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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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Article / Report

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

Use waste as a resource

**End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture**

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The number of people facing hunger and food insecurity has been on the rise since 2015, with the pandemic, conflict climate change, and growing inequalities exacerbating the situation. 
In 2015, 589 million people were experiencing hunger, and by 2021, that number had risen to 768 million. 
To achieve zero hunger by 2030, immediate and intensified efforts are required to transform food systems, ensure food security and invest in sustainable agricultural practices.
The Sustainable Development Goal to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” (SDG2) recognizes the inter linkages among supporting sustainable agriculture, empowering small farmers, promoting gender equality, ending rural poverty, ensuring healthy lifestyles, tackling climate change, and other issues addressed within the set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Extreme poverty and hunger are predominantly rural, with smallholder farmers and their families making up a very significant proportion of the poor and hungry. Thus, eradicating poverty and hunger is integrally linked to boosting food production, agricultural productivity, and rural incomes.
Land, healthy soils, and water are key inputs into food production, and their growing scarcity in many parts of the world makes it imperative to use and manage them sustainably. Boosting yields on existing agricultural lands, including restoration of degraded lands, through sustainable agricultural practices would also relieve pressure to clear forests for agricultural production. Wise management of scarce water through improved irrigation and storage technologies, combined with the development of new drought-resistant crop varieties, can contribute to sustaining drylands productivity.
Beyond adequate calorie intake, proper nutrition has other dimensions that deserve attention, including micronutrient availability and healthy diets. Unhealthy diets and lifestyles are closely linked to the growing incidence of non-communicable diseases in both developed and developing countries.

Sources: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal2](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal2)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/rural-development](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/rural-development)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/food-security-and-nutrition-and-sustainable-agriculture](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/food-security-and-nutrition-and-sustainable-agriculture)

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2. Zero hunger   

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

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

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

Prioritise regenerative resources

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

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

Rethink the business model

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

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

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

Utilise bio-based, reusable, non-toxic and non-critical materials

Regenerative materials

Replace freshwater with less impactful alternatives and enact water efficiency measures

Regenerative water

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

Regenerative energy

Upgrade, repair, and maintenance while in-use

Maximise lifetime of products in-use

Give products and parts another life after their end-of-use

Maximise lifetime of products after use

Ensure that biological products are properly managed and preserved

Maximise lifetime of biological products

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

Valorise waste streams - closed loop

Reuse, repurpose, and recycle waste streams within other industries

Valorise waste streams - open loop

Recover waste energy or generate fuels and energy from waste streams

Energy recovery from waste

Deliver products through business models that ensure maximum value

Product business models

Deliver services through business models that ensure maximum value

Service business models

Designing to reduce waste during production and use

Design out waste

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

Design for cyclability

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

Design for durability

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

Industry collaboration

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

Customer / consumer collaboration

Engage with the government on circular policies and programmes

Government collaboration

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

Internal collaboration

Engage with the local community where facilities or offices are located

Community collaboration

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

Data and insights

Employ online platforms to connect and improve information sharing between stakeholders

Digital platforms

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

Alternative bio-based materials and inputs

Enacting measures that optimise material use such as 3D printing, etc.

Material efficiency

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 

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

Using materials that can be easily reused or recycled after use

Reusable, recyclable materials and inputs

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

Alternative water use

Enacting measures that optimise water use

Water efficiency

Converting fossil fuel based operations to electric

Electrification

Enacting measures that optimise energy use

Energy efficiency

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

Renewable energy, fuels

Providing repair services or maintenance services for products or parts

Product maintenance, repair

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

Product upgrade

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

Self-repair, spare part service

Extraction and reuse of parts from end-of-life products for use in new products

Part recovery

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

Refurbishment, remanufacturing, renovation

Marketplaces or services that enable the second hand sale of own-brand products

Own brand second-hand sale

Marketplaces or services that enable the second hand sale of products

Second-hand sale, distribution

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

Preservation, conservation

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

Management, enrichment

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

Closed loop collection

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within the same industry

Closed loop upcycling

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

Using closed loop recycled materials

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

Closed loop downcycling

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

Open loop collection

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

Open loop downcycling

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 other industries

Using open loop recycled materials

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

Generating energy from waste

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

Processing waste into fuel

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

Recovery and reuse of waste energy

Selling parts of modular products that can be refilled

Sale of refillable parts

Providing products through leasing, rental, or pay-per-use models instead of sales

Leasing, rental, pay per use

Providing products through sharing between consumers, customers, etc.

Peer to peer sharing

Selling high quality, long-lasting products

Sale of durable, long-lasting goods

Selling parts of modular products that can be exchanged or replaced

Sale of exchangeable parts

Providing services through a subscription plan with regular payment schemes

Subscription-based services

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

Crowd-based services

Providing services where customers are charged only when they use it

Payment per use

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

Design for minimal waste

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

Design for resource efficiency

Designing products that can easily breakdown and degrade in the environment

Design for bio-degradability

Designing products of multiple parts that can be easily disassembled

Design for disassembly

Designing products of multiple parts that can be easily exchanged

Design for modularity

Designing products to remove any barriers to recycling and enable easy recyclability

Design for recycling

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

Design for recycling - mono-materials

Designing products so they are able to be easily repaired

Design for repair

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

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

Design for product attachment, emotional durability

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

Circular procurement

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

Cross-industry projects, pilots

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

Guidance, dialogue with industry stakeholders

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

Joint industry ventures, projects, pilots

Working together with customers to jointly create products fit for them

Co-creation

Engaging in discussions with customers to educate and raise awareness of the circular economy and explore circular opportunities together

Customer dialogue, marketing 

Specific programmes or initiatives to help customers become more circular 

Customer programmes

Allowing customers to alter and modify certain features of the product

Customisation

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

Takeback programmes

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

Advocacy for circular economy policy

Participating in government programmes that support and advance the circular economy

Government programmes

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

Dialogue with internal stakeholders

Integrating circular economy thinking into employee evaluations that are tied to professional compensation

Financial incentives tied to circular economy

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