Policy case

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

Regenerative materials

Engage with the government on circular policies and programmes

Government collaboration

Engage with the local community where facilities or offices are located

Community collaboration

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

  The Government of Ghana (GoG) has engaged the World Bank and USAID in supporting agricultural development project – the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP), with the principal objective of improving the investment climate for agri-business and developing inclusive Private-Public Partnerships (PPPs) and smallholder linkages aimed at increasing on-farm productivity and value addition in selected value chains. ‘Modernizing agriculture’ remains the overarching theme of Ghana’s agricultural policy as well as the new private sector development strategy. It focuses on a stronger role for the private sector in transforming agriculture from a low-productivity subsistence-based sector to one characterized by high-productivity, integrated value chains, and extensive value addition. Government interventions are focused on the enabling environment and other targeted measures to facilitate such investment, alongside more direct interventions targeted at food insecure areas. Ghana’s current agricultural policy framework and national development plan emphasizes the importance of graduating from a subsistence-based small-holder system to a sector characterized by a stronger market-based orientation based on a combination of productive small-holders alongside larger commercial enterprises engaged in agricultural production, agro-processing and other activities along the value chain. To maximize the impacts of private investment in agriculture on development, a particular focus is to facilitate small-holder linkages with other commercial businesses through, for instance, contract farming and out-grower schemes. Recognizing some of the challenges of past efforts, the Government is adopting a new approach of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in which complementary and targeted public support serves to leverage of facilitate private investment in the agriculture sector. A major thrust of the new approach centres on enhancing the role of commercial agriculture and strengthening agricultural value chains. Under the program the Government is seeking to broaden and deepen private sector investment in agriculture – noting that it is already occurring but can be augmented – in the following ways:  Additional large-scale commercial farms in the cereals sector has the potential to utilize large tracts of unutilized land to meet domestic consumer demand (rice, white maize) and as lower-cost imports to the poultry industry (yellow maize) and, ultimately, for export to the region. There are additional opportunities for multinational investors to expand the horticulture sector, given Ghana’s established market presence in Europe and favorable geographical position, to raise export revenues. Additional agro-processing especially in the horticulture sector can provide alternative markets to local production that is unable to meet European requirements (tastes or standards) and create jobs. More private input dealers can extend the availability of seeds and fertilizer to raise productivity across the sector. Additional private enterprises engaged in the marketing and processing of food staples for local consumption, for instance by aggregating output from small-holders for bulk distribution and processing to generate economies of scale in the value chain.  Innovative institutional arrangements between large(r) scale investors and small-holders can generate mutual benefits and provide effective mechanisms for bolstering small-holder productivity. For instance, out-grower schemes provide linkages between vertically integrated plantations and surrounding small-holders. Contract farming arrangements can provide benefits for input and output dealers and small-holder farmers. To this end, the Government is keen to develop the Accra Plains through Public Private Partnership (PPP) and provide support to encourage the development of nucleus investment arrangements for the benefit of local smallholder farmers.     The  Proposed  Project The project development objective is increased access to land, private sector finance, input output  markets by smallholder farms from PPP in commercial agriculture in Accra Plains and SADA Region  and increasing on-farm productivity and value addition in selected value chains. The main outcome of the project would be an improved investment climate that delivers more – and more inclusive – private sector investment in agriculture. Accordingly, project success would be defined by the following results:  Increased private investment in agriculture should increase across a range of related enterprises including large(r)-scale commercial farming, agricultural processing and marketing industries and small-scale entrepreneurial farmers. An expansion of marketing arrangements that link small-holders with larger commercial entities. (These commercial entities could be engaged in production, as in the traditional nucleus-out grower type model, or in downstream marketing or processing, in the case of contract framing.) Increased productivity of small-holder farmers brought about by a combination of (input and output) market access improvements, improved technology and behavioral shifts resulting from lower risks and/ or improved incentives generated from a stronger private-sector led agricultural sector.  Proposed Project Approach: The proposed project would be based on four main concepts:  Support and strengthen the Government’s ability to promote a sound enabling environment for commercial agriculture investment (large and small; foreign and domestic) by improving the enabling environment and developing a more pro-active investment promotion orientation.  This could include the provision of critical infrastructure in key locations. Address the fragmented nature of existing policy and capacity by consolidating core functions into a streamlined institutional structure (perhaps a one-stop-shop).  Also to improve the oversight and monitoring capability to promote sustainable agro-industry. Adoption of a ‘transaction based approach’ by seeking to identify, package, negotiate and secure specific investments, with a PPP element where necessary.  It is envisaged that a set of viable discrete projects would be identified during project preparation such that these could be mobilized rapidly upon project effectiveness. Social and environmental issues to be at the core of the project, with all commercial agriculture investments to adhere to national and World Bank standards.  