People and Society

Circular economy focused projects receive €220 million investment
A new investment package of €222.7 million from the EU budget has been set aside to support Europe’s transition a low-carbon future with a particular focus on supporting initiatives that complement the circular economy package.

Paul Mason on Da Vinci, Dachshunds and Disruptive Innovation
Circulate spoke with Paul Mason to get a preview of some of the threads he’ll address at this year’s Disruptive Innovation Festival.

Circulate on Fridays: AI, Turbines and Uber
Every Friday, the Circulate team pull together a collection of their favourite circular economy related articles, podcasts and videos that they’ve come across during the previous week. This week we’re looking at the amazing cost of wind turbines, food waste opportunities, new thinking on AI, the latest on Uber and plenty

Circulate on Fridays: Open source self-driving cars, portable solar panels and more!
It is Friday again! As you are hopefully planning pleasant weekends, we bring you the latest edition of Circulate on Fridays, highlighting seven great circular economy related reads. Join us this weekend for pieces on the pros and cons of Universal Basic Income, portable solar panels, an open source self-driving

How to “change the world” of learning at university
UCL engages multidisciplinary student group in circular economy challenge Digital technology is creating new opportunities for personalised learning journeys every day. Educational Apps are flooding the market of primary and secondary schools. Employers attribute increasing importance to collaboration, creativity and communication in their recruitment processes. Yet, the traditional lecture-seminar format

Why Sweden’s VAT tax breaks on repairs could be a big deal
The Swedish government is set to take policy steps to enable a different kind of behaviour in the way in which products are used and the life-cycles of goods. Tax breaks on repairs to bicycles, washing machines and just about any broken item are being brought to the parliament by the

The slow rise of the sharing economy in Japan
The sharing economy is gaining a great deal of focus globally and is seen to be one of the fastest growing business sectors in most developed economies. However, in Japan, despite continued and steady growth in recent years, it is still in its infancy when compared to other major economies

CEPS report: How the circular economy applies to different EU industries
A new report from CEPS seeks to supports the transition towards the circular economy by simplifying and clarifying the concept for both policy-makers and business leaders.

Farm from a Box: Is it time for food production by the masses?
The future of agriculture and our food systems is uncertain. Long and complex supply networks no longer appear the obvious way to guarantee either long-term economic or environmental prosperity, while improvements in terms of yield for mass production agriculture have gradually been reduced, all while associated concerns relating to soil

Pete Myers on the health benefits of a circular economy
Keeping materials cycling throughout the economy is good, right? Perhaps not, if you haven’t considered exactly what materials you’ve got re-entering the loop.