National approaches and policy options supporting a circular economy of the agro-food system in the EU

1. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu
National approaches and policy options
supporting a circular economy of the
agro-food system in the EU
Dr. Ben Allen - Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)
OECD/ Dutch Ministry of Agriculture Circular Approach and the
Sustainability of the Agro-food System: - Closing Resource Loops to Improve
Sustainability. 3 April 2019, Paris

2. National approaches

3. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu
EU CE Strategies

4. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu
Bioeconomy
• Greater use of wastes that
can not be recovered
• New side streams and
valorisation
Consumption
• Choice editing in
supermarkets
• Dietary guidance
• Product information
Resource efficiency
• More efficient production
and production systems
Fertilisers
• Utilising recovered materials
• Removing ‘waste’ labelling
barrier
• Promotion & labelling
Food waste
• More efficient harvest
• Incentives for consumer
collection

5. Policy options

6. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu
Enabling CE in agro-food systems
Primary sector
Processing &
Manufacturing
Retail & Distribution
Consumer
Post consumer
RURAL
URBAN
• Primary sector
‒ Enable & promote
• Processing
‒ Efficiency & sustainability
‒ Plan for recovery
• Retail & distribution
‒ Inform & educate
• Consumer
‒ Choice & quantity
• Post consumer
‒ Recover & utilise
Energy
biomaterials

7. Bio-waste & fertilisers
• Recovery of bio-waste for use in agricultural fertilisers
& growing cultures (FR, FI, Sc)
• Encourage the use of fertilizers from renewable
resources in agricultural production
• Remove the waste status of fertilizers produced from
high-quality recycling (FR, FI)
• Revision of labelling of fertilizers to better highlight
agronomic qualities, origin and process of composts
and digestates from the circular economy (FR)
• Create a market for organic recycled nutrients (FR,
NL)

8. Consumers
• Minimise food waste by eliminating barriers and
creating incentives (FR)
• Implementation of the National Programme for
Sustainable Consumption by the Federal
Government (DE)
• Natural resource consumption calculators for
consumers (FI)
• Better positioning of resource-efficient products (DE)
• Customizing menus in public institutions &
Amending rules in respect of shelf life (SL)
• Informing, education and integration of different
stakeholders (SL)

9. Further policy options
1. Coherence:
– Integration of bio and circular economy
strategies
– Policy coherence to balance material
demands with resource use along the entire
value chain
2. Geography/Scale:
– Rural-Rural / Rural-Urban-Rural circular-bio-
economy value chains
3. Stakeholder involvement:
– Understanding better what farmers need
and the policy tools to support them
4. Financial:
– Tax or other financial incentives to utilize
recovered materials and nutrients
– Products from circular actions are lower
cost to consumers
5. Standards:
– Circularity standards, eco-label
Primary sector
Processing &
Manufacturing
Retail & Distribution
Consumer
Post consumer
RURAL
URBAN
Energy
biomaterials

10. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu
Thank you
Dr. Ben Allen
ballen@ieep.eu / +44 (0)77 4040 9594
Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) 11 Belgrave
Road, IEEP Offices,
Floor 3, London SW1V 1RB,
United Kingdom