The largest banks and national development institutions of the EU and the European Investment Bank launch an initiative of 10,000 million Euros to accelerate the transition towards a sustainable and circular economy.
On July 18, five European national development institutions and banks and the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched, in Luxembourg, the joint initiative for the Circular Economy to support the development and implementation of projects and circular economy programs in the European Union (EU). This emblematic association will allocate a minimum of 10,000 million euros in investments over the next five years (2019-2023). The aim is to avoid and eliminate waste, increase efficiency in the use of resources and encourage innovation by promoting circularity in all sectors of the economy.
The five national development banks and institutions are:
- Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK-Poland)
- Groupe Caisse de Dépots (CDC-France) which includes Bpifrance
- Cassa Deposit and Loans (CDP-Italy)
- Official Credit Institute (ICO-Spain)
- Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW – Germany)
The six partner institutions will combine their knowledge, experience and financial capacity to provide better support for the implementation of viable circular projects and program approaches. The Joint Initiative for the Circular Economy (ICEC) will allocate loans, capital investments or guarantees to eligible projects and develop innovative financing structures for public and private infrastructure, municipalities and private companies of different sizes as well as for projects of innovation research. ICEC builds on ongoing initiatives led by the European Commission to advance knowledge through specialized working groups and develop funding plans.
This joint initiative will focus in particular on investments in EU member states that will help accelerate the transition to a circular economy. It will focus on all stages of the value chain and the life cycle of products and services:
- Design and circular production: apply "reduction and recycling" strategies to eliminate waste at source from its design and before its commercialization.
- Circular use and extension of useful life: allow the reuse, repair, conversion, reconditioning or remanufacturing of products in the use phase.
- Circular value recovery: recovering materials and other resources from waste, through the recovery of residual heat and/or the reuse of treated wastewater.
- Circular support: facilitating circular strategies in all phases of the life cycle, for example with the deployment of key ICT technologies, digitization and support services for circular business models and circular value chains.
"Combating global warming and environmental crises is the most urgent challenge of our time. Strengthening the circular economy is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal: it will not only help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, but also bring enormous benefits to the economy and society. With the joint initiative for the circular economy, we are expanding our goals and joining efforts to stem the tide of waste." Werner Hoyer, president of the EIB, said.
For his part, the president of the ICO. José Carlos Garcia de Quevedo commented that "The ICO aims to promote inclusive economic growth and the transition towards a more sustainable development. Support for alternatives such as the circular economy fits perfectly with the Sustainable Development Goals and the public policies addressed internationally in the Spanish Agenda for Change. Given our status as public development banks, we have a clear leadership responsibility in this area and a great commitment to improve collaboration between European institutions"
