LIFE

LIFE ENVIRONMENT |
LIFE and the circular economy
expert interview
The circular economy:
DG Environment’s perspective
Daniel Calleja Crespo is the European Commission’s Director-General for Environment. In
this interview, he speaks about the importance of moving towards a circular economy and
the LIFE programme’s role in achieving this.
Mr Calleja describes the EU’s Circular Economy
Package, adopted on 2 December 2015,
as an extremely important initiative: “With it, we are
thinking long term about the future of Europe and
also, more importantly, the future of the planet.” With
Europe consuming more than it produces, it is vulnerable.
“So either we change our model of production
and consumption into something more sustainable, or
we will not be able to continue developing in the same
way. The circular model is the best way forward to
develop in a sustainable manner,” he says.
Opportunities abound
“Europe has much to gain from shifting to a circular
economy in which resources are maximised and waste
minimized. We have the potential to become the most
efficient region in the world”, says Mr Calleja. The
benefits for the economy, the environment and society
are very significant. Lower resource costs and the
introduction of innovative business models can make
companies more efficient and competitive. The Circular
Economy could lead to reductions in greenhouse gases
of between 2-4% and boost employment in ‘green’
sectors. Recent estimates show that up to 2 million
new jobs could be created in Europe in the coming
years thanks to the circular economy if we change our
current development scenario. The opportunities are
boundless for European companies, many of which are
already world leaders in areas such as waste and water
treatment, clean transport and renewable energy”,
he adds. “The sectors that best weathered the 2008
financial crisis are those which invested in the circular
economy and in resource efficiency”.
To facilitate and further stimulate the transition, in
December 2015 the Commission presented a strategy
with 54 concrete measures covering all sectors
Photo: European Commission
Daniel Calleja Crespo
and the entire product life-cycle. “We have already
proposed or adopted 18 measures, with more in the
pipeline “, says Mr Calleja.
The Commission also proposed to revise EU waste
legislation to better align it to the needs of a circular
economy. More recently, as part of the Commission’s
proposed package on ‘Clean Energy for All’, a
new Ecodesign Working Plan was included which will
take into account not only energy efficiency but also
resource efficiency, reparability, recyclability and durability
of products.
In addition to legislative actions, guidance documents
have been adopted in the areas of industrial emissions,
water management, unfair commercial practices
and green public procurement. Pilot projects have
been selected for so-called “innovation deals” to allow
innovators in the area of water treatment and waste
electrical and electronic equipment sectors to swiftly
address legislative obstacles and shorten the time to
market uptake.
The strategy also covers specific sectors, such as construction
and demolition waste, critical raw materials,
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