Joint position paper – How to reduce our dependency on critical raw materials by stimulating circularity

We call for a Critical Raw Materials Regulation that is based on circular principles and promotes both sufficiency and resource efficiency. This can be achieved by adopting the following circular strategies, in order of importance:

1. Rethink and reduce: lower the demand for CRMs by promoting systemic change;
2. Circular design, repair, and reuse: extend the life of products to keep CRMs in use for longer;
3. Collect and recycle: focus on the separate collection, reuse, and treatment of CRMs, and invest in high-quality recycling to bring them back into circulation.

Increasing global demand for such products, combined with increasing geopolitical instability, shows that we need to strengthen supply chains in the European Union. We urge the European Parliament and Council of the EU to link the text of the Critical Raw Materials Act to an EU-wide material footprint reduction target, to focus on waste prevention rather than recycling, and to enhance recycled content.

The CRM Regulation should focus on the reuse and recovery of secondary raw materials from products and components, while ensuring that CRM value chains meet strict environmental and social requirements. This will ensure the energy transition is climate-proof, material-efficient, and socially just.

Read the full position paper here.