Green & Circular Economy

The EU Chamber, supported by policies of the European Union, promotes the transformation towards an inclusive green and circular economy that generates growth, creates jobs and helps reduce poverty through sustainable management of natural capital. Addressing this challenge requires a broad set of interventions that go beyond government action to involve the private sector. EU citizens benefit from some of the highest environmental standards in the world. The EU and national governments have set clear objectives to guide European environment policy until 2020 and a vision beyond that, of where to be by 2050, with the support of dedicated research programmes, legislation and funding.

Green and circular economy investment is one of the ways through which South Africa can achieve economic growth that is sustainable, inclusive, and transformative.

The European Union is a leader in technological innovation and green economy as well as circular economy. The EU has created an enabling environment through targeted policies and regulations. EU business has driven transformation in all EU member states as well as in markets outside of the EU.

The EU Chamber aims to contribute to strengthening the regulatory and policy environment to enable investment and technology transfer for green and circular economy development.

We will identify partnership opportunities between South African and EU companies in the following sectors:

• Green Economy: Demand-side energy efficiency and market for Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), wind and solar power, biomass power plants, power fuels, Urban mobility, battery storage

• Circular Economy: Water- related technologies, Waste-heat conversion, Waste Management (recycling, waste to energy), Plastics