Grant agreement ID: 730316
DOI
Project closed
EC signature date7 September 2016
Start date1 October 2016
End date30 September 2018
Project Context & Objectives
CIRCULAR IMPACTS was designed to help the European Commission and Member States understand the multidimensional impacts—environmental, economic, and social—of adopting circularity.
- The Core Problem: While the “Circular Economy Package” provided a political goal, policy-makers lacked a centralized, data-driven evidence base to perform impact assessments and predict the outcomes of specific circular policies.
- Reframing Value: Shifting from the “Take-Make-Dispose” model to a regenerative system where components are kept in the economic process indefinitely.
- Project Mission: To provide the data and theoretical tools necessary to make the circular economy a measurable and manageable reality for EU governance.
Key Results & Achievements
The project provided a mix of theoretical frameworks, digital tools, and real-world case studies to bridge the gap between abstract circular goals and practical policy-making.
| Result Category | Achievement |
| Evidence Base | Created an Online Search Tool and library containing reports, indicators, and models. |
| Theoretical Foundation | Defined the circular economy structure and mapped relevant associated markets. |
| Policy Integration | Analyzed the role of the European Semester in driving circular transitions. |
| Case Studies | Deep-dives into 4 diverse sectors: Car sharing, Recycled concrete, Li-ion batteries, and Phosphorus. |
| Future Scenarios | Reviewed macroeconomic models to predict short, medium, and long-term impacts. |
Deep-Dive Case Studies
To move beyond theory, the project conducted four specific case studies that highlighted the “Good Practices” and economic trade-offs of circularity:
- Car Sharing (Germany): Explored “Product-as-a-Service” models, showing how intensifying vehicle use can reduce resource and energy demand.
- Recycled Concrete (France): Investigated the reuse of construction and demolition waste (CDW) to reduce landfilling and the extraction of virgin minerals.
- Lithium-Ion Batteries: Focused on the critical transition to electric vehicles and the management of high-value battery components.
- Phosphorus Recycling: Addressed the recovery of this essential but scarce nutrient for agriculture, reducing dependency on imports.
Socio-Economic & Policy Impact
The legacy of CIRCULAR IMPACTS lies in its contribution to European economic governance and scientific transparency:
- The European Semester: The project clarified how circular economy objectives can be integrated into the EU’s annual cycle of economic policy coordination, making circularity a fiscal and economic priority.
- Public Knowledge Hub: The Knowledge Library (circular-impacts.eu) was designed as a “one-stop shop” for journalists, scientists, and NGOs, not just government officials.
- Modelling for Practitioners: By comparing different macroeconomic modeling methodologies, the project helped practitioners choose the right tools for predicting employment gains, GDP changes, and resource efficiency.
- Impact Beyond the Project: The findings continue to support the implementation of the Circular Economy Action Plan and the European Green Deal.
