Circular Economy Act - Circular economy and responsible resource consumption within planetary boundaries

Practical information

1. Composition of the study group
2. Administrators / Assistant in charge: Anna CAMERON, Alice SENGA / Lukáš ĎURECH
3. Contact

Background

Growing resource use is driving the triple planetary crisis, pushing the EU beyond planetary boundaries and leaving many Member States off track for the 2030 circular material use target. Demand-side measures and ambitious primary material reduction policies are essential to reverse this trend and strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy.

With the Commission preparing a Circular Economy Act, the exploratory opinion will feed into this work by:

• advising on material footprint targets and integrating a resource‑use perspective across EU policies;
• drawing on the ECESP network to shape an effective resource‑use reduction framework;
• examining causes of stalled progress in Member States and proposing solutions;
• identifying barriers for the single market for secondary raw materials;
• sharing insights on supply, demand, price mechanisms and material flows in the economy;
• assessing impacts on governance, social justice, business and culture;
• discussing how to boost recycling and collection of waste;
• assessing the barriers of the Extended Producer Responsibility;
• highlighting the need for critical raw materials for digitalization and decarbonization;
• providing civil society recommendations for action‑oriented, demand-side circular economy policies;
• sharing on-the-ground examples and good circular practices.