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Keynote Speech EVP Timmermans at the Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference on Sustainable Products for Sustainable Consumption (01 March 2022).

"Check against delivery"

Good morning everyone,

This is a very strange moment to be speaking to you, because of  course, our hearts and our minds, certainly mine, are with the millions of Ukrainianss who are fighting for their freedom and for the future of their country.

This is a war that affects us all.

It is about our security. It is about our freedom. It is democracy against autocracy. So, it is very much about the future of our continent.

It is also a war that nobody wants.

Nobody in Europe, nobody in the Ukraine, clearly, but also nobody in Russia. Only a few old men in the Kremlin, isolated from reality and in pursuit of a demented pipe dream of world dominance.

This is Putin's war. And it will be Putin's undoing.

The sanctions and other counter measures that the world is quickly piling on are turning Russia into a pariah state. And the EU has never been more united. Our transatlantic bond with our friends in America, in Canada has never been stronger.

So, Putin's war adds an additional dimension to the incredibly urgent effort we have to undertake for our green transition. Because the green transition will free us from the dependency on energy and other resource imports. The sooner we stop sending billions to Russia, the better.

By the way, like most conflicts on this planet today, this conflict also has a climate angle to it. Russia's insecurity is also fed by the disappearance of permafrost, which cripples part of its industry, by failed harvest, by wildfires. So, investing in our future economy, investing in the circular economy, is also investing in our collective security and in the future that we can believe in.

It will allow us to reduce our demand for primary resources, and use a lot less energy for our production and consumption.

So, to be very concrete about today's topic, and I want to thank the European Economic and Social Committee and also Barbara, the French Presidency, for the incredibly good cooperation in preparing today's conference.  

To be concrete, I think we need, countries need and nations need to work together towards a common future more than ever before. We are running out of time. And the IPCC report yesterday confirmed this again. Of course, this is not the main new item in the news today, but it also a hugely urgent matter that was put to our attention again yesterday.

The climate and biodiversity crises are getting worse by the day and already affect hundreds of millions of people and what we saw yesterday in the IPCC report means that we have no time to waste.

Next to the urgency of reducing our import dependencies, we know that we cannot tackle the climate and biodiversity crises without a circular economy.

We know that existing consumption models are wrecking havoc on biodiversity. More than 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress comes from resource extraction and processing.

And we know that half of total greenhouse gas emissions come from resource extraction and processing.

That is why the transition to a circular economy is at the heart of the European Green Deal.

Now, to many people outside, hearing the words ‘circular economy' may prompt them to think about recycling. They may connect it to the water bottle they just bought, with the label stating it's made of 100% recycled plastic.

But recycling, as we all know, is far from being the first step in the circular economy.

First of all, for an effective and efficient circular economy, we need to reduce primary resource use and invest in circular business models. This includes service-based business models, sharing economy, reverse logistics, reuse and repair services, just to name a few.

We want to start thoroughly discussing with companies and other stakeholders how to boost these business models, ensure their profitability and make them increasingly attractive to consumers.

Secondly, we need to rethink how products are designed and produced.

The products we use and the way we use them need to be fit for a future where reduce, reuse, and repair come first. New products should be durable, fully recyclable, chemically safe, and made, as much as possible, of recycled materials.

This year, we, the European Commission will present several important policies to that end.

We will present new legislation for sustainable products.

This legislation will build on the existing Ecodesign Directive, which has brought remarkable energy savings to European consumers. The revised proposal will cover a much wider range of products and allow to get sustainability requirements that include but will go beyond energy efficiency.

As a first step, we are considering high impact products where environmental challenges are biggest: textiles, furniture, electronics, steel and chemicals.

We will also present the European Textiles Strategy.

The textile sector has a strategic position in the EU economy but also a large climate and environmental footprint. We will propose measures to ensure sustainable and circular production and design of textiles, and measures to prevent textile waste.

We also want to address fast fashion and the increasing fossil fuel dependency of clothing producers.

And we want to boost reuse, repair and recycling of textiles. You know, second hand is becoming very fashionable and I think we should try to stimulate that.

It is estimated that less than 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new textiles. This is a huge waste of resources.

In addition to textiles, we will propose a revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. This is due before this summer.

We want “less waste for more value”. This means that packaging should circulate for as long as possible and keep its value instead of turning into waste after first or second use.

We are considering measures on packaging waste prevention and reuse, requirements on mandatory recycled content, and more.

Next to that, we will continue modernizing the EU's waste policy. We will tap further into the potential of the extended producer responsibility, and also propose a harmonised system of waste collection.

If we manage to ensure a fully functioning European market for the highest quality recycled materials, we can make “Recycled in the EU” a global benchmark and create jobs while reducing our dependence on primary raw materials.

In parallel, we are also working on empowering European consumers. Consumers must get more complete and trustworthy environmental information, protection against greenwashing, and new rights such as the right to repair products.

Today there are more than 200 environmental labels active in the EU, and more than 450 worldwide. Some of these are reliable, some are not. But it is difficult for consumers, companies and other market actors to make sense of them all.

Greenwashing will have our particular attention. It misleads market actors and does not give due advantage to those companies that are making the effort to green their products and activities. It ultimately leads to a less green economy. It is just cheating.

That is why we want to tackle green claims and propose a reliable legal framework this summer.

We will do our part. However, today isn't simply about what the Commission will propose. That's not all. Today is about much more. EU policy proposals can never be enough. We need all parts of society, from businesses and consumers to local governments and the research community to be on board, if we want to be successfull.

Today, we share, we connect, we debate, and we do so while acknowledging that no ambitious legislative agenda can succeed without a community of values behind it.

Other Europeans today are risking their lives fighting for these values. We shoud acknowledge that. We should be part of that fight. Do our part and going to a circular economy is doing our part, is part of doing our part an important part of that.

This year's conference will allow us to make us stronger as a community, to make us stronger as a society, to make our values stronger and to do what is necessary to hand over a better society to our children and grandchildren.

Thank you.

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