Business case

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

Increase Awareness

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)

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)

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

Reduce Energy Consumption

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

Agri/Food

Collecting waste from households and businesses by means of refuse bins, wheeled bins, containers, etc., and providing treatment, incineration, materials recovery and reclamation, and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste

Waste Management

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

Use waste as a resource

Transforming waste products into materials and lower value products within other industries

Open loop downcycling

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within other industries

Using open loop recycled materials

Waste is often the entry point for discussing a circular economy. However, in a fully circular economy, waste does not exist as it has  been designed out of the system from the outset, either through avoidance (reduction of materials) or because outputs are such that they can be re-used as inputs into other production and consumption processes. Studying existing waste streams allows us to trace the problem back to its source and design an appropriate intervention. 

WASTE

The organics opportunity space refers to biological systems, organic products and materials, and the processes that relate to conserving and circulating organic materials at all stages of the value chain. Organics form part of the biocycle (as opposed to the technical cycle which includes metals and other non biodegradable materials) and requires different solutions to preserve nutrients at their highest value for re-entry back into the system. 


ORGANICS

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

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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Netherlands

Utrecht University

Over 150 million tonnes of plastic currently float in the ocean, and 90% of all plastic produced is landfilled. In 2012, a fungus, Pestalotiopsis microspore, was discovered in Ecuador that is able to digest and break down polyurethane plastic. The species can survive solely by ‘eating’ plastic, effectively converting the polyurethane into organic matter—and the researchers believe it can be used both in household and landfill settings. Katharina Unger of Utrecht University has developed a product—Fungi Mutarium—so that consumers can grow these mushrooms at home; eventually, once there is no plastic left in the mushrooms, the mushrooms themselves can be eaten. This project is still in early stages and is not commercially available, but if approved could have wide-reaching impacts on plastic pollution.

Fungi mutarium: plastic-eating mushrooms

Article / Report

Direct and indirect reduction in economic costs

Cost Savings

Direct and indirect effects that increase revenues or the potential for new revenues, for example from new products, customer segments, partnerships or business models

Revenue Potential

Efficiency gains on operations or transactions either through cultural or technological shifts

Productivity

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

Innovation

Reduced use and withdrawal of water and rate of recycling and reuse of water

Save Water (SDG6)

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

Providing water and sewage services, including water collection and distribution, water treatment systems and sewage treatment facilities

Water and Sewage

Producing and gathering crop and animal products from land and water through farming, hunting, and fishing

Agriculture

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

Valorise waste streams - closed loop

Replacing freshwater use with rainwater, fogwater, seawater, etc.

Alternative water use

Enacting measures that optimise water use

Water efficiency

Data, knowledge & information sharing

Conduct research

Develop regenerative infrastructure

Develop infrastructure to support sustainable lifestyles

Develop infrastructure to support resource cycling

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

Policies

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

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Bridging Science to Practice
‘Bridging Science to Practice’ is KWR’s motto. Their researchers work at the interface of science, business and society. Their strength lies in their translation of scientific knowledge into applicable, practical solutions for end-users in the Dutch and international water sector. They have built a solid reputation as top-level innovation accelerators and international network builders, and increasingly play a coordinating role in national and international collaborations.

Their global, European and national ambitions, which are further explained in our mission statement, have been translated into 5 KWR research programmes that make a concrete contribution to this:

Health
Sustainability
Society
Looking ahead
Enabling technologies

KWR 

In this study the potential of freezing methods for the treatment of geothermal waste brine in the Netherlands was investigated. Based on the first analysis, modelling and experiments in this study, the&nbsp;use of&nbsp;freezing methods for the treatment of geothermal waste brines seems promising. Freeze concentration can result in significant&nbsp;reduction&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;waste&nbsp;stream&nbsp;and&nbsp;the potential to produce usable water while using eutectic salt precipitation&nbsp;may produce significant&nbsp;yields of hydrohalite with economic value. The production of products (ice, salt) of high enough purite to allow re-use requires further study on actual geothermal brines with more complex brine&nbsp;composition&nbsp;than&nbsp;considered&nbsp;in&nbsp;this&nbsp;study. However,&nbsp;freeze&nbsp;concentration&nbsp;is&nbsp;already&nbsp;a commercially available method for brine treatment, and should be considered as an option for the concentration of geothermal waste brines.

Extracting clean water and minerals from salty wastewater by freezing it -  EUTECTIC FREEZE CRYSTALLIZATION (EFC): A COOL SOLUTION FOR PROCESSING GEOTHERMAL WASTE BRINES?

