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Description
The transition to a circular economy is an international challenge. Globally, we are faced with limited natural resources and a growing population. According to the United Nations (UN), global material use has tripled in the last four decades (United Nations, 2016). The demand for raw materials will increase further in the coming years due to global population growth and the development of new technologies that require specific raw materials. This will exacerbate environmental, climate-related, and other sustainability issues.
The circular economy has become a development priority also at European level, being part of the industrial strategy of European countries. In this sense, any business project that is going to start its activity from the beginning of 2023 will be obliged to have a detailed "circular economy" component.
According to the "National Strategy on the Circular Economy" (approved by the Romanian Government on 22 September 2022) "the transition from a linear to a circular economic model is a complex and lengthy process, and Romania is still at the beginning".
Also, according to statistics issued by the Circular Economy Monitoring Framework, Romania is among the worst-performing European Union (EU) countries in terms of resource productivity, waste generation as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), waste treatment and use of recycled materials in the economy.
A study on the transition level from linear to a circular economy in Europe was published in 2021. This research shows that Romania is among the countries where progress towards the circular economy is very slow.
Taking into account the aspects presented above, by approaching this funding the Romanian University in collaboration with the Østfold University College proposes to approach mobilities for academic staff and students (level of study Bachelor, Master or PhD) on the topic of "Circular Economy". The type and duration of mobility are detailed in the Bilateral Agreement.