SWITCH-Asia

WHEN:  10 July 2025     I    TIME:  14:00 - 15:30 (Bangkok Time)    I    Register HERE

Background: 

The EU Circular Economy Act, expected to be published in 2026, aims to reshape how industries use resources, reduce waste, and compete globally. It builds upon the 2020 EU Circular Economy Action Plan, with the goal of boosting recycling, reducing waste, and promoting resource efficiency. The Act will focus on the entire lifecycle of products, from design to end-of-life, and aims to create a single market for waste, particularly for critical raw materials. A key priority of the EU Circular Economy Act will be harmonising circular economy policies across Member States, reducing regulatory fragmentation and simplifying legislation. This will create a level playing field where both start-ups and established businesses can grow and thrive. The Act will also focus on accelerating investment in circular infrastructure, such as recycling facilities and material recovery systems. More concretely, the Act is expected to introduce measures that incentivise the use of secondary materials in manufacturing, helping to close the loop on resource use. Bringing circularity even more into play, businesses will need to rethink their product designs and suppliers. For instance, the EU Circular Economy Act is expected to align with existing regulations like the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which mandates that all packaging must be reusable or recyclable by 2030. As a result, key sectors such as packaging, electronics, chemicals, construction, transportation, and textiles will be affected by the EU Circular Economy Act. 

The Circular Economy Act presents an opportunity to build EU-Asia partnerships that will shape value chains globally for a more Circular Global market. With the opening of consultations about the Circular Economy Act in July, Asian partners can seize the opportunity to share their own policy ambitions for a Global Circular Market. The circular economy approach promotes the use of secondary raw materials, minimises environmental impacts associated with extraction and may increase the need for reliable partnerships that are foundation for active exchanges. 

Webinar Session: 

The EU SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component and the European Environmental Bureau, are convening the webinar, The EU’s Circular Economy Act: an opportunity to upgrade EU-Asia value chains for a Global Circular Market  to: 

• Discuss the EU Circular Economy Act and how it may re-shape EU-Asian value chains and create a Global Circular Market 

• Understand how Europe can build its Circular Economy Act for strengthened EU-Asian value chains. 

• Discuss the challenges and opportunities for businesses in navigating this transition and how the Circular Economy Act can offer new horizons to its partners 

 Agenda