The European Commission (EC) and European Investment Bank (EIB) will allow circular economy businesses, such as remanufacturers, to apply for a share of €24 billion ($26.3 billion) after a rule change.
Business Green reported on the announcement, which will see the EU’s finance support programme now be open to “businesses involved in the circular economy” – including cartridge remanufacturers – who can “apply for a share” of the innovation funding budget pot, InnovFin.
The programme was designed to support firms “innovating in the industrial and technological sectors”, and thanks to the rule changes, “sustainable businesses” can now access credit through InnovFin “in order to help develop circular economy projects”. Mid-sized companies will also be able to access the InnovFin Advisory service, which provides financial advice to get sustainable projects “investment ready”.
Widening the availability of the fund is seen by the EC as “a priority” in terms of developing a circular economy, and it is being run as part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme with the aim of supporting “forward-thinking businesses” and their research and development. The decision was included in the EU’s new circular economy package launched earlier in December, with a packaging waste recycling target of 75 percent for member states by 2030.
The UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group (APSRG) said it was delighted the new EU policy measures had included commitments to remanufacturing, while two reports have respectively found that remanufacturing as an industry could boost UK-wide employment, and also that 40,000 jobs could be created by the circular economy in London alone by 2030.
Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, added: “Today’s signing of an extension of funding coverage with the EIB will help our risk-takers make that leap to a more sustainable model of production.”