The new EU Circular Economy Resource Centre getting ready for launch – Finland and Sitra strongly involved

The EU Circular Economy Resource Centre (EU CERC) is a joint initiative of the European Commission, Sitra, the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Belgian development agency Enabel. It will be operational from the beginning of 2025.

The EU CERC aims to promote circular economy cooperation between the EU and partner countries in the Global South and to increase the uptake of circular economy policies and business models globally. The CERC is born out of the need to share best circular economy practices and know-how between the EU and partner countries and to deepen international cooperation for the circular economy.

“Europe has been among the first to put the circular economy into practice, but in recent years progress has also been made on other continents,” says Kari Herlevi, Sitra’s Programme Director in charge of the Centre. “Without international collaboration, the circular economy will not advance fast enough and on a large enough scale. The new EU Circular Economy Resource Centre will give us a great opportunity to spread our own expertise and learn from others.”

Europe and the world need a circular economy

The European Green Deal and EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan are driving and accelerating the transition to a circular economy in Europe. The action plan also has a strong global dimension. Value chains for products and materials are often global and transnational. Measures are needed throughout entire value chains to make them circular. This in turn requires sufficient regulations and incentives for the circular economy in both the public and private sectors, across countries and value chains.

The EU Circular Economy Action Plan will impact Europe and the rest of the world. For example, the EU’s vision of a circular single market will increase the demands on products and services provided by partner countries. This will only be possible if the circular economy is promoted around the world. Therefore, the EU wants to support partner countries’ efforts to boost the circular economy and meet increasing circular economy demands.

This is precisely the need that the EU Circular Economy Resource Centre responds to. The centre will also have a flexible and agile response to the demand from partner countries for European circular economy expertise.

How does the EU CERC work?

The EU Circular Economy Resource Centre operates in three main areas:

The Knowledge Lab documents and refines EU circular economy knowledge and best practices for partner countries, and makes the knowledge accessible.
The Policy Lab supports the development and implementation of circular economy policies and roadmaps in partner countries.
The Business Lab supports the circular economy transition and access to circular economy markets for enterprises and sectors in partner countries, and strengthens collaboration between EU and partner country enterprises (Enabel has the main responsibility for the implementation of the Business Lab).

The Centre will operate on a broad global scale. Its main target regions are Latin America, Asia and Africa, and European Union’s eastern and southern neighbourhood.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) is funding the Centre with a total of €15 million over five years. Sitra and the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs will be responsible for managing the Centre. The Belgian Development Agency Enabel is also involved. In addition, the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs will finance the Centre’s activities with a national contribution of €2 million.

The Centre will work closely with the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) founded by Sitra. The WCEF is a key global conference that brings together public and private sector decision-makers to learn from each other and scale up circular economy solutions.