Food loss and waste is a major sustainability problem as it consumes resources and causes environmental pollution. At the same time, the plastics industry is looking for alternatives to petroleum-based plastics.

The European Union's 8th Environment Action Programme is the first legally binding, long-term framework that systematically brings together environmental, climate and resource protection and is backed up with concrete targets for 2030. The annual monitoring of the EEA makes it visible whether Europe is actually moving from a predominantly linear economy to a resource-efficient, regenerative economy.

Since 2005, the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) has been the central instrument of European climate policy. It should ensure that greenhouse gas emissions are reduced where this is most cost-effective. After two decades of experience, it can be said that the system has achieved measurable emission reductions in most of the sectors involved. At the same time, however, it becomes clear that emissions trading alone is not enough to drive the comprehensive transformation of industry towards a climate-neutral and circular economy. The article "Effectiveness of EU Emissions Trading: What drives emission developments?" by Oeko-Institut and INFRAS on behalf of the German Environment Agency discusses what lessons can be learned from the development of the EU ETS in order to shape the transition from linear emission avoidance to a true circular economy.

The plastics industry has been complaining for some time, and now the European Commission has reacted. Immediately before Christmas, an action plan was presented to help the badly battered industry. The only question is how short-term the announced short-term measures actually are.

The green economy has become one of the world's most dynamic growth markets. Despite geopolitical uncertainties and technological challenges, its annual market volume exceeded $5 trillion in 2024 and is expected to reach over $7 trillion by 2030. The report "Already a Multi-Trillion-Dollar Market: CEO Guide to growth in the green Economy" by the World Economic Forum in cooperation with the Boston Consulting Group shows that transformation is no longer a vision of the future, but a strategic competitive factor for business and politics.

The European Commission's "RESourceEU" action plan aims to significantly reduce Europe's critical dependence on raw materials and strengthen security of supply along central value chains. Building on the Critical Raw Materials Act, the Commission is relying on a combined approach of accelerated project development, coordinated funding, strategic partnerships and a European infrastructure for market data, stockpiling and joint procurement.

In a policy brief, the Joint Research Centre shows that Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) is becoming a key approach in European industry to accelerate the transition to a true circular economy.

The report "Europe's Battery Reckoning" by Circunomics is intended to show how a practical implementation of the EU Battery Regulation can succeed.

Europe is in the midst of a profound transformation, which is characterized by the le-gally enshrined path to climate neutrality. The current report "Trends and Projections in Europe 2025" by the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows significant pro-gress, but also critical gaps that require a rapid change of course.

Recycling Europe sees the decades-long success story of paper recycling at risk. According to the association, regulatory fragmentation, market imbalances and rising operational risks would increase the pres-sure on recyclers. Without clear measures, Europe risks losing ground, both in terms of circularity goals and industrial competitiveness. The association proposes four measures to counter the problems.

The textile industry causes considerable environmental pollution due to overproduction and short usage cycles. Although the EU will require separate collection of textiles from 2025, the actual recyclability of many products remains questionable, as blended fabrics and elements such as zippers or buttons make recycling much more difficult. The study "Assessing the Circularity Potential of Textile Flows for Future Markets in Denmark: A Study of Textile Anatomy" by Danish scientists examines how the combination of fiber composition, layers and decorative elements influences circularity using the example of the Danish market. The study was published in "Sustainable Production and Consumption".

Ideally, the service life of products should be as long as possible in order to conserve raw materials and avoid waste. One possibility is the use of used and refurbished products. However, the study "Refurbished instead of new: The second chance for smartphones" by the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communication, the Wuppertal Institute and Kantar shows that this option is not yet particularly widespread.

Electronic waste is the world's fastest-growing waste stream and poses an environmental and economic challenge. The article "Exploring the E-Waste Crisis: Strategies for Sustainable Recycling and Circular Economy Integration" by American scientists examines key challenges, technologies and policy frameworks of e-waste management and shows how circular strategies and digital innovations can enable the transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral electronics industry. The article was published in "Recycling".

The European Commission sees a strategic opportunity in the bioeconomy. It is an engine for green growth, competitiveness and resilience. It can also contribute to the decarbonisation of the economy and the EU's strategic autonomy. The new bioeconomy strategy shows what this can look like.

For years, the discussion about climate protection has been accompanied by the question of how economic growth and ecological sustainability can be reconciled. While some perspectives see these two goals as opposites, it is increasingly evident that ambitious climate policy opens up economic opportunities. The circular economy plays a decisive role in this. The study "The economic benefits of climate action - How decarbonization can enhance competitiveness and growth" by Deloitte and KfW provides an empirical basis for this and shows that wie stark kreislaufwirtschaftliche Ansätze zur Wettbewerbsfähigkeit beitragen können.

Steel is one of the cornerstones of European industry. However, around five percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU are generated in steel mills, which significantly increases the pressure to act on decarbonization. An important lever for this transformation is the higher use of steel scrap. While scrap demand in Europe will increase significantly in the coming years, the amount of high-quality scrap available today is not sufficient to meet the expected demand in industrial applications. In this mixed situation, a raw material stream that has received little attention so far comes into play: disused ships. The report "Scrap steel at sea: How ship recycling can help decarbonise European steel production" by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, Sandbag and the University of Tuscia highlights the strategic role this scrap stream could play and how untapped potential can be unlocked.

After two weeks of fierce negotiations, governments at the UNEA7 have adopted a new resolution on the environmentally sound management of minerals and metals. While the text introduces welcomed mention of structured dialogues, a reporting mechanism and a focus on circularity and tailings recovery, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) warns that negotiators stripped the ambition needed to respond to today's escalating mineral challenges.

However, many of these treatments are based on PFAS compounds (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances), which are currently in the process of being regulated and banned in the European Union due to their environmental persistence, toxicity, and ability to accumulate in living organisms.

Early on 12 December, EU lawmakers struck a political agreement on new rules meant to make the automotive sector more circular - but the deal falls short of its promise, warn theEEB) and Deutsche Umwelthilfe.

Austria's deposit return scheme (DRS) is approaching the end of its first year with stable operational performance and high return volumes. By the end of November 2025, more than 1.2 billion PET bottles and aluminium cans had been collected.