COUNTRIES WITH THE BEST CIRCULAR ECONOMY

These are the European countries with the best circular economy

The circular economy model is spreading to countries around the world. In Europe it has more and more weight in economic measures, although there are many states that have not yet gone from theory to action.

In 2020, a new action plan for the circular economy in the European Union was approved. The plan includes 54 measures to close the circle of the life cycle of products and measures for companies, institutions and consumers to adopt a sustainable model. It primarily focuses on design and production to ensure that resources remain within the economy for as long as possible.

Apart from policies at European level, countries have different regulations on circular economy with important differences between them.

Which countries are leading the European circular economy?

NETHERLANDS

The Netherlands is the green country par excellence and one of the European benchmarks in circular economy. The Dutch have a goal for 2050: to be a country based 100% on the circular economy and free of waste. One practice they are implementing, for example, is to build zero-emission government buildings with as many recycled materials and resources as possible.

FRANCE

The French government has a circular economy roadmap in place and laws such as the Energy Transition Law for Green Growth (2015) or the Law against waste (2020).

ITALY

According to the Circular Economy Network 2020 Report, Italy is among the top European positions in circular economy. They have created a public investment fund to promote innovative projects in sustainability, circular economy, decarbonization, sustainable tourism and measures against climate change.

GERMANY

Germany is a country with a lot of industry and is still far from having a circular economy of production and consumption. Even so, it is a leader in waste management and sustainable development programs and strategies are being applied at the government level.

These four countries are followed by Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Spain.

Spain occupies the eighth position in the European ranking, and that means that there is still a long way to go to achieve a circular economy at the national level.

At Waly we believe that the circular economy cannot be based solely on the individual actions of consumers, but must be accompanied by institutional and business measures.

That is why our design and production policies take into account the principles of the circular economy.