priority 3: Climate-neutral societies

Objective 3.1
Circular economy

The Programme supports actions that facilitate the shift from linear to circular resource use. This implies keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible without increasing pressure on the environment. The holistic approach shall go beyond waste management to connect with water, energy, transport and land use.


What is circular economy?

Ensuring steady growth of the Baltic Sea region without increasing pressure on the environment including water, air and soil requires transitioning towards a circular economy. The Programme supports actions that facilitate the shift from linear to circular resource use. This implies keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible. The Programme encourages holistic approaches that go beyond waste management to connect with water, energy, transport and land use. This requires facilitating behavioural change and integrated planning. In consequence, the shift towards circular economy is a valuable factor in fighting environmental challenges like overexploitation of the natural resources, inadequate air quality as well as climate change.

Actions to build enabling environment

To accelerate the transition, the Programme especially supports actions that build an enabling environment and raise awareness for circular opportunities. The actions foster a systemic shift that creates long-term opportunities for business as well as environmental and societal benefits. For this reason, business and communities are considered to be at the heart of the transition. Considering the needs of business actors, the Programme provides a space to redefine smart specialisation approaches to advance the shift towards circularity. Furthermore, actions should take into account not only potential winners but also those disadvantaged by the transition processes. Wherever appropriate, the actions consider uneven territorial effects e.g. between urban and rural areas or specificities of remote areas. The solutions developed are encouraged to untap the potential of digitalisation as a means of achieving a resource-efficient economy in the Baltic Sea region.

 

What can I do in my project?

We believe our projects help implement several important strategies in our region, and, in particular, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and its policy areas Innovation, Bioeconomy, and Health.

N

Integrate circular economy policies

Integrate circular economy policies into territorial strategies and test their implementation, link to other relevant regional and national strategies e.g. for smart specialisation;

N

Rethink urban & regional planning processes

Rethink urban and regional planning processes in sectors key to achieving circularity (e.g. transport, water, energy, and waste management) in order to adopt better integrated and systemic approaches;

N

Help businesses to adopt circular approaches

Provide support services that help businesses adopt more circular approaches e.g. support a shift from ownership to new business models based on flexible and affordable access to services;

N

Link bio and circular economy

Test solutions that create synergies between bio and circular economy e.g. support industrial symbiosis using waste material from forest industry by companies in different sectors.

N

Test public procurement models

Test public procurement models that strengthen the role of public authorities in supporting a transition towards circularity;

N

Support entrepreneurial & civil society initiatives

Coordinate and support entrepreneurial and civil society initiatives in promoting circular economy and support change in attitudes i.e. create awareness of circular opportunities among business executives, owners and consumers;

N

Transform business models

Apply digital technologies to transform business models from linear to circular, e.g. to match suppliers and producers, track the journey of components and materials, help virtualise products;

Get inspired by the ongoing projects 

BALTIPLAST

Baltic Approaches to Handling Plastic Pollution under a Circular Economy Context
The project BALTIPLAST brings technological solutions to help public authorities reduce plastic waste and trigger investments in sustainable sorting and recycling.
Read more about the project

ChemClimCircle

Integrating criteria for chemicals, climate and circularity in procurement processes
The project ChemClimCircle equips municipalities with training modules to apply circular procurement and, by this, to use non-toxic and climate-neutral products.
Read more about the project

Circular FoodShift

Circular FoodShift in the Baltic countries
The project Circular FoodShift helps authorities in rural and peri-urban municipalities transform food models with less food waste at schools and gastronomy and new businesses upcycling food and food waste.
Read more about the project

AMR_Northwest_Russia

Preventing further development of antibiotic resistance in pneumococcal isolates in Northwest Russia
The project AMR_Northwest_Russia addresses the challenge of regional healthcare authorities and local healthcare institutions to treat patients exposed to developing a bacterial superinfection combined with a coronavirus infection (COVID-19). As the diagnostic and treatment of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in the Northwest part of Russia is not optimal, the project aims to increase diagnostics quality and establish the monitoring system that can help to improve treatment quality for the region’s inhabitants.
Read more about the project
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Step 1 of 4

Four priorities & nine objectives

Four priorities for cooperation

Interreg Baltic Sea Region 2021-2027 creates opportunities for organisations to connect
as if there were no borders. With experience and EU funding, we help them cooperate and put their ideas into practice.

Jointly, we make the life of people around the Baltic Sea better.

The Programme is structured along with four priorities. They guide partners in achieving the most when cooperating across borders.

 
Priority 1

Innovative societies

1.1 Resilient economies and communities
1.2 Responsive public services

innovative-societies-resilient-economies-and-responsive-public-services
 
Priority 2

Water-smart societies

2.1 Sustainable waters
2.2 Blue economy

interreg-baltic-sea-region-sustainable-waters-blue-economy
Priority 3

Climate-neutral societies

3.1 Circular economy
3.2 Energy transition
3.3 Smart green mobility

interreg-baltic-sea-region-climate-neutral-societies-circular-economy-energy-transition-green-transport
 
Priority 4

Cooperation governance

4.1 Project platform
4.2 Macro-regional governance

interreg-baltic-sea-region-project-platforms-governance

Overview: all the Programme objectives

Resilient economies and communities

Objective 1.1
under Priority 1: Innovative societies

Sustainable waters

Objective 2.1
under Priority 2: Water-smart societies

Circular economy

Objective 3.1
under Priority 3: Climate-neutral societies

Project platforms

Objective 4.1
under Priority 4: Cooperation governance

Responsive public service

Objective 1.2
under Priority 1: Innovative societies

Blue economy

Objective 2.2
under Priority 2: Water-smart societies

Energy transition

Objective 3.2
under Priority 3: Climate-neutral societies

Macro-regional governance

Objective 4.2
under Priority 4: Cooperation governance

Smart green mobility

Objective 3.3
under Priority 3: Climate-neutral societies

Resilient economies and communities

Objective 1.1
under Priority 1: Innovative societies

Responsive public service

Objective 1.2
under Priority 1: Innovative societies

Sustainable waters

Objective 2.1
under Priority 2: Water-smart societies

Blue economy

Objective 2.2
under Priority 2: Water-smart societies

Climate-neutral societies

Objective 3.1
under Priority 3: Climate-neutral societies

Energy transition

Objective 3.2
under Priority 3: Climate-neutral societies

Smart green mobility

Objective 3.3
under Priority 3: Climate-neutral societies

Project platforms

Objective 4.1
under Priority 4: Cooperation governance

Macro-regional governance

Objective 4.2
under Priority 4: Cooperation governance

News

Pilot of the BalMarGrav product

The working group would like to invite for taking part in the pilot activity of the BalMarGrav project, which will last until 23 September 2024. The aim of...

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Pilot of the BalMarGrav product

The working group would like to invite for taking part in the pilot activity of the BalMarGrav project, which will last until 23 September 2024. The aim of...

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Committed to the region, together!

Committed to the region, together!

The Kiel Fjord glittering in the sunshine, ships sounding their horns and seagulls squawking provided yet another perfect Baltic Sea backdrop for the 32nd Annual Conference of the Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation (BSSSC) on the 19-20 September 2024. On 20 September, the Interreg Baltic Sea Region team organised a workshop at the conference.​

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