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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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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

Impact on the quantity or quality of jobs, and shifts in the labour market

Jobs

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)

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


Construction and Infrastructure

Providing residential and non-residential construction services, such as architectural, engineering, planning, real-estate, contracting, and inspection services

Construction and Real Estate Services

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

Construction Materials and Products

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

Use waste as a resource

Employ technologies to gather and analyse data to provide insights on resource use

Data and insights

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

Buildings are where we live, work and play, and also where we store machinery and goods for later consumption. Buildings are but one component of the greater built environment which includes urban infrastructure such as roads, bridges and utilities. 
Current construction techniques have buildings consuming the bulk of materials globally. With increasing urbanisation and therefore demand for buildings of every kind, we drastically need to re-imagine how we design, utilise and decommission buildings.

BUILDINGS

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

Visions and Ambitions

Roadmaps and strategies and targets

 Convene Towards Action

Voluntary agreements around circular ambitions

'Regulate' changes the rules of the systems to achieve compliance through enforcement. 


Regulate

Redesign systems to lay the foundation for circular activities and enable the transition to a circular economy 

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Rethink

High-level changes to policy and practice (such as taxation systems, investment and procurement guidelines and criteria) that disincentivize activities that perpetuate linear economic systems, as well as vision-setting (goals, roadmaps) to catalyze
action on circularity across the city

Eliminate linear incentives and set goals and incentives for circularity

The built environment, including housing, commercial buildings, and the necessary infrastructure for mobility, is essential for our livelihoods, but:
- the extraction of minerals used to produce construction materials is responsible for a quarter of global land use change,
- approximately 40% of global GHG emissions can be attributed to buildings’ construction, use and demolition, and
- construction and demolition processes drive nearly one-third of all material consumption. 

Making the built environment more circular must prioritise a heavy reduction in material use—while also closing the loop on materials and bringing secondary and renewable material choices to the fore. Our four key solutions for the built environment are:
- Make the most of what already exists: Make the most of existing materials by reusing, repurposing, upgrading and renovating following circular approaches. Where new builds are needed, use secondary materials and be as efficient as possible with urban planning solutions that follow circular design principles so that buildings can be reused, repurposed, and easily disassembled in the future.
- Be as energy efficient as possible: From the design phase, utilise circular strategies to create material- and energy efficient buildings. Couple these designs with a rollout of clean energy solutions, and prioritise energy-efficient appliances and retrofitting. 
- Utilise secondary materials: Maximise the high-value reuse of buildings and components where possible. Ideally, enable the utilisation of construction and demolition outputs and ensure that as much of it as possible is recycled to avoid the need for virgin materials, such as sand and gravel.
- Prioritise circular materials and approaches: Transition to using renewable wood, timber or cross-laminated timber instead of steel and concrete, or move to other locally available materials. Utilise mainstream modular construction and prioritise lightweight frames and structures to reduce cement and steel use, as well as green roofs where possible.



🏢 Built Environment

Businesses

Governments

Cities can directly support the transition towards a circular economy and emission reduction targets by leading by example through their public procurement activities. This is especially true regarding the built environment, as cities manage a sizable portfolio of buildings and infrastructure. Through procurement, local governments can help to develop the market for circular products and services, including circular materials as well as product-as-a-service or leasing models for building components (such as flooring, elevators and lighting). They can also manage the existing and future building stock in a way that contributes to closed energy and material loops within supply chains, whilst minimising—and ideally avoiding—GHG emissions across the entire life-cycle of procured construction materials and activities. 

Local governments have several levers at their disposal: investing in renovation and maintenance work, retrofitting and repurposing (if necessary) existing building stock to avoid new construction, and specifying circular criteria in public tenders for the design, construction and management of buildings. These criteria could, for instance, include mandatory requirements for the use of secondary or bio-based materials in new development projects, or specify design for adaptability, deconstruction and reuse. Additionally, the uptake of ‘green contracts’—agreements that require the contractor to develop and implement a site management plan and favour certain types of resources—can also stimulate circular operations by integrating circularity in the legal relationship between building owners, operators and users. Furthermore, to increase the use of secondary materials, local governments can deploy staging areas, in which recovered construction waste can be temporarily stored for reuse. 

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🏢  Circular public procurement for new buildings and infrastructure

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

Policies

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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

