With the new Ecodesign Regulation, the European Union wants to make sustainable products the standard.

For decades, the EU has been pursuing the goal of reducing packaging waste and significantly increasing the recycling of plastics. But how effective are these political requirements really?

Bio-based materials are considered the key to a more climate-friendly economy, but policy-makers still view them in linear value creation models.

The British government wants to fundamentally reposition its steel industry with a clear focus on decarbonisation and the circular economy. At the heart of the UK Steel Strategy is a raw ma-terial that has often been underestimated in the past: steel scrap.

The European Commission has announced the Circular Economy Act for the autumn. Through a series of publications, the law is getting clearer contours.

Many circular economy technologies and business models have passed the pilot phase, but their scaling often fails due to regulatory fragmentation, weak markets for secondary raw materials and a lack of data interoperability.

Technically, there are many prerequisites for a European circular economy. Regulation, demand and infrastructure are slowing down the plan to scale these processes.

Sweden could need to manage up to 150,000 tonnes of end-of-life solar panels annually by around 2060.

Waste electrical and electronic equipment has considerable potential for the recovery of critical raw materials. However, there are still considerable gaps between technical feasibility and industrial implementation.

Technical solutions for circular public procurement are widely available in Europe. However, their systematic application falls short of the possibilities.

Technical solutions for a more efficient circular economy are already well developed in many areas. However, regulatory fragmentation and a lack of economic incentives make their widespread application difficult.

Energy-intensive industries are at the heart of European climate, environmental and industrial policy.

The consequences of climate change are increasingly affecting infrastructures, material flows and the supply of secondary raw materials.

In addition to the intended effects, measures to promote the circular economy can also have unintended effects that undermine political objectives or cause new conflicting goals.

According to Eurostat, environmental tax revenues in the EU amounted to 371.9 billion euros in 2024.