OpenLobby.EU
Explore

Ecopreneur.eu

Ecopreneur.eu

Ecopreneur.eu is the European Sustainable Business Federation representing 5,000 SMEs committed to the circular economy.

Lobbying Activity

Ecopreneur.eu urges EU to reward sustainable circular business models

4 Nov 2025
Topic — This consultation addresses the upcoming Circular Economy Act to boost sustainable production.
Message — The EU should create a level playing field for circular business models. It must apply true pricing by accounting for environmental and lifecycle costs.12
Why — These reforms would strengthen the market competitiveness of companies using recycled materials.3
Impact — Polluting industries and fossil fuel companies would lose subsidies and market dominance.45
Read full response

Meeting with Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President) and

2 Jul 2025 · EU Clean Industrial Dialogue on Circularity

Meeting with Peter Wehrheim (Head of Unit Research and Innovation) and traceless materials

13 Jun 2025 · Discussion on circular bioeconomy, bridging innovation to production, funding instruments and legislative bottle necks

Meeting with Piotr Müller (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

24 Apr 2025 · Evaluation of the Public Procurement Directives

Meeting with Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

4 Apr 2025 · Sustainability omnibus

Meeting with Vincent Hurkens (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné)

20 Mar 2025 · Omnibus simplification

Ecopreneur.eu urges mandatory green criteria for EU public procurement

7 Mar 2025
Topic — Evaluation of EU rules governing public procurement and concession contracts.
Message — Mandatory sustainability criteria should reach 100% of public contracts by 2029. The current directive should become a regulation to ensure harmonized rules. Small businesses need easier access through reduced financial and track record requirements.1234
Why — Sustainable businesses would achieve a level playing field and increased market profitability.5
Impact — Suppliers of cheap, carbon-intensive goods lose their traditional price-based market advantage.6
Read full response

Meeting with Terhi Lehtonen (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera Rodríguez)

18 Feb 2025 · To hear interest representatives’ view on green policy objectives.

Meeting with Luis Planas Herrera (Cabinet of Commissioner Jessika Roswall)

12 Feb 2025 · Green claims

Meeting with Miguel Jose Garcia Jones (Cabinet of Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra), Olivia Gippner (Cabinet of Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra)

11 Feb 2025 · Simplification and clean industrial deal

Ecopreneur.eu warns against watering down European sustainability reporting standards

7 Jul 2023
Topic — The EU is establishing standards for corporate sustainability reporting by certain companies.
Message — The group opposes weakening the standards and demands mandatory disclosure for climate change and value chain workers. They urge the Commission to close loopholes allowing companies to opt out of reporting on biodiversity plans.123
Why — Stronger standards would create a stable business environment for sustainable companies to lead the market.4
Impact — Investors face a regulatory patchwork that hinders their ability to fund the green transition.5
Read full response

Ecopreneur.eu urges proportional allocation for recycled content reporting

30 May 2023
Topic — The Commission is defining methodology for reporting recycled content in plastic beverage bottles.
Message — The federation requests that recycled content be allocated proportionally at a batch level. They oppose methods allowing misleading labels on products with minimal recycled material.12
Why — This would protect mechanical recycling investments and ensure a stable market for materials.34
Impact — Chemical recyclers lose the flexibility to claim high recycled content using flexible accounting.5
Read full response

Meeting with Malte Gallée (Member of the European Parliament) and Mehrwegverband Deutschland e.V. and Werner & Mertz

23 Mar 2023 · Packaging and Packaging Waste

Meeting with Anna Cavazzini (Member of the European Parliament, Committee chair)

9 Mar 2023 · "Circular Economy", "Right-to-Repair", "nachhaltige Mode", "Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung" and "CO2-Grenzregime"

Ecopreneur.eu Urges EU to Maintain High Packaging Waste Ambition

18 Dec 2022
Topic — The Commission is reviewing rules to reduce packaging waste and improve design.
Message — The group urges legislators to preserve ambitious targets and prioritize reuse over recycling. They also call for phasing out hazardous substances and ensuring all companies comply.12
Why — Sustainable businesses would benefit from new market opportunities and rewards for circular innovations.34
Impact — Companies failing to comply will face higher recycling fees and environmental taxes.5
Read full response

Response to Fitness check of how the Polluter Pays Principle is applied to the environment

