Natural Resources & Waste

Our Work

EU policies are increasingly focusing on minimising natural resource use and maximising resource efficiency. At the same time, policies and legislation to address waste remain important to ensure excellent management of waste in the EU Member States. IEEP works extensively on both natural resources and on product and waste policies. Our work consists of analysing existing policies, reviewing legislation and developing new measures.

IEEP’s work on resources includes research on natural resource use, resource efficiency, sustainable consumption and production, product policy and the circular economy. Our work on waste includes reviewing and proposing improvements to existing EU policy and law and Member State measures. The work ranges from large-scale research projects to detailed analysis of specific aspects of legislation.

Regarding work in this area, please contact Emma Watkins.

More about our work in this area...

Latest in Natural Resources & Waste

  • Plastics, Marine Litter and the Circular Economy

    Briefing and three product fiches explore circular economy solutions for reducing the flow of plastic waste into the oceans.

  • How can Planetary Boundaries guide environmental policy in Europe and globally?

    Planetary Boundaries are a scientific approach to exploring critical thresholds to resource use. How can this concept become relevant for policymakers?

  • Greening taxes and subsidies in the Pacific

    IEEP will share its expertise on environmental taxation and the reform of environmentally harmful subsidies at a forum event on greening taxation and subsidies in the Pacific region during the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawaii.

  • Reaching for the blue gold: interdisciplinary approaches to support water management

    A new report by the European Policy Centre (EPC) summarises the existing evidence on the role of water in supporting human wellbeing. IEEP contributed to insights on the policy instruments available for sustainable water management.

  • New open access book on marine litter

    A new book, 'Marine Anthropogenic Litter', has been published comprising 16 chapters on various aspects of the complex issue of litter in the world’s oceans. Researchers from IEEP contributed a chapter on the economics of marine litter. The whole book is free to view online.

  • The Manual: Front pages

    This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter provides information on the authors, editors and editorial board involved in the Manual, as well as guidance on how to use it, and a brief outline of its content.

  • EU Natural Resources policy: Signposts on the roadmap to sustainability

    The EU is committed to building improved resource efficiency into its economic strategy, starting with a “roadmap” this year. A new paper from the Institute sets out the challenges, reviews the mixed results of previous EU policy in this area and suggests a number of ways forward. Both a broad vision and an array of practical policy initiatives are required.

  • IEEP’s Environmentally Harmful Subsidies Study Published

    The report is a contribution to the European Commission’s ongoing efforts to investigate and reform environmentally harmful subsidies (EHS).The study is based on three methodologies developed by the ...

Highlights