To achieve European climate neutrality by 2050, it is necessary to rethink the use of energy and resources. Circular economy plays a central role in this task as a third pillar together with decarbonization and increased efficiency.

The Austrian Circular Economy Strategy and the European Circular Economy Action Plan play a vital role with regard to this development: raw materials should be kept in the economic cycle for as long as possible, waste avoided and products made repairable, reusable and recyclable. This is to reduce resource consumption and the environmental impact of industry, but also to lower energy requirements along the entire value chain – from raw material extraction to disposal.

The current issue of “sustainable technologies” deals with applications and innovative approaches that highlight the potential of circular economy for the energy transition. Efficient plastics recycling processes, the recovery of proteins from food production waste streams or innovative material cycles in the construction industry – examples presented in this issue demonstrate that circular economy is not an abstract vision but is already being put into practice.