9 Dec 2022

Existing EU regulation is inadequate to realise a circular and sustainable economy. It is clearly unable to solve the huge waste problems for many products and materials in virtually all sectors, ranging from construction and plastics to food, textile and electronics. Sustainability over the whole life cycle needs to be considered. To achieve this, consistent and coherent application of the polluter pays principle in the EU, across policies that affect environmental protection and the improvement of environmental quality, is urgently needed. The reforms needed include carbon pricing, a tax shift from labour to resources and pollution, harmonised eco-modulated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes for all waste-intensive product groups, and rapid implementation of Green and Circular Public Procurement in all EU member states. Our complete feedback is attached as a file.
Read full response

Response to Sustainable Products Initiative

21 Jun 2022

Ecopreneur.eu - The European Sustainable Business Federation - highly welcomes the European Commission’s proposal for a European Sustainable Product Initiative (SPI) including an Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and a Digital Product Passport (DPP). Our Federation however calls on the European Commission to consider six additional policy measures to ensure the initiative will work for small and medium sizes enterprises (SMEs). Please read the enclosed position paper with our detailed feedback.
Read full response

Ecopreneur.eu calls for tougher EU corporate sustainability due diligence

23 May 2022
Topic — Proposed EU directive on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence for corporations.
Message — The federation demands the legislation apply to all businesses regardless of size across the full value chain. They call for linking executive pay to sustainability and extending rules to include spot markets.1234
Why — The proposal ensures a level playing field for sustainable frontrunners currently ahead of regulations.5
Impact — Corporate laggards and non-transparent operators in spot markets would face new accountability measures.67
Read full response

Response to Promoting sustainability in consumer after-sales

4 Apr 2022

Ecopreneur.eu - the European Sustainable Business Federation - and its seven member organisations welcome the European Commission’s “Right to Repair” initiative aimed at extending the lifetime of consumer products through improved quality and ease of repair while promoting the purchase of second-hand and refurbished goods. We strongly advocate Option 3 from the call for evidence document, which is the most ambitious one with a high level of intervention, along with all sub-options: prioritising repair over replacement and obliging producers or sellers to repair goods beyond the legal guarantee period, extending the legal guarantee period beyond the current minimum period of 2 years, and enabling the seller to replace defective products with refurbished goods and not new ones. (...) Download to read our full position paper.
Read full response

Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

10 Mar 2022 · Implementation of EU Circular Economy Action Plan

Response to Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

12 Nov 2021

The European Sustainable Business Federation - Ecopreneur.eu - welcomes the European Commission’s initiative of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as we consider it to be an important instrument to counteract the risk of “carbon leakage” and unabated greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, we call on the European Commission to expand the scope of the CBAM from cement, iron, steel, aluminium, fertilisers and electricity to ALL industry sectors, products and services that cause unfair competition due to carbon leakage, including those from agriculture, mining, manufactured goods, and commercial services. Carbon costs should be accounted for by a levy for all goods and services entering the EU common market according to their actual emissions, and that well before 2030. Please find enclosed a full position paper from Ecopreneur.eu for your consideration.
Read full response

Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

27 Sept 2021 · Implementation of the Circular Economy Action Plan

Response to Social Economy Action Plan

23 Apr 2021

For our full position paper see www.ecopreneur.eu Representing almost 3000 green companies throughout the EU, most of them SMEs, Ecopreneur.eu believes that the European Action Plan for a Social Economy should reflect the convergence between “green” and “social” enterprises, demand 100% green conditions on EU support via the European Recovery Plan, and ambitious implementation of the European Green Deal with all its components. Until recently, the “social economy” and the “green economy” were thought of as distinct areas. A social enterprise combines entrepreneurial activity with a social purpose. Its main aim is to have a social impact rather than maximise profit for owners or shareholders. A green enterprise on the other hand aims at a reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, preferably by creating a positive environmental impact. About 3% of all SMEs are green front-runners or “ecopreneurs” that are committed to delivering sustainable products and services. Ecopreneurs support the principles people, planet & profit: These are profitable companies already realising sustainable production, distribution, consumption and recycling; they implement new business models by significantly improved products, services, processes or methods; some of them are “regenerative champions” generating positive externalities for the climate and the environment. The “social” and “green” economy are however increasingly connected. Social companies can have environmental objectives. For ecopreneurs, doing business in a social and fair way is a voluntary condition. Some green enterprises also work with people with a distance to the labour market. A remaining difference between green and social enterprises seems to be that, among green enterprises, there is a strong conviction that there is nothing wrong with making a decent profit by creating a positive impact on the world. On the contrary, by having profit as one driver behind the company, green enterprises increase their sales and thereby their positive impact on society. In view of the urgency of solving the climate, resources and biodiversity crises, the positive effect of being for-profit on mainstreaming the low-carbon circular economy seems increasingly important. Many of the main barriers for growth for green enterprises hold back social enterprises just as well: lack of demand in the absence of True Pricing, lack of transparency in the value chain, lack of access to finance, and the complexity of circular design, among others. Ecopreneur.eu therefore advocates the following recommendations for the European Action Plan for a Social Economy: • 100% green conditions on EU support via the European Recovery Plan. At present, only 37% of the support is labelled as “green”, and in practice many member states have hardly implemented any green conditions at all. Simple logic implies that the EU is effectively supporting the high-carbon linear economy. 100% green conditions to beneficiaries could be applied in many ways, such as focusing investments on green activities following the classification in the new EU Taxonomy Rulebook, or at least demanding a green sector roadmap; • Ambitious implementation of the European Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan, Climate Policy and SME Strategy, including an ambitious textiles strategy and timely implementation of adopted environmental directives by the 27 EU Member States; • Strengthening the role of SMEs, e.g. via Circularity Hubs as mentioned by the European Parliament in the recent Circular Economy Initiative Report by MEP Jan Huitema; • Implementation of strong economic incentives: Circular Procurement, EPR, CO2 pricing, carbon border adjustment mechanism, tax shift, VAT, etc. These incentives will foster both green and social business models and society in general; • Minimum requirements for low-carbon circular design for all end-products in resource- and waste-intensive sectors via the Sustainable Products Initiative.
Read full response

Response to Business taxation for the 21st century

30 Mar 2021

Please read our feedback in the enclosed document.
Read full response

Response to EU strategy for sustainable textiles

1 Feb 2021

With the enclosed position paper, the European Sustainable Business Federation - Ecopreneur.eu and its members call on the European Commission to integrate a number of essential economic, regulatory and educational instruments into the “EU Strategy for Sustainable Textiles”: https://ecopreneur.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Feedback_on_EU_Textiles_Strategy_Ecopreneur.eu_2021-02-01.pdf
Read full response

Response to Climate change mitigation and adaptation taxonomy

16 Dec 2020

Ecopreneur.eu, the European Sustainable Business Federation representing about 3.000 green enterprises (mainly small and medium sized) across Europe, welcomes the European Commission’s draft regulation on Sustainable finance - EU classification system for green investments (the “taxonomy”, Ref. Ares(2020)6979284 - 20/11/2020). We strongly support the policy objective to improve the access to finance for green companies while preventing greenwashing. Lack of access to finance is a major obstacle for SMEs. Since most eco-innovations come from SMEs, a good taxonomy could greatly accelerate the circular economy in Europe. We strongly approve of its intentions and trust that it will contribute to channelling more funding to businesses – especially multinationals – for implementing low-carbon practices. Nevertheless we have the following comments and urgent recommendations to increase the access to finance for SMEs for sustainable activities: - The draft appears to be rather incomplete. Notably, it lacks any reference to sustainable textiles or plastics. - Fully integrate both the circular and the social dimension in the taxonomy before incorporating it in regulations such as the Ecolabel. The draft regulation does not exclude investments with negative social impacts. The taxonomy can only be effective in steering funds towards sustainable investments when this exclusion is implemented. - To fully include the circular dimension, move beyond the “do no harm” principle. This principle is proposed as a screening of proposed investments for a lack of assessing the availability of and, where feasible, adopting circular economy techniques such as circular design and reuse. This is insufficient: The taxonomy should also reward circular economy models in themselves while screening the proposed investment for total sustainability. - Due diligence about the sustainability of investments should be required from all companies and be based on providing information that is already available to the company. - We repeat the need for introducing a second SME impact assessment at the end of the policy making process for all new EU legislation, ensuring that any additional administrative burden of new or amended regulations (such as the taxonomy) will be put on all companies and not just on SMEs / companies delivering green products and services. Without a second SME impact assessment, proposals amended in e.g. the Trilogue run the risk of introducing additional red tape for SMEs in general and/or for green SMEs in particular. Many of our (SME) company partners are already facing an unlevel playing field with additional administrative burdens, e.g. from obtaining a green label (such as cradle-to-cradle) on top of existing requirements (such as those coming from REACH). Additional red tape will decrease the access to finance for green companies, and especially for green SMEs. Many of them will not be able to meet the requirements from investors for even more red tape. Such negative effects should be prevented by a second SME impact assessment.
Read full response

