Circular Economy Strategy: Austria on the Path Towards a Sustainable and Circular Society

Circular economy by 2050
Photo: COPE Content Performance Group

To accelerate the implementation of a functioning circular economy, the European Commission launched the “Circular Economy” Action Plan in 2015. For this purpose, the Ministry of Environment, together with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Social Affairs, developed a Circular Economy Strategy, which was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 7 December 2022.

In a circular economy, the value of products, materials and resources within the economy is preserved for as long as possible and as little waste and environmental pollution as possible is generated. In resource-efficient and low-pollutant production, secondary raw materials or renewable raw materials are used wherever possible to keep resource consumption within planetary boundaries. A circular product policy enables the products manufactured to be used, reused, repaired, refurbished and recycled for as long as possible. This extends the life cycle of the products and reduces the overall consumption of primary raw materials. The Federal Ministry has therefore developed a national circular economy strategy with the involvement of numerous stakeholders. The vision of the strategy is to transform the Austrian economy and society into a climate-neutral, sustainable circular economy by 2050. Furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management (BMLUK) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (now: Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, abbr. BMWET) jointly set up a Circular Economy Task Force to advise on the implementation of the strategy, which has drawn up recommendations on this issue.

Key Objectives of the Strategy

Reduction of resource consumption

  • Domestic material consumption (DMC): maximum 14 tonnes per capita/year (2030)
  • Material footprint (MF): maximum 7 tonnes per capita/year (2050)

Increase in resource productivity by 50 percent (2030)

Increase in the circularity rate to 18 percent (2030)

Reduction of private household consumption by 10 percent (2030)

Further information

Circular Economy Monitoring

The strategy provides for systematic monitoring in order to make the progress of the transformation towards a resource-efficient, circular economy transparent and manageable. This includes regular progress and resource utilisation reports, as well as a periodic evaluation of the strategy. The first evaluation is planned for 2027.

Funding in the Circular Economy

Based on the Circular Economy Strategy, the Federal Government specifically supports projects that accelerate the transformation of the Austrian economy and society towards greater circularity:

Device Repair Bonus (in German only)