12.7.2 Challenges
There are also many challenges to be faced. These include achieving the objectives
of the circular economy, creating measures and standards for companies to obtain the
label as a “service or product of the circular economy” and developing the private
sector more sustainably. Among the most difficult challenges is the regulation on the
exploitation limits of raw materials, a traditional and sensitive sector with low
sensitivity to innovation and a rigid legislative and operational framework. More
interlocutors need to be found in different ministries to design an integrated approach
for CE and SSS and create new synergies between the national and regional levels. A
new policy and financing framework, strong stakeholder engagement and SME
commitment are also needed. A general change of mindset accompanied by a general
change in consumer behaviour is essential to make policy implementation possible.
A different perception of doing business should be disseminated, as well as a
systematic approach based on motivation and not punishment. Other practical challenges that have emerged related to supporting the shipping recycling industry and deep
tech (big data industries and blockchains) and limiting the phenomenon of greenwashes.
Another theoretical challenge concerns the consumer economy, which implies the
affirmation of the principle that to own is to be, thus pushing to maintain the ownership
of values for individual things. In particular, it shows that the greatest problems in
Western Greece and Attica are solid waste, recycling and sea plastic pollution.
12.8 Conclusions
The pilot EIT project described here was very timely for Greece, which is ready to
adopt a revised SSS in view of the 2021–2027 programming period and needs to
proceed with the revision of the adopted NCES.
The methodology proved operational and was positively received by the stakeholders involved in the September Workshop, despite some shortcomings deriving
from the lack of experience and time constraints under which both the SSS and the
NCES were designed in the past. In the new programming period, with the experience gained, the methodology coupling the two strategies can be mutually
reinforcing and in particular help shift from a short- to a longer-term needed horizon,
which is crucial for the CE success. The involvement of profitable activities by the
business sector is an integral element to be incorporated in this codesign effort.
The project identified a series of problems in the Greek case. NCES focused
primarily on waste management until 2019 and on areas where the country had a
below EU average performance. Past efforts to gain ground were too ambitious to be
implemented and led to disillusionments. The finally adopted NCES is more of a list
of potential actions than a real, country-specific strategy. In an effort to sensitise
stakeholders, it praises the CE and neglects to warn about challenges. The ambitious
Action Plan could not be implemented within the timeframe foreseen, while the
governance is not based on synergies, and private investments (a prerequisite for the
12 Circular Economy in National Smart Specialisation Strategies: The Case of Greece
219
There are also many challenges to be faced. These include achieving the objectives
of the circular economy, creating measures and standards for companies to obtain the
label as a “service or product of the circular economy” and developing the private
sector more sustainably. Among the most difficult challenges is the regulation on the
exploitation limits of raw materials, a traditional and sensitive sector with low
sensitivity to innovation and a rigid legislative and operational framework. More
interlocutors need to be found in different ministries to design an integrated approach
for CE and SSS and create new synergies between the national and regional levels. A
new policy and financing framework, strong stakeholder engagement and SME
commitment are also needed. A general change of mindset accompanied by a general
change in consumer behaviour is essential to make policy implementation possible.
A different perception of doing business should be disseminated, as well as a
systematic approach based on motivation and not punishment. Other practical challenges that have emerged related to supporting the shipping recycling industry and deep
tech (big data industries and blockchains) and limiting the phenomenon of greenwashes.
Another theoretical challenge concerns the consumer economy, which implies the
affirmation of the principle that to own is to be, thus pushing to maintain the ownership
of values for individual things. In particular, it shows that the greatest problems in
Western Greece and Attica are solid waste, recycling and sea plastic pollution.
12.8 Conclusions
The pilot EIT project described here was very timely for Greece, which is ready to
adopt a revised SSS in view of the 2021–2027 programming period and needs to
proceed with the revision of the adopted NCES.
The methodology proved operational and was positively received by the stakeholders involved in the September Workshop, despite some shortcomings deriving
from the lack of experience and time constraints under which both the SSS and the
NCES were designed in the past. In the new programming period, with the experience gained, the methodology coupling the two strategies can be mutually
reinforcing and in particular help shift from a short- to a longer-term needed horizon,
which is crucial for the CE success. The involvement of profitable activities by the
business sector is an integral element to be incorporated in this codesign effort.
The project identified a series of problems in the Greek case. NCES focused
primarily on waste management until 2019 and on areas where the country had a
below EU average performance. Past efforts to gain ground were too ambitious to be
implemented and led to disillusionments. The finally adopted NCES is more of a list
of potential actions than a real, country-specific strategy. In an effort to sensitise
stakeholders, it praises the CE and neglects to warn about challenges. The ambitious
Action Plan could not be implemented within the timeframe foreseen, while the
governance is not based on synergies, and private investments (a prerequisite for the
12 Circular Economy in National Smart Specialisation Strategies: The Case of Greece
219