Response to Sustainable Products Initiative

12 Nov 2020

Ecopreneur.eu, the sustainable business federation representing 3000 SMEs, welcomes the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan and, as part of that, the Sustainable Products Initiative. We share their ambitious goals and advocate swift implementation. We also recommend additional measures because the combined policies are insufficient to meet the goals. We fully recognise the identified market and regulatory failures including the lack of transparency throughout value chains, and welcome the goal of improved information flows, including solutions such as digital passports and tagging. As a member of the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Consultation Forum (EELCF), we also welcome widening the scope of the Ecodesign Directive beyond energy related products. We advocate to extend the Directive to cover all end products and services, starting with the most waste-intensive ones. To avoid regulatory conflicts between EU regulations and administrative burdens for SMEs, appropriate requirements should be implemented in existing product regulations when available, such as the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). In the interest of the substantiation of environmental claims, Ecopreneur.eu advocates to let all companies perform a mandatory gate-to-gate Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). Such an assessment of their own energy and resource use and their positive and negative impacts should be both feasible and cost-effective, also for SMEs, although special attention may be needed for the smallest ones. Their combination would yield extremely valuable information for full-chain footprint estimates and enable circular procurement and design. Full-chain LCAs / PEFs are in general too expensive for SMEs. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) can play an important role for large companies. We also welcome the additional measures considered, from establishing overarching product sustainability principles to ban the destruction of unsold durable goods. In view of the slow pace of Ecodesign Directive regulation so far, we advocate horizontal measures whenever possible. To create an innovative “race to the top”, the resource and energy efficiency realised by revolutionary green products and services – mostly developed by green SMEs – should serve as a new standard for their product group. They can play a crucial role in the transition as “regenerative heroes”, some of which can form a basis for ambitious new standards or Best Available Technologies (BATs). Without this, minimum criteria for circularity will form an unambitious “ceiling”. In this context we also stress the importance of implementing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes with eco-modulation of fees in all waste-intensive sectors. This is crucial to get the economics right. The schemes should be closely aligned by clear guidelines and harmonised to create a level playing field within the single market involving all actors in the value chain. They should ensure that take back systems developed by individual front-runner companies can co-exist with mandatory regulated systems. Introducing an effective carbon border adjustment mechanism – including embedded carbon - is key to create a level playing field for sustainable products by preventing unfair competition from outside the EU. Finally, to ensure that companies can meet new product requirements, Ecopreneur.eu also advocates a separate action to create Circular Acceleration Hubs” in all EU regions. SMEs and start-ups play a pivotal role in accelerating the transition to a circular economy. However, they are faced with numerous barriers, including the complexity of circular design and lacking access to funding and collaborative networks. Circular Acceleration Hubs operate function as one-stop-shops offering SME support in an aligned way. In addition, in collaboration with recycling companies and other stakeholders, they should form an EU network to organise cross-border closing of the loops.
Read full response

