Policy case

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

Engage with the government on circular policies and programmes

Government collaboration

Participating in government programmes that support and advance the circular economy

Government programmes

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

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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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Finland

Municipality of Tampere

<p>Tampere’s climate response takes the form of its “Climate Neutral Tampere 2030 Roadmap” which sets measures for climate action through 6 themes. Within theme 5 “Sustainable Consumption”, 10 measures due to be implemented before 2025 are related to the circular economy. Tampere’s first action plan on circular economy, accepted in spring 2022, presents the strategy and the scheduled implementation plan including the responsible parties. The plan is implemented and its progress is monitored as part of the city’s new strategic development program “Climate Neutral Action”, where circularity is one of its 3 focus areas. Tampere’s City Strategy also recognises the importance of the circular economy. In its ambitions to be a “city of the future”, Tampere states “We support industrial renewal, accelerated by the green transition,and the potential of the circular economy. We boldly take advantage of the opportunities of digitalisation in service development”.</p>