Towards a Circular Economy in South Tyrol

Co-selecting transformation measures across sectors

The transition to a circular economy (CE) is critical for achieving resource efficiency, dealing with resource scarcity, waste generation, and building a sustainable future for cities and regions. Over the past decade, the European Union (EU) has committed significantly to advancing circular economy principles, advocating for action at regional, national and local levels. However, most economies remain still linear, and the CE is a marginal approach in many territories. In the EU, for example, the CE accounts only about 2% of total EU GDP and circular material use rate was 12% in 2023, far below the 24% targeted in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan.

Since 2020, South Tyrol has committed to adopting a circular economy strategy, which is currently under development and addresses key sectors such as construction, which is responsible for over the 40% of waste generation in the Province. Despite these positive developments, the adoption of a CE in South Tyrol remains limited due to multiple barriers which are not technological, but related to production and consumption patterns, regulation, financing and governance, particularly in tracking progress towards a CE. For example, most available data focus on waste rather than broader resource flows and urban metabolism, making it difficult to track and assess the impact of circularity measures at local level.

The workshop “Towards a Circular Economy in South Tyrol: co-selecting transformation measures across sectors” aims to present the results of a study focused on urban metabolism in South Tyrol, and to provide an overview of the current initiatives and projects on CE in the Province of Bolzano. The workshop aims to actively engage local businesses, local administrators, NGOs and academic stakeholders in discussing and co-selecting measures in five key sectors (metal packing, concrete and other construction, fruits and wine, copper production, aluminium production, wood) that can be more effective in accelerating the transition towards a circular economy in South Tyrol.