Urban Opportunities

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

  24/06/2019  |  Découvrez la feuille de route des acteurs de la construction vers une économie circulaire !  |   Le secteur bruxellois de la construction dispose aujourd’hui d’une feuille de route qui identifie les objectifs stratégiques et actions prioritaires pour développer l’économie circulaire. En 2018, dans le cadre du Programme Régional en Economie Circulaire (PREC), le secteur de la construction a défini une vision claire ayant pour objectif de réduire drastiquement sa consommation en ressources et sa production de déchets.  UNE FEUILLE DE ROUTE Aujourd’hui, une feuille de route entend poursuivre le travail entamé en identifiant les pistes d’actions prioritaires pour développer plus encore l’économie circulaire dans le secteur bruxellois de la construction. Ces actions très concrètes balisent des jalons qui répondent parfaitement aux objectifs stratégiques du Plan Régional Énergie Climat 2030 et  de sa Stratégie de Réduction de l’Impact Environnemental du Bâti Existant aux horizons 2030-2050.  Plus de 50 professionnels du secteur bruxellois de la construction ont participé aux 3 workshops PREC organisés par Bruxelles Environnement sur la conception, le réemploi et la logistique, apportant ainsi leur expertise et expériences de terrain. La contribution et la relecture de la CCB-C, du CSTC, de Bruxelles Environnement, du CDR Construction, d’Homegrade, du Facilitateur Economie Circulaire Construction, de Rotor et de Batigroupe ont permis de consolider ce travail collaboratif de grande qualité. TROIS GRANDES ETAPES L’objectif est d’accompagner les entreprises et les maîtres d’ouvrage dans leur transition d’un modèle d’économie linéaire vers une économie circulaire. Cette feuille de route envisage trois grandes étapes pour le secteur de la construction: des mesures volontaires pour 2025, la mise en place de règlementations destinées aux bâtiments publics pour 2030 et finalement un passage au réglementaire appliqué à tout bâtiment pour 2040. L’économie circulaire dans le secteur de la construction se traduit par une plus grande circulation des ressources (matérielles, énergétiques, naturelles, humaines, économiques) au niveau du territoire. La feuille de route privilégie la conception circulaire, la maintenance du bâti, le réemploi et la refabrication sur le territoire bruxellois à travers plusieurs objectifs stratégiques. Nous vous invitons à découvrir cette feuille route :    

Brussels

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City of Brussels

<p>Brussels has implemented a Regional Programme for a Circular Economy—a roadmap with specific measures to carry forward the circular transition. Construction is a priority focus within this document, as Brussels boasts 12,000 businesses in the sector. Construction activities account for the vast majority of water and energy use in the city, and generates a third of waste—thus making it a key starting point for improvement. The programme outlines three steps towards making construction circular in Brussels: construction businesses can take up voluntary measures by 2025, public buildings will be ascribed circular regulations by 2030, and all local planning initiatives must include circular strategies by 2040. The first step—voluntary measures—has already been delineated with actionable measures; for example, including circularity in vocational and professional training, and implementing monitoring systems to track construction waste in the city.</p>

Brussels construction industry roadmap towards a circular economy

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

Increase Awareness

Providing recreational and cultural services, including hotels, resorts, casinos, sport and fitness centers, stadiums, golf courses and amusement parks, restaurants, bars, pubs, fast-food or take-out facilities, as well as libraries and museums

Hospitality and Tourism

Processing and producing food and beverages for consumption

Food and Beverage

Engage with the government on circular policies and programmes

Government collaboration

Specific programmes or initiatives to help customers become more circular 

Customer programmes

Information campaigns

Includes a variety of actions (e.g. campaigns, information sharing, public events) that encourage city residents and visitors to build sustainable practices into their daily lives

Enable sustainable lifestyles

Put enablers in place that allow circular businessesto grow, thrive and innovate (e.g. incubators, start-up funding, partnerships, innovation deals, business capacity building and testing groundsfor new business models).


Support circular and resource-efficient business innovations

The food system nourishes populations and employs 50% of the global workforce, but:
- it currently drives a quarter of the overshoot on the climate change planetary boundary due to its greenhouse gas (GHG) production, 
- animal farming alone uses over one-quarter of all land, equivalent to the size of the Americas,
- nearly a quarter of freshwater resources are lost due to rampant food waste, and
- it is the single largest driver of biodiversity loss.

A circular food system must address the whole value chain, from production to consumption to waste management. The four key solutions for the food system are:
- Put healthier, satiating foods first: Prioritise satiating and healthy foods with a lower environmental impact—ideally shifting calories from meat, fish, and dairy towards cereals, fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
- Go local, seasonal, and organic: Prioritise the production and consumption of local, seasonal, and organic produce (sometimes in combination with GMO to reduce pests and disease loss on crops), which can lead to a significantly reduced need for chemical inputs, fuels, and processing services that contribute to environmental impacts.
- Mainstream regenerative agriculture: Scale up agricultural practices that regenerate ecosystems, recirculate nutrients and sequester carbon by design. 
- End avoidable food waste: Minimise food loss and valorise waste following the food waste hierarchy along the supply chain and at the consumer level through better management of transport and storage, more refrigeration and smart planning, and technology at the consumer and food service levels.



🍏 Food Systems

Businesses support the innovation and implementation of circular strategies. Yet innovations and startups that close loops and facilitate reuse often face additional challenges, due to the lack of infrastructure that supports circular initiatives for example physical and digital infrastructure to support reverse logistics.

Sustainable business ecosystems connect circular businesses around common problems and provide coordinated support, education and financing opportunities for these businesses to operate and scale together. This solution stimulates the local economy, which can promote local circular job opportunities in the future, and provides an attractive and supportive environment for more circular businesses to start up and scale the city.

