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The Circularity Gap Report: Friesland is a joint initiative led by Circulair Friesland, the Province of Friesland, and Circle Economy to track Friesland’s progress toward a more circular economy while also serving as a model for other regions. As the organizations behind this dashboard, we aim to provide structured indicators to measure key aspects of circularity—such as resource efficiency, waste reduction, and circular jobs—alongside on-the-ground case studies that highlight innovative local initiatives. This approach helps policymakers, businesses, and communities assess progress, address challenges, and accelerate Friesland’s transition to a circular economy. In doing so, Friesland is working toward meeting the national goal of reducing primary resource use by 50% by 2030 and achieving a fully circular economy in the Netherlands by 2050.

Beyond Friesland, this dashboard is designed as a replicable tool that can be implemented in other regions worldwide. By fostering comprehensive comparisons, it enables knowledge sharing and collaboration, allowing regions to learn from one another and scale successful strategies. In addition to tracking current trends, the monitor offers forward-looking recommendations to drive circular development—both within Friesland and beyond—helping to create a more sustainable global economy.

This case study collection supports the dashboard, in showcasing circular economy projects and initiatives already occurring in the region.

CGR Friesland

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Business case

Producing agricultural products and processing them into food and beverageproducts for consumption

Agri/Food

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

Prioritise regenerative resources

**Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns**

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The world is seriously off track in its effort to halve per-capita food waste and losses by 2030.The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on consumption and production patterns, with disruptions to global supply chains and changes in consumer behaviour. 

Responsible consumption and production must be an integral part of the recovery from the pandemic. 
But the global economy also needs to speed up the decoupling of economic growth from resource use by maximizing the socio-economic benefits of resources while minimizing their negative impacts. 

Reporting on corporate sustainability has tripled since the beginning of the SDG period, but the private sector will need to significantly improve reporting on activities that contribute to the SDGs. 

This primarily entails environmentally sound management of "toxic chemicals" A substantial use of chemicals is essential to meet the social and economic goals of the world community, and these can be used with a high degree of safety when best practices are followed.  Gross chemical contamination, with grave damage to human health, genetic structures reproductive outcomes, and the environment, has been continuing within some of the world's most important industrial areas, and restoration will require major investment as well as the development of new techniques.
Effective control of the generation, storage, treatment, recycling and reuse, transport, recovery and disposal of hazardous wastes is another similar challenge. 
In addition,  solid wastes include all domestic refuse and non-hazardous wastes such as commercial and institutional wastes, street sweepings construction debris, and, in some countries, human wastes. As hazardous waste is frequently intermixed with other waste, this poses particular management challenges.
Finally, this target ensures that radioactive waste is safely managed, transported, stored and disposed of, with a view to protecting human health and the environment. 

To deliver SDG12, it is crucial to implement policies that support the shift to sustainable practices and decouple economic growth from resource use.

Sources: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/chemicals-and-waste](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/chemicals-and-waste)

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12. Responsible consumption and production

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

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

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

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**These 17 Goals recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.**

The SDGs build on decades of work by countries and the UN, and especially on the Millennium Declaration adopted in September 2000 at UN Headquarters in New York which let to the elaboration of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce extreme poverty by 2015.

In 2015, the Paris Agreement was signed. A major blueprint came out of this: The Sustainable Development Goals: 17 overarching goals—and 169 targets—that governments are aiming to meet by 2030. Significant progress has been made in terms of poverty, health and inequality, but there's still a way to go. This is where the circular economy comes in: by circulating resources multiple times, the circular economy tackles issues of scarcity and allows all to access what they need—without overburdening the earth. If it's implemented in a holistic way—affording attention to social considerations and the fair distribution of resources— it also offers a pathway for achieving the SDGs; and the link between the two is ever-growing. To read more about the link between the SDGs and the circular economy, click [here](https://www.circle-economy.com/blogs/how-the-circular-economy-can-help-us-reach-the-sustainable-development-goals).

It is the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) which provides substantive support and capacity-building for the SDGs and their related thematic issues. TheDSDG plays a key role in the evaluation of UN systemwide implementation of the 2030 Agenda and in advocacy and outreach activities relating to the SDGs. In order to make the 2030 Agenda a reality, broad ownership of the SDGs must translate into a strong commitment by all stakeholders to implement the global goals. DSDG aims to help facilitate this engagement.
Alongside this, the annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development serves as the central UN platform for the follow-up and review of the SDGs.
In addition, the UN Secretary-General presents an annual SDG Progress report, which is developed in cooperation with the UN System, and based on the global indicator framework and data produced by national statistical systems and information collected at the regional level.