White paper EPR and CE.pdf

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

Closed loop collection

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within the same industry

Closed loop upcycling

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within the same industry

Using closed loop recycled materials

Transforming waste products into materials and lower value products within the same industry

Closed loop downcycling

Collection programmes that process products and parts for reuse or recycling within other industries

Open loop collection

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within other industries

Open loop upcycling

Generating energy from waste through processes such as anaerobic digestion, gasification, incineration, etc.

Generating energy from waste

Processing waste streams into fuels such as biogas, biofuels, pellets, etc.

Processing waste into fuel

Recovering and reusing waste heat, gas, etc. for energy

Recovery and reuse of waste energy

Research and facilitate new technological developments to aid the transition to a circular economy.

Research and Development

       Apart from academic journals articles (see personal pages of our scientific staff) other reports are published (policy briefs, white papers, advices etc.) which can be downloaded here.Vermeulen, W.J.V., C.W. Backes, M.C.J. de Munck, K.Campbell-Johnston, I.M. de Waal, J. Rosales Carreon, M.N. Boeve, (2021).  Pathways for Extended Producer Responsibility on the road to a Circular Economy (PDF 6,5 MB). White paper based on a literature review and the results of a Delphi study, on the experiences with EPR in the Netherlands, Utrecht University, Circular Economy and Society Hub, Utrecht. ISBN: 978-90-6266-600-3.Vermeulen, W.J.V., C.W. Backes, M.C.J. de Munck, K.Campbell-Johnston, I.M. de Waal, J. Rosales Carreon, M.N. Boeve, (2021). Transitiepaden voor uitgebreide producentenverantwoordelijkheid op weg naar een circulaire economie (PDF 6,5 MB). Een white paper gebaseerd op literatuuronderzoek en de resultaten van een Delphi-studie over de ervaringen met uitgebreide producenten verantwoordelijkheid in Nederland, Utrecht University, Circular Economy and Society Hub, Utrecht. ISBN: 978-90-6266-601-0.Mandy van den Ende MSc, Dr Arjan Wardekker, Dr Heleen Mees, Dr Dries Hegger, Dr Joost Vervoort (2021). Towards a climate-resilient future together. A toolbox with participatory foresight methods, tools and examples from climate and food governance (PDF 4,8 MB).Jens K. Nørskov, Bert Weckhuysen, Gabriele Centi, Ib Chorkendor, Robert Schlögl, Guy Marin, Alexis Grimaud, Jan Rossmeisl, Peter Strasser, Marc Koper, Beatriz Roldan, Malte Behrens, Michael Bowker, Graham Hutchings, Silvia Bordiga, Johannes Lercher, Anders Nilsson, Ifan Stephens, Thibault Cantat, Walter Leitner, Serena DeBeer, Huub de Groot, Karsten W. Jacobsen, Matthias Scheffler, Poul Georg Moses, Moritz Schreiber, Matteo Gazzani, Marco Mazzotti, Gaetano Iaquaniello, Klaas Jan Schouten (2019). Research needs towards sustainable production of fuels and chemicals (PDF 3,9 MB).Lukas Weimann (lead author), Matteo Gazzani, Gert Jan Kramer, Joep Matser, Annika Boldrini (2020). Evaluation of the potential for hydrogen and CCS in the decarbonization of the Dutch steel industry (PDF 3,7 MB). Project name: ELEGANCY. Project full title: Enabling a Low-Carbon Economy via Hydrogen and CCS. ERA-Net ACT project.Adriaan van der Loos PhD, Dr Simona Negro, Professor Marko Hekkert (2021). Offshore renewable energy: threats and opportunities in the post-2030 Netherlands (PPTX 1,9 MB). A report commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University.Robert Harmsen, Marc Londo, Bas van Zuijlen, Laura van de Kar (2020). SmartTrans. Leidraad voor gemeentes bij het vormgeven van de warmtetransitie voor particuliere woningeigenaren (PDF 2,9 MB). Een onderzoek vanuit het TKI programma Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Innoveren Energie (MVI-E). Uitgevoerd door W/E adviseurs en Copernicus Instituut voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling. RVO projectnummer:TESE117012.Professor Marko Hekkert, Denise Reike MSc, Dr Anne Rainville, Dr Simona Negro (2021). Transition to Circular Textiles in the Netherlands. An innovation systems analysis (PDF 3,1 MB). Copernicus Institute voor Sustainable Development.Van Dijk, J., Van der Veer, Geert, Woestenburg, M., Stoop, J., Wijdeven, M., Van Veluw, K., Schrijver, R., Van den Akker, J., Van Woudenberg, E., Kerkhoven, D., Slot, M. (2020). Waardevolle Informatie Natuurgedreven Kwaliteit : Onderzoek naar een kennis voor natuurgedreven landbouw (PDF 3,6 MB). 

