Recent monitoring by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) shows that more and more government subsidies are going to circular projects. The flow of money increased from €236 million in 2018 to €295 million in 2020. In the study, they looked at projects from 23 Dutch and European subsidy schemes, ranging from MIT and DEI to Horizon 2020. They also included tax schemes, such as the WBSO and MIA\Vamil, the number of patents and programs such as Versnellingshuis Nederland Circulair!
In a report, RVO maps out the trends of circular projects: which raw materials are used, which products are developed, in which sectors and in which province. In 2020, most of the projects relate to the manufacturing and plastics industries. Within this, chemistry is particularly dominant.
R strategy
As in previous years, the circular projects are mainly about recycling waste flows (67% of the budget). There is also a limited increase visible in the projects that are high on the R ladder, Reduce (R2, for example using less material per product) and Reuse (R3, reuse of products).
The degree of circularity is often related to the so-called R-ladder. The higher a strategy is on the R ladder, the more circular the strategy is. R1 is the highest step.
In 2020 they will see 475 new circular projects, in which 1278 companies and organizations participate. Through the Research and Development Promotion Act (WBSO), 2326 companies reported that they have circular activities for which they receive tax support.
RVO is publishing the monitoring report for the third consecutive year within the Monitoring and Steering Circular Economy Work Program 2019-2023 of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL). The aim of the program is to monitor and evaluate the course set by the cabinet towards 2050. And to provide the government with the knowledge needed to design or adjust policy.
Circular transition
All information from the work program leads to the biennial Integrated Circular Economy Report. The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency aims to provide a complete picture of the transition to a circular economy. The subsidy budget that goes to circular projects is one of the important factors that determine the speed of that transition. RVO monitors this part.
The government aims for a fully circular economy by 2050.
Collaboration
The Monitoring and Steering Circular Economy Work Program 2019-2023 is a partnership between the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the Center for Environmental Sciences Leiden (CML), the Central Planning Bureau (CPB), the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), TNO and Utrecht University under the leadership of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.
