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LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE and the circular economy expert interview Making the shift to a circular economy: an MEP’s view Finnish MEP Sirpa Pietkäinen fought hard for the Circular Economy Package adopted in December 2015. In this interview, she discusses the importance of the EU’s transition to a circular model and what should be done to achieve this. Part of the European People’s Party group, Ms Pietkäinen was a member of the European Resource Efficiency Platform established by former European Commissioner for Environment, Janez Potočnik. The objective of the platform, which ran from 2012 to 2014, was to provide high-level guidance to the Commission, Member States and private actors on the transition to a more resourceefficient economy. Ms Pietkäinen welcomes the Circular Economy Package adopted by the Commission, in particular its innovation and research aspects. Going forward, she believes that even more can be done to support the circular economy, for instance, the development of indicators to measure impacts on ecosystem services and resource use. “The information already exists,” the MEP points out, “so it only remains to decide how it will be used.” The compulsory use of such indicators would ensure harmonised reporting of this information and, therefore, comparability. Ms Pietkäinen anticipates legislation on ecological or resource accounting and indicators will be needed at some point to achieve this. Raising the ambition level further is also important, the MEP believes, to make the shift to a circular economy. Currently, humanity is consuming the resources of 1.5 planets. “According to forecasts, in 30 years we will need the equivalent of four planets’ worth of resources to run the economy as it is. This is not sustainable,” she says. Consequently, the ambition should be to cut resource use now: “Figures from the scientific community suggest that, to be sustainable, we would need to use a tenth of the resources we are now to produce the same wealth and income growth without harming ecosystems. If we do this, it will generate out-of-the-box thinking which drives economic performance.” Sirpa Pietkäinen Better design Ms Pietkäinen also believes the Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC) should be amended to support the circular economy by promoting the design of products which can be upgraded, repaired, reused, utilised for parts and then recycled: “We don’t only want to increase recycling and lose quality materials.” She expects this would have a major impact on production, with manufacturers gradually shifting to more circular production patterns. The effect would likely be seen on manufacturers from other regions as well, since they would not want to lose access to the large European market, hence the EU could drive up standards elsewhere. The MEP says more can be done at Member State level, encouraged by the EU, to help the transition to a circular economy. For example, not all countries have national circular economy strategies, 16
LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE and the circular economy which Ms Pietkäinen believes are necessary, since they can provide a long-term perspective and “the right benchmark for what is needed”. She also highlights several sectors where action to promote the circular economy could have a big impact: public procurement, food, transportation, energy and buildings. Public procurement has the potential to drive a great deal of investment in the circular economy, as it accounts for 20% of spending in Europe. As a result, Ms Pietkäinen recommends Member States make circular requirements compulsory in their procurement legislation. She also singles out the food sector as an area for pushing change, since this is easy for the general public to understand and support. When it comes to sustainability in this area, the focus is often on food waste from shops and restaurants. But the MEP says the whole value chain should be taken into consideration, for example encouraging more consumption of local and seasonal produce. She explains, “We need to concentrate not only on what is left over, but also on why there are leftovers, what they are, and what produce we should be eating.” Targeting funding Ms Pietkäinen applauds the Commission’s financing of innovations and new research, such as through the LIFE programme. She notes, though, that some public funding could be better targeted to support the circular economy, especially in times of straitened budgets. The MEP believes EU financing could be used to support several types of initiative to facilitate a circular economy. Many exemplary LIFE projects have focused on plastic upcycling, substitution and reducing plastic litter in our seas Photo: LIFE15 GIE/IT/000099/Eleonora de Sabata The food sector could benefit greatly from actions to promote a circular economy in line with the food waste hierarchy For example, progressive companies could form cross-industry groups to generate new ideas and business models: “They would set their own ambition levels and targets, such as considering what actions are needed to ensure their businesses are completely sustainable by 2050.” Ms Pietkäinen says companies should be able to receive some EU funding towards this type of initiative, such as through Horizon 2020 and the LIFE programme. Urban authorities could also work together to consider how to improve the sustainability of metropolitan areas (e.g. through the organisation of transport and use of green infrastructure). In addition, digital platforms have a lot of potential to promote the circular economy, according to the MEP. “Information about materials – their locations, their routes in real time – can help with planning material flows,” she notes, while from a consumer perspective they have the potential to enable circular activities, such as car sharing, product leasing and repairs. Ms Pietkäinen stresses that the circular economy involves a paradigm shift, and achieving it requires a change in mindset. “If you think linear, you end up with the wrong solutions,” she cautions, concluding, “The big question for politicians is how to find the braveness, the understanding and the tools to make this paradigm shift.” 17
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