Article / Report

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

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

Reduce Energy Consumption

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

Transportation and Logistics

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


Construction and Infrastructure

Replace energy sources with less impactful alternatives and enact energy efficiency measures

Regenerative energy

Recover waste energy or generate fuels and energy from waste streams

Energy recovery from waste

Industry peers to industry peer collaboration to create joint value and identify synergies

Industry collaboration

Develop regenerative infrastructure

Roadmaps and strategies and targets

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

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

Policy Instruments

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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

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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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Sustainability experts from six multinationals identified opportunities to enhance urban sustainability in Turku, Finland. Collaborating under the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's (WBCSD) Urban Infrastructure Initiative, this is the first time a city has worked with global businesses to achieve sustainability goals.The UII team comprises GDF Suez, Toyota, TNT, Acciona, Siemens, and UTC. In series of workshops the UII team and Turku city officials debated the merits and practicalities of energy saving initiatives. This resulted in the identification of three broad areas where businesses could bring expertise to support the city's ambitious goals. They are city centre development, land use and energy. These will be achieved through better traffic management, building control systems and municipal energy management.The WBCSD UII project director, Christian Kornevall, said: "Working on this project has been enriching: we drew on our members' cross-sectoral knowledge and expertise to come up with workable, practical solutions. Their impacts will be felt by Turku's citizens as their quality of life improves. Very soon the majority of the world's population will live in cities. In order for urban environments to be both livable and sustainable, they need investment. This is why we are developing a suite of initiatives. Reviews are already underway for a number of cities across three continents."Turku's deputy mayor in charge of infrastructure, Jarkko Virtanen, said: "We have ambitious sustainability targets and this strategic, early-stage collaboration has helped us see how to achieve our vision. Sustainability cuts across different departments and working with companies from several sectors has helped us make the necessary connections and find the right solutions."Willfried Wienholt, the head of urban and corporate development for Siemens, said: "This first engagement in the UII project has proved the value of businesses being involved early in a city's sustainability planning. Our combined skills and experience, together with the city's knowledge, help transform cities' progress towards a sustainable future."In order to achieve the goals set out, seven high priority actions are recommended by the team. At the same time as being relatively easy to implement, they will have a high impact on Turku and comprise:• Biogas production – generating clean energy and producing compost by burning methane from decomposing vegetation, garbage and manure• Building automation – cutting energy used by systems such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning through electronic communication between equipment• Energy management – improving governance of the city's energy use to achieve consistent performance in areas such as public lighting and public buildings• Green logistics – cutting congestion by innovating with technology, supply chain features and collaborations• Green procurement – using the city's purchasing power to choose goods and services with lower impacts on the environment• Material flow analysis – analysing policies and performance to identify potential improvements, including necessary changes in people's behaviour• Traffic management systems – reducing bottlenecks and encouraging people to use multiple transport modes by providing real-time information on current conditions.UII provides multi-sector expertise to help transform cities' sustainability visions into effective and affordable plans.For more information visit our websiteCopy on this page is provided by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, sponsor of the Business on the Road to Rio hub

Turku

Toyota

UTC 

Siemens 

City of Turku

GDF Suez

Acciona

World Business Council for Sustainable Development

<p>Sustainability experts from six multinationals identified opportunities to enhance urban sustainability in Turku, Finland. Collaborating under the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's (WBCSD) Urban Infrastructure Initiative, this is the first time a city has worked with global businesses to achieve sustainability goals. The collaboration's focus is city-centre development, land use and energy. These will be achieved through better traffic management, building control systems and municipal energy management. More specifically, the programme has seven priority areas such as green procurement, clean energy, clean mobility and traffic management systems, and green logistics.</p>