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This collection is part of Footprints Africa's work to build a comprehensive database of circular economy initiatives in Africa. 

This is a result of the collaboration with the <a href="https://www.acen.africa" target="_blank">African Circular Economy Network (ACEN)</a>, as part of the programme to support the circular economy transition in Africa. Footprints Africa's vision is that businesses can be a force for good at scale. Their mission is to advance sustainable, scalable and inclusive approaches to development of local African economies. Footprints Africa supports SMEs to adopt future-friendly practices, such as those inspired by the circular economy, to address the challenges of growth and create jobs. 

This open-source dataset features well over 500 cases and 200 examples of policies and laws and intent to collect inspiring examples of initiatives from across Africa, in order to inform the global dialogue, which is largely focused on the European and American context. 

To learn more about Africa's initiatives and content to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, visit https://www.footprintsafrica.co/



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Footprints Africa

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Business case

Impact on increased knowledge and understanding as a result of the case study

Increase Awareness

Impact on the quantity or quality of jobs, and shifts in the labour market

Jobs

Impact on the health and happiness of human populations

Well-being

Impact on the ease of innovation, and facilitating uptake of innovations

Innovation

Scalability

Minimise waste through diversion: Instead of sending waste to landfill, it is redirected into other industrial processes for handling, treatment, recycling, recovery, or reuse in various forms. 

Minimise waste through design: At the outset of a process of project, plan and design such that there is zero waste or minimal waste during production, use, and at end of life. 

Minimise Waste (SDG12)

Producing electronics products for businesses and consumers, including cellular phones, personal computers, printers, servers, electronic computer components and peripherals, TVs, audio equipment, as well as household appliances, such as refrigerators, washing machines, etc.

Electronics and Appliances

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

Prioritise regenerative resources

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

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

High-level changes to policy and practice (such as taxation systems, investment and procurement guidelines and criteria) that disincentivize activities that perpetuate linear economic systems, as well as vision-setting (goals, roadmaps) to catalyze
action on circularity across the city

Eliminate linear incentives and set goals and incentives for circularity

Process waste into valuable industrial inputs or consumer products; distribute processed waste to users.

Process waste and ensure its re-entry into industry at its highest value

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

Impacts

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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

The Circular City Actions Framework provides urban changemakers with five complementary strategies they can use to start working towards a more circular system. 

The framework is action-based to provide users with concrete strategic directions and showcase the desired outcomes of each strategy. 
The framework consists of five complementary **strategies**, under which **sub-strategies** provide further detail. Finally, each sub-strategy consists of a diversity of tangible **solutions** which are framed in relation to key thematic areas. 

Note: solutions are currently focused on:
- 🍏 **Food systems**
- 🏢  **Built environment**
- 👕📱  **Consumer goods**
- ⚡ **Energy Systems**
- 🚌 **Mobility Systems**
- 💧 **Water Systems**

More thematic areas are coming soon...

'Click through each of the five strategy cards below to explore the framework and circular economy case studies in more depth!'



This framework was developed in collaboration with ICLEI, Metabolic and Ellen MacArthur Foundation with support from the MAVA Foundation. Read more about it [here]( https://circulars.iclei.org/action-framework/). 



Circular City Actions Framework

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An action-based framework for local governments working towards circular cities

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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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Closing the Loop and Rabobank have collaborated since 2018. This led to the current set up, in which every phone bought by the bank is made waste-free. The collaboration has created tangible results for Rabobank, as well as lowered the ecological footprint of the company. 
   
A group of Dutch provinces and public entities wanted to act on sustainability  challenges related to mobile phone usage. They aimed to reduce resource scarcity and to contribute to the reduction of electronic waste in developing countries. What Closing the Loop offered was a complete compensation of the their gadgets' waste footprint.
  
        

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LikeLikedhttp://www.closingtheloop.eu/Phone/Tablet · Waste Management Company · Product/ServiceWe believe in a world in which waste is not wasted. That’s why we connect with local entrepreneurs, users, producers and recyclers, in order to enable the mobile phone industry to move towards full circularity. We do this by: •	Offering organisations a way to make their mobile phone use circular •	Providing opportunities for local entrepreneurs in countries most effected by e-waste, to turn waste into income•	Making the circularity discussion practical and actionableSee AllPage TransparencyFacebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a Page. See actions taken by the people who manage and post content.See All

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            Closing the Loop and Fairphone have partnered with other circular innovators, such as the Dutch government, in a project that is likely to become a game-changer for the electronics industry - proving that scrap batteries from Africa can be used to produce clean materials for the future.
In the first-ever shipment of scrap Li-ion batteries from West Africa to Europe, CTL has taken the first step towards proving that these scrap batteries can be a sustainable source for resources.
The results of this pilot have been recorded in a whitepaper, which can be downloaded here: Whitepaper - Making a Business Case for African Battery Recycling

 
Workers cover the batteries with sand before they are sealed in a drum for transport.


 
Proud workers with the drums before they are loaded into the container


 
Drums of batteries are loaded into the container for shipment

Photos by Victor Adewale, Lagos, Nigeria.
       

Africa

Nigeria

Ghana

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Closing the loop 

<p>For every new device their customers buy or lease, Closing the Loop collects and recycles electronic waste in low income countries.</p>

Closing the Loop - Compensating the impact of electronics

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

Valorise waste streams - closed loop

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

Closed loop collection

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmiOqUtQ0oo          Regenize Circular Economy South Africa    Piloting Partner : AB InBev Program Cohort: 4    Regenize is an accessible, inclusive and rewarding recycling collection solution built for developing nations context.   Founders              Chad Robertson   
           Nkazimlo Miti   
       Corporate partners                

ACCESSIBLE, INCLUSIVE & REWARDINGRECYCLING FOR SOUTH AFRICAAdd AddressWHAT DO WE DO?HOW DOES IT WORK?1 SIGNUP and gather your recyclables.2 PLACE your recycling bag outside on collection day.3 COLLECTION of your recyclables will performed by a Regenize collector which will weigh once collected and upload your details.4 AWAIT report consisting of weight, carbon emissions reduced and how much Remali earned.TESTIMONIALSFEATURED INAVAILABLE VOUCHERS

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Amsterdam

<p>What CTL has done since 2012, is to show that is it possible to collect over 2 million dead phones in countries that lack the formal infrastructure, the laws and regulation around electronic waste management and the consumer awareness on proper recycling.</p>