   For a truly circular economy, producers should be further incentivized to use recycled materials and extend their products lifespan. Producers are now only financially responsible for discarded products they have managed to collect. The processing of the remaining waste in incineration plants is still funded through municipal waste taxes, and thus recovered from the taxpayer. Therefore, the Dutch government must set much stricter requirements for the reuse of products, otherwise, it will never achieve its circular economy targets for 2030. This is the core of the advice of the “Circular Economy and Society Hub” of Utrecht University, presented in a white paper to Undersecretary Stientje van Veldhoven.The use of new raw materials must be reduced by 50% in 9 years, and by 2050 the Netherlands must be 100% circular. This aim is not entirely new. In the past two decades "extended producer responsibility" has been introduced for many products, such as electronics, packaging, batteries, cars and tires, to promote collection and recycling practices. As a result, producers have to organize the collection and recycling themselves and bear the costs involved. Ultimately, the consumer ends up paying this in the price of new products. But with the current rules, the target of 50% less new raw materials will not be achieved, let alone the target of 100% circular.ParadoxicallyThe very broadly defined objectives within extended producer responsibility policies, such as a percentage of "reuse or recovery" to be achieved, mainly stimulate cheap and simple solutions. In part, this also leads to processing abroad. The government applies a maximum processing price of € 205 per ton. This means that high-quality reuse in new products has little chance. Collection and reuse are therefore too cheap. That may seem paradoxical, but it is not. The recovery of a discarded product (collection and recycling) now costs less than 2% of the original product price. When fully allocating the waste costs, producers are much more stimulated to use raw materials more efficiently. Rewarding front runners among the producers should be done with discounts.Low-value reuseIn some cases, almost all discarded products are collected (paper, glass, cars, tires). Usually, much less is collected. Once collected, these products are often reused in a low-quality way, in part by incinerating them and thereby recovering energy. These systems have barely succeeded in using those materials again in a high-quality manner in new products. Raw materials are still becoming depleted. There are just a few exceptions, such as glass bottles and paper.        Plastic resin pellets; Credits: aydinmutluCurrently, the most critical choices are left to the market. The organizations implementing recovery operations consists of producers and traders. Companies and organizations that can extend the lifespan of products through, for example, repair and "refurbishment" and that can enable high-quality recycling, are not involved in the decision-making about the circular solutions that can be applied. The government should also take the lead in this, argue the researchers from Utrecht University. Their report is in line with the recent recommendations of PBL and CPB in their Integrated Circular Economy Report 2021. The authors further show that a more far-reaching approach is needed to realize all high-quality reuse options and the development of a more circular system. The advice goes further than the PBL / CPB advice on two points:With a new kind of organizations, together with all actors in the value chain, the strategy must be established, with choices for those value retention options that enable the deployment of 50% renewable raw materials by 2030 in each product group.On this basis, the costs that producers must bear according to the "polluter pays" principle must be determined. In addition, the costs of the part of the waste that is not yet paid for through the 'extended producer responsibility' must also be included in the tightening up. The Dutch policy maximum processing price of € 205 per ton must be abandoned.The advice on adjusting extended producer responsibility was written by Utrecht researchers from the Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences and the Department of Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Legal Theory, Faculty of Law, Economics, Governance and Organization.PublicationVermeulen, W.J.V., C.W. Backes, M.C.J. de Munck, K.Campbell-Johnston, I.M. de Waal, J. Rosales Carreon, M.N. Boeve, (2021) Pathways for Extended Producer Responsibility on the road to a Circular Economy, White paper based on a literature review and the results of a Delphi study, on the experiences with EPR in the Netherlands, Utrecht University, Circular Economy and Society Hub, Utrecht ISBN: 978-90-6266-600-3. 

This white paper presents an analysis of the key strengths and limitations of the currentorganization of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the Netherlands. Based on ouranalysis, we present three pathways for improving EPR for the circular economy.

