Transitioning to a circular economy is crucial for achieving Europe’s environmental, industrial, and economic goals. Yet, private investments remain limited due to market fragmentation, regulatory barriers, and perceived financial risks. By acting decisively, Europe can lead the global transition to circularity, unlock new industrial value chains, create millions of sustainable jobs, and build a resilient, competitive economy for the 21st century.

The RESOURCE and InvestCEC projects, both funded by Horizon Europe and part of the Circular Regions and Cities Initiative, have developed methodologies to accelerate private financing of circular economy initiatives. Together, the two projects have produced a joint policy brief summarising the key findings and policy recommendations to strengthen the financial ecosystem and scale up circular solutions across Europe.

This policy paper provides 10 policy recommendations, from more general to more specific advice focusing on Circular investment policies:

1. Promote and strengthen the service economy and functional economy through public procurement and public-private partnerships
2. Develop and implement common EU-wide circular economy measurement tools for citizens and investor awareness
3. Fund territorial diagnostics and create collaborative mapping platforms
4. Create a “Circular Valley” Innovation Hub
5. Establish a European high-level expert group on circular economy to strengthen strategic alignment, awareness, and investment confidence
6. Boost the use of secondary materials in the EU
7. Implement comprehensive tax incentives for circular economy initiatives
8. Streamline regulations to foster circular economy innovation
9. Introduce targeted tax incentives, guarantee schemes, and stronger sustainability reporting to mobilise private investment 
10. Mandate Life Cycle Assessments for local permit applications

You can read the full policy brief: Accelerating Private Investment in the Circular Economy