Response to Chemicals strategy for sustainability

19 Jun 2020

Ecopreneur.eu response to European Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability 19 June 2020 Ecopreneur.eu welcomes the European Commission’s Roadmap for a Chemicals Strategy for sustainability. We reiterate our earlier feedback (attached) on the 2018 European Commission proposal on the Interface between Chemicals, Products and Waste, that is summarised below: As an important part of the strategy, Ecopreneur.eu urges EU to prevent substances of very high concern (SVHC) from entering the EU market. The objective of EU regulation on SVHC is to prevent these substances from being used in products on the EU market. The sooner companies stop using them, the sooner we can create a circular economy, which consists of clean circles. And the sooner companies using secondary raw materials, or converting waste into secondary raw materials, are informed about the presence of SVHC in the input they receive, they can take measures to avoid them in the secondary raw materials used as input for products entering the EU market. The list of SVHCs should be reconsidered. All substances of concern should be tracked by a set date. The focus should be on product requirements. The rules for primary materials may be derogated for secondary materials only under strict conditions. EU wide harmonisation of end-of-waste provisions is preferable. Waste classification rules should not be fully aligned with the rules of the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulations. Waste should be classified taking into account the bioavailability of substances it contains. Moreover, to ensure a level playing field, Ecopreneur urges increased market surveillance of imported goods including random, unannounced checks by independent thirds parties on the actual presence of SVHCs in imported goods, in combination with high fines for their presence above legal limits. The same principle should be applied to market surveillance of all environmental regulations in all member states. In addition to our earlier response, Ecopreneur.eu recommends the following: ● For the planned EU COVID-19 Recovery Plan, Ecopreneur.eu urges the EU to keep the climate goals and the European Green Deal high on the political agenda. We stress the importance of a strong green emphasis to any support program at the EU and member states level. Emergency funds must avoid any lock-in to the old, fossil economy. We ask the EU to push the implementation of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) forward and integrate 11 key measures that Ecopreneur.eu is currently missing, including implementing harmonised Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes with eco-modulation of fees in all waste-intensive sectors, and promoting the opening of national and regional Circular Acceleration Houses helping SMEs to become greener. More detailed recommendations can be found at https://ecopreneur.eu/2020/03/26/ep_welcomes_new_ceap/ ● Ensure that the administrational effort of preventive anti-greenwashing measures will be as low as possible for SMEs. Crucially, implement a second SME impact assessment at the end of the policy-making process for all new EU legislation. ● Let all companies perform a mandatory gate-to-gate Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to identify both positive and negative social and environmental impacts along their value chain, integrating it as well in risk management systems. ● Chemical recycling should only be funded using EU subsidies if run on renewable energy or at least result in a net CO2 emission reduction compared to virgin production. Ecopreneur.eu is the political voice for sustainable business in Europe, especially for SMEs, and the only cross-sectoral business organisation advocating strong sustainability policies at EU level. Ecopreneur.eu presently holds six member associations from different member states representing about 3000 businesses, mostly SMEs, that strive to deliver sustainable products and services.
Read full response

Response to 2030 Climate Target Plan

15 Apr 2020

Brussels, 15 April 2020 - Ecopreneur.eu, the European Sustainable Business Federation, supports the Commission’s initiative to raise the EU’s emissions reduction target for 2030. First of all, we strongly support the EU leaders backing a ‘green transition’ in a pandemic recovery plan. Ecopreneur.eu also welcomes the EU’s emergency response actions to address the economic and social consequences, including support for the private sector, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs). As dramatic as the current crisis is, it also offers a possibly unique opportunity to give a strong green emphasis to all Covid-19 emergency funds. Emergency funds must be used to support the rise of the new economy, not strengthen the lock-in of the old economy. Social measures need to be taken in order to avoid that economy transition would harm the weakest. We also urge the EU to introduce an ambitious floor to the carbon price and go full speed ahead with implementation of the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) – taking into account Ecopreneur.eu’s 11 key missing measures (see https://ecopreneur.eu/2020/03/26/ep_welcomes_new_ceap/ and file attached). An updated emissions reduction target should be at least 55 per cent in order to put Europe on track for climate neutrality by 2050. This target is both technically and economically feasible and will strengthen the case for businesses to take action and scale up investments without delay. Businesses are already adopting targets in line with the science of climate change and in support of climate neutrality by 2050, recognising the economic opportunities associated with the transition. By decarbonising their operations and value chains, companies are not only lowering their own emissions but also playing a key role in accelerating emissions reductions in the entire economy. By adopting an emissions reduction target of at least 55% and reflecting it in the European Green Deal, the EU has the opportunity to strengthen existing policies, develop new initiatives and reinforce smart integrated approaches in a way that enables a successful transition towards a competitive, prosperous, circular and climate neutral European economy and society. The transition should also be socially just. Policymakers have an essential role to play in providing support for workers that risk being negatively impacted including through the development of training and re-skilling opportunities. Also, mechanisms would have to be deployed to incentivise emission reduction in buildings with socially exposed populations. Increasing ambition would also demonstrate political willingness to respond to citizens’ concerns, as more than nine in every ten EU citizens consider climate change to be a serious problem. Pro-climate action sentiments are increasingly visible in consumer behaviour and voting patterns. Given that health is now at the forefront of the economic, social and political agenda due to the current coronavirus crisis, it is essential to develop strategies that will maximise the health co-benefits of climate action.
Read full response