WHITE PAPER on Pathways for Extended Producer Responsibility on the road to a Circular Economy

2023 Sustainable circular cities.pdf

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

Contribution to social parity, or impact on social disparity

Equality

Scalability

Contributing to the improvement of biodiversity including species diversity, total number of protected species, and ecosystem health

Biodiversity

Engaging in discussions with government bodies and policymakers to push for regulations that support the circular economy

Advocacy for circular economy policy

Participating in government programmes that support and advance the circular economy

Government programmes

Provide guidance or professional training to educate employees to use circular economy principles

Training on the circular economy

Roadmaps and strategies and targets

Institutional design to enable circularity

Participatory governance mechanisms

Cross-departmental collaboration and engagement

Advocate for circular change

Monitoring & enforcement

Review and update regulation

Compact city development

Site planning for circular material use

Circular use of public-owned assets (land, buildings and equipment)

Maintenance to extend useful life

Awareness raising events

Other legislation

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Amsterdam

Copenhagen

Glasgow

Municipality of Glasgow

Municipality of Copenhagen

Municipality of Amsterdam

Cities play a central role in the circular economy (CE) as they are important centres of production and consumption, responsible for 80% of global GDP. European cities are particularly important due to their position of power in the global economy as major markets and places of industrial and social innovation. Yet urban CE policies and discourses remain poorly researched and understood. This paper addresses this research gap by analysing and comparing the CE policies and discourses in different European cities to draw critical insights and recommendations. It does so by first reviewing academic literature on urban CE policies to develop a new conceptual framework to analyse CE discourses and policies. This framework is then used to analyse and compare the CE policies of three European cities: Glasgow, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen. Results show that technocentric approaches to CE are dominant in the three cities. Moreover, they have very limited social justice policies for a fair distribution of the costs and benefits of a CE transition. Key policy recommendations to address these shortcomings are thus proposed. The insights brought about by this paper are valuable for both practitioners and academics seeking to improve urban CE policies.

Sustainable circular cities? Analysing urban circular economy policies in Amsterdam, Glasgow, and Copenhagen


2023JapaneseCE.pdf

The Japanese Circular Economy and Sound Material-Cycle Society Policies: Discourse and Policy Analysis

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

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

Extracting resources and processing them to produce materials for use bysociety

Materials and Fuels

Producing electrical equipment and machinery for industrial use

Capital Equipment

Producing transporation equipment and providing services for thetransportation of goods and people

Transportation and Logistics

Producing and providing business and consumer goods and services

Goods and Services

Providing specialist services to support consumers, businesses, andgovernments

Professional Services

Societal Services

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

While resources are in-use, maintain, repair and upgrade them to maximise their lifetime and give them a second life through take back strategies when applicable

Stretch the lifetime

Consider opportunities to create greater value and align incentives that build on the interaction between products and services

Rethink the business model

Account for the systems perspective during the design process, to use the right materials, to design for appropriate lifetime and to design for extended future use

Design for the future

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

Use digital, online platforms and technologies that provide insights to track and optimise resource use, strengthen connections between supply chain actors, and enable the implementation of circular models



Incorporate digital technology

'Inform' increases the overall levels of awareness and builds the necessary skills and knowledge around the circular economy to foster long-term change.

Inform

Although the Japanese government is an early adopter of Circular Economy (CE) policies and developed the concept of the Sound Material-Cycle Society in the early 2000s, its CE policies have nonetheless been poorly researched and understood, especially in English academic literature. This article addresses this research gap by answering the following questions: What are the dominant discourses of key stakeholders in Japan regarding CE? And to what extent does the current CE policy in Japan relate to that? Methodologically, this paper conducted a discourse analysis through a mix of policy analysis, media analysis, stakeholder interviews, keyword mining, qualitative content analysis, and analysis of stakeholder presence. Results show that, while CE discourses in Japan are rather diverse, they mostly fall within the Reformist Circular Society discourse type, with some smaller Technocentric Circular Economy and Transformational Circular Society elements. Results also show that businesses and academics were over-represented in policy meetings and the media, compared to NGOs and local government actors, which are more likely to hold transformational circularity discourses. Most circularity discourses in Japan are thus focused on a growth-optimistic narrative that emphasises innovative technologies and lacks a stronger understanding of social justice and planetary boundaries. Based on these findings, this article suggests recommendations, such as revisiting Japanese ecological thinking and Buddhist philosophy, which can inspire degrowth-oriented circularity approaches, as well as encompassing more participation of neglected societal groups in the development and implementation of CE policies and practices. By highlighting the challenges in current CE discourse and implementation in Japan, this study presents implications for a more socially inclusive and ecologically sustainable path towards a circular society.