On February 7th and 8th 2017, the 6 partners of the Interreg Europe project ENHANCE (EMAS as a Nest to Help And Nurture the Circular Economy) celebrated the first Project Meeting at the offices of the Catalan Ministry of Territory and Sustainability located in Barcelona.  ENHANCE aims to improve the implementation of regional policy instruments...

Take A Green Step is brought to you by the European Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment, supported by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. Do you work in the tourism sector? Are you looking for ways to make your hotel or restaurant more eco-friendly? Then check out this new website which is full of...

How are the we doing when it comes to recycling?  Most of us are doing it to some extent but some of us are unsure if we are doing it correctly.  Thankfully as a nation we are switched on to the importance of recycling and the role that we play as individuals.  However, even with...

There are many reasons why Sustainability is good for business, including opportunities for SMEs to benefit. Potential to increase profits,  eg. reducing energy usage, waste, raw material and transport which all correlate directly to reducing costs. Fulfil the demand for greener products and services. There is a growing demand among consumers for greener and safer products and people are...

The EU has proposed higher recycling targets in a bid to transform Europe’s economy into one where nothing is wasted, supporting sustainable growth and a zero-waste economy. Under the new targets, European countries will: Anticipated benefits of a zero-waste economy include: The EU is working towards a “circular economy” or  zero-waste economy, in which reusing,...

The circular economy, industrial symbiosis, resource exchange and sustainable supply chain management all are slightly different takes on the same theme. As a core value, the circular economy aims to keep products, components and materials at their highest utility and value at all times, distinguishing between technical and biological cycles. As with all things, jargon,...

The production of concrete and of concrete structures consumes large amounts of resources, such as water, energy, cement and steel and emit large amounts of CO2 in their production processes. ISO 13315-1:2012, Environmental management for concrete and concrete structures – Part 1: General Principles, aims to provide the basic rules on environmental management for concrete...

The EU has proposed higher recycling targets in a bid to transform Europe’s economy into one where nothing is wasted, supporting sustainable growth and a zero-waste economy. Under the new targets, European countries will: Ban the burying of recyclable waste in landfill after 2025 Recycle 70% of municipal waste (everyday rubbish) and 80% of packaging...

An EU-funded project has developed guidelines for making concrete from recycled ingredients.  The guidelines are based on tests of recycled concrete, steel recovered from waste tyres and natural fibres from sisal. The production of concrete consumes large amounts of raw materials and is estimated to be responsible for around 10 % of all human-sourced emissions of greenhouse gases. Concrete from demolished...

The circular economy, industrial symbiosis, resource exchange and sustainable supply chain management all are slightly different takes on the same theme. As a core value, the circular economy aims to keep products, components and materials at their highest utility and value at all times, distinguishing between technical and biological cycles. As with all things, jargon,...