Response to Revision of Non-Financial Reporting Directive

27 Feb 2020

Ecopreneur.eu welcomes the European Green Deal (EGD) including the importance attached to companies and financial institutions improving their disclosure of non-financial information so that investors are better informed about the sustainability of their investments. In this context, Ecopreneur.eu welcomes the recent EU Sustainable Finance Rulebook (Taxonomy) as a breakthrough for investments in climate goals to support green investments, without adding red tape for green SMEs. However, there is also considerable room for improvements: 1. An obligation for companies with “other” activities to apply the rulebook; 2. A list of unsustainable activities that are excluded from external finance (a “brown” rulebook next to this green one); 3. Full inclusion of the circular economy and social impact to cover sustainability. The development process of the Taxonomy so far has been fundamentally FLAWED by focusing on climate impact; it should be further developed by integrating all aspects of sustainability in a holistic way. If not, investments and consumers will be misdirected with severe long-term consequences, especially in the absence of taxes to get the economics right and create viable circular business cases for the investments. These investments would be lost while negative impacts continue. Similarly, EU Ecolabel criteria for financial products currently under development should use the FINAL Taxonomy only, in which both the circular and social dimension will have been fully integrated to cover sustainability, in order to steer financial flows in this direction. 4. There was no SMEs impact assessment at the end of the legislative process, which nearly led to additional red tape for green SMEs and ethical banks. The Commission should prevent greenwashing practices while ensuring that any additional administrative burden will be put on ALL companies and not just on SMEs / companies that are delivering green products and services. With respect to non-financial reporting, reporting, similar to a “due diligence duty”, Ecopreneur.eu proposes that all companies will perform a mandatory GATE-TO-GATE Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to identify both positive and negative social and environmental negative impacts along their value chain, integrating it as well in risk management systems. A gate-to-gate impact assessment by each company of their own energy and resource use and their impacts should be both feasible and cost-effective, both for large companies and SMEs. Their combination would yield extremely valuable information for full-chain footprint estimates and would be an enabler for circular procurement and design. In contrast, full-chain LCAs / PEFs are in general too expensive for SMEs. Finally, to ensure a level playing field for producers in Europe, introduction of a border adjustment mechanism is crucial. This instrument will provide pricing corrections or prevent the import of goods from foreign companies which would distort the EU internal market. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) can play an important role in this, at least for large companies.
Read full response

Meeting with Diederik Samsom (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

3 Feb 2020 · Green Deal and Circular Economy

Response to A new Circular Economy Action Plan

20 Jan 2020

Ecopreneur.eu, the European Sustainable Business Federation, welcomes the European Commission’s plans for a European Green Deal with a Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP). We particularly welcome the inclusion of the circular economy and the recent endorsement of a long-term strategy for climate neutrality by 2050. Depending on its realisation, it can generate strong traction to low-carbon circular products and services. Ecopreneur.eu’s 3000 green companies are ready to face the challenge. To enable them, they call upon the EU to launch an strong CEAP to transform our economic model into one realising sustainable production, distribution and consumption, with increased welfare for low-income citizens and fostering “regenerative champions”: companies that are generating positive externalities for the climate and the environment. By implementing green business models, our companies have identified limits and barriers to this transition, which deter creation of a supportive business environment and investment climate. One major barrier is a lack of demand for circular products and services. We therefore call on the EU to implement the following policy measures: • Circular procurement policies: Lead by example and launch Green Deals in all member states to assist municipalities and companies, following the success in the Netherlands and Belgium to create demand • Increased CO2 pricing, tax measures (VAT) and extended producer responsibility (EPR) to make circular products and services cheaper, and polluting one more expensive, while reducing tax on labour (“tax shift”) to create more demand. Specifically, make sure EPR schemes are closely aligned by clear guidelines and reconsider harmonisation to create a level playing field involving all actors in the value chain, including importers. • Assist SMEs, larger companies and municipalities with a focus on sustainable services and circular design via the funding of public-private partnerships in all member states – to create supply and ensure sustainable public and private services on all levels • Secure strong interconnection between DG ENVI and DG GROW to ensure the CEAP becomes the core strategy for economic development and innovation • Send a clear signal to all Member States to begin preparing their own roadmaps and action plans if they have not yet done so, and make sure that the CE Monitoring Framework is properly implemented across the EU • Prevent the use of EU funds for investments in residual waste incineration • Create a general regulatory framework that creates harmonised transparency and traceability, introduces minimum requirements for circular design including resource efficiency for all end products and removes existing obstacles for cross-border shipment of waste within the EU • Step up enforcement of regulations to effectively promote circular solutions and manage waste according to the waste hierarchy • Endorse a long-term strategy to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Ecopreneur.eu is the political voice for sustainable business in Europe, especially for SMEs, and the only cross-sectoral business organisation advocating strong sustainability policies at EU level. By doing sustainable business, our companies provide living examples and proof of the feasibility of low-carbon circular business models, while ensuring our recommendations are realistic, based on their collective experience and business sense. Using our collective knowledge and network we will support realisation of an ambitious Green Deal and CEAP. We intend to step up our advocacy in Brussels and in all member states. More detailed recommendations and successful examples at the country level can be found in Ecopreneur.eu’s recent Circular Economy Update 2019 report. In addition, our well-received report “Circular Fashion Advocacy” about a creating circular textiles industry presents five policy pillars can serve as a starting point for other sectors.
Read full response

