Brussels, 24 September 2025 — CirclesOfLife (COL), EcoShipYard (ESY), and Green Marine Europe (GME) proudly hosted the Green Shipping Industry Day in Brussels, a conference event uniting maritime stakeholders from across Europe’s maritime sector. This event marked a significant milestone in the journey toward a circular, transparent, and decarbonised future for European shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing industry

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.

Press release: CirclesOfLife Press Release Sept. 2025
Photo’s ©Sam Glazier.