, commodity prices are fluctuating wildly and regulatory requirements are becoming continuously tighter. Under these conditions, linear business models based on constant resource consumption and short product cycles are increasingly becoming an economic risk. The report "Mitigating linear risks" published by Circle Economy shows that circular strategies have long since ceased to be just a sustainability issue, but are becoming a key instrument of risk management.

Flexible plastic packaging is material-efficient, functional and market-forming, but also technically demanding and economically difficult to recycle. More than half of all plastic packaging is now accounted for by flexible applications, but closed material cycles have so far been the exception. The report "The challenges and solutions for flexible plastic packaging waste" by the "Alliance to end plastic waste" shows which technological, infrastructural and regulatory requirements need to be met in order for problem streams to become resilient value streams.

The circular economy for plastics is politically set, technologically advanced and socially accepted, and yet its success remains limited. There is a structural gap between ambitious targets and the operational reality of the waste management and recycling industry. The article "Decoding the barriers for a circular plastics industry: An equation framework" by a Swedish scientist shows why known barriers have not yet been overcome, why individual measures come to nothing and which systemic prerequisites must be met for plastics cycles to actually work. The article was published in the journal "Sustainable production and consumption".