Circular economy action plan

Objectives

Measures introduced under the action plan aim to

• make sustainable products the norm in the EU
• empower consumers and public buyers
• focus on the sectors that use most resources and where the potential for circularity is high such as: electronics and ICT, batteries and vehicles, packaging, plastics, textiles, construction and buildings, food, water and nutrients
• ensure less waste
• make circularity work for people, regions and cities
• lead global efforts on circular economy

Actions

Most of the legal acts foreseen under the Circular Economy Action Plan have been adopted and have entered into force:

A Sustainable product policy framework

• The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) entered into force in July 2024. It is the cornerstone of the Commission’s approach to more environmentally sustainable and circular products.
• The Directive empowering consumers for the green transition from March 2024 ensures that consumers are provided with better information at the point of sale on the durability and reparability of goods and the consumer’s legal guarantee rights.
• The Directive on repair of goods establishing the “right to repair” entered into force in July 2024.
• The review of the Industrial Emissions Directive resulted in the adoption of the Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive (IED 2.0). Integrating circular economy practices and resource efficiency in the Best Available Techniques, it began to apply from August 2024.
• In March 2023 the Commission made a proposal for a Directive on substantiating green claims. 

Key Product value chains

• The new Regulation on packaging waste (PPWR) entered into force in February 2025. Replacing the previous Directive, it harmonises national measures further - strengthening the internal market - notably for secondary raw materials, manufacturing, recycling and reuse.
• A new Batteries Regulation was adopted in July 2023, ensuring that batteries placed on the EU market are sustainable and circular throughout their whole life cycle.
• In March 2022 the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles was adopted.
• The Commission is currently evaluating the Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to explore possibilities to simplify it and determine whether a review is needed.
• A new Regulation on end-of-life vehicles was proposed in 2023.

Less Waste More Value

• A new Regulation on waste shipments entered into force in May 2024, aiming to ensure that the EU does not export its waste challenges.
• The Commission proposed a revision to the Waste Framework Directive in July 2023.
• Restriction of intentionally added microplastics and measures on unintentional release of microplastics: A REACH restriction was adopted in in 2023.
• The Commission also proposed a Regulation on Microplastics in 2023.

Monitoring

It is essential to monitor progress towards a circular economy, and its direct and indirect benefits. This allows the EU and national authorities to assess whether policies are effective and to identify best practices.

In 2023, the Commission revised the circular economy monitoring framework, previously adopted in 2018. The revision adds new indicators on

• material footprint and resource productivity - to monitor material efficiency
• consumption footprint – to monitor if EU consumption fits within planetary boundaries

The new framework supports the EU’s circular economy and climate neutrality ambitions under the European Green Deal.

Timeline

Previous and upcoming actions and initiatives

Policy areas

• Chemicals
• Circular economy
• Circular economy at the global level
• Industry
• Plastics
• Sustainable development
• Waste and recycling

Events

See events published on the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform