Business case

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 virgin materials and/or an increase of the use of secondary and bio-based materials

Reduce Material Consumption (SDG12)

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

Reduce Energy Consumption

Providing public and private education and support services at any level or for any profession, and governmental and public administration services, including judicial, regulatory, and legislative activities, taxation, defence, public order and safety, immigration services, foreign affairs and the administration of government programmes

Education and Government Services

Producing building materials and finished and semi-finished building products for construction

Construction Materials and Products

Extracting and gathering wood through forestry and producing wood and paper products

Wood and Paper

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

Alternative bio-based materials and inputs

Using <a href="https://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals" target="_blank">materials that are not toxic or hazardous</a>.

Non-toxic materials and inputs

Designing products that can easily breakdown and degrade in the environment

Design for bio-degradability

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

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

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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Panyaden International School is situated in the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. It’s philosophy is to teach human values based on love for nature and Buddhist educational principles alongside an internationally competitive British curriculum. As the climate is mainly hot or wet, it became important as the school grew to provide for a sheltered sports arena. Thus the Panyaden International School Sports Hall was conceived.
True to its principles the whole school was built only with natural materials to bring the kids closer to nature and show them these materials are actually superior to the main construction materials as they keep the rooms cool and are pleasant to look at and touch. At the same time they reduced the carbon footprint by 90% compared to the standard techniques of construction.
Chiangmai Life Architect’s Bamboo Sports Hall for Panyaden International School combines modern organic design, 21st century engineering and a natural material – bamboo.
The design was based on the lotus flower as Panyaden International School is in Thailand and uses Buddhist teachings to infuse values into its academic curriculum and teach the underlying mechanisms of the human mind.
The brief was to build a hall that should be big enough to hold the projected capacity of 300 students, but still smoothly integrates with the previous earthen and bamboo buildings of the school as well as the natural hilly landscape of the area. It should provide modern sports facilities and use only bamboo to maintain the low carbon footprint and the “Green School” mission of Panyaden.
The hall covers an area of 782 sqm, and hosts futsal, basketball, volleyball and badminton courts, as well as a stage that can be lifted automatically. The backdrop of the stage is the front wall of a storage room for sports and drama equipment. On both long sides balconies provide space for parents and other visitors to observe sporting events or shows.
The design and material enable a cool and pleasant climate all year round through natural ventilation and insulation. At the same time, the exposed bamboo structure is a feast to the eye and an exhibition of masterly handicraft.
The hall was designed with the help of 2 independent engineers to modern safety standards of loads, shear forces etc. to withstand the local high-speed winds, earthquakes and all other natural forces.
The innovative structural design is based on newly developed prefabricated bamboo trusses with a span of over 17 meters without steel reinforcements or connections. These trusses were prebuilt on site and lifted into position with the help of a crane.
Panyaden’s Sports Hall’s carbon footprint is zero. The bamboo used absorbed carbon to a much higher extent than the carbon emitted during treatment, transport and construction.
The bamboo was all well selected for age and treated with borax salt. No toxic chemicals were involved in the treatment process. The life span of the bamboo hall is expected to be at least 50 years.
 https://www.designboom.com/architecture/chiangmai-life-architects-bamboo-sports-hall-panyaden-international-school-thailand-08-09-2017/ http://www.archdaily.com/877165/bamboo-sports-hall-for-panyaden-international-school-chiangmai-life-construction
http://inhabitat.com/breathtaking-bamboo-building-withstands-earthquakes-and-boasts-a-zero-carbon-footprint/
http://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/2017/08/23/bamboo_sports_hall.html
http://www.wantoday.com/NR/2017/Aug_15/index.html
http://www.highsnobiety.com/2017/08/10/bamboo-sports-hall-panyaden-international-school/ 
http://trendsfolio.com/2017/08/bamboo-sports-hall-for-panyaden-international-school/
https://divisare.com/bamboo-architecture http://www.gooood.hk/bamboo-sports-hall-for-panyaden-international-school-thailand-by-chiangmai-life-architect.htm
http://www.designmagazin.cz/architektura/69163-thajska-sportovni-hala-je-postavena-cela-z-bambusu.html
https://www.themanual.com/living/bamboo-sports-hall-gym/
http://worldarchitecture.org/articles-links/cvfmh/cla_used_organic_flowing_curves_with_newly_invented_bamboo_trusses_for_bamboo_sports_hall_in_thailand.html 

Chiang Mai

Thailand

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Chiangmai Life Architects

Panyaden International School

A 782 square metre school sports hall in Thailand was built from bamboo, showcasing the strength and beauty of this sustainable construction material.

Sports hall constructed entirely of bamboo

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 financial condition of a company, as well as the the economicconditions of its stakeholders and on economic systems at local, national, andglobal levels.

Economic Impact

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

Innovation

Scalability

Producing building materials and providing services to create residential and non-residential infrastructure and real estate


Construction and Infrastructure

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

Prioritise regenerative resources

Utilise bio-based, reusable, non-toxic and non-critical materials

Regenerative materials

Grow countries globally account for 55% of all raw material extraction and 52% of the material footprint, while housing around 37% of the global population.

These are larger Southeast Asian countries and countries in Latin America and Northern Africa, as well as those with an economy in transition in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Examples include :
- China
- Indonesia
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Vietnam
- Myanmar
- Egypt, ...

Large contribution to the overshoot of planetary boundaries—largely due to the consumptions of local materials in higher-
income (Shift) countries: these countries contribute 50% of climate change, 62% of nitrogen, 60% of phosphorus, 53% of freshwater use and 42% of land use change.

To find out what country profile your country belongs to, explore [this interactive story](https://circularity-gap.world) and search for your country on the final map.

Grow

The need that represents the largest resource footprint, with 42.4 billion tonnes, is for construction and maintenance of houses, offices, roads and other infrastructure, especially in the developing world.

Housing

- Lightweighting, frugal design and lifetime extension of bearing elements
- Reduction in construction losses
- Local construction materials
- Energy-efficient appliances and use
- Lower room temperature and smart metering

Saving: 3.45 Gt emissions and 4.05 Gt material use 
 

🏠 Resource efficient construction

- Green roofs
- Passive houses
- Produce own renewable energy

Saving: 6.47 Gt emissions and 3.07 Gt material use 

🏠 Natural housing solutions

- Construction materials with recycled content
- Diversion of construction and demolition waste

Saving: 1.14 Gt emissions and 3.55 Gt material use 

🏠 Circular construction materials

- Hang-drying clothing
- Hot water saving
- Smart metering
- Better thermal insulation
- Lower room temperature

Saving: 1.96 Gt emissions and 0.79 material use

🏠 Resource efficient housing

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

Whilst no two countries are the same, there are still obvious similarities between some of them, with discernible development patterns and parallels in evidence. Common problems and shared solutions help place unique country identities and individual issues in context.

Whilst this classification is far from clear-cut and exhibits some overlap, it does underline how the discourse on transitioning to a circular economy needs to account for both differences and commonalities, if we are to arrive at a more strategic and instructive analysis. It also allows to highlight a set of key themes that are likely to be central to the countries that fall under the respective profiles. 

Country profiles (Build, Grow, Shift)

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A framework to distinguish between different country profiles and their circular transition needs.

The framework consists of 21 complementary interventions, across six scenarios - one for each of the six societal needs we model. These interventions can mitigate climate impact by curbing GHG emissions

Note: interventions are currently focused on:
- 🏠 Housing 
- 🍎 Nutrition
- 🚗 Mobility
- 👚📺 Consumables
- 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️ Healthcare
-  🔊 Communication

These 21 interventions are spread across six societal needs and wants, with a set of solutions. Within these solutions are strategies on ’how to get there'.  

The framework moves beyond incremental action and provides solutions that will require behavioral change (dietary shifts towards less meat consumption, for example) and the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies in the industry to mitigate emissions in hard-to-abate sectors (such as steel manufacturing). It illustrates how continued globalisation can benefit from the uptake of digital solutions. The combined interventions showcase the mitigation potential that begins where the current country pledges end; illustrating the additional impact our interventions can bring to the NDCs. In short, the interventions provide input for a more profound fundamental transformation than the more current pathways that make up the vast majority of NDCs. 

Together, the combined interventions can almost double the current global Circularity Metric of 8.6%, bringing it to 17%. 

This results in:
• Shrinking global material use and extraction by 28%. 
• Cutting global GHG emissions by 39%—fully closing the Emissions Gap as defined in our report and taking into account the updated NDCs.
• Allowing the world to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping at 1.5-degrees of warming by 2032.