The project would adopt a ‘proof of concept’ approach and would aim to adapt to experience on two fronts.  First, the limited application of PPPs in Ghana means the details of successful partnerships would be learned through application.  Second, the fragmented institutional architecture would need to be resolved early through an interim arrangement constructed around a project implementation unit while a longer term solution is identified (as part of project activities).  Consequently, the project would need to be flexible to adapt to experience.  A transaction-based approach would help retain a sharp focus on results while allowing for a pragmatic implementation modality.  This flexibility is reflected in the project scope outlined below.   Project  Scope The proposed project would have three components, with the first being focused on improving the overall investment climate for agricultural development in Ghana, and the second and third directly targeting private sector led agricultural investment involving smallholder farmers through PPP arrangements.  The second and third components would initially be focused in the SADA Region and Accra Plains regions.   Proposed  Project  Components   Component One:  Strengthening investment promotion infrastructure, facilitating secure access to land and project management. This component would ensure that Ghana attracts investors willing and able to invest in strategic subsectors that contribute most positively to national development gains. It would promote a secure investment climate – particularly with respect to access to land – that reflects rights and obligations of investors, government and affected communities. This component would establish a ‘one-stop shop’ for investment promotion, drawing on the competences from existing Ministries, Department and Agencies in a streamlined institutional architecture. This would transform the current fragmented and ineffective regime to one in which agriculture-related investment promotion efforts are focused on securing domestic and foreign investments in activities/ locations/ business models that most contribute to Ghana’s national development goals. It would also strengthen the oversight capacity of Government to ensure investors’ development plans are being fulfilled and to develop more orderly exit of failing investors and the reallocation of land to new entrants. This component would also support an improved mechanism for facilitating access to land by reducing the search costs to potential investors through an expansion of a database of land suitable for investors and by actively matching potential investors with suitable land owners. In the case of land under traditional ownership, due diligence and sensitization of surrounding communities would promote an understanding of the rights and obligations from subsequent lease agreements. A ‘model’ lease agreement would be developed to form the basis of all subsequent investor agreements, and which includes indicative arrangements for managing leasehold payments and other community development-type funds. Component Two:  Securing PPPs and small-holder linkages in the Accra Plains This component will conclude a transaction for a PPP in an irrigation investment in the Accra Plains. The entire Accra Plains Plains area extends to around 150,000ha and the ultimate objective of the Government is to fully develop the entire area.   .  It would also assist with land acquisition under the one-stop-shop proposed above.  It would also include additional support to extend nucleus investments for the benefit of small-holders through various means including assistance to expand necessary infrastructure into out-grower lands as well as direct support to the smallholders to ensure they are capable out-growers.  This component would focus on the Accra Plains, where an area  has been proposed (in general terms) for a substantial irrigation investment to be managed under a PPP and which would supply water to both large commercial farms and an out-grower scheme. Component three:  Securing PPPs and small-holder linkages SADA Regions This component would involve the identification and realization of private investments in the value chain through PPPs.  Investors could be local or international.  Investments could be in production or processing and ancillary businesses.  This would provide assistance for the establishment of large commercial farms as nucleus farms with appropriate linkages under out-grower schemes.  Support to the nucleus would include critical access infrastructure including roads, power connections and primary irrigation facilities.  This would include support to warehousing and storage through the rehabilitation and concessioning of publically owned marketing infrastructure (including the development of warehouse receipts system).  It would also include support for agri-business centers that provide essential services and inputs to small-holder farmers.  This would initially focus on the Northern Region, but would be responsive to opportunities in other regions if these were of sufficient scale.  (It would be important to avoid supervisory activities being spread too thinly across a wide area in order to keep management costs down.) For all investments so assisted, the project would seek to leverage small-holder participation.  Project activities would include developing a framework for out-grower schemes and contract farming arrangements that would sensitize potential small-holder participants in order to align expectations of both small-holders and the ‘nucleus’.  This project would support start-up costs resulting from institutional demands of sustainable small-holder linkages as well as any investment costs from new agronomic practices etc. that maximize the impacts of marketing linkages.  Activities could include:  organizing small-holder participants into groups and building their capacity to become capable partners, recognizing the greater demand for business acumen in negotiating beneficial arrangements with investors; grants to meet the establishment costs of small-holder farmers (land preparation, planting material, etc.); and/or working capital for out growers to procure necessary farm inputs (improved seed, fertilizer).  To encourage investors themselves to finance small-holder linkages as part of their integrated business model (and thereby maximizing the use of IDA resources), while recognizing the increased financial risks from doing so, this would include a risk sharing mechanism (eg. first loss cover). 

