Key Stakeholders
Collaboration is the backbone of making a circular economy a reality.
To increase our impact in promoting an EU transition to a circular and regenerative economy, the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities participating at this Circular Economy Initiative have built a new partnership with the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP – an initiative of the European Social and Economic Committee and the European Commission). The collaboration, which includes the EESC, DG ENV, DG EAC, DG Employment, DG Grow and DG RTD, aims to define the main obstacles and opportunities for circular economy in the fields of education, learning and skills. One of the first initiatives as part of this collaboration is to host strategic events of the #EUCircularTalks, such as the Industrial symbiosis: A tool for the Green Deal and the Green digital passport: Product traceability to create circular material loops.
Similarly, collaborations with other relevant stakeholders and initiatives at the European level, such as the European Urban Agenda, ICLEI, Eurocities, BBI (Bio-Based initiative), FoF (Factories of the Future), SPIRE (process industry), among others, are being initiated to improve and strengthen the action of the innovation communities through a joint offer.
To further leverage the work implemented by our Circular Economy Initiative, partners and projects are given the opportunity to participate in the ETV Programme, which aims to facilitate the access of environmental technology solutions to the market. Hear from one of our start-ups who went through our ETV programme in 2022.
Furthermore, there is a strong commitment to supporting activities that will improve innovation capacity and intelligence to boost Circular Economy, through tangible cooperation across the communities and their partners.
Supporting partner of the Circular Cities Declaration
The EIT Circular Economy Community is a supporting partner and member at the steering group level for the European Circular Cities Declaration. This initiative, launched in 2020 by Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), is designed to help cities and regions to accelerate the transition from a linear to a circular economy in Europe, thereby creating a resource-efficient, low-carbon and socially responsible society. The initiative responds to the current policy priorities of the EU, and the ongoing impacts of the climate crisis and COVID-19 which demand ambitious and committed action for a more regenerative, resilient and sharing economy.
The European Circular Cities Declaration has been developed by a broad partnership of key European stakeholders, including cities, international organisations, think tanks, financial institutions, technical experts, and regional collaborations, to ensure that the vision and commitments contained are ambitious, yet achievable, and reflect everyone’s needs. The EIT Circular Economy Community is committed to actively collaborating in this working group alongside the other supporting partners to work horizontally into circular economy solutions that support the circular transition of the signatory European cities and regions.