About the BSB-CIRCLECON Project

The project “Knowing Circular Economy in Black Sea Basin” (the BSB – “CIRCLECON”), which has been carried out under the auspices of the EU-funded Joint Operational Programme “Black Sea Basin 2014-2020” aims at promoting CE model in Black Sea basin to help Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Turkey and Ukraine accelerate transition to a resource-efficient and regenerative circular economy contributing to regional competitiveness, innovation and economic growth, employment and value added across sectors, sustainable development and social welfare. The project is focused on awareness raising and knowledge transfer at local, regional and national level, through providing promotional campaigns, education and research activities in each partner territory.

Objectives

The overall goal of BSB-CIRCLECON is to promote territorial coordination of environmental protection and sustainable growth in the Black Sea Basin. The idea is to encourage as many actors as possible to embark on the transition to the circular economy, going beyond waste prevention and management to Waste as a Valuable Resource. BSB-CIRCLECON targets to promote:

  • Circular Economy package
  • Common awareness-raising and joint actions to reduce waste
  • Coordination of environmental protection and joint reduction of waste and marine litter in the Black Sea basin countries, in a lower – level, the “every day” people, supporting and facilitating Brussels and local governments’ activities towards CE.

CE incorporates a series of critical interventions on various topics and schemes, which cannot covered within the framework of a relatively small CBC project. So, among the different CE priorities and topics, BSB-CIRCLECON will focus on three main aspects (project specific objectives):
a) To promote the EU CE model
b) To inform on waste prevention, reduction and management
c) To establish BSB coordination for mutual coping with environmental challenges

In order to accomplish its objectives, the project involves Business, NGOs, Academia and local authorities as performers of this groundbreaking –in terms of BSB- initiative.

Project Results

The immediate project result is increased awareness on environmental challenges and good waste management practices within Black Sea Basin as a consequence of CE model; more than 60.000 people are expected to be informed, some 1400 to follow informational events, up to 50 experts to be trained to CE models, 350 organizations and companies to be intensively advised, 6 organizations to play the role of multipliers and some 10 organizations to be engaged in creating a EGTC in BSB for Circular Economy. The above are directly contributing to the Programme Result Indicator “Level of awareness of environmental challenges and good waste management practices related to river and marine litter”. BSB-CIRCLECON is expected to offer opportunities to improve regional BSB economies making them more sustainable and competitive, preserve resources that are increasingly scarce and subject to mounting environmental pressure or volatile prices, and create innovative, more resource efficient ways to provide services or products to customers. In long term, results of proposals dealing with CE adoption will contribute:

  • To reduce soil, river and marine litter
  • better waste management to reduce landfills, and their associated pollution.
  • To reduction in the total materials requirement
  • Ecodesign, waste prevention and reuse could bring net savings to businesses
  • To less greenhouse gas emissions

Activities

The project includes activities that are related to promoting innovation and knowledge transfer, making full use of information and communication technologies. Our project leads to sustainable growth, because it will contribute to sustainable and competitive economy, exploiting Europe’s leadership in the race to develop new processes and technologies, including green technologies, accelerating the roll out of smart grids using ICTs, exploiting EU-scale networks, and reinforcing the competitive advantages of our businesses. The approach of project BSB-CIRCLECON will help the EU and other neighbor countries to prosper in a low-carbon, resource constrained world while preventing environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and unsustainable use of resources. It will also underpin economic, social and territorial cohesion.

All activities are designed to be environmentally friendly and to promote minimal resources use, leading to deliverables such as e–campaign (ERFC), e-brochures e-leaflets (ODS), communication only via social media communication / 3 Social Media pages (ODS), e-book device for the seminars (ODS) and Web-events (All partners). During the events of the project all supplies will be from only recycled materials; relevant specifications will be forced into assignments & tenders’ procedures to the provisional contractors. Finally, the 6 beneficiaries are going to change their operational modus vivendi as to comply and certified under ISO 14000 Environmental Standards; this enhances the long-term environmental positive impact of the project.