*This framework was developed in the Circularity Gap Report 2021. Read more about it [here](https://www.circle-economy.com/resources/circularity-gap-report-2021)*






Global Circularity Gap Report

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An intervention-based framework for nations and stakeholders working towards circular countries

 Kimchis, fresh vegetables, fruit, fish, seafood, meat, pickles, pancakes…. One of the many pleasures of dining out in South Korea is the selection of banchan, or side dishes, that accompanies most meals. 
But seldom — if ever — do all banchan get eaten. Diners take a few mouthfuls of this and that, then the meal is over. Just finishing the generous main dish is often enough of a challenge. For a first-time visitor, the joy of discovering so much variety on one table is quickly followed by bemusement at how much of it goes unconsumed. 
So what happens to it all?
Many Korean restaurants offer free, hearty side dishes called banchan. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
On the edge of a building site in Seoul’s eastern Gangdong District is a complex of green buildings. Hang around there for a while and you’ll see food waste trucks turning up from all over southern and eastern Seoul. The complex is operated Naen, a private contractor that recycles some three to four hundred tonnes of food waste every day into animal feed. 
Upon arrival at Naen, the waste is dropped into underground tanks, then carried by screw conveyors to a separator, where non-food content — mostly plastic bags — is removed. The waste is then squeezed in a conical screw press to get rid of as much moisture content as possible. Typically, food waste consists of 80 to 85 percent moisture. 
The orange “juice” squeezed out at this point is collected in another underground tank, then sent off to a wastewater treatment plant where it is fermented to produce methane. The methane is then used as fuel. 
The squeezed waste is then carried to steam dryers, where it is dried for three to four hours at 120˚C. Next, any remaining impurities are removed and the dried waste is powdered. The animal feed is ready. 
“A lot of businesses like ours sprang up after 2005, when the landfilling of food waste was banned,” said Naen official Lim Chang-ho. 
In fact, South Korea has a pretty strong handle on its food waste by global standards. Some 95 percent of food waste is currently recycled: into compost, animal feed, methane gas (through anaerobic digestion) or solid fuel. 
This is based on mandatory separation rules that see households and businesses nationwide throw out food waste in dedicated plastic bags sold in supermarkets, specially made buckets or even at computerized collection points.  Plenty to deal with 
Food constitutes a relatively small segment within South Korea’s waste scene: It makes up some 40 percent of household waste, but household waste accounts for only 13 percent of all rubbish thrown out in the country (the biggest source is construction material waste, at 48 percent). But in terms of sheer amount, masses of food waste are generated every day. 
According to the Ministry of Environment, an average South Korean throws out 930 grams of rubbish each day, 40 percent of which is food waste. That makes for more than 130 kilograms of per capita food waste a year. (In comparison, per capita food waste by consumers in Europe and North America was 95 to 115 kilograms a year, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.) 
In 2016, South Korea produced 14,388 tonnes of food waste nationwide every day, and 3,075 tonnes in Seoul alone. About two thirds of this are processed outside the capital; the rest is treated by five plants within the city limits, of which Naen is one. 
With all their screw conveyors and other moving parts, plants like Naen’s rely on consumers not to leave rogue items in their food waste that can put a literal spanner in the works. 
“We’ve had bowling balls, blankets and bricks in the past,” said Lim. “And once we found a fridge. But things have got a lot better now, thanks to government efforts to educate people better. Now we just get a few spoons and rice bowls here and there.” 
Each time a rogue item causes part of the plant to break down, the whole line has to be stopped for an hour or two while the problem is identified and fixed.
Meanwhile, local authorities are working to reduce food waste at the source. 
In 2013, Songpa, a district in southeastern Seoul, began introducing a radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based centralized system of food waste collection at multiple apartment complexes across the city. Residents were issued with unique electronic ID tags, which they use when depositing food waste at one of several hundred collection points. Machines weigh each deposit and charge each user accordingly.
Bins in Hwaseong that collect and weigh food waste using sensors. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Within four years, some 4,000 RFID collection points had been installed in apartment complexes and approximately 2,000 in non-apartment residential neighborhoods. In 2017, Songpa District authorities calculated that the system had reduced food waste by a total of 36,000 tonnes, or 25 percent of what was being thrown out in 2012, and achieved 7 billion won in budget savings. 
But some argue that solutions like RFID merely deal with the results of food waste, not the causes. 
“The RFID has nothing to do with actually reducing food waste,” said Lee Seok-kil of Korea Food Recycling Association. “It’s just another way of dealing with waste that already exists.” 
Lee says the best way to deal with the problem is education. “For example, a high percentage of food waste is due to people buying more food than they need, letting it go bad in the fridge, then throwing it away. And then there’s the Korean culture of serving more banchan than people can eat. In other countries you have to pay extra for side dishes, but that goes against Korean sentiment. We need more publicity to change this culture, but I don’t the the government has done enough on that front yet.”  Entomological enthusiasm 
Still, other innovative possibilities abound for exploiting the opportunities presented by food waste. One comes in the form of a large plant in Gimje, southwestern South Korea, that buzzes with some 2 billion black soldier flies. 
While flies are normally associated with poor waste management, these ones are working away in large, net-lined chambers to break down some 100 tonnes of food waste every day. 
Soldier fly larvae are raised for a little over two weeks on the food waste. After that, they are separated from their own excrement and dried. Oil is extracted from the larvae, then they are dried and pulverized for use as animal feed. Their excrement is used as fertilizer. 
Meanwhile, the oil squeezed from the larvae before drying is used as a natural additive to any animal feed as an immune system-boosting agent. 
“The animal feed made from the flies is high in protein, while the oil squeezed from them contains lots of [natural] antibiotic substances, which help boost animals’ immunity to disease,” said Kang Seung-ho of CIEF, the company that operates the Gimje facility. 
CIEF’s ultimate plan is to open 100 similar plants around South Korea, which, Kang said, could process the country’s entire food waste output. It’s a neat and profitable solution to a once-stinking problem. 
The South Korean government has embraced the potential of the nascent black soldier fly industry, amending regulations in October 2017 to legalize it as a means of large-scale food waste processing. The country’s Rural Development Administration has hailed the technology’s potential to create new insect-based industries and much-needed jobs for rural communities. 
In addition to its economic potential, using insects to produce high-quality animal feed on a large scale could replace other animal feed sources such as soybeans, the production of which is becoming increasingly notorious for its association with environmental damage and deforestation. 
Back at the consumer end of the chain, the most effective way to combat food waste is to avoid the fridge-to-bin phenomenon by buying only as much as you’re likely to eat. If you want to get really militant, you can ask restaurant owners why they serve more side-dishes than you can eat, but they probably won’t appreciate it. Other options include asking them to put leftover food in a container for you to take home and eat later. This is becoming more common and is generally welcomed. 
And don’t forget to look out for black soldier fly larvae-fed steaks in your local supermarket. Cover image: Food waste. (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr, CC by 2.0) 