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Accra

Government of Ghana

City of Accra

A policy proposal from the Government of Ghana to develop agriculture on the Accra plains to benefit smallholders, with environmental and social issues being at the heart of the strategy.

Strategy to develop agriculture on the Accra plains 

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

Valorise waste streams - closed loop

Reuse, repurpose, and recycle waste streams within other industries

Valorise waste streams - open loop

        Located in the Tema Free Trade Zone, conveniently adjacent to the Aflao highway and Tema Port, this modern facility offers regional distribution for multinationals, storage and processing for local and international companies, and laydown yards and warehousing for the oil and gas industry.                           165,000 SQM of land, warehousing space, open yard space in Tema Free Zone in Accra.                      Kotoka International Airport, Accra                    Title  Address  Description   Kotoka International AirportKotoka International Airport, Airport Rd, Accra, GhanaKotoka International Airport3rd Maamobi link, Accra, GhanaTakoradi Harbour, GhanaTema Harbour, Tema, GhanaAgility Logistics Park, Tema87 Spintex Rd, Accra, Ghana             

Ghana

A report detailing how the circular transition in Ghana can be improved, particularly in the realm of waste management (plastic and recycling).

The path for improving circular transition in Ghana

Article / Report

Study examining options for minimising the impact of the construction industry in Ghana.

Minimising the impact of the construction industry in Ghana

Business case

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

Increase Awareness

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)

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

Producing basic and specialty chemicals, inks, agricultural chemical such as fertilisers and pesticides, plastics including packaging, and rubber

Chemical and Plastic

Processing and producing food and beverages for consumption

Food and Beverage

Designing to enable multiple uses and lifecycles of a product and its materials

Design for cyclability

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

Industry collaboration

Designing products to remove any barriers to recycling and enable easy recyclability

Design for recycling

Designing products to be reused for the same or different purposes in multiple lifecycles

Design for reuse

Engaging in discussions with industry stakeholders to share circular economy best practices and push the industry towards greater circularity

Guidance, dialogue with industry stakeholders

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

Advocacy for circular economy policy

'Mobilise' sets the direction of and builds momentum towards long-term change, while also determining how this direction is determined and governed.

