Business case

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

Alternative bio-based materials and inputs

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

Renewable energy, fuels

Locally produced food has to travel shorter, which means less fuel is consumed and less greenhouse gases are generated. Moreover, buying locally produced food helps local farmers and markets and creates more jobs in the local businesses. 


Produce locally

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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If, by any chance, you are planning to visit Poland, don't forget to bring your bike. Driving a narrow track beside a road in a suburban area, an action that might have been risky in the past, was turned into an exciting experience.TPA Instytut Badan Technicznych in Pruszkow designed the first luminous bike lane, that opened last week near Lidzbark Warminski in the Mazury region. "The material we used for the track gives light for over ten hours. That means the road can radiate throughout the whole night and reaccumulate light the following day" Igor Ruttmar from TPA says. Luminophores, the luminescent particles used in this material, may have different colors. Here blue was selected as the colour that suits the picturesque green landscape best.However, this is not the first time a glowing bike lane has been opened to the public. One of the most astonishing examples was created in 2014 by artist Daan Roosegaarde in Nuenen, a Dutch town about 100 km south from Amsterdam. This place was chosen for a special reason: the famous painter Vincent van Gogh lived there in 1883. The design refers to one of his best-known pieces, "Starry Night", depicting a surreal view of a night sky. Swirls of brush strokes were transfered into a glowing pattern on the bike lane. Inspired by local history, heritage and culture and made for its environment, this bike lane is part of a major project called Smart Highway, aimed at designing interactive and sustainable roads of the future.  Polish ingineers reveal that the Dutch precedent was a source of inspiration for them. The bike lane in Mazury is entirely self-sufficient which means it doesn't need any other source of energy. Beautiful, safe and eco-friendly? Sounds very promising, but we will need to wait before it can be launched on a global scale. The material resistence is only estimated and there's no certainty about how quickly it will wear out. The price is another issue, it definitely costs more than usual bike lanes.While still in the test phase, we can alrady enjoy a night bike ride on a glowing lane either in Poland or in The Netherlands (although, the Polish path does not glow all night like the Van Gogh path which glows a minimum of eight hours), definitely something to remember.Source: Gazeta Wyborcza, Studio Roosegaarde. Photo: TPA Sp. z o.o.Lisa Mandemaker: Using an artificial womb could lead to more equality between sexes, but also between different family layouts. If men would be able to give birth to children, it would maybe be easier for male same-sex couples to have a child together. Join us!

Pruszków

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TPA Instytut Badań Technicznych Sp. z o.o. 

<p>The path is made of a light-emitting material that charges in the sun and can glow for up to 10 hours in the dark, bathing cyclists in a calming blue glow.</p>

Glow in the dark bicycle path

The path near Lidzbark Warminski is illuminated by phosphor, a synthetic
material that lights up after it's charged by sunlight. Studio Roosegaarde's
Starry Night bike lane inspired TPA Instytut BadaÅ Technicznych Sp. z o.o to
create the glowing bike path. According to Next Nature Network, the
luminophores, or "particles" in the bike lane material can emit a variety of
colors, and the designers picked blue to best fit in with the surrounding
landscape. They also researched the sustainability of the materials they
utilized, and how to make the materials as cost effective as possible since
the bike lane does cost more than traditional lanes. TPA Sp. z o.o.'s bike
lane doesn't require any power sources. The bike lane is still being tested,
as it is not known how long the lane will last before it begins to wear out.

  

Read more at:

<http://inhabitat.com/poland-unveils-glowing-bright-blue-bike-lane-thats-
charged-by-the-sun/>

