The circular economy in Wallonia: key results of the 2024 Barometer

An encouraging level of awareness, but room for improvement According to the survey of 2,083 businesses conducted between June and August 2024, 65.6% of respondents said they were aware of the circular economy concept, although only 25.5% of these businesses said they had a thorough understanding of it. Raising awareness through the media (51%) and professional networks (37%) proved to be the main sources of information. However, the results show that 34.4% of businesses are not familiar with the circular economy concept, indicating a need for greater awareness and access to educational resources. Understanding is better among large companies (>200 employees, 78%) than among micro-enterprises (<10 employees, 64%).

Active companies, but few applied global strategies The circular economy actions most often implemented by companies are:

• Waste sorting and recycling (90%),

• Reducing consumption of energy, water and raw materials (77%),

• Responsible purchasing (47%).

However, only 27% of companies claim to have fully integrated the circular economy into their business strategy, demonstrating that the potential of the circular economy remains under-exploited. An undeniable opportunity The main difficulties encountered by businesses in implementing the circular economy within their organisation include a lack of time (29%), identifying relevant actions to implement (21%) and information (14%). Despite these obstacles, 64% of respondents see the circular economy as an opportunity, in particular to reduce their dependence on resources and improve their image. Towards a more circular Wallonia To encourage more businesses to adopt circular practices, several levers for action can be identified thanks to the Barometer:

• Financial support: 63% of businesses want support for innovation and collaboration,

• Access to information: 41% want more access to resources and expertise,

• The introduction of tax measures to stimulate circular goods and services, advice on current legislation and training initiatives are also cited as priority levers.

A collective commitment for a sustainable future The results of the 2024 Barometer show that Walloon businesses are making progress in their knowledge and integration of circular economy principles, although efforts are still needed to overcome the obstacles identified. These results underline the importance of a collective effort between public authorities, businesses and citizens to build an economic model that is resilient, sustainable and respectful of the environment. Companies are focusing primarily on implementing actions at the lower end of the Lansink scale. In fact, sorting and recycling waste, reducing energy, materials and water consumption, implementing an internal waste prevention policy and purchasing recycled products or materials from recycling are the actions favoured by companies. This is due to the difficulties encountered by companies: although lack of time is the first factor cited, the difficulty in identifying the relevant circular economy actions to implement and the lack of information on how to implement these actions are two blocking factors. That's why it's essential to support businesses through financial support for innovation and collaboration, easier access to information and expertise, better advice on current legislation and training to acquire new skills. Survey methodology To ensure the robustness of the results, the 2024 Barometer has adopted a rigorous methodology: Type of sampling: The method used is stratified random sampling with one stratification criterion and proportional allocation between strata. The stratification criterion used is company size class. Sample size: 2,083 companies responded to the survey, representing 2.22% of the Walloon economic fabric (90,019 establishments listed in 2022). Data collection: Combination of CATI (telephone interviews, 1,671 or 80%) and CAWI (online questionnaires, 412 or 20%) methods.