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The Circularity Gap Report: Friesland is a joint initiative led by Circulair Friesland, the Province of Friesland, and Circle Economy to track Friesland’s progress toward a more circular economy while also serving as a model for other regions. As the organizations behind this dashboard, we aim to provide structured indicators to measure key aspects of circularity—such as resource efficiency, waste reduction, and circular jobs—alongside on-the-ground case studies that highlight innovative local initiatives. This approach helps policymakers, businesses, and communities assess progress, address challenges, and accelerate Friesland’s transition to a circular economy. In doing so, Friesland is working toward meeting the national goal of reducing primary resource use by 50% by 2030 and achieving a fully circular economy in the Netherlands by 2050.

Beyond Friesland, this dashboard is designed as a replicable tool that can be implemented in other regions worldwide. By fostering comprehensive comparisons, it enables knowledge sharing and collaboration, allowing regions to learn from one another and scale successful strategies. In addition to tracking current trends, the monitor offers forward-looking recommendations to drive circular development—both within Friesland and beyond—helping to create a more sustainable global economy.

This case study collection supports the dashboard, in showcasing circular economy projects and initiatives already occurring in the region.

CGR Friesland

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Business case

Providing water and sewage services, including water collection and distribution, water treatment systems and sewage treatment facilities

Water and Sewage

Utilise waste streams as a source of secondary resources and recover waste for reuse and recycling

Use waste as a resource

Consider opportunities to create greater value and align incentives that build on the interaction between products and services

Rethink the business model

Replace freshwater with less impactful alternatives and enact water efficiency measures

Regenerative water

**Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all**

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Billions of people still lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, despite improvement in the provision of these basic services. Water scarcity is a growing problem in many parts of the world, and conflicts and climate change are exacerbating the issue. 
Water and sanitation are at the core of sustainable development, and the range of services they provide underpin poverty reduction, economic growth, and environmental sustainability. However, in recent decades overexploitation, pollution, and climate change have led to severe water stress in locales across the world.  
In addition, water pollution is a significant challenge that affects both human health and the environment in many countries. 

Today, 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, and more than 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation. Climate change is exacerbating the situation, with increasing disasters such as floods and droughts. 80 percent of wastewater in the world flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, and 70 percent of the world’s natural wetland extent has been lost, including a significant loss of freshwater species. 

The COVID-19 pandemic poses an additional impediment, impairing access for billions of people to safely manage drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services – services desperately needed to prevent the virus from spreading. 

Boosting infrastructure investment, improving cross-sectoral coordination, and addressing climate change are key to getting SDG6 back on track.

Sources: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/water-and-sanitation](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/water-and-sanitation)



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6. Clean water and sanitation  

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

**Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns**

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The world is seriously off track in its effort to halve per-capita food waste and losses by 2030.The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on consumption and production patterns, with disruptions to global supply chains and changes in consumer behaviour. 

Responsible consumption and production must be an integral part of the recovery from the pandemic. 
But the global economy also needs to speed up the decoupling of economic growth from resource use by maximizing the socio-economic benefits of resources while minimizing their negative impacts. 

Reporting on corporate sustainability has tripled since the beginning of the SDG period, but the private sector will need to significantly improve reporting on activities that contribute to the SDGs. 

This primarily entails environmentally sound management of "toxic chemicals" A substantial use of chemicals is essential to meet the social and economic goals of the world community, and these can be used with a high degree of safety when best practices are followed.  Gross chemical contamination, with grave damage to human health, genetic structures reproductive outcomes, and the environment, has been continuing within some of the world's most important industrial areas, and restoration will require major investment as well as the development of new techniques.
Effective control of the generation, storage, treatment, recycling and reuse, transport, recovery and disposal of hazardous wastes is another similar challenge. 
In addition,  solid wastes include all domestic refuse and non-hazardous wastes such as commercial and institutional wastes, street sweepings construction debris, and, in some countries, human wastes. As hazardous waste is frequently intermixed with other waste, this poses particular management challenges.
Finally, this target ensures that radioactive waste is safely managed, transported, stored and disposed of, with a view to protecting human health and the environment. 

To deliver SDG12, it is crucial to implement policies that support the shift to sustainable practices and decouple economic growth from resource use.

Sources: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/chemicals-and-waste](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/chemicals-and-waste)

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12. Responsible consumption and production

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Regenerate strategies phase out hazardous or toxic materials and processes and substitute them with regenerative biomass resources. A circular economy aims to mimic natural cycles—by shifting to more regenerative farming practices, for example—while also maximising the share of circular biomass that enters the economy. Regeneration can happen both at the systems level (by designing regenerative processes) as well as at the product level (by switching synthetic to organic fertilisers, for example).

Regenerate

Cycle strategies aim to cycle and reuse materials at their highest value: they maximise the volume of secondary materials re-entering the economy, ultimately minimising the need for virgin material inputs and therefore also narrowing flows. Of course, virgin materials will always be needed to a degree: all materials degrade and can’t be cycled infinitely, use energy, and require blending with virgin materials to maintain strength and functionality.

Cycle

Employ online platforms to connect and improve information sharing between stakeholders

Digital platforms

Engage with the local community where facilities or offices are located

Community collaboration

Designing products that can easily breakdown and degrade in the environment

Design for bio-degradability

Replace energy sources with less impactful alternatives and enact energy efficiency measures

Regenerative energy

Using <a href="https://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals" target="_blank">materials that are not toxic or hazardous</a>.

Non-toxic materials and inputs

Integrate principles of circularity into primary, secondary and tertiary curriculum and conduct workplace trainings

 Education and Curriculum

Account for the systems perspective during the design process, to use the right materials, to design for appropriate lifetime and to design for extended future use

Design for the future

Selling parts of modular products that can be exchanged or replaced

Sale of exchangeable parts

Enacting measures that optimise energy use

Energy efficiency

Working together with stakeholders and parties in other unrelated industries to implement circular economy strategies and opportunities

Cross-industry projects, pilots

Recover waste energy or generate fuels and energy from waste streams

Energy recovery from waste

Converting fossil fuel based operations to electric

Electrification

Collection programmes that process products and parts for reuse or recycling within the same industry

Closed loop collection

Designing to enable multiple uses and lifecycles of a product and its materials

Design for cyclability

Engaging in discussions with government bodies and policymakers to push for regulations that support the circular economy

Advocacy for circular economy policy

Using renewable energy like solar, wind, etc. or renewable fuels like biomass, etc.

Renewable energy, fuels

Selling high quality, long-lasting products

Sale of durable, long-lasting goods

Designing products of multiple parts that can be easily exchanged

Design for modularity

Employing artificial algorithms and robotics to identify, enable and/or implement circular strategies (eg. effective resource use & logistics planning, circular business models & design)

Advanced robotics, artificial intelligence

Working together with industry peers to engage in business activities or exploratory projects that advance the circular economy

Joint industry ventures, projects, pilots

Connecting products and services into the internet of things to identify, enable and/or implement circular strategies (eg. effective resource use & logistics planning, circular business models & design)

Internet enabled, connected operations

Providing products through sharing between consumers, customers, etc.

Peer to peer sharing

Developing or utilising online platforms to enable circular economy opportunities through information, product or service offering

Online platforms

Transforming waste products into materials and lower value products within other industries

Open loop downcycling

Putting in place purchasing guidelines for procurement departments and evaluating suppliers on circular economy principles

Circular procurement

Providing DIY repair kits or spare part programmes for enabling self-repair

Self-repair, spare part service

Providing upgrade programmes or upgrade services for products or parts of products

Product upgrade

Transforming waste products into materials and lower value products within the same industry

Closed loop downcycling

Engage and guide customers and consumers to ensure circular use of products

Customer / consumer collaboration

Designing products to increase consumer’s emotional attachment and ensure longer use

Design for product attachment, emotional durability

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within the same industry

Closed loop upcycling

Designing to reduce waste during production and use

Design out waste

Allowing customers to alter and modify certain features of the product

Customisation

Facilitate discussions and meetings between internal team members to identify circular opportunities

Dialogue with internal stakeholders

Generating energy from waste through processes such as anaerobic digestion, gasification, incineration, etc.

Generating energy from waste

Use digital, online platforms and technologies that provide insights to track and optimise resource use, strengthen connections between supply chain actors, and enable the implementation of circular models



Incorporate digital technology

While resources are in-use, maintain, repair and upgrade them to maximise their lifetime and give them a second life through take back strategies when applicable

Stretch the lifetime

Industry peers to industry peer collaboration to create joint value and identify synergies

Industry collaboration

Preserving and conserving biological products such as food, forests, etc.

