Co-creating the Circular Economy
Circular Solutions advises companies, governments and knowledge institutes on how to accelerate the transition to a sustainable society. We have specific expertise on biobased products, recycling and upcycling agri/food waste, plastics and rubbers. In addition, we advise on how to co-create circular value chains and public-private partnerships. Moreover, we train your staff to effectively communicate these to your customers.
Why Circular
What is this circular economy everyone talks about?
circular transition
Learn more about Ellen MacArthur's model.
the experts
Meet our team - and see how how we can help yours!
Agreement on the revised EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive
By Martin SnijderJanuary 30, 2024
BREAKING NEWS Congrats to Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius and his Team for reaching agreement on the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. With the new measures in place, more nutrients will be removed from (EU) urban wastewaters and new standards will be applied to micropollutants.The Directive is a key element of the European Green Deal and the […]
The Circularity Gap Report 2024 is available now!
By Martin SnijderJanuary 25, 2024
The Circularity Gap Report 2024 is available now! 👇 While the circular economy grows in popularity as an alternative economic model, human consumption of natural resources is growing in tandem, causing global rates of circularity to fall year after year. In 2023, the flagship report showed that circular solutions can keep us within the healthy […]
EU negotiators secure agreement at COP28
By Martin SnijderDecember 14, 2023
At the end of the COP28 UN Climate Conference in Dubai, European Union negotiators succeeded, with partners from around the world, to keep alive the possibility of delivering on the commitment in the Paris Agreement to limit global average temperature increase to 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels. With a particular focus on the energy sector in the talks, […]
EU Nature restoration law: MEPs strike deal to restore 20% of EU’s land and sea
By Martin SnijderNovember 10, 2023
The new law, agreed with member states, sets a target for the EU to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. The new law, agreed with member states, sets a target for the EU to restore at least 20% of […]
EU and Philippines sign €60 million Green Economy Programme
By Martin SnijderOctober 26, 2023
Yesterday, at the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, the EU and the Philippines signed the €60 million Financing Agreement for the Green Economy Programme. This programme, a key part of the EU’s contribution to the Team Europe Initiative on Green Economy, aims to assist the Philippines in renewing its economy. This includes embracing the circular […]
Biobased asphalt with lignin can cut emissions up to 60%
By Martin SnijderMay 3, 2023
The Dutch asphalt sector can reduce emissions by 30% to 60% by using biobased asphalt in which fossil bitumen has been replaced by lignin and other components from plant residues, according to new figures from Wageningen Food & Biobased Research. The potential savings are huge, since 10 million tonnes of asphalt containing 300,000 tonnes of […]
Japan, UNDP, and DENR push for Philippines’ transition to circular economy
By Martin SnijderOctober 21, 2022
Republished from: https://www.undp.org/philippines/blog/japan-undp-and-denr-push-philippines-transition-circular-economy Representatives from both the public and private sectors convened last 17 October in a national forum to amplify the call for the Philippines to transition to circular economy, amid the country’s efforts to recover from the compounded impacts of the pandemic and the recurring climate-related disasters. The forum was organized by the […]
“New study explores how the circular economy can tackle biodiversity loss”
By Martin SnijderSeptember 9, 2021
Very relevant and must-read: The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has launched its first biodiversity study ‘The Nature Imperative: How the circular economy can tackle biodiversity loss’.The paper aims to detail the specific role of each circular economy principle, and their applicability across sectors. By showcasing four sectors – food, built environment, fashion, and plastics – the […]
EU Rules in Climate Action – Fit for 55
By Martin SnijderJuly 14, 2021
“Today, the European Commission adopted a package of proposals to make the EU’s climate, energy, land use, transport and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. Achieving these emission reductions in the next decade is crucial to Europe becoming the world’s first climate-neutral continent […]
The European Commission and EIB Group join forces to protect the oceans and boost investment in the sustainable blue economy
By European Investment BankMay 19, 2021
The European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group, composed of the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund (EIF), announce increased cooperation to implement the new EU Sustainable Blue Economy policy. Both institutions will work jointly with the EU Member States to meet existing financing needs to reduce pollution in European seas and support investment for blue innovation and […]
European Green Deal: Commission aims for zero pollution in air, water and soil
By Martin SnijderMay 12, 2021
Today, the European Commission adopted the EU Action Plan: “Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil” – a key deliverable of the European Green Deal. It sets out an integrated vision for 2050: a world where pollution is reduced to levels that are no longer harmful to human health and natural ecosystems, as well as the steps […]
4 ways the circular economy can help heavy industry reduce emissions
By Martin SnijderApril 16, 2021
The majority of industry emissions comes from 4 material groups: Steel, cement, aluminum, chemicals. Global demand for the 4 focus materials is expected to increase – exacerbating the emission challenge. Getting to a 1.5°C pathway requires significant emissions reduction in all 4 material groups. There is still a large potential to improve circular material flows […]
Europe sees e-vehicle battery self-sufficiency by 2025
By Martin SnijderMarch 12, 2021
European firms will have the capacity to supply all the lithium-ion batteries needed for the continent’s automakers by 2025 as they ramp up electric vehicle output to meet strict pollution limits, EU officials said Friday. The bloc is banking on its European Battery Alliance, launched in 2017, to reduce its reliance on batteries and other […]
3 shifts can scale the circular economy – triggering a more resilient, prosperous system
By Martin SnijderFebruary 18, 2021
It’s time to leave behind current wasteful and polluting models to usher in growth-based business models and innovative regenerative strategies. Scaling circular economy efforts globally will mean triggering strategic shifts across sectors. Approximately $57 billion of global electronic waste is generated every year. Additionally, food loss and waste accounts for $950 billion in lost value – a […]
Governments across Southeast Asia accelerate renewable energy investment
By Martin SnijderJanuary 22, 2021
ASEAN energy ministers agreed to set a target of 23% share of renewable energy in total primary energy supply in the region and 35% in ASEAN installed power capacity by 2025. This would require approximately 35GW-40GW of renewable energy capacity to be added by 2025. Solar PV and hydropower are expected to support the majority […]
Microplastics left in water are more easily absorbed by mouse cells
By Martin SnijderDecember 10, 2020
Of mice and men … Microplastic particles that are exposed to fresh water or saltwater for several weeks are more likely to be absorbed by mouse cells growing in the laboratory, suggesting that environmental microplastics may be able to enter cells more easily than we thought. Studies investigating the potential effects of ingested microplastics in animals often […]
Europe to become be self-sufficient in electric vehicle batteries by 2025
By Martin SnijderNovember 25, 2020
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union could produce enough batteries by 2025 to power its fast-growing fleet of electric vehicles without relying on imported cells, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said on Tuesday. As part of its plan to become climate neutral by 2050, the EU wants to boost local production of the building […]
EU wants 30 times more wind energy in 30 years
By Martin SnijderNovember 20, 2020
The European Commission wants to increase the EU’s offshore wind energy production capacity from the current 12 GW (GigaWatts) to at least 300 GW by 2050, it said on its press conference today. Shorter term, the plans aim to make offshore wind capacity hit at least 60 GW by 2030.Investment needs (mainly private) are estimated […]
Trade barriers are slowing plastic-pollution action. Here’s how to fix this.
