Europe faces a dual transformation – ecological and digital. With the planned
By Jan Nintemann and Jochen Siegle; Photo: Eric Mclean via Unsplash
Eight leading environmental organizations, led by the German Nature Conservation Ring (DNR), are calling on the European Commission to make the planned Circular Economy Act (CEA) a real turning point for resource protection and sustainable economic management.
The draft law is part of the Clean Industrial Deal and is to be presented in 2026 – in time for TransformIT Europe in Brussels.
Less resource waste is not only ecologically necessary but is becoming an economic imperative, it states in the joint position paper. The organizations – BUND, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Runder Tisch Reparatur, Germanwatch, NABU, Natureplus, and WWF Germany – emphasize that recycling alone is not enough: Europe needs binding targets for per capita resource consumption, tax incentives for repair and reuse, and targeted promotion of circular business models.
Seven Levers for a Circular and Digital Future
The environmental organizations define seven key areas of action for the new EU law – including binding resource targets, tax reforms in favor of the circular economy, EU-wide harmonization of extended producer responsibility (EPR), and binding collection and reuse quotas for electrical appliances.
Particularly important: The EU must prioritize the upper tiers of the waste hierarchy – Rethink, Reduce, Refuse – more strongly. Business models based on Reuse, Repair, and Remanufacture should be tax-advantaged and digitally supported.
Digital Technologies as Enablers of the Circular Economy
The connection between sustainability and digitalization is also at the heart of TransformIT Europe 2026.
Intelligent data platforms, AI-supported resource planning, and digital product passports are considered key factors for implementing the CEA in practice.
Without digital transparency, there can be no true circular economy, industry experts emphasize in the run-up to the conference. Only with digital tools can material flows be tracked, recycled materials used in a quality-assured manner, and supply chains designed sustainably.
TransformIT Europe 2026: Europe’s Path to Sustainable Transformation
When politics, business, and tech innovators meet in Brussels for TransformIT Europe in May 2026, the Circular Economy Act will be one of the central topics.
The fair & conference shows how digital technologies can help connect resource efficiency, climate protection, and competitiveness – and how Europe can seize the opportunity to become a global pioneer of sustainable digital transformation.
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