The European Union has long portrayed itself as a pioneer in the field of environmental policy – but even it sometimes struggles to translate ambition into action. Three years ago, the European Commission adopted the Circular Economy Action Plan, a package of measures designed to reduce waste and encourage sustainable consumption. The plan stipulates that the bloc should double its use of recycled materials from 11.7 per cent in 2020 to 23.4 per cent by 2030. As of today, few member states are close to reaching this target.
- Profitable core division
- Established in a growth industry
- Low valuation
- Sector M&A
- Some products lack end markets
- Vulnerable to commodity price swings
An investigation by the independent European Environment Agency (EEA) found the circular material use rate increased just 0.1 percentage points annually between 2011 and 2021. This means that the share of recycled waste used in the European economy must drastically ramp up in the next few years. According to the EEA, special efforts must be made to increase the recycling of non-metallic minerals, such as construction materials, as these make up around half of all materials used in the EU.