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Companies and their branch organisations, civil society organisations,
research institutes and government representatives have
set up activities to carry out the above lines of action. The Dutch
government expressed commitment in 2017 to support the
agendas and promote their realisation through an implementation
programme. Launched in 2019, the Circular Economy Implementation
Programme 2019-2023 22 describes how the government
and other agreement signatories are energetically shaping the
transition towards a circular economy. The programme, which was
recently updated, 23 contains an overview of projects to be executed
in the five high-priority supply chains and a list of crosscutting
themes affecting multiple aspects of the circular transition. These
include instruments aimed at facilitating the transition process,
for example, the adjustment or removal of obstructive rules and
regulations in favour of a circular economy and financial support
for companies that use fewer natural resources. Other measures
are aimed at smart market incentives, circular procurement, better
financial arrangements, knowledge development and innovation,
international cooperation and behavioural change. The Circular
Netherlands Accelerator portal, an initiative of public and private
stakeholders, assists companies (mostly SMEs) in becoming more
circular. It is an important instrument for facilitating and scaling
up innovative circular business models, and helps businesses
with regulatory problems, financing, knowledge and an adequate
network.
The Dutch government has emphasised the pricing of products’
environmental impact as another effective way to promote the
circular economy. A lack of such pricing mechanism has so far
meant that raw materials extraction and use are relatively cheap
compared to secondary raw materials, known as ‘recyclates’. Taxes
and other charges can be introduced to account for environmental
22 Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Circular Economy
Implementation Programme 2019-2023, The Hague, 2019.
23 Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Circular Economy
Implementation Programme 2020-2023, The Hague, 2020.