- JICE reached € 11.6 billion in financing for circular economy projects between 2019 and 2023
- Welcomed Invest-NL as a new member and stepped up its commitment to reach €16 billion by the end of 2025
- KfW CEO Stefan Wintels: “The transition to a circular economy is decisive. It is thus all the more pleasing that the financing target for 2023 has been exceeded.”
Today at the World Circular Economy Forum 2024, the European Union’s largest public promotional banks and institutions – Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK, Poland), Caisse des Dépôts Groupe (CDC, France), including Bpifrance, the French national investment bank, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP, Italy), Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO, Spain) and KfW (Germany) – and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced that they exceeded their €10 billion target financing volume for circular economy projects reaching €11.57 billion at the end of 2023. They also welcomed a new member, Invest-NL, the Netherland’s national promotional institution established in 2020.
Transitioning from a linear to a circular economy is critical for achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, most notably Goal 12 to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. Given the urgency to address the climate and environmental crises, the Joint Initiative on Circular Economy (JICE) decided to raise its target to provide € 16 billion for circular economy projects by the end of 2025.
JICE, launched in 2019, aims to provide long-term financing for projects that accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The participating JICE partners had set a financing target of at least €10 billion for circular economy projects by the end of 2023, over a five-year period. Projects signed so far cover a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, industry and services, mobility, urban development, waste and water management.
For such circular economy projects, the participating institutions provide loans, equity investments, guarantees and technical assistance. They also develop innovative financing structures for infrastructure projects, companies of different sizes, and research and innovation projects. Some recent projects supported include:
- rebuy recommerce GmbH was founded in Berlin and is a mail-order company for used electronic items and media. By repairing and reselling, the company extends the life cycles of products, conserves resources and thus supports circular economy. KfW supports this innovative and sustainable business idea with the Venture Tech Growth Financing programme (VTGF).
- Northvolt Ett, a battery cell factory in Sweden, is the first purely European supplier to produce state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery cells for major German and European car manufacturers. The plant's capacity will be expanded from currently 16 GWh to up to 60 GWh. Furthermore, Northvolt will expand its 'Revolt Ett' recycling plant. In addition to scrap material from current production, used batteries can be processed here. By using 100% green energy from regionally generated hydropower, the project is carbon-neutral.
- Essity, a hygiene and health group producing toilet paper from straw located in Mannheim, aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by at least 35 % by 2030. Dispensing with wood ensures better resource and energy efficiency as well as shorter transport distances. The process not only conserves resources but is also more energy-efficient, saving around 10,000 tons of CO2 a year.
KfW CEO Stefan Wintels said:
“I am very pleased that KfW has been part of JICE since 2019 and working in partnership with other European promotional banks to drive change in this important field of action. The careful use of natural resources is crucial for achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. Against this backdrop, the transition to a circular economy is decisive. It is thus all the more pleasing that the financing target for 2023 has been exceeded, and we are now increasing the current financing target to further accelerate sustainable development.”
BGK member of management board, Chief ESG Officer Radoslaw Kwiecien said:
“We have stated in our strategy that it is our responsibility to use available resources to provide further development and better living conditions for future generations. It is great to see that JICE is growing, as a resource-efficient Europe is what we all are aiming for. We need more circular economy projects from both private business and the public sector.”
CDC CEO Eric Lombard said:
“We are delighted that our objectives have been overachieved. This result emphasises the hard work of Banque des Territoires and Bpifrance, as well as our European partners. They confirm Caisse des Dépôts Group's determination to continue and expand its support to circular economy and, more broadly, ecological transition at the service of local authorities and businesses.”
CDP CEO Dario Scannapieco said:
“The transition to circular production models is crucial to ensure the long-term sustainability of our system and the soundness of economic growth and business competitiveness. In this light, CDP actively contributes to the implementation of initiatives that promote the transition to a circular economy. The remarkable results achieved so far by JICE demonstrate the ability of public promotional banks and institutions to collaborate on the promotion of the green transition in Europe. For this reason, the extension of the initiative to a new member and the introduction of a new investment target mark a new milestone in this collaboration.”
EIB President Nadia Calviño said:
“The circular economy is essential for the transition to carbon-neutrality, and the success of the Joint Initiative for Circular Economy shows that the range and number of projects to be financed in this area is on the rise. We therefore warmly welcome Invest-NL as our new partner in the pursuit of our increased ambition. Fostering collaboration, across borders, sectors and financial players is crucial to maximising our impact.”
ICO Chairman José Carlos Garcia de Quevedo said:
“Supporting the green transition is one of the objectives of the ICO Group's activity, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. In this area, we pay particular attention to financing circular economy projects that promote more sustainable and fairer growth models. We are pleased to share and reinforce this commitment with our European counterparts and welcome Invest-NL as a new member of the JICE Initiative.”
Invest-NL CEO Rinke Zonneveld said:
“By joining the Joint Initiative for Circular Economy (JICE), Invest-NL reaffirms its commitment to sustainability and innovation. This participation underscores our dedication to advancing circular practices and facilitating the exchange of expertise. This will bolster public-private financing mechanisms, making circular solutions more feasible and scalable.”
Find out more:
Joint Initiative on Circular Economy animation
Previous press releases:
The Joint Initiative on Circular Economy (JICE) steps up its commitment to provide €16 billion to circular projects by 2025 and welcomes Invest-NL as new member (eib.org)
The Joint Initiative on Circular Economy (JICE) reaches €8.9 billion and continues its efforts (eib.org)
The Joint Initiative on Circular Economy reaches over a quarter of its five-year target and supports ground-breaking circular economy projects (eib.org)
EUR 10 billion to support the Circular Economy in the EU (eib.org)
Press contacts:
Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK - Poland): Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK - Poland): Bartosz Polek, + 48 797 020 614, Bartosz.Polek@bgk.pl
Caisse des Dépôts Group (CDC – France): Malek Prat – + 33 (0) 6 71 43 46 38 – service.presse@caissedesdepots.fr
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP - Italy): Michele Baccinelli, michele.baccinelli@cdp.it, tel.: +39-06 4221 2435
Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO - Spain): Begoña Amores, Begonia.amores@ico.es, tel.: +34 915921641
Invest-NL: Wander van der Kolk, wander.vanderkolk@invest-nl.nl, tel.: +31 6 41 880 440
European Investment Bank: Vanessa Paul, v.paul@eib.org , tel.: +352 4379 – 84331, mobile: +352-621-368-521, Website: www.eib.org/press - Press Office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org
