At the World Circular Economy Forum 2024, the European Union’s largest public promotional banks and institutions — Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK — Poland), Caisse des Dépôts Group (CDC — France), including Bpifrance, the French national investment bank, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP — Italy), Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO — Spain) and KfW (Germany) — and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced that they had exceeded their €10 billion target financing volume for circular economy projects, reaching €11.57 billion at the end of 2023. They also welcomed a new member, Invest-NL, the Netherlands’ national promotional institution established in 2020.
Transitioning from a linear to a circular economy is critical for achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, most notably SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production). Given the urgency of addressing the climate and environmental crises, the Joint Initiative on Circular Economy (JICE) decided to raise its target and is now aiming to provide €16 billion for circular economy projects by the end of 2025.
Launched in 2019, JICE aims to offer long-term financing to projects that accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The participating JICE partners had set a financing target of providing at least €10 billion for circular economy projects by the end of 2023, offering the support over a five-year period. Projects signed so far cover a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, industry and services, mobility, urban development, waste, and water management. Among other priorities, they help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste, preserve materials, improve energy efficiency and sustainability, or develop innovative materials and circular solutions. Projects span all stages of the value chain and the life cycle of products and services, from design to value recovery.
BGK member of management board, Chief ESG Officer Radoslaw Kwiecien said: “We have stated in our strategy that it is our responsibility to use available resources to provide further development and better living conditions for future generations. It is great to see that JICE is growing, as a resource-efficient Europe is what we all are aiming for. We need more circular economy projects from both private business and the public sector.”
CDC CEO Eric Lombard said: “We are delighted that our objectives have been overachieved. This result emphasises the hard work of Banque des Territoires and Bpifrance, as well as our European partners. They confirm Caisse des Dépôts Group's determination to continue and expand its support to circular economy and, more broadly, ecological transition at the service of local authorities and businesses.”
CDP CEO Dario Scannapieco said: “The transition to circular production models is crucial to ensure the long-term sustainability of our system and the soundness of economic growth and business competitiveness. In this light, CDP actively contributes to the implementation of initiatives that promote the transition to a circular economy. The remarkable results achieved so far by JICE demonstrate the ability of public promotional banks and institutions to collaborate on the promotion of the green transition in Europe. For this reason, the extension of the initiative to a new member and the introduction of a new investment target mark a new milestone in this collaboration.”
EIB President Nadia Calviño said: “The circular economy is essential for the transition to carbon-neutrality and the success of the Joint Initiative for Circular Economy shows that the range and number of projects to be financed in this area is on the rise. We therefore warmly welcome Invest-NL as our new partner in the pursuit of our increased ambition. Fostering collaboration, across borders, sectors and financial players is crucial to maximising our impact.”
ICO Chairman José Carlos Garcia de Quevedo said: “Supporting the green transition is one of the objectives of the ICO Group's activity, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. In this area, we pay particular attention to financing circular economy projects that promote more sustainable and fairer growth models. We are pleased to share and reinforce this commitment with our European counterparts and welcome Invest-NL as a new member of the JICE Initiative.”
Invest-NL CEO Rinke Zonneveld said: “By joining the Joint Initiative for Circular Economy (JICE), Invest-NL reaffirms its commitment to sustainability and innovation. This participation underscores our dedication to advancing circular practices and facilitating the exchange of expertise. This will bolster public-private financing mechanisms, making circular solutions more feasible and scalable.”
KfW CEO Stefan Wintels said: “I am very pleased that KfW has been part of this initiative since 2019 and working in partnership with other European promotional banks to drive change in this important field of action. The careful use of natural resources is crucial for achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. Against this backdrop, the transition to a circular economy is decisive. It is thus all the more pleasing that the financing target for 2023 has been exceeded, and we are now increasing the current financing target to further accelerate sustainable development.”
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