A Well-Functioning Secondary Raw Materials Market, Aligned Sustainability Performance Criteria And Harmonised Efforts Are Needed To Make Circularity A Reality

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) can play a big role in supporting the future of sustainable products in Europe. Yet Europe’s transition to a circular economy will require new markets for materials, common and aligned methodologies and harmonised efforts. During a panel discussion at POLITICO’s Sustainable Future Week, high-level speakers dived into what is needed to achieve Europe’s circularity objectives.

Mercedes Alonso, who is Cefic Board member and Chair of Cefic’s Sustainability Forum alongside her role as Executive Vice President Renewable Polymers & Chemicals at Neste, said that Europe’s circular economy objectives depend on a well-functioning secondary raw materials market that supplies high-quality recycled material, including recycled and bio-based content.

“When we look at eco-design, this has the potential to be a real game changer. We need to consider when we start designing, we are looking at completely new materials. It is going to be really important to create a framework for a new market for these secondary raw materials.”Mercedes Alonso, Cefic Board Member and Chair of Cefic’s Sustainability Forum (Neste)

Yet there is more to consider than recycling added Sarah Matthieu, Member of the European Parliament, as she called the inclusion of a “hierarchy” for circularity to ensure products are attributed with performance scores which consider the full sustainability criteria beyond recycling.

If you just put the emphasis on recycling but don’t ensure your products are more durable or reparable, then you are not causing the root cause of the problem. For instance, fast fashion, you get poorly made products which are recyclable. This is a huge waste of resources, energy and materials.”Sarah Matthieu, Member of the European Parliament

Participants recognised the “enormous potential” of Digital Product Passports, an initiative which the European Commission has committed to introduce before the end of its term in 2024. This aims to provide transparency and traceability of the product’s environmental impact by providing information about the product’s life cycle.

“Digital Product Passports is valuable for consumer choices. It will help to record what the products are made of, where they came from, what materials they have, etc. This is an element we are not capturing so well today.”Ioana Popescu – Head of Circular Economy, Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS)

A pragmatic approach was called for in the implementation of Digital Product Passports to make them operational in reality.

“It needs to be workable. The value chain is extremely complex and we are not used to living in a circular economy. We need to make sure that all these parts of the chain work together to bring new materials back into circulation.”Mercedes Alonso, Cefic Board Member and Chair of Cefic’s Sustainability Forum (Neste)

Ending the dialogue, the European Commission’s Director for a Circular Economy, Aurel Ciobanu Dordea, expressed his gratitude for the valuable and constructive comments made by the European Parliament, Czech Presidency and Member States.

“It is important because this proposal is a framework which lays out a compass for developments which are product specific or horizontal. This will subsequently be laid out according to the hierarchy of principles. This is where the change will start to bite in reality.”Aurel Ciobanu Dordea – Director for a Circular Economy, European Commission