To read more information: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals](https://sdgs.un.org/goals)

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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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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  Namens de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG) en de Universiteit van het Noorden (UvhN) heeft professor Gjalt de Jong (Campus Fryslân) een belangrijke subsidie van 15 miljoen euro ontvangen vanuit het Nationaal Groeifonds (NGF). Deze subsidie is onderdeel van het landelijke 

Re-Ge-NL programma 
voor de transitie naar de regeneratieve landbouw. Het kabinet wil, onder voorwaarden, in totaal 129 miljoen euro investeren in dit project.  Regeneratieve landbouw in Noord-Nederland Regeneratieve landbouw combineert de productie van voedsel met herstel van ecosystemen, verbetering van bodemvruchtbaarheid, waterhuishouding en biodiversiteit. Dit levert een waaier aan voordelen op voor Noord-Nederland, voor de boeren en voor de ketenpartijen. Deze transitie draagt bij aan het oplossen van de brede milieuproblematiek van de landbouw die ook in Friesland, Groningen en Drenthe aan de orde is. Regeneratieve landbouw is een van de programma’s van de Universiteit van het Noorden. Professor Gjalt de Jong (hoogleraar duurzaam ondernemen in een circulaire economie bij Campus Fryslân) is vanuit de RUG en UvhN verantwoordelijk om samen met boeren en ketenpartijen uit Noord-Nederland transities in de landbouw aan te jagen en teweeg te brengen. Hij is buitengewoon ‘grutsk’ op deze toekenning: ‘De huidige landbouw komt aan de grenzen van haar bestaan. Met deze subsidie kunnen we regeneratieve landbouw in Noord-Nederland vormgeven. We kunnen nu de knelpunten zoals financiering, nieuwe kennis en nieuwe vaardigheden oplossen. Dat doen we samen en voor de boeren, de ketenpartijen maar vooral ook voor onze noordelijke regio’. Jouke de Vries, voorzitter van het College van Bestuur Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, vindt deze subsidie een ‘boppeslach’: ’De transitie van de landbouw is een belangrijk vraagstuk. Het systeem loopt op onderdelen vast. Daarom ben ik zeer verheugd dat professor De Jong via het Nationaal Groeifonds deze erkenning krijgt.’ Over het landelijke Re-Ge-NL programma Het programmavoorstel Re-Ge-NL is ingediend door het ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit. Het is ontwikkeld door Next Food Collective, Wageningen Universiteit & Research, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen en Universiteit Utrecht in samenwerking met 54 partners uit het hele voedselsysteem. Boeren- coöperaties en -netwerken, ketenpartijen, financiële instellingen, kennis- & technologie-leveranciers en onderwijs- & onderzoeksinstellingen starten gezamenlijk in 2024 met de uitvoering. Over het Nationaal Groeifonds Het NGF is een initiatief van de ministeries van Economische Zaken en Klimaat en van Financiën. Met het NGF investeert het kabinet tussen 2021 en 2025 20 miljard in projecten die zorgen voor duurzame economische groei voor de lange termijn. Het NGF investeert in projecten met de meeste kansen voor structurele en duurzame economische groei op de twee terreinen: Kennisontwikkeling en Onderzoek, ontwikkeling en innovatie. Meer informatie: Over professor Gjalt de Jong: www.rug.nl/staff/g.de.jong en www.rug.nl/cf/cse Lees ook: RUG betrokken bij succesvolle aanvragen derde ronde Nationaal Groeifonds Over NGF: www.nationaalgroeifonds.nl/ Over het besluit NGF Re-Ge-NL: www.nationaalgroeifonds.nl/projecten-ronde-3/re-ge-nlOver nextfoodcollective: www.nextfoodcollective.nl/  Samenvatting: www.nextfoodcollective.nl/media/35vnuwrj/re-ge-nl-samenvatting.pdf  

Friesland

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FrieslandCampina

University of Groningen

<p>The transition to regenerative agriculture in Friesland is being driven by key stakeholders, including the University of Groningen, FrieslandCampina, and local farmers. With support from research initiatives and government subsidies, this approach aims to restore soil health, increase biodiversity, and enhance the resilience of the agricultural sector. Regenerative practices not only improve environmental sustainability but also offer economic benefits to farmers and businesses by reducing dependency on synthetic inputs and strengthening local food systems. This case highlights how FrieslandCampina and academic institutions are facilitating the shift towards regenerative agriculture through collaboration, research, and financial incentives.</p>

Advancing Frisian Regenerative Agriculture: A Business-Led Transition

Article / Report

Societal Services

Utilise waste streams as a source of secondary resources and recover waste for reuse and recycling

Use waste as a resource

**Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all**

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Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was already off-track to achieve its education targets. If no additional measures are taken, only one in six countries will meet SDG4 and achieve universal access to quality education by 2030. An estimated 84 million children and young people will still be out of school and an estimated 300 million students will still not have the basic numeracy and literacy skills they need to succeed in life. 

To deliver SDG4, education systems must be re-imagined, and education financing must become a priority national investment.

The goal targets to :
- ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes;
- ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care, and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education;
- ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational, and tertiary education, including university;
- substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship;
- eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and children in vulnerable situations;
- ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy;
- ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development;
- build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all;
- substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries;
- substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States.

Source: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4)



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4. Quality education

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Narrow strategies reduce material and energy use. Currently, material use is highly inefficient and ineffective; we can deliver similar social outcomes by using much less and phasing out fossil fuels, for example. This doesn’t mean being worse off, but rather focusing on using materials efficiently: think in terms of riding a bike instead of driving a car, eating less meat, and living in a space that suits your needs. Using less is a core tenet of the circular economy—yet currently, the threshold for sustainable consumption, 8 tonnes per person, is being surpassed by 1.5 times. 