      When the required hectarage is reached, a Tom is deployed. Each plot within the pod will get three surveys over the course of the growing season.       Tom will accurately geolocate and analyse data on every plant in the field. The data is available in Wilma, our AI Advice Engine.        Access data that will talk to your sprayer, enabling you to reduce the costs of your herbicide and fertiliser.   

 We will offer our robots through a Farming as a Service (FaaS) model. So you can take advantage of robotic farming without any of the risks.What exactly is Farming as a Service?The service links together a series of robots with a clever ‘operating system’. It starts by collecting accurate and up-to-date information about a crop, plant by plant. We call this ‘digitising the field’.This information is then automatically analysed using data and advice from the world’s leading agronomists and the AHDB (the UK Government’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board). This is then used to give instructions on what should happen to each plant, and each patch of soil for other robots to carry out.Eventually, each process - from knowing when to plant, to all aspects of crop care, to knowing when to harvest - will be automated.How do the robots fit in? We will place a robot (Tom) on your farm to autonomously monitor your crop and soil, and keep an eye on weeds.Our other robots (Dick, Harry) take care of all the feeding, seeding, and weeding. When one of these robots is needed, it turns up and does its job. When it is finished, it is taken away. Click here to find out more about Tom Dick and Harry. 

<p>Chiangmai Life Architects and Construction uses bamboo and clay earth as their primary building materials. The company strives to create spaces that have a negative carbon footprint while embodying modern and clean architecture.</p>