Circular economy

The economy of resources management that allows to exploit them as long as possible

What is circular economy?

Circular economy comes from the idea of "circularity", in contrast with the "linearity" of the current economic model: linearity considers and manages resources on the unidirectional line from extraction - production - distribution - consumption - disposal. On the contrary, the circular model uses resources in a more efficient way, keeping them in the economic cycle as long as possible, through reuse and recycling.

Following this concept, waste is minimized and the life cycle concept is introduced.

Circular economy starts at the very beginning of a product's life, since both the design phase and production processes have an impact on sourcing, resource use and waste generation throughout its life.

In December 2015, Europe launched an action plan in order to:

services for circular economy

What does RINA do?

For over 20 years RINA has developed its skills and expertise in the environment and greenhouse gases, life cycle analyses, energy efficiency and sustainability fields concerning organisations, products, services, processes and systems.

RINA offers certification and conformity assessment services to public and private organisations committed to sustainability, environmental protection and fight against climate change.

Our services help to foster a sustainable, low carbon, resource efficient and competitive economy, and they include, for example:

The certification of biofuels and bioliquids sustainability certifies the traceability, sustainability and plausibility of biomass waste and residues, intermediate products and biofuels and bioliquids from waste and residues. Thanks to our certification, these advanced materials can be used to achieve the 2009/28/EC Directive goals and they can give additional benefits. RINA is accredited/recognised for 4 certification schemes.

 

Inspections on solid biomass suppliers attest the traceability and sustainability of biomass supplied to power plants.

Certification of the FSC®-COC and PEFC-COC chain of custody of forestry products certifies that products derived from forests (like paper and wood) come from responsibly managed forests, in compliance with the highest ecological, social and ethical requirements.

 

ISCC certifications (EU, PLUS, and CORSIA) ensure sustainability across energy, food, feed, and industrial sectors by protecting forests, high-carbon soils, and biodiversity, promoting waste utilisation, circularity and enhancing traceability.

 

The European program ETV - Environmental Technologies Verification certifies the environmental performance of technologies, products and processes, to increase the credibility of these technologies on the market and to allow users and buyers to compare and identify the eco-innovations that are appropriate to their needs. This service is mentioned in the Communication COM (2015) 614 final of 2015 on the circular economy.

 

The EPD validation certifies all the possible environmental impacts associated with a product and provides information on the environmental performance of that product / service.

 

The water footprint verification monitors direct and indirect water consumption for a product, service or for an organisation, in compliance with ISO 14046.

 

Verification of Carbon footprint in compliance with ISO 14067 that represents the emission of greenhouse gases attributable to a product or service along the supply chain of a product.

 

- ISO 50001 certifies a systemic approach to energy management
- ISO 14001 and EMAS III certify a systemic approach to environment management
- ISO 30000 certifies a systemic approach to ship recycling management
- ISO 20121 certifies a systemic approach to event sustainability

In compliance with  ISO 14021, the verification of the self-declared environmental assertions attests the compostability, degradability, energy saving, reduced energy consumption, disassembling, product recyclability.

 

The End of Waste Certification and the solid secondary fuels certification (UNI 15358) certify the suitability for the recovery and reuse respectively of glass scrap, copper and metal scrap and secondary solid fuels.

Validation of technical models to measure the products/services/solutions/organizations level of circularity and certification of products/services/solutions/organizations for compliance with the requirements defined by validated models.

Verification of the circularity level of organizations in compliance to the requirements defined by the Enel x CE client tool model to assess clients' energy and corporate circularity,

Rating on the sustainable procurement processes of organizations and 2nd party audits on suppliers to verify the application of the sustainable procurement process.

Collaboration in the creation of digital platforms on circularity that involve different players, i.e. waste and residues producer , transporters, plants and users of wastes, residues and secondary raw materials.

Involvement in many European projects funded within the schemes offered by the European Commission (eg Horizon 2020, FP7 and others) on the circular economy.

Laura Severino