Mobilise

Govern the Transition

Institutional design to enable circularity

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

At Plastics Recycling World Expo on 3-4 June 2020 in Essen, Germany, a delegation of the Ghanaian plastics and recycling industry will discuss development priorities. In this article, the group’s technical partner in the German federal state North Rhine-Westphalia outlines progress being made in Ghana’s plastics recycling sector.  Even though the waste collected in Ghana more than doubled nationwide between 2006 and 2013, the share still remains at a low level. According to the Sustainable Development Goals Baseline Report from 2018, even in cities only around one-third of the growing quantities of waste is taken to dumpsites and the few sanitary landfills whose capacities are becoming increasingly scarce. A considerable portion is simply burnt under an open sky. Due to poor solid waste management, plastic waste like sachet water bags, water bottles, food boxes from Styrofoam and any amount of plastic bags is widespread on roadsides, clogging drains and littering beaches, causing health and flood risks. To turn such challenges into opportunities, the Ghanaian government is determined to leapfrog from waste disposal to a circular economy. In October 2019, as the first African nation, Ghana formally joined the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), an initiative launched by the World Economic Forum and supported, amongst others, by the Development Programme of the United Nations (UNDP).Since 2007, the German federal state North Rhine-Westphalia has maintained a partnership with Ghana, bringing together government institutions, universities, local governments, NGOs and companies from both sides. The German technical cooperation, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), has played a prominent role in shaping the collaboration around climate and resource protection through projects supported financially by the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia. Against this background, it was more than logical that GIZ took up the request from the Ghanaian Ministry for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) to develop a project on sustainable management of plastics and to convene an international stakeholder forum in January 2018 in Accra. The main aim: To discuss with competent stakeholders the ministry’s first draft of a national plastics policy and to contribute experience gained in this field in Germany. Looking back, this forum has generated a strong momentum and raised public awareness for the urgency of tackling the challenges related to plastic littering the environment. As part of the project, GIZ piloted in collaboration with the local NGO Environment360 and with informal scrap dealers in Kumasi an incentive and take-back scheme to test a viable business model for recovering PET bottles littering the environment for recycling. PET bottles were chosen because even the informal waste pickers did not show interest in collecting them due to their volume and low weight. Having successfully tested the scheme, it can now be used for upscaling and including other types of plastics as well. To make representatives from private and public sector more familiar with the political framework conditions and technical options for managing the plastic value chain in a circular economy, GIZ organized in June 2018 a technical visit for a delegation from Ghana to North Rhine-Westphalia. On the occasion of WACEE’19, the West African Clean Energy and Environment fair and conference in Accra, MESTI and GIZ convened a second stakeholder forum on 8 November 2019. The aim was to discuss how the different stakeholders are contributing already to recovering and recycling plastics and the challenges they are facing for upscaling: plastic producers, food and beverage industry, recyclers, waste collectors, NGOs, start-ups, and local governments. The challenges plastic recyclers are facing are diverse: they range from plastic material that is not coded or locally recyclable, and extremely high interest rates for financing investments in recycling technology and high import taxes, to poor collection infrastructure and the absence of an extended producer responsibility system. In spite of these obstacles, the Ghanaian industry is recognising the potential of recycling and is becoming increasingly interested in plastic waste as a secondary raw material. To promote recycling and second-life solutions to reduce the impacts of post-consumption waste on the environment, a group of eight international companies from the chemical as well as food and beverage industry has taken the initiative and founded the Ghana Recycling Initiative by Private Enterprise (GRIPE), established under the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI). The Plastics Recycling World Exhibition 2020, taking place on 3-4 June 2020 in Essen, Germany, which is Europe’s leading focused event for plastics recycling, provides an excellent opportunity to get to know innovative technological solutions and to establish business contacts. Within the scope of the project, GIZ will therefore invite a delegation of the Ghanaian plastics and recycling industry to the trade-show. For meetings, the delegation will have its own exhibition booth and will be discussing the potential for co-operation in a specific side-event.Although Ghana has still a long way to go, important steps have been initiated to pave the way towards a circular economy. Progress can even be witnessed at Accra’s beaches where more and more PET bottles are collected for recycling. For more information contact [email protected]