The local government may partner with innovation ecosystems and circular domain experts to create training modules and facilitation programmes for small businesses, making knowledge resources available to small businesses looking to go circular. Local governments may also provide financial support - either directly or in partnership with financial institutions - to target and stimulate ecosystems around specific circular business models. 


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🍏  Sustainable food and agriculture business ecosystems

 Cuisiner c’est bien, jeter ça craint ! Vous souhaitez contribuer à réduire le gaspillage alimentaire dans votre restaurant ? Profitez de l’offre « starter kit », proposée gratuitement par Bruxelles Environnement : vous recevrez 100 boîtes Rest-O-Pack et des outils de communication pour sensibiliser vos clients à la réduction du gaspillage alimentaire. Le secteur de la restauration à Bruxelles produit près de 12.000 tonnes de déchets alimentaires par an. L’initiative « Rest-O-Pack» vise à réduire le gaspillage alimentaire, l'un des objectifs de la Stratégie Good Food du Gouvernement bruxellois. Il s’agit d’encourager les consommateurs bruxellois à reprendre leurs restes après un bon repas pris à l’extérieur. Les atouts du Rest-O-Pack: Moins de coûts liés à la gestion de déchets Moins de gaspillage alimentaire Moins d’impact sur l’environnement Plus de plaisir pour vos clients : ils savourent votre cuisine jusqu’à la dernière miette et sans perdre un euro
La boîte Rest-O-Pack en carton étanche, recyclable et compostable est validée par l’AFSCA (Agence fédérale pour la Sécurité de la Chaîne Alimentaire). Vos clients deviennent responsables des restes qu’ils emportent. Devenir ambassadeur de la chasse au gaspi Pour vous lancer dans la chasse au gaspillage alimentaire, c’est très simple : 1° Commandez votre starter kit via le formulaire ci-dessous. Vous recevrez : un autocollant à coller sur la vitrine de votre restaurant, pour vous identifier comme participant à l’action des cartons à glisser dans vos menus pour informer et sensibiliser vos clients 100 Rest-O-Pack étanches en carton recyclable et compostable
2° Une fois inscrit, le kit de démarrage vous sera livré à vélo environ 3 jours après votre commande. Il est important d’indiquer les coordonnées de la personne de contact et vos disponibilités pour réception de la livraison. 3° Avec le kit de démarrage, vous vous engagez à sensibiliser vos clients en leur proposant d’emporter leurs restes. Votre restaurant sera référencé sur notre site qui valorisera ainsi votre engagement. La distribution des « starter kits » se fait jusqu’en mars 2018 et jusqu’à épuisement des stocks. 1 starter kit gratuit par restaurant (boites et outils de communication), y compris les restaurant déjà engagés dans la démarche en 2016. S’il vous reste des boites, vous avez la possibilité de commander uniquement des outils de communication. La campagne Rest-O-Pack est une action de Bruxelles Environnement qui concerne les restaurants du territoire de la Région de Bruxelles Capitale. 


    La stratégie Good Food a fait de la lutte contre le gaspillage alimentaire un de ses objectifs prioritaires. Alors qu’une étude estime les déchets alimentaires à près de 12.000 tonnes par an pour le secteur de la restauration à Bruxelles, l’initiative « Rest-o-pack » s’inscrit résolument dans cette démarche.
Avantage pour le client ? Le Rest-o-pack (ex « doggy bag ») permet aux consommateurs de savourer la cuisine des chefs jusqu’à la dernière miette et sans perdre un euro !
Avantage pour les restaurateurs ? En proposant à leurs clients d’emporter le reste de leur assiette dans un Rest-o-pack, les restaurateurs évitent de jeter ce qu’ils ont préparé avec soin, tout en réduisant le coût de leurs déchets et en affichant leur engagement éthique et écologique.
Après une action pilote positive en 2016 issue d’un partenariat entre Bruxelles Environnement, l’AFSCA et Test-Achats, la Région de Bruxelles Capitale a souhaité poursuivre l’action en 2017 par la mise à disposition de supports de sensibilisation pour les restaurateurs.
Un starter kit est désormais proposé à tous les restaurants bruxellois désirant sensibiliser leurs clients à la réduction du gaspillage alimentaire. Chaque restaurateur peut commander ce kit via un formulaire en ligne afin de recevoir 50 rest-o-pack, des cartons d’information et un autocollant à poser sur sa vitrine.
Envie de tester le Rest-O-Pack ?
Voici les restaurants participants :    Vous êtes restaurateurs et souhaitez adhérer au rest-o-pack, contactez Bruxelles Environnement : Joséphine Henrion
 
   

Brussels Capital Region

<p>The Brussels-Capital Region supports and promotes the 'Rest-o-Pack' initiative, which allows customers in restaurants to take their leftovers home. The Region provides restaurants with a starter kit of 100 paper boxes, awareness-raising materials and a sticker to display on their windows to signal their participation in the programme to customers. [1] [2]</p>