Green Shipping Industry Day: Advancing circularity and sustainability in European Shipbuilding

A Turning Point for Maritime Decarbonisation

As Europe accelerates towards its 2050 climate targets, the focus is shifting beyond operational emissions to address the full lifecycle impact of ships – including shipyard activities and material use. The Green Shipping Industry Day brought together policymakers, industry innovators, and stakeholders across the maritime value chain to tackle these emerging challenges and seize new opportunities for sustainable growth.

Empowering the Sector with Practical Solutions

The morning sessions of the conference were dedicated to the CirclesOfLife and EcoShipYard initiatives, supported by Horizon Europe. The objective of the two projects are delivering actionable tools and frameworks to advance circularity and transparency in the maritime value chain. These key innovations include:

• Material passports and circular assessments tools for the maritime industry:
  Digital solutions enabling full traceability of materials and environmental impacts, supporting compliance with EU legislation and promoting circular strategies from design to dismantling.
• Shipyard Environmental Performance Index (SEPI):
  A standardized tool for benchmarking and improving shipyard sustainability, fostering the adoption of cleaner technologies and facilitating access to green finance.

These tools empower shipyards, suppliers, and policymakers to make informed decisions, embed circularity, and strengthen Europe’s industrial sovereignty.

Policy Alignment and Strategic Impact

CoL and ESY’s solutions are designed to align with current and emerging EU frameworks, including the Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive (CSRD), Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Digital Product Passport (DPP), and the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR). By embedding key performance indicators tied to mandatory sustainability requirements, these projects enhance traceability, lifecycle transparency, and competitiveness across the sector.

A Call to Action for Policymakers and Industry

Establishing a robust legal framework for ship lifecycle management – including the Circular Economy Act and EU Ship Recycling Regulation – is essential. Creating financial instruments for circular practices and integrating CoL and ESY tools within the EU Maritime Industrial Strategy represents a strategic pathway forward. Continued support for innovation and scaling through Horizon Europe and related programmes will further advance the sector’s sustainability and competitiveness.

The following organisations participate CirclesOfLife: DAMEN RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION BV, BALance Technology Consulting GmbH, Center of Maritime Technologies gGmbH, Green Marine Europe, Netherlands Maritime Technology Foundation, FSG Shipyard GmbH, Bureau Veritas M&O, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Delft University of Technology, NGO Shipbreaking Platform, University of Genoa, GALLOO, SEA Europe, ERIKS. The project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 101138013