Circular economy
The economy of resources management that allows to exploit them as long as possible
What is circular economy?
Circular economy comes from the idea of "circularity", in contrast with the "linearity" of the current economic model: linearity considers and manages resources on the unidirectional line from extraction - production - distribution - consumption - disposal. On the contrary, the circular model uses resources in a more efficient way, keeping them in the economic cycle as long as possible, through reuse and recycling.
Following this concept, waste is minimized and the life cycle concept is introduced.
Circular economy starts at the very beginning of a product's life, since both the design phase and production processes have an impact on sourcing, resource use and waste generation throughout its life.
In December 2015, Europe launched an action plan in order to:
- Set specific goals to reduce waste
- Give a signal to economic operators and society about the future path, with real objectives and actions to be implemented
- Create an adequate regulatory framework at European level to develop circular economy in the internal market
- Implement specific measures to address the obstacles and the different situations in the Member States (by-product rules, secondary raw material markets, economic incentives, actions on consumer)
- Reduce barriers in specific sectors, working on material flows, plastic, food waste, critical raw materials, construction and demolition, biomass and biobased-products
- Define horizontal actions in areas such as innovation and investments thanks to EU Research and Innovation support tools
What does RINA do?
For over 20 years RINA has developed its skills and expertise in the environment and greenhouse gases, life cycle analyses, energy efficiency and sustainability fields concerning organisations, products, services, processes and systems.
RINA offers certification and conformity assessment services to public and private organisations committed to sustainability, environmental protection and fight against climate change.
Our services help to foster a sustainable, low carbon, resource efficient and competitive economy, and they include, for example:
