December 2025
Dear Circular Economy Community,
Welcome back for the last newsletter of the year!
The ECESP's new Coordination Group held its first meeting on 14 November. The group is a mix of old and new members, and at this meeting the new members learned more about what the platform does and their role in it. Ladeja Godina Košir from Circular Change was elected as chair and Agnieszka Sznyk from INNOWO as co-chair: they both have plenty of experience in the Coordination Group and will guide it effectively. The members discussed the priorities for the next two and a half years, which will dictate the choice of topics for the leadership groups. The topics should be finalised by the end of the year: if you're interested in joining one or more leadership groups, please keep an eye on the relevant page on our website. Once the groups are up and running, just email the secretariat and we'll put you in contact with the Coordination Group member leading that group. The Coordination Group is preparing the work plan, the roadmap for the ECESP's activities until the end of 2026, which will be published on the website in January.
One important development recently in terms of EU policy relating to the circular economy is the publication of the Bioeconomy Strategy. This came out on 27 November and is intended to drive green growth, competitiveness and resilience across Europe. The circular economy is a major aspect of this strategy, promoting the use of secondary biomass such as agricultural residues, by-products and organic waste as a lever for reducing pressure on primary biomass production systems. A bioeconomy shaped by circular economy principles will also be able to support rural economies and create jobs while aiding biodiversity and minimising harm to the environment. Definitely a worthy goal!
Another important development at EU level with implications for the circular economy is the adoption on 3 December of the RESourceEU Action Plan aiming to accelerate and amplify EU efforts to secure the EU's supply of critical raw materials, such as rare earth elements, cobalt and lithium. Building on the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), this initiative provides financing and tools to protect industry from geopolitical and price shocks, promote projects on critical raw materials in Europe and beyond, and partner with like-minded countries to diversify supply chains. It contains a number of measures specific to the circular economy.
As always, the newsletter includes a sample of the items added recently to our website. Have a look through the various announcements, events, reports and good practices: it's clear that while it still has a long way to go, the circular economy is thriving! Do let us know what you're doing to promote it, either by filling in the relevant form or by sending us an email, and we'll add your activities to the website so the whole community can read about them.
