Ecopreneur.eu - The European Sustainable Business Federation

The European internal market for recycled materials has huge potential. The EU’s objective is to make 24% of materials circular by 2030, thereby reducing the use of primary materials and greenhouse gas emissions by 25% overall. However, at this stage, progress is going slow. 🐢   To facilitate the dialogue between business and policy makers on this issue, we are organising a parliamentary breakfast hosted by Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy MEP on the “Circular Economy Act” (#CEA) currently prepared by the European Commission: What policy measures are required to boost the use of recycled content, #reuse and innovative #wastemanagement practices in a European circular economy? How will it ensure the free movement of waste for #recycling? Will there be legally binding targets for recycled content in new products?     🕗 When: Thursday, June 12th, 8:15 – 9:30 CEST 📍Where: Online and in-person 💬 Discussion partners: ♻️ Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy MEP ♻️ Anna CAVAZZINI MEP and Chair of the Internal Market Committee (IMCO) ♻️ Florian Flachenecker, PhD, CEA Taskforce Leader, European Commission (DG ENV) ♻️ Konstantin Litke, Policy Director, BNW ♻️ Arthur ten Wolde, Executive Director, Ecopreneur.eu (Moderator)   ▶ Registrations: https://lnkd.in/emjEVdXi #CircularEconomy #CleanIndustrialDeal

Happy to be in Brussels today at the #ECESP Circular Economy Stakeholder Dialogue, where I just had an opportunity to make a business intervention on behalf of Ecopreneur.eu - The European Sustainable Business Federation at the end of an excellent panel discussion about the Clean Industrial Deal. What I stressed is the importance of rewarding sustainable solutions, really simplify things for SMEs instead of just deregulating, and support 25 million SMEs on the twin transition. Also, to ensure that crucial elements of the reporting and due diligence directive are not removed by the Omnibus 'Simplification' Proposal, which has currently worsened the investment climate for circularity. In addition, prevent that the EU funds from the Clean Industrial Deal will be spent only on subsidies for high emitters such as steel, cement and the heavy chemical industry. So, keep the essence of the adopted regulations, really simplify them for SMEs, create well-functioning markets for circular business models, and thereby improve the investment climate.  

Ecopreneur.eu is quoted in an editorial essay ‘Rules are also there to help companies’ in the Dutch financial newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) on the European Commission’s recent proposal for an Omnibus ‘Simplification’ Package: “With Von der Leyen’s proposal, everything is open again – with all kinds of ambiguity as a result. In addition, under the guise of ‘the fewer rules, the better’, the Commission also wants to delete parts of the directives that are useful. ‘Like the sector-specific reporting standards,’ says Arthur ten Wolde, Executive Director of the European Sustainable Businesses Federation, Ecopreneur.eu. These actually simplify reporting for companies, because they are tailor-made. ‘The way the Commission is approaching this is not entirely rational.'” Click below for the news article and link to the FD essay: https://lnkd.in/e8d3HQCB Manfred Mühlberger MVO Nederland CirEko B Lab Europe Tessa van Soest New ERA - New European Reuse Alliance Kaya - Belgian Coalition of Ecopreneurs Entreprendre Vert Bundesverband Nachhaltige Wirtschaft (BNW) Lennart Nübel Timothy Glaz Myriam TRYJEFACZKA Janneke Leenaars

Accounting for 14% of GDP in the EU – that's a whopping EUR 2.400 billion annually and 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions - #publicprocurement represents one of the most powerful levers to accelerate the green transition and achieve the objectives of the #ParisAgreement. In our new position paper, Ecopreneur.eu calls on EU lawmakers to introduce sustainability criteria in public procurement schemes. Mandating #greenpublicprocurement criteria at all government levels would release the power of public spending to help create a level playing field for sustainable products and services, drive green innovation, and boost the transition towards a low-carbon, circular, and socially inclusive economy.   Read the full position paper at https://wp.me/p9NHnb-go5   #EUGreenDeal #CircularEconomy #CleanIndustrialDeal #GPP #EUCompetitiveness

📢 Omnibus proposal major setback for sustainable business The European Commission’s Omnibus package fails to simplify—it weakens EU sustainability laws. Instead of effectively reducing administrative burdens, it just limits scope, creates legal uncertainty, reduces transparency, and discourages private investment. This move contradicts the Clean Industrial Deal, harming Europe’s leadership in sustainable finance. 🚨 Key concerns: ❌ Weakens CSRD, CSDDD & the EU Taxonomy ❌ Eliminates sector-specific reporting standards, which actually reduce complexity ❌ Fails to offer real solutions like digitalisation, AI-driven automation, or SME support 🔎 “We call on the European Parliament & Council to focus on simplification, not deregulation, and urge the Commission to deliver real improvements through delegated & implementing acts,” said Arthur ten Wolde, Executive Director of Ecopreneur.eu. 📢 It’s time to further foster sustainable business, not weaken laws that do! #SustainableBusiness #EURegulation #CSRD #CSDDD #EUTaxonomy #Omnibus #SustainableFinance https://lnkd.in/gD8MJH9d

Looks really bad indeed:

📢 Ecopreneur.eu Calls on the European Commission to Keep & Simplify EU Sustainability Laws Ecopreneur.eu has sent an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging the EU to protect the ambition of sustainability legislation while reducing administrative burdens through simplification—not deregulation. As the European Sustainable Business Federation, representing 5,000 SMEs and frontrunning companies, many pioneering circular business models, we emphasise the crucial role of the CSRD, CSDDD, and EU Taxonomy in ensuring a transparent, competitive, and sustainable European economy. Many companies have already invested in compliance with the new laws. Moreover, weakening these frameworks would undermine competitiveness, discourage private investment, and harm the EU’s global leadership in sustainable finance. 🔹 “We strongly urge the European Commission and Parliament to swiftly implement necessary simplifications through delegated and implementing acts, rather than wait for an uncertain and possibly lengthy Omnibus process,” said Arthur ten Wolde, Executive Director of Ecopreneur.eu. Now is the time to act. The EU must reduce complexity for businesses while maintaining strong sustainability policies to secure Europe’s economic future. 📄 Read our open letter to President von der Leyen here: https://lnkd.in/e_Kb-P47 💬 Join the conversation: What are your thoughts on simplifying sustainability legislation? #Simplification #EUCompetitiveness #EUGreenDeal #Sustainability #CircularEconomy #GreenBusiness #SMEs

Dutch companies are calling for sustainable legislation to be adhered to While some companies and politicians are calling for the postponement or weakening of European sustainability rules, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, TenneT, Triodos Bank, Verstegen Spices & Sauces, Stedin and dozens of large and small companies, among others, are sounding a different note. On the initiative of MVO Nederland, they call on the European Commission and the government to stick to the pace and level of ambition of legislation from the omnibus package: CSRD, CSDDD and the EU taxonomy. Why? 1. Level playing field: the rules ensure that sustainable and non-sustainable companies operate under the same conditions. 2. Investments made: many companies have already invested in adaptations to comply with the legislation. 3. Clarity: Maintaining a clear timeline prevents uncertainty about future obligations. 💬 Ankie van Wersch, director of CSR Netherlands: "Adhering to sustainable legislation is important to the companies in this statement. On the one hand, because they have already invested millions of euros. On the other hand, sustainable entrepreneurship is the earning capacity of the future. These companies see business opportunities in this and above all want to continue." The signatories of the statement also include companies such as Tony's Chocolonely, Schijvens Corporate Fashion Hilvarenbeek B.V., Port of Amsterdam, Dopper, B Lab Benelux and Transdev. 👉 Time for a level playing field. Who is participating?

📢 Defending LIFE Operating Grants: A Win for Sustainability & Competitiveness Today, Ecopreneur.eu has sent an open letter to President Ursula von der Leyen, urging the European Commission to continue the LIFE operating grant programme for environmental NGOs in 2025-2027 and to preserve it under the next EU budget (MFF). 🔎 Why does this matter? Recent false allegations have attempted to discredit EU support for NGOs advocating for sustainability. However, full transparency into the funding programme has shown these claims to be unfounded. Meanwhile, well-funded industry lobbyists continue to push for deregulation, prioritising short-term profits over sustainability and fair competition. 💡 The facts: ✅ The LIFE operating grant programme represents only 2% of the EUR 5.4 billion LIFE budget—less than 0.3% of the total EU budget. ✅ These grants increase the capacity of NGOs to provide objective policy insights and help shape better EU laws. ✅ Defunding civil society weakens democracy and harms Europe's green and competitive future. 🌍 We call on the EU to stand firm and protect LIFE operating grants. This is not just about funding—it’s about ensuring the voices of civil society and sustainable businesses continue to be heard. 📩 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ehkcVtvu #Sustainability #GreenEconomy #EUGreenDeal #LIFEProgramme #EcopreneurEU #EUCompetitiveness #FairCompetition #MFF

NEx 2025: 18.5 percent of the Dutch economy is sustainable: Old laws work against the new economy Press release from MVO Nederland, the Dutch member of Ecopreneur.eu - The European Sustainable Business Federation: The New Economy Index NEx rises by 1.0 percentage points compared to the NEx 2024, but over the past six years the increase has levelled off further. The NEx is the average of the scores on seven themes that MVO Nederland (CSR Netherlands) uses to determine progress towards a sustainable, new economy. Since 2020 – when the NEx stood at 12.1 percent – the score has increased every year, but by an increasingly smaller percentage. "The NEx shows that a breakthrough on the circular economy and biodiversity will not occur as long as legislation is designed to meet the interests of traditional companies. This makes business initiatives that promote nature and society often small and not serious business. Listening better to the opportunities that green companies see and offer should be the goal of 2025 for this cabinet," says Ankie van Wersch, Director of MVO Nederland. Striking: ☀️ Biodiversity stagnates – little political attention to economic opportunities ♻️ Circular economy fluctuating between 13-14 percent – new policy needed to scale up 🙌🏽 Legislation works – transparent chains increase due to CSRD and CSDDD Visit our website for more on the New Economy Index 2025. You will find, among other things: 📈 Everything about the NEx score on the seven themes, including what is on the agenda for companies and the government, and three concrete actions you can do now. 📸 Interviews with our partners Patty Zuidhoek (Triodos Bank), Stefan Baecke (Yespers ), Marloes Venema (Fabienne Chapot ), Alies Ten Have (CSU Cleaning Services ), Prof. Gerard de Leede (Solarge ), Jan Willem Burgmans (Heijmans ) and John Geurts (Nijsen company ). 📃 The full research report (by SEO Amsterdam Economics ). ➡️ Projects and downloads to get started per theme: 👉🏽 www.mvonederland.nl/nex