Response to More efficient law-making in taxation: a move to QMV

14 Jan 2019

Ecopreneur.eu: Move to quality majority voting on certain tax matters including the VAT Taxation policy is crucial for realising the circular economy. From the perspective of the more than 3000 green SMEs and pioneers in the membership of Ecopreneur, the economic framework should foster delivering circular products and services. We therefore welcome this consultation and urge the next European Commission to move from consensus to majority voting for deciding on certain tax matters including the Value Added Tax (VAT). Existing EU regulation is inadequate to realise the circular economy. It is still unable to solve the huge waste problems for many products and materials in virtually all sectors, ranging from construction and plastics to food, textile and electronics. It does not foster circularity over the life cycle on crucial aspects such as redesign, sharing, delivery, maintenance, reuse and repair, take-back and 100% collection. There is insufficient demand for high-quality post-use recyclates (e.g. plastics) and products with respective recycled content. The current regime also fails to include citizens to create markets for circular products and services. Implementation of new regulation is still due and market surveillance is often lacking. To realise the circular economy, Ecopreneur.eu advocates the EU to take the lead in introducing a tax shift from labour to resources by member states, and to open up the VAT Directive to allow member states to differentiate the rates on the basis of circularity and sustainability. Without these measures and the corresponding price incentives, the existing lack of demand for circular products and services will continue to block the transition. Please click here for our position on VAT rate differentiation: https://ecopreneur.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ecopreneur-PP_VAT-Final.pdf We therefore welcome the recent adoption by the European Parliament of the proposal by the European Commission COM(2018) 20 final 2018/0005 with some amendments, such as to set a maximum VAT rate, a call to Member States to seize opportunities of VAT differentiation for sustainable development, and the avoidance of reduced rates for harmful or luxury products. Ecopreneur calls the Council to vote for adoption of this VAT rate proposal with several additional amendments that we will specify elsewhere. However, under the current EU regulation, the VAT rate reform tax proposal needs unanimous support from the Council for adoption. Such consensus is often hard to find. The existing voting procedure has effectively blocked VAT reform for about 20 years. As a result, the EU is stuck with an outdated VAT system that does not work for the benefit of the EU, its citizens or its businesses. Ecopreneur therefore supports the proposal to move from consensus voting to quality majority voting on certain tax matters including the VAT. Finally, to deliver the circular economy, Ecopreneur advocates: • Increased support for circular economy in all Member States: including national “hubs”, aligned policies and increased access to finance for SMEs; • A massive training program “Buy Circular” for local, regional and national governments and companies on how to integrate circularity in procurement; • Economic incentives for producers and consumers favouring circular products and services, including improved and expanded schemes for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Measures should include incentives for the uptake of secondary raw materials; • Ban the worst products from the market: Expansion of the EU Ecodesign Directive with minimum requirements for circular design for all end products and services, starting with those with high resource intensity; a ban on microplastics and oxo-degradeable plastics.
Read full response