EU Focuses on Scaling Regional Innovations

- The Netherlands has set a national goal of achieving a fully circular economy by 2050, with a near-term target of a 50% reduction in the use of primary materials like minerals, metals, and fossils by 2030. The built environment is a primary focus of this strategy, as the construction sector is the country's largest consumer of resources. - A key Dutch policy instrument is the use of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) for buildings and infrastructure, utilizing the Environmental Cost Indicator (MKI) in procurement to steer the market. This approach is expected to align with the forthcoming EU Construction Products Regulation (CPR), which will likely mandate declarations of life-cycle impacts. - The European Union's cohesion policy, particularly through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is a major financial driver for circular economy initiatives. Between 2014 and 2020, the ERDF allocated approximately €22.9 billion to projects supporting the adoption of circular economy technologies and business models. - Interregional cooperation is a core component of the EU's strategy, facilitated by platforms like the Vanguard Initiative, which connects 38 advanced industrial regions to build value chains based on smart specialisation. This initiative aids in scaling innovations by developing joint demonstration projects and aligning regional and European innovation roadmaps. - The European Commission's Green Action Plan for SMEs aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises capitalize on the green transition, which is crucial as 87% of these enterprises currently only sell their green technologies and services within national markets. However, SMEs often lack the resources and expertise to navigate complex green and digital regulations and access EU funding. - The Horizon Europe program, with a budget of €95.5 billion for 2021-2027, is the EU's primary funding instrument for research and innovation, tackling climate change and promoting competitiveness. It includes specific missions and European Partnerships to align private and public sector efforts in addressing complex challenges. - Cross-border collaboration is also fostered through Interreg programs, which support projects like "Circular Challenge" and "Circular Ecosystems" between Spain and Portugal to promote circular business models for SMEs. Other Interreg projects, such as CURIOST and Circular WEEEP, focus on specific sectors like manufacturing, construction, and electronics waste across Central Europe. - A new flagship initiative under the European Innovation Agenda is the establishment of Regional Innovation Valleys (RIVs). The RIVCircular project, for instance, connects six European regions to collaborate on circular economy innovations in areas like construction and demolition waste, textile recycling, and EV battery recycling.