Business case

Providing commercial and consumer financial services, such as lending, credit, financing, banking, asset management, financial exchanges, ratings services, money services, insurance and pension services, etc.

Financial Services

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

Circular procurement

Other

Industries

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The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

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Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

Urban Opportunities

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Based on the work of [Bocken et al. (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309699661_Product_design_and_business_model_strategies_for_a_circular_economy), the Four Flows Framework serves as a simple framework for managing resource flows in a circular economy by using less (Narrow), using for longer (Slow), using again (Cycle), and using clean, regenerative materials and energy (Regenerate).

These different principles of circular economy can be applied to our socioeconomic metabolism: we can design stocks like buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and vehicles to be rich resource mines for the future, and design manufactured goods and consumables to be cycled and made regenerative. Furthermore, the focus must also centre on getting more value out of fewer materials. Achieving the aims of a circular economy—minimising material use, regenerating the Earth, and preventing material losses—can be done through these four key strategies mentioned above.

Source: Circle Economy. (2023). *[The circularity gap report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)* (p.22). Amsterdam: Circle Economy. 

Four Flows Framework

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          This initiative aims to replace a linear purchasing model with a more sustainable procurement of regenerative resources.  ING signs the ‘Green Deal Circular Purchasing’, leveraging on its considerable purchasing power to help stimulate the demand for circularly produced goods. The Green Deal is an initiative that aims to replace a linear purchasing model with a more sustainable procurement of regenerative resources. The Green Deal Circular Purchasing is an initiative by MVO Nederland and others.    Hans Triep (left), chief procurement officer at Procurement Bank Netherlands and Léon Wijnands, global head of Sustainability for ING Group/Bank – both signed the Green Deal. As one of the first organizations to sign this deal, ING believes that a circular economy has both environmental and social benefits and is aligned with its objective of responsible procurement. In a report published by Dutch research agency TNO, the transition to a circular economic model can lead to the creation of 50,000 jobs and EUR 7 billion in revenues while reducing environmental degradation. These revenues are based on an estimation of the added value to the Dutch economy as a result of capitalizing on the opportunities created by the circular economy in every sector in the Netherlands. The future perspective is, therefore, to have integrated circular purchasing in the procurement process at ING by 2016. Integration will be enhanced via the collaborative community of signatories of the Green Deal through the sharing of best practices.     

Netherlands

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ING Groep N.V.

MVO Nederland 

<p>ING signs the ‘Green Deal Circular Purchasing’, leveraging on its considerable purchasing power to help stimulate the demand for circularly produced goods. The future perspective is, therefore, to have integrated circular purchasing in the procurement process at ING by 2016. Integration will be enhanced via the collaborative community of signatories of the Green Deal through the sharing of best practices.</p>

Circular procurement guidelines