Approximately 13 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the oceans annually, equivalent to one garbage truck load every minute. Even worse, the Pew Charitable Foundation estimates the volume of plastics finding its way into the world’s oceans will triple by 2040.
Some experts believe the solution lies in creating circular economies, which eliminate single-use plastic in favor of organic materials or plastics that can be recycled and reused. But that requires significant investment and infrastructure. 
In Africa less than 20 percent of plastics are recycled currently, far below European Union targets of 50 percent by 2025. In lieu of formal recycling operations, waste pickers collect litter and sell it to middlemen, who aggregate plastic waste and sell it to recyclers abroad.
But Ghana - with a 5 percent recycling rate - has emerged as a regional front runner committed to creating a domestic recycling industry that protects both the environment and impoverished, mostly-female, community of waste pickers. Last fall, Ghana became the first African country to join World Economic Forum’s Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP).  At a recent World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit event, Plastics: From Global Vision to Local Action, panelists representing a coalition of government, manufacturers, technology providers, and non-profit organizations discussed how Ghana is driving change.
“We see plastic waste as a threat to our way of life and danger to environment,” said Oliver Boachie, Special Advisor from the Ghanaian Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI). “But we also look at this as an opportunity.” 
Since 2018, the government has been working on a plastics waste program that aims to clean up environment, create jobs in plastics value chain, make resources available to manage plastics and ensure no one gets left behind. 
Global software provider, SAP SE, is also a member of GPAP and has collaborated with MESTI, private industry and local non-profits to create a technology solution that will help. 
“The recycling systems in Ghana are very analog so we’re building a digital system to connect everyone and track the volumes and types of plastic, where it goes, and the prices paid across the value chain,” said Maggie Buggie, Chief Business Officer of SAP Services.
With a foundation of reliable data, the government and private companies can determine where to invest resources and build recycling plants, while also monitoring waste pickers’ wages and living conditions. 
“By connecting the informal economy of waste pickers to the formal economy, we can ensure they receive a fair wage – and later on – get services like training or childcare,” said Buggie.
Making the Invisible Visible: Improving Pickers lives
Waste picking is a means of survival for poor, urban communities across Africa, South East Asia and Latin America. In Ghana, they recover at least 218 tonnes daily or nearly 12 percent of the total plastic waste generated.
But they have little visibility into the market price for what they’ve collected, which leaves them vulnerable to exploitation by middlemen. With the SAP solution, they will have mobile access to the average price for different kinds of materials. The government can use this data to monitor wages and take action to support pickers, for example, investing in social services that raise pickers’ living standards.
Jeffery Provencal founded rePATRN, a social enterprise that works with pickers. “We’re on the verge of an absolute game changer. We have a lack of data and the SAP solution is the best thing for it – one platform that provides all that data,” said Provencal. “We can find an efficient way to deal with the material, monetize it, and empower the waste pickers. So everyone wins.”
Private Sector Partners To Achieve Sustainability Goals 
Adwoa Coleman, Africa Sustainability and Advocacy Manager for Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, explains how technology will help the Ghanaian government and manufacturers achieve their sustainability goals. 
“We have a goal that one million metric tons of plastics will be collected, recycled or reused by 2030,” said Coleman. “Data is critical to establishing a market where plastic can be bought and sold, depending on where that’s happening. Harnessing that data in one app will help fuel the circular economy and ensure that collected materials are reused.”
But success requires cooperation. “Stakeholder collaboration is important – we (not only) have the government, private sector and NGOs, but also the collector and recycler. To succeed, we need to all be at the table,” she said.
Coca Cola also has big environmental ambitions. For example, it wants all its packaging materials to be recyclable by 2035 — and has a specific perspective on what that means in West Africa. “Exportation of plastic and packaging waste out of Africa is not sustainable,” said Clement Ugorji, vice president for public affairs, communications and sustainability. “We need the domestic capacity for collection and recycling and reuse on the continent. That’s the only way to achieve a truly circular economy for Africa.”
For its part, SAP believes its experience in the region developing its SAP Rural Sourcing Management (an application that supports small-holder farmers and improves visibility across agricultural value chains) gives it an advantage. Since plastic pickers and rural farmers face similar issues, applications like this will help all parties succeed.
The plastics recycling pilot project will run in Accra and several smaller cities in Ghana. Building on what is learned during this first stage, the coalition hopes to expand across Ghana, West Africa and eventually the entire continent and other regions. 

