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Circle Economy and ICLEI have partnered up to initiate the go to knowledge hub of case studies about the circular economy in cities. The Cities Collection is a repository of case studies that demonstrate the role of cities in the circular transition, and includes policies, business cases and research articles. Cases in the Collection flow into an ecosystem of digital products which support users in transitioning cities to circularity, for example [Ganbatte](https://ganbatte.world/cities/) and <a href="https://circulars.iclei.org/" target="_blank">ICLEI Circulars</a>, both part of the <a href="https://circulars.iclei.org/circle-lab-for-cities/" target = _blank">Circle Lab for Cities Programme.</a>




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Circular Cities

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Starter Kit collection

Policy case

Impact on the availability of resources as well as their effect on living organisms, ecosystems, and components of the environment.

Ecological Impact

Impacts on the social fabric of the community and well-being of the individuals and families.

Social Impact

Impact on the health and happiness of human populations

Well-being

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

Reduced use of fossil fuel energy sources and/or increased use of renewable energy

Reduce Energy Consumption

Societal Services

Providing electricity and gas services, including traditional and renewable energy generation, natural and manufactured gas and operating gas networks

Energy Utilities and Independent Power Producers

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

Prioritise regenerative resources

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

Regenerative energy

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

Renewable energy, fuels

'Manage' influences the use and function of physical and material elements within the urban environment. 

Manage

Infrastructure

Develop regenerative infrastructure

**Harmonize with nature** by promoting infrastructure, production systems and sourcing that allows natural ecosystems to thrive




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Regenerate

Do better with less by using and supporting infrastructure, processes and products that are designed to minimize material, water and energy use and waste generation from production to end of use


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Reduce

Prioritize solutions that use the power of functioning ecosystems as infrastructure to provide natural services to benefit society and the environment; consider nature-based replacements for grey infrastructure.

Prioritise renewable resources 

Ensure that infrastructure and built assets in the city are designed and upgraded to be as resource-efficient as possible.

Design infrastructure and the built environment for resource efficiency

Cities consume about 75% of global energy and emit between 50% and 60% of global greenhouse gases (UN-Habitat). To reduce the negative impact of their energy consumption, cities need to shift away from fossil fuels and move towards renewable energy sources. Such a shift will help cities work towards their climate change mitigation and adaptation action plans. Renewable energy technologies such as wind, water, solar, and geothermal can also help improve access to energy in vulnerable and marginalised neighbourhoods through, for example, decentralised, off-grid solutions.

Renewable energy technologies can harvest the energy in nature’s processes, such as wind, and solar radiation and geothermal heat, that can be replenished within a human lifespan. In contrast, fossil fuels are materials that are not replenished within a human lifespan and are combusted for energy, losing the fuel material and resulting in emissions.

Local governments can develop sustainable energy plans, considering different energy resources and requirements, to develop a robust strategy for the development of renewable energy technologies and infrastructure throughout the city. They can also institute specific legislation and tax systems to regulate energy production and consumption, incentivise research and development of cleaner, more efficient technologies. Via Power Purchase Agreements cities can buy renewable energy from green energy providers and fix the price in order to provide security to financial institutions to finance renewable energy infrastructure. Furthermore, increasing awareness and facilitating capacity-building on planning urban sustainable energy projects can help the uptake of clean energy across the city by different stakeholders—from citizens to businesses and institutions. Facilitating collaboration, then, will be crucial, since private companies operate most of the world’s energy systems.


⚡ Energy Systems

Communities

Governments

Energy efficiency means to use less energy to perform a function—that is, eliminating energy waste, a core strategy in a circular economy. Since 2015, global improvements in energy efficiency have been declining. Reversing this trend will be needed to achieve global climate and sustainability goals. Indeed, energy efficiency could deliver more than 40% of the reduction in global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions over the next 20 years ([IEA](https://www.iea.org/topics/energy-efficiency)). In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency can also help reduce energy extraction and imports and bring cost savings for households and industries.

Energy efficiency can be applied to a range of sectors, such as in buildings, energy generation, industry and mobility ([EESI](https://www.eesi.org/topics/energy-efficiency/description)). In buildings, energy efficiency can lead to the creation of zero-energy buildings. In regards to power generation, energy efficiency could mean smart grids for electric generation, distribution, and consumption. For mobility, energy efficiency could mean vehicles that require less fuel to cover the same distance as well as better rail and truck transportation. 

Cities can create energy efficiency programmes that involve both the public and private sector. Actions involving the private sector can be implemented in various forms, such as: regulations (e.g. setting energy efficiency standards in buildings), incentivisation (subsidising energy saving products) and informative campaigns (encouraging energy efficient behaviours). Actions involving the public sector may also be implemented in various forms, such as: public procurement standards (e.g. energy efficient power generation equipment), retrofitting public buildings (e.g. improving insulation) and upgrading energy inefficient infrastructure (e.g. replacing lighting with more energy efficient alternatives such as LED street lighting). These programmes generally have goals and timelines in which the actions are intended to be taken.


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⚡  Energy efficiency improvement programmes

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).

Impacts

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Industries

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A framework of policy instruments that enabled and encourage the transition to the circular economy

Policy Instruments

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A framework of policy instruments that enable and stimulate the transition to the circular economy

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

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

Thematic Areas

City Stakeholders

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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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 By 2050, 68% of the global population will live in cities. Most of this urban population growth  is taking place in Africa and Asia, creating huge demand for new infrastructure and services.
Among other infrastructure needs, there is an urgent need to build street lighting throughout urban sub-Saharan Africa. Street-lighting makes streets safer and more secure. 60% of urban residents in developing countries have been victim to a crime, with dark streets helping to exacerbate violence, particularly against women. Street lighting also allows vendors and traders to operate for longer hours, leading to higher incomes.
New research finds that solar street-lighting in African cities could be cheaper than conventional street lights, as well as more sustainable. Solar street lights are not only cheaper to install, but then cheaper to operate since they generate their own power instead of drawing from the grid.
In Kampala, the city government has installed over 1800 solar street lights. This has slashed the city government’s electricity bills and supported wider economic growth by increasing trading hours for small businesses. The research finds that, if replicated nationwide, the Ugandan government could halve upfront costs by, electricity costs by 40% and maintenance costs by 60%. Scaling up initiatives like this across sub-Saharan Africa would replace consumption of grid-based electricity with between 96 and 160GW of distributed solar power, doubling renewable energy generation in the region.
But it is not only city governments leading the way. In Jinja, a partnership between the Government of Uganda, local authorities and community organisations led to the installation of solar street lights in an informal settlement. These lights are creating safer streets in parts of the city that have long struggled with poverty and violence.
This research shows how national governments can support the installation and maintenance of solar street lights in towns and cities across their country. Street-lighting helps to create safer, more productive cities. Choosing solar rather than conventional street lights allows governments to provide this essential infrastructure much more cheaply, which means they can serve a much larger area. And of course, a solar system keeps greenhouse gas emissions lower than grid-powered options: an economic, social and environmental win.
The research was conducted by the University of Leeds, UK, for the Coalition for Urban Transitions – a global initiative supporting national governments to transform cities. 

Uganda

Kampala

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Municipality of Kampala

<p>Africa's cities are becoming increasingly urbanized, resulting in a surge in demand for new infrastructure and services, such as street lighting. The city government of Kampala has constructed over 1800 solar street lights in order to provide for their growing city population. This has resulted in lower energy costs for the city government, environmental gain as well as increased open hours for small businesses, which has aided overall economic growth.</p>