A manifesto calling on business, labour and civil society leaders in Europe to support resource efficiency and the transformation to a circular economy and society has been published by the European Resource Efficiency Platform
The European Resource Efficiency Platform aims to provide high-level guidance to the European Commission, member states and the private sector on the transition to a more resource-efficient economy.
According to SD Scene, although Europe 2020, the European Union’s ten-year growth strategy, seeks to address the on-going economic crisis which afflicts many EU member economies, it is also about addressing the shortcomings of traditional growth models and creating the conditions for a different type of growth that is smarter, more sustainable and more inclusive. To render this more tangible, five key targets have been set for the EU to achieve by the end of the decade, covering employment, education, research and innovation, social inclusion and poverty reduction, and climate/energy.
A framework of seven ‘flagship initiatives’ has been established through which EU and national authorities can structure their efforts to achieve the five key Europe 2020 targets and the Resource-Efficient Europe (REE) flagship initiative is one of these (the others are innovation, the digital economy, employment, youth, industrial policy, poverty).
In December 2012 the European Resource Efficiency Platform’s members issued their initial Manifesto for a Resource-Efficient Europe, to support the shift towards sustainable growth via a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy. The Manifesto lists six initial bases for achieving a ‘circular, resource-efficient and resilient economy’ that can be achieved in a ‘socially inclusive and responsible way’:
- encouraging innovation and investment through a ‘dynamic and predictable’ regulatory framework
- the use of ‘smart regulation’ to reward front runners and accelerate transition
- the abolition of environmentally harmful subsidies
- creating better market conditions for ‘circular’ products and services
- integrating current and future resource scarcities into wider policy areas such as transport, food, water and construction
- the adoption of clear targets that give clear directions and indicators to measure progress towards those targets
The European Resource Efficiency Platform intends to issue a more detailed set of short term policy recommendations in June 2013.