Influencing
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November 13, 2025
Circular Economy Act: For a circular, competitive and sovereign European economy
Every year, the European Union throws away just under 90% of the raw materials it consumes, while remaining dependent on foreign powers for its supplies. This dual vulnerability highlights the urgent need to reinvent our economic model. The Circular Economy Act (CEA), to be presented in 2026, should represent an opportunity to transform this fragility into a major lever for competitiveness and industrial sovereignty, while accelerating the ecological transition.
Post-Covid shortages, the war in Ukraine and Chinese coercion of critical metals have revealed just how vulnerable our "extract-produce-discard" model is. By remaining trapped in a linear economy, the European Union is missing out on a major source of competitiveness: up to 465 billion euros in annual savings for its companies and 500,000 additional jobs by 2030.
Yet solutions already exist. Waste reduction, reuse, repair, remanufacturing and qualitative material recycling are all complementary levers for strengthening European sovereignty, creating jobs that cannot be relocated, reducing industrial costs and accelerating decarbonization.
Despite their potential, these models are struggling to develop in the absence of a favorable economic framework. Against this backdrop, Impact France fully supports the European Commission's initiative to draw up a Circular Economy Act (CEA) by the end of 2026. This project, long-awaited by players in the sector, offers a structuring opportunity to clarify the European framework for action, secure investments and strengthen coherence between existing policies. We recommend that the CEA draw on the hierarchy of actions now established in European policies - reduce, reuse, recycle - to effectively guide future measures. We also emphasize the need to stimulate the supply of high-quality recycled materials, support demand via appropriate economic instruments, and align regulations to enable the development and massification of European circular industries.
Impact France presents its 10 proposals in 3 priority areas:
Et si la commande publique devenait enfin un véritable levier pour les entreprises européennes qui investissent dans la qualité, l’innovation et l’impact ? Avec son projet de règlement sur les marchés publics présenté le 9 septembre 2026, la Commission européenne propose de changer la donne en renforçant la prise en compte du « Made in Europe » et des critères sociaux et environnementaux dans les règles d’attribution de la commande publique. Mobilisé de longue date auprès de ses dirigeants sur ce dossier, Impact France analyse les enjeux de cette réforme et formule ses propositions pour faire de la commande publique un véritable outil de transformation de l’économie européenne.
La Commission européenne a publié mi-septembre une étude inédite consacrée aux “Impact-driven businesses” pour évaluer la contribution de ces modèles aux priorités européennes, identifier les freins à leur développement et ouvrir la voie à de nouvelles politiques publiques spécifiques. Dans cet article, nous partageons notre analyse des enseignements de ce nouveau rapport européen et décryptons les choix opérés et les perspectives qu’il dessine pour le développement des modèles à impact.
