Policy Engagement Overview
The aggregated evidence of corporate and industry lobbying on the Critical Raw Materials Act proposal shows generally positive engagement across sectors, albeit with opposition to recycled content targets from the metals & mining and automotive sectors.
Long-term Lobbying Trends
The majority of lobbying on the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act has been supportive. Entities across sectors supported legislation to strengthen the circularity of EU critical raw material supply chains, including the chemical industry’s BASF, Solvay and Cefic, metals & mining’s Eurometaux, and energy groups WindEurope and Hydrogen Europe.
Entities across sectors supported environmental footprint reporting for products containing critical raw materials. This included companies Volvo Cars, Enel, Rio Tinto and Schneider Electric, and industry groups Eurometaux, the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), Hydrogen Europe and BusinessEurope. No actors appeared to oppose the provision.
Actors from the metals & mining and automotive sectors were unsupportive of minimum recycled content targets. This included companies Boliden, KGHM Polska Miedz, Norsk Hydro, Tesla and Renault, and industry groups Euromines, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), and the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).
Recycled content targets did however see support from the energy, utilities, and industrials sectors. This included companies Enel, Airbus, Cummins, Phillips 66, Schneider Electric and Veolia, and industry group Hydrogen Europe.
New engagement trends since EU Commission Proposal in March 2023
Some metals & mining and automotive entities appeared unsupportive of the EU Commission’s proposed 15% recycling target, including companies KGHM Polksa Miedz and Mercedes-Benz, and industry group the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).
Impacts on Policy Ambition
EU Commission Proposal
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EU Recycling Capacity: The EU Commission proposed a recycling target for domestic recycling capacity at 15% of the Union’s annual consumption of strategic raw materials. Member States will adopt and implement national programs to increase the recycling and reuse of CRMs.
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Recycled Content of Permanent Magnets: Proposed labelling requirements for products containing permanent magnets, and that the Commission may adopt delegated acts after 31 December 2030 for minimum recycled content requirements for certain CRMs in permanent magnets.
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Environmental Footprint Reporting: The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts for the calculation and verification of the environmental footprint of different CRMs.
EU Council Proposal
The European Council’s position on the Critical Raw Materials Act increased the ambition of several elements of the EU Commission’s proposal.
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EU Recycling Capacity: The EU Council increased the recycling target for domestic recycling capacity to 20%. It also proposed that national recycling programs contain measures to reduce the need for CRMs by increasing resource efficiency and substitution, and increasing durability, reliability, upgradability and repairability.
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Recycled Content of Permanent Magnets: The Council altered the timeframe and language of creating delegated acts on minimum recycled content requirements, stating that the Commission shall implement them no later than 31 December 2032.
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Environmental Footprint Reporting: The Council proposed that calculation and verification rules shall identify at least the three most relevant impact categories, accounting for at least 80% of the overall environmental footprint.
EU Parliament Proposal
The European Parliament’s position on the Critical Raw Materials Act increased the ambition of several elements of the EU Commission’s proposal.
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EU Recycling Capacity: The EU Parliament altered the recycling benchmark to at least collect, sort and process 45% of each strategic raw material contained in the Union’s waste by 2030. It also suggested dedicated waste codes for lithium-ion batteries and ‘black mass’.
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Recycled Content of Permanent Magnets: Parliament amended recycled content requirements, stating that the Commission shall adopt delegated acts on minimum recycled content requirements for permanent magnets no later than December 31st 2030.
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Environmental Footprint Reporting: Parliament added that in creating environmental footprint reports, greenhouse gas emissions should be considered, and that environmental footprint reporting should reduce the climate and environmental impacts of other actions in the Act.
Policy adopted
EU policymakers released a final adopted text on the EU Critical Raw Materials Act in December 2023. The Act’s circular economy provisions were of a higher ambition than the original European Commission proposal. It increased the Commission’s proposed domestic recycling target from 15% to 25%, and established that the Commission shall adopt delegated acts for minimum recycled content targets for permanent magnets by no later than 31 December 2031. The Act also implemented environmental footprint reporting rules in line with the EU Council and Parliament’s positions, wherein footprints shall identify at least the three most relevant impact categories, and greenhouse gas emissions shall be included as an environmental category.
