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LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE and the circular economy expert interview The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s perspective on the circular economy Jocelyn Blériot is head of Editorial & European affairs at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, whose mission is to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. In this interview, he talks about the benefits of a circular economy and the challenges ahead. Mr Blériot welcomes the Circular Economy Package adopted by the European Commission in December 2015, an action plan with measures covering the whole cycle from production and consumption to waste management and the market for secondary raw materials. “Through it, the circular economy is treated as a priority,” he says, applauding the fact that the package targets upstream areas (e.g. promoting better product design and changing production processes and materials), as well as more traditional areas like waste management. An important aspect of the package could be the revision of existing legislation to encourage the shift to a circular economy, for example the Ecodesign Directive. New regulations will also be drawn up where needed. The first piece of legislation to come out of the package, aimed at boosting the use of organic and waste-based fertilisers, was proposed in March 2016. The existing Fertilisers Regulation ensures free movement in the EU mainly for conventional, non-organic fertilisers. The proposed new regulation would significantly ease the access of organic and waste-based fertilisers to the market, putting them on a level playing field with traditional, non-organic fertilisers. Mr Blériot says this legislation is “very important when you think about looking at restoring nutrient cycles and [tackling] the phosphate issue”. The regulation sets out common rules on converting bio-waste into raw materials that can be used to manufacture fertilising products and introduces strict limits for cadmium in phosphate fertilisers. Barriers and benefits Jocelyn Blériot Photo: LIFE12 ENV/UK/000966/Ellen MacArthur Foundation Making the transition to a circular economy involves overcoming both regulatory and technical challenges. On the regulatory side, Mr Blériot highlights the difficulty in legislating for 28 Member States with “completely different levels of materials handling”. The EU must ensure that legislation is ambitious enough for Member States at the top of the scale but not unrealistic and unachievable for those nearer the bottom end. From a technical point of view, the quality and quantity of secondary raw materials on the market is still a barrier for the circular economy. Currently, this feedstock is of insufficient quality or the volumes are too small or non-existent. However, Mr Blériot says a stream of materials can be created 18
LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE and the circular economy The investments required to achieve circular economy benefits Sources: ‘Growth Within’: SYSTEMIQ. by identifying and tracking product information, which would also help design choices for example, by using the circularity indicators and tool developed for the project LIFE+ CEMs - Circular Economy Metrics (see pp.30-33). The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was the coordinating beneficiary for the project; it developed a tool that helps score the circularity of products and allows users to determine which material strategies need to be prioritised in order to achieve circularity. There are many benefits in moving to a circular economy, “a systemic shift that has a strong economic rationale”, according to Mr Blériot. “It’s about moving from one system that relies on the consumption of raw materials to generate revenue to one where materials are used but not used up. And then you derive value from maximising the utility and closing those productive material loops.” For instance, lower net costs for materials means reduced vulnerability to supply risk. As Mr Blériot points out, “As a market, Europe is the greatest importer on the planet: about 62% of all that we produce is made from imported material.” Plus, he notes that energy consumption is reduced, since remanufacturing has a lower energy intake when compared with making the same products from scratch. A circular economy also means lower compliance costs for businesses, because it entails them moving towards developing products which “do not have a negative environmental impact on the market [and therefore they] do not have to pay for the clean-up”. There are advantages in terms of job creation as well, although this is difficult to quantify since it depends on how the circular economy and green jobs are defined. According to Mr Blériot, research carried out for the foundation found that “all the evidence points towards benefits in terms of job creation”. Building impetus Momentum towards a circular economy has increased in recent years, and not only at the EU level. “We have more and more companies asking us how they could make the transition to circular practices,” says Mr Blériot. “There is an increasing amount of interest among businesses in moving towards the circular economy.” To reach the tipping point, he believes it is vital to identify and invest in the innovators of today and the future: “We need to invest in education in order to have the right skills and create the fertile ground for innovation to emerge.” Nearer term, Mr Blériot considers that more projects dealing with the bio-cycle side of the circular economy would be useful, such as those funded under the LIFE programme, since the material flows and the business models around products such as metals and polymers have been well-developed already. “Some projects elucidating the potential of the bioeconomy within the circular economy restorative model would be beneficial.” Mr Blériot concludes by saying he is very encouraged by the Commission’s approach to the circular economy so far. 19
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