The European Commission recently published a report on the completion of it’s 2015 Circular Economy Action Plan. Then on March 11, 2020, it published “A new Circular Economy Action Plan” that covers the years 2020-2024. This new plan puts significant emphasis on the electronics industry and will undoubtedly lead to new regulations that impose sustainability requirements on electronic products.
Key objectives of the action plan are:
- Economic growth that is decoupled from the use of resources
- Climate neutrality by 2050
- Sustainable products as the norm
- Linking industry strategy to circular business models
- Leadership to a global circular economy
The main initiatives that will impact EEE manufacturers are:
- Circular Electronics Initiative,
- Sustainable Product Policy Initiative and the
- Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.
The Commission will be developing regulatory and non-regulatory instructions to implement these initiatives in the 2020-2024 timeframe.