 	 Government will join the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), a new initiative created by a coalition of influential public and private leaders to fast-track plastic pollution action around the world.
The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah disclosed this Wednesday at a press briefing said President Akufo-Addo, and the Environment Minister, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng will formally launch the initiative on October 1 in Accra.
GPAP is hosted at the World Economic Forum.
Ghana, under the leadership of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI) is in the process of adopting a National Plastic Management Policy that will leverage the comprehensive management of plastics to drive sustainable development, green job creation, and environmental protection.
Therefore, Ghana has been selected as a natural first engagement in Africa for the Global Plastics Action Partnership.
As one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and a leading political and economic force in Africa, Ghana has the potential to catalyze a new era of plastic action across the continent.
The Ghana National Plastic Action Partnership will launch in close coordination with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s ‘Waste’ Recovery Platform, which will promote sustainable waste recovery in Ghana through connecting stakeholders across the waste management chain.
The Ghana National Plastic Action Partnership and the UNDP ‘Waste’ Recovery Platform will support the existing work being carried out by the government of Ghana, as well as successful initiatives being led by entrepreneurs and civil society actors at the local level, to accelerate the reduction of plastic waste and pollution in Ghana.
About the Ghana National Plastics Management Policy
– Ghana’s first National Plastics Management Policy aims to use the comprehensive management of plastics across their life-cycle and value-chain as a vehicle for sustainable development, enabling a shift towards a plastics circular economy.
– The Policy lays a foundation to enable the creation of an entirely new industry for redesigning, recovering and recycling plastics, preventing pollution of our environment and communities and creating many new jobs in the green economy.
– The Implementation Plan of the National Plastics Management Policy starts with a national communication strategy to change our behaviour on how we manage plastics. The next focus will be on mobilizing finances and innovation to enable new business models for sustainably managing plastics and supporting communities and companies to coordinate and plan for a circular plastics economy. Lastly, the implementation of the Policy establishes robust frameworks for good governance and shared accountability across society.
– The Ghana National Plastics Action Partnership will be supporting the Government of Ghana to implement its ambitious roadmap for a circular plastics economy, captured in the National Plastics Management Policy.
About the Global Plastic Action Partnership
– The Global Plastic Action Partnership envisions a world free of plastic waste and pollution. It represents one of the most powerful and concerted efforts working internationally to address this issue, bringing together public, private, and civil society leaders to translate commitments into concrete action.
– The goal of the Ghana NPAP is to dramatically reduce the country’s plastic waste and pollution, and to fast-track progress towards zero leakage of waste into the environment, especially the ocean. The Ghana NPAP will support the government and businesses in transitioning to a circular economy for plastics, which will fundamentally change the way plastics are manufactured, used, and re-used.
– The transition to a circular plastics economy will spur job creation in the manufacturing and innovation industries, promote public health and wellbeing, boost tourism and investment, and support Ghana’s progress towards achieving a number of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Source: https://www.myjoyonline.com 

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages.

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Coca Cola

Nestlé S.A. is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 2014. 

Nestle 

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests. The Forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance. Moral and intellectual integrity is at the heart of everything it does.

World Economic Forum

Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP)

Ghana Recycling Initiative by Private Enterprise (GRIPE)

Association of Ghana Industries (AGI)

Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England.

 Unilever

Guiness Ghana

Fan Milk

Voltic

PZ Cussons

In October 2019, Ghana formally joined the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), an initiative launched by the World Economic Forum. Additionally, to promote recycling and second-life solutions to reduce the impacts of post-consumption waste on the environment, a group of eight international companies from the chemical as well as food and beverage industry has taken the initiative and founded the Ghana Recycling Initiative by Private Enterprise (GRIPE), established under the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).

Circular plastics in Ghana

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This collection comes from the <a href="https://www.circle-economy.com/circular-jobs-initiative/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Initiative</a>, an initiative of Circle Economy.

The workforce is an essential lever for transforming our economy from linear to circular. The Circular Jobs Initiative aims to maximise the employment opportunities offered by the circular economy. It provides practical support and insights to businesses and governments that want to adopt circular strategies that have a positive social impact.The Circular Jobs Initiative works through three focus areas: 

- Upskilling the workforce

- Quality of work

- Inclusive job opportunities 

CJI has defined circular jobs as any occupation that directly involves or indirectly supports one of the strategies of the circular economy. It distinguishes between three types of circular jobs: core, enabling and indirectly circular jobs.

**Core circular jobs** are all jobs that ensure the closure of raw material cycles, including jobs in repair, renewable energy, waste and resource management. 

**‍Enabling circular jobs** are jobs that remove barriers for and enable the acceleration and upscaling of core circular activities, including jobs that arise in leasing, education, design and digital technology. 

**Indirectly circular jobs** are jobs that occur in other sectors that do not play a direct role in furthering the transition to the circular economy but can still adopt circular strategies. They include jobs that provide services to core circular strategies, including jobs in information services, logistics and the public sector.

The Knowledge Hub Collection includes examples of circular jobs, publications, reports, case studies and policies different organisations, governments and businesses are already using to advocate for a person-centred circular economy. 

Visit the <a href="https://www.circle-economy.com/circular-jobs-initiative/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Initiative</a>

Visit the <a href="http://jobsmonitor.circle-economy.com/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Monitor</a>

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Circular Jobs Initiative

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

Jobs

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

'Incentivise' sends market signals and support to businesses, citizens and governments to promote certain activities.

