Circularity Competitiveness Consensus at Environment Ireland Conference
- Circuleire IMR
- 22 hours ago
- 3 min read
CIRCULÉIRE was delighted to sponsor the Environment Ireland® Conference. From a circularity perspective, discussions reinforced a clear message: the transition to a circular economy is no longer simply desirable it is essential for Ireland’s competitiveness, resilience and environmental future.
In her opening keynote, Commissioner Roswall stated that, “Circularity is a necessity. It’s not just a nice to have.” Achieving the transition requires us to make change easier for businesses, create demand for secondary materials, improve affordability and use regulation, public procurement and other incentives to enable circular solutions to compete and scale.
This strongly reflects CIRCULÉIRE’s own message at the conference: circularity must work in practice. Presenters at the Circular Economy session highlighted the importance of moving beyond recycling by prioritising prevention, redesign, reuse and repair, alongside effective implementation of the policies already adopted.
The European Environmental Bureau (EEB), representing over 190 organisations across 42 countries, highlighted the urgent need to accelerate Europe’s transition to a circular economy. With rising resource consumption, waste generation and environmental pressures, Eva Maria Bille, Head of Circular Economy argued that meaningful progress requires a systemic shift from a linear economy to one focused on prevention, redesign, reuse and repair, with recycling as a last resort. While welcoming the forthcoming EU Circular Economy Act, concerns were raised that policy remains overly focused on recycling. The EEB called for stronger targets across the waste hierarchy, enhanced producer responsibility, toxic-free circularity and effective implementation of existing Green Deal measures.
Martina Hennessey, Assistant Secretary, Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment outlined how circular economy policy is evolving into a key industrial and economic strategy at both EU and Irish levels. The forthcoming EU Circular Economy Act and Critical Raw Materials Act aim to create stronger market conditions for circular solutions, improve resource security and support competitiveness. Ireland’s Circular Economy Strategy 2026–2028 builds on initiatives such as the Deposit Return Scheme and targets annual growth in circularity. Priority sectors include construction and textiles, supported by innovation funding, Extended Producer Responsibility and circular procurement measures. Success relies on effective governance, industry engagement, citizen participation and coordinated action to deliver a more resilient, resource-efficient economy.
Valentina Tarasco, Metrics & Assessment Lead at Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) outlined how Ireland can accelerate the transition from circular economy ambition to industrial-scale impact by highlighting how CIRCULÉIRE helps businesses overcome the common challenge of scaling successful pilots into commercially viable solutions. Despite growing policy support and clear economic opportunities, organisations face barriers including fragmented value chains, limited investment and internal capability gaps. IMR addresses these through innovation programmes, funding support, collaboration and demonstration projects. Case studies from electronics, healthcare and renewable energy showed how circular business models can reduce costs, minimise waste, strengthen resilience and create competitive advantage across key sectors.
Tad Kirakowski CEO at Voice Ireland focused on the community side of circularity. He emphasised that delivering a circular economy requires sustained policy leadership, stronger education and skills development, and closer alignment between government, industry and communities. He warned that delays to visible measures can weaken public confidence and momentum, despite strong public support for circular action. Embedding circularity across schools, higher education and workforce training was identified as a priority. The key message - lasting circular outcomes depend on making sustainable choices easy, supporting community initiatives, and aligning policy, education, retail and data systems.
The session was expertly chaired by Claire Downey, CEO of the Rediscovery Centre.
The 2027 Environment Ireland Handbook was distributed to attendees. Our featured articles are linked below:
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