Ellen MacArthur Foundation

EU Legislative Interests

As a NGO regulated by the UK charity commission, the Foundation does not represent sectorial or industrial interests, and interacts with EU institutions as provider of economic analysis, case studies and insights on the specific topic of circular economy - for which the Foundation is the globally leading reference point. In the context of the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan from March 2020, the Foundation regularly meets with various DG's of the European Commission, and participates in discussions and events organised by the European Parliament. In 2024, the Foundation plans to engage on a few key EU policy initiatives including the EU Textile Strategy, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, and the revision of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. The Foundation also supports the Global Alliance on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy (GACERE) which was initiated by the European Commission, UNEP and UNIDO in February 2021.

Communication Activities

The Foundation has recently produced and published a number of relevant pieces of research: Jan 2016 - The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics Mar 2017 - Urban BioCycles Aug 2017 - Cities in the Circular Economy Nov 2017 - A New Textiles Economy - Redesigning fashion's future Dec 2017 - The New Plastics Economy - Rethinking the future of plastics and Catalysing Action in french Apr 2018 - UK Plastics Pact May 2018 - Make Fashion Circular launch June 2018 - New Plastics Economy Global Commitment Sept 2018 - Snapshot report of circular economy learning offerings available in higher education institutions globally Sept 2018 - The Circular Economy Opportunity for Urban and Industrial Innovation in China Oct 2018 - NPEC Global Commitment: a common vision for circular economy for plastics (packaging) Jan 2019 - Circular Economy for Food in Cities Jan 2019 - Initial exploration of how artificial intelligence could accelerate the transition to a circular economy Feb 2019 - Launch of French National Plastics Pact March 2019 - online suite of resources, Circular Economy in Cities, a reference point for urban policymakers March 2019 - First Global Commitment report detailing details of industry and government efforts to tackle plastic waste and pollution. April 2019 - Launch of Chilean National Plastics Pact June 2019 - Second Global Commitment report showing commitments of key consumer goods companies and retailers to increase recycled content in their plastic packaging to an average of 25% by 2025 June 2019 - Launch of Food Initiative Sept 2019 - Paper: Completing the Picture: How the Circular Economy Tackles Climate Change Sept 2019 - Launch of Finance Initiative Oct 2019 - Global Commitment progress report 2020: Further National Plastics Pacts in South Africa, Netherlands and Portugal and first regional Plastics Pact in Europe. 2020: Launch of Circulytics, a freely-available digital measuring tool which gives companies a fully comprehensive picture of their circularity across all operations. September 2020: Financing the circular economy October 2020: The circular economy: a transformative Covid-19 recovery strategy February 2021: Universal circular economy policy goals February 2021: A low carbon and circular economy for Europe (together with IEEP as part of the Think2030 policy paper series) August 2021: A new UN treaty to address plastic pollution supporting the transition to a circular economy for plastics September 2021: The Nature Imperative: How the circular economy tackles biodiversity loss September 2021: The big food redesign November 2021: Circular business models - Redefining growth for a thriving fashion industry July 2022: Building a circular economy for textiles supported by common rules on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the EU - Recommendations and open questions for the upcoming revision of the EU Waste Framework Directive (WFD) September 2023: Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Unlocking a reuse revolution: scaling returnable packaging. June 2024 - Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Pushing the boundaries of EPR policy for textiles July 2024 - Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Building Prosperity, Unlocking the potential of a nature-positive circular economy for Europe. November 2025 - Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business January 2026 - Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Action Agenda for Critical Minerals

Interests Represented

Does not represent commercial interests

Member Of

Partnerships - International Resource Panel at UNEP - Latin America and the Caribbean Circular Economy Coalition - African Circular Economy Alliance - Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE) - Globe EU Advisory roles outside EU - First Minister’s Environmental Council (UK/Scotland) - Stakeholder Advisory Group on Env bill and CE working group (UK/England - Defra) - China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (SPS green value chains programme) - Canadian Council of Academies Advisory roles - Policy orgs - IEEP CE and Trade report phase2 - Chatham House including CE and trade working group Advisory roles - cities - One World Living, Reducing London's Consumption Emissions - Steering Group - ICLEI Europe Circular Cities Declaration - Canadian Circular Cities & Regions Initiative - Circular City Innovation Challenge - Danish Circular Cities Other collaborations and contributions - UNEP (New Plastics Economy Global Commitment) - UNECE (69th Commission, as invited CE expert) - OECD (Environmental Policy Committee) - WTO - Informal Dialogue on Plastics - ICLEI, Circle Economy, Metabolic and Ellen MacArthur Foundation Circle Lab for Cities

Organisation Members

Only the Board of Trustees are entitled to make decisions at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5003211/trustees All network organisations (funder/philanthropist, corporate, education/academia, NGOs, institutions, governments and cities): https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/our-story/our-network