The European Commission’s circular economy action plan of March 2020 is one of the main building blocks of the European Green Deal. The EU’s transition to a circular economy will reduce pressure on natural resources and will create sustainable growth and jobs. The action plan announced 35 actions along the entire life cycle of different product groups. It targets how products are designed, promotes circular economy processes, encourages sustainable consumption, and aims to ensure that waste is prevented and the resources used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible.

These illustrations show the production of Montana’s shelving modules at its factoryin Haarby, Denmark. Danish design furniture company Montana acquired the EUEcolabel in 2019 for a series of its modular design products and shelvingmodules. The company focuses on sustainability and ‘cradle-to-grave’ analysesof the environmental impact of its products. For instance, Montana only useswater-based lacquer colours, which do not contain solvents. To acquire the EUEcolabel, companies must respect a series of strict sustainability criteria onthe product's entire lifecycle, from raw material extraction to production,distribution and disposal.