Call for papers

Green Deal, Industrial Ecology and Circular Economy

December 5th - 6th, 2024, Clermont-Ferrand, France

UCA, INP, CERDI, ERASME, HVL

In December 2019, the European Commission presented “The European Green Deal" roadmap, aimed at making the European Union's economy more sustainable, turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities and making the transition fair and inclusive for all. The European Green Deal has specified the types of actions to be implemented, focusing on four challenges: (i) boosting resource efficiency, (ii) tackling global warming by limiting greenhouse gas emissions and the use of fossil fuels, (iii) reversing the collapse of biodiversity, (iv) reducing chemical pollution (especially fine particles and aerosols) and waste.  The Green Deal also describes the investments required and the financing tools available.

    The European Green Deal covers all sectors of the economy, including transport, energy, agriculture, buildings and industries such as steel, cement, ICT, materials, textiles, and chemicals. Within the EU's monitoring framework for the circular economy, 5 thematic areas receive particular attention: (1) production and consumption patterns, (2) waste management, (3) secondary raw materials, (4) competitiveness and innovation, 5) global sustainability and resilience. Numerous indicators are now used to assess the material footprint, resource productivity, total waste production per capita, municipal waste production, share of plastic in packaging waste, waste recycling rates, contribution of recycled materials to the demand for raw materials, end-of-life recycling rates for raw materials, private investment and employment in circular economy sectors, patents relating to waste management and recycling, dependence on imported materials and EU self-sufficiency in raw materials.

Since 2021, the European Commission has focused on two important pillars of the circular economy: eco-design and packaging reduction. Ecodesign (SsbD : Safe and sustainable by-design) is at the heart of goods production, aiming for sustainable product design with an emphasis on improving repairability, reuse and recycling, reducing the presence of hazardous substances, strengthening consumer information or even banning programmed obsolescence. The packaging issue can be summed up in a few figures: 180 kg of packaging waste is produced by each European citizen per year, and almost 40% plastic and 50% paper are used in packaging production in Europe. The aim is not only to introduce sustainability requirements for packaging and labeling standards, but also to impose restrictions on the use of plastic bags (target consumption of 40 plastic bags per person per year by December 31, 2025).

The "Green Deal, Circular Economy and Industrial Ecology” symposium aims to look at research, experimentation and evaluation of circular economy projects and industrial ecology case studies related to the EU Green Deal. The organizers expect several types of proposals.

1° Feedback on experiences and results from Horizon Europe Projects, focusing on the circular economy and in particular on the development of innovations (low tech vs. high-tech) in line with the 10R model (Reject, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Renovate, Remanufacture, Recycle, Recover) or metrics.

2° Work that focuses on paradigm shifts triggered by the emergence of new models. The circular economy could thus be compared with green growth, the social and solidarity economy, the economy of functionality, degrowth, etc.

3° Reflections on industrial policies and strategies implementing the circular economy. The field of industrial ecology - in particular work on industrial symbioses and eco-industrial parks - could be mobilized from different case studies applied to sectors (construction, agriculture, energy, waste, plastics, etc.).

4° Work on metrics and indicators for the circular economy, seeking to develop new methodologies (life-cycle analysis, flow-stock models, social acceptability logic) or defining different levels of analysis (micro, meso or macro).

5° Analysis of the “business models” relating to the circular economy and in particular the integration of circularity principles and other related features like efficiency, resilience and/or cooperation. As well as the development of supply chain management models for supply chains, hub logistics where lifespan estimation models increase our understanding of the industrial ecosystems like the manufacturing, textiles, plastics, etc. In this context, digital platforms and other digital tools such as the Digital Product Passport facilitate the exchange of information between the different actors in a supply or logistics chain.

How to submit

Contributions presenting the title of the paper, the author, the institution of affiliation, email, a short abstract (300 words max) and an indicative bibliography must be submitted by August 31th 2024 on this website.

Authors will be informed of the acceptance of their proposal in early September 2024. Contributions to the symposium will be published in a collective work in March 2025. Two prizes — the Erasme Prize and the Donella Meadows Prize — will be awarded to a senior researcher and a junior researcher.

A special session will be dedicated to posters (PhD students) with a 5-minute presentation. The best poster will be awarded a prize.