Preservation, conservation

Working together with the community and engaging them in the company operations

Joint product development

Reuse, repurpose, and recycle waste streams within the same industry

Valorise waste streams - closed loop

Providing repair services or maintenance services for products or parts

Product maintenance, repair

Ensure renewable, reusable, non-toxic resources are utilised as materials and energy in an efficient way

Prioritise regenerative resources

Ensure that biological products are properly managed and preserved

Maximise lifetime of biological products

Replacing freshwater use with rainwater, fogwater, seawater, etc.

Alternative water use

Developing or utilising online marketplaces to enable the peer-to-peer exchange of products and services

Peer-to-peer online marketplaces

Initiatives with disadvantaged communities, minorities, people distanced from the labour market

Give-back programmes

Processing waste streams into fuels such as biogas, biofuels, pellets, etc.

Processing waste into fuel

Using bio-based materials such as bioplastics, mushroom-based materials, etc.

Alternative bio-based materials and inputs

Engaging in discussions with industry stakeholders to share circular economy best practices and push the industry towards greater circularity

Guidance, dialogue with industry stakeholders

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within other industries

Using open loop recycled materials

Employ technologies to gather and analyse data to provide insights on resource use

Data and insights

Designing products so they produce as little waste as possible during production

Design for minimal waste

Takeback and return of products from customers after end-of-use

Takeback programmes

Recovering and reusing waste heat, gas, etc. for energy

Recovery and reuse of waste energy

Participating in government programmes that support and advance the circular economy

Government programmes

Selling parts of modular products that can be refilled

Sale of refillable parts

Designing products to be reused for the same or different purposes in multiple lifecycles

Design for reuse

Designing products to resist damage and wear, and serve a long and useful life.

Design for physical durability

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within other industries

Open loop upcycling

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within the same industry

Using closed loop recycled materials

Upgrade, repair, and maintenance while in-use

Maximise lifetime of products in-use

Using <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/specific-interest/critical_sv" target="_blank">materials that are not considered critical</a>.

Non-critical materials and inputs 

Designing products with a single material type to more easily recycle them after use

Design for recycling - mono-materials

Managing and enriching biological products such as soil, land, etc.

Management, enrichment

Designing products so they use as little materials, water, energy, etc. as possible during use

Design for resource efficiency

Working together with customers to jointly create products fit for them

Co-creation

Provide guidance or professional training to educate employees to use circular economy principles

Training on the circular economy

Providing services through a subscription plan with regular payment schemes

Subscription-based services

Enacting measures that optimise water use

Water efficiency

Designing products that are made to last and to ensure longer use

Design for durability

Installing sensors to gather data from products and services to identify, enable and/or implement circular strategies (eg. effective resource use & logistics planning, circular business models & design)

Sensors, monitoring systems

Decentralised services that rely on the power of the crowd or the community

Crowd-based services

Utilising data and models to to identify, enable and/or implement circular strategies (eg. effective resource use & logistics planning, circular business models & design)

Data analytics, modelling

Specific programmes or initiatives to help customers become more circular 

Customer programmes

Marketplaces or services that enable the second hand sale of products

Second-hand sale, distribution

Work together throughout the supply chain, internally within organisations and with the public sector and communities to increase transparency and create joint value

Team up to create joint value

Engage internally to guide employees and facilitate greater knowledge sharing between internal divisions

Internal collaboration

Collection programmes that process products and parts for reuse or recycling within other industries

Open loop collection

Deliver products through business models that ensure maximum value

Product business models

Activities to clean, decorate, and restore products back to working condition for original or new purposes

Refurbishment, remanufacturing, renovation

Engage with the government on circular policies and programmes

Government collaboration

Deliver services through business models that ensure maximum value

Service business models

Key elements of the circular economy

<p>The PHA2USE project in Friesland is pioneering a circular approach to wastewater management by converting wastewater sludge into Caleyda®, a biodegradable plastic substitute. Led by Wetterskip Fryslân, this initiative repurposes waste streams, reduces reliance on fossil-based plastics, and reinforces Friesland’s position as a leader in circular innovation. By demonstrating the viability of bio-based materials derived from municipal waste, PHA2USE contributes to regional sustainability goals and advances water technology in Friesland.</p><p>Friesland’s leadership in circular water technology through the PHA2USE project underscores the region's commitment to sustainable water innovation. By repurposing wastewater into biodegradable plastics, this initiative sets a benchmark for the circular economy, demonstrating how waste streams can be transformed into valuable resources.</p>