By Martin SnijderAugust 2, 2020
Cross-border frictions prevent economies of scale in tackling plastic pollution. Trade facilitation can help increase the “three Rs” – reduce, re-use and recycle. Governments and firms must collaborate to scale the circular economy at a global level. Action on plastic pollution has been slowed considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic – but there’s a new emerging […]
Car tyres are major source of ocean microplastics
By Martin SnijderJuly 14, 2020
Microplastic pollution from car tyres could be(come) an even bigger problem than single-use plastics. Today, The Guardian wrote about a recent research, published in the journal Nature Communications, about car tyres being the major source of ocean microplastics“More than 200,000 tonnes of tiny plastic particles are blown from roads into the oceans every year, according to […]
5 inventions that could transform the health of our ocean
By Martin SnijderJune 3, 2020
The ocean is estimated to contain at least 86 million tonnes of plastic waste, as well as chemical and other pollutants. Fishing debris turned into sunglasses and deep sea robots collecting pollution data are some of the innovations that could help clean up our seas. Sustainability is high on leaders’ agenda as nations and businesses […]
Could COVID-19 mark a ‘turning point’ in the climate crisis?
By Martin SnijderMay 8, 2020
Massive programmes of green public investment would be the most cost-effective way both to revive virus-hit economies and strike a decisive blow against climate change, top U.S. and British economists said in a study published on Tuesday. With co-authors including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz from Columbia University and prominent British climate expert Lord Nicholas Stern, […]
How to build back better after COVID-19
By Martin SnijderApril 5, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global emergency, bringing devastation to millions around the world, impacting lives and jobs, and grinding much of the global economy to a halt. It’s a crisis that has shown our vulnerability and confirmed our under-estimation of the probability and exponential nature of systemic risks. It calls on all of us […]
A new Circular Economy Action Plan for Europe
By Martin SnijderMarch 12, 2020
The European Commission has adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan – one of the main blocks of the European Green Deal, Europe’s new agenda for sustainable growth. Building on the work done since 2015, the new Plan focuses on the design and production for a circular economy, with the aim to ensure that the resources used are […]
How venture capital can help stem the flow of ocean plastic waste
By Martin SnijderFebruary 9, 2020
Economic growth has exacerbated the plastic waste problem – but it contains the solution too. Targeted investment can bridge the finance gap hampering Asia’s waste sector. Investment in just five countries could reduce plastic ocean flows by 45%. Asia’s exponential growth has made it into a powerful economic force, but it also has placed the […]
EU’s Green Deal to Guide the Globe
By Martin SnijderJanuary 15, 2020
Will Europe become the world’s first climate neutral continent? It might, now that the EC’s proposed Green Deal been been backed by the European Parliament and by the European Council? Almost the entire European legislation is being turned around to make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The package of measures that European […]
Nature’s Comment on Climate Tipping Points — too risky to bet against
By Martin SnijderDecember 10, 2019
Politicians, economists and even some natural scientists have tended to assume that tipping points in the Earth system — such as the loss of the Amazon rainforest or the West Antarctic ice sheet — are of low probability and little understood. Yet evidence is mounting that these events could be more likely than was thought, […]
A Radical Plan to End Plastic Waste
By Martin SnijderNovember 3, 2019
Awesome call to action – watch this video till the end. “Plastic is an incredible substance for the economy — and the worst substance possible for the environment”, says entrepreneur Andrew Forrest. In a conversation meant to spark debate, Forrest and head of TED Chris Anderson discuss an ambitious plan to get the world’s biggest […]
What to do with all that marine plastic waste (after having cleaned up the oceans)?
By Martin SnijderSeptember 18, 2019
Could we talk about the elephant in the room (or the elephant in Boyan’s boat for that matter)? Assuming The Ocean Cleanup succeeds in its mission and if we disregard the question if the plastic waste should be collected near-coast instead of at deep sea, the real question remains: how is the plastic waste further […]
Forgotten litter – how cigarette butts could kill plants
By Martin SnijderJuly 21, 2019
Throwing away the cigarette filter in nature after finishing smoking. In some cultures it seems like a normal daily practice. For many an unconscious act, or considered harmless: it’s made from biobased materials so it can be littered without harming the environtment, right? Wrong. Research results, recently published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, […]