Incentivise

Public-private partnerships

Economic Frameworks

 The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has launched the Ghana National Plastics Action Partnership, which seeks to stop the growth of global plastic pollution, and also ensure, amongst others, that plastics do not find their way into the country’s marine bodies. Speaking at the launch of the initiative on Tuesday, 1st October, 2019, at the Labadi Beach Hotel, President Akufo-Addo noted that the menace of plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing challenges facing mankind today. With the menace affecting the day-to-day activities of the human race, the President indicated that confronting this challenge demands the active partnership and co-operation of all nations. “When I took office in 2017, I requested the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, headed by its Minister, the globally acclaimed Ghanaian scientist, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, to develop an effective strategy to meet the challenges associated with the management of plastic waste in Ghana,” he said. The President continued, “The result is the National Plastics Management Policy of Ghana, whose blue-print has attracted the attention of the global community, and has led us to this exciting partnership with the World Economic Forum.” Ghana’s Plastic Management Policy, he explained, is not focussed only on how to address plastic waste, but takes also a holistic view of the entire value chain of plastics, and seeks to achieve several objectives. Amongst them are to develop a working circular economy framework for plastics in Ghana; to reduce Ghana’s reliance on the use of plastics and promote their replacement with green alternatives; to nurture the development of new business models for job creation throughout the value chain; to develop systems and infrastructure across the country that will ensure that we are not littering our plastic waste, but using them as resources for value-addition; and to ensure that Ghana has a long-term and sustainable means of funding plastic waste management. Through Ghana’s partnership with the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), President Akufo-Addo was confident that progress will be fast-tracked in Ghana “towards that collective goal, which is to achieve zero leakage of plastic waste into our oceans and waterways.” The President, thus, pledged the full commitment of the Government of Ghana towards the successful implementation of the programme, that will be outlined under National Plastics Action Partnership (NPAP). “Whilst the eventual outcome of NPAP will be owned by the people of Ghana, it is my expectation that its example will contribute to the resolution of this problem on the African continent, and be a shining example of the global achievements of GPAP,” he added. President Akufo-Addo, in his address, also applauded the initiatives being taken by private sector operators to build plastic waste recycling plants, to create bio-fuels that are being used as alternatives to fossil fuels that pollute the environment, and produce building blocks that are used to construct roads and pavements. He also acknowledged the efforts being made by civil society and the media to raise awareness of efficient waste management, and existing opportunities for waste recovery in our country. “Government is ready to partner with all stakeholders, especially private sector and academia, to drive investment and research into this area. I believe that there is the need for significant behavioural change, and I am happy with the prominence that has been given to it in the implementation plan of the draft National Plastics Management Policy,” he added. President Akufo-Addo thanked the Ghana Office of the United Nations Development Programme is to be saluted for facilitating the establishment of the “Waste Recovery Platform” for Ghana, and also the Governments of the United Kingdom and of Canada for their commitment and financial support for the GPAP initiative. He reiterated that “Ghana, after this process, will make best efforts to be a model for other countries in the region and on the continent on issues related to plastic management.”  	

UNDP

Ghana’s first National Plastics Management Policy aims to use the comprehensive management of plastics across their life-cycle and value-chain as a vehicle for sustainable development, enabling a shift towards a plastics circular economy. The Policy lays a foundation to enable the creation of an entirely new industry for redesigning, recovering and recycling plastics, preventing pollution of the environment and communities and creating many new jobs in the green economy.

Ghana’s first National Plastics Management Policy 

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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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Impact on the health and happiness of human populations

Well-being

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

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

Agriculture

Putting in place purchasing guidelines for procurement departments and evaluating suppliers on circular economy principles

Circular procurement

Participating in government programmes that support and advance the circular economy

Government programmes

Integrate principles of circularity into primary, secondary and tertiary curriculum and conduct workplace trainings

 Education and Curriculum

Raise awareness and run information campaigns about  strategies for and impacts of the circular economy in different contexts.

Communication and awareness

 Public Procurement

Develop circular criteria for public procurement of assets

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

Local governments can act as the first movers, and accelerate the transition towards a more circular food system through integrating circular criteria into public procurement policies for food. Purchasing decisions by local governments, -such as buying food for canteens in municipal offices and schools-, have a large economic influence in the region, and create important market demand for circular businesses and products.

Criteria within public procurement could, for example, prioritise regionally and organically produced foods, encourage the use of recyclable packaging and assess food waste prevention. Low-carbon and plant-based menus could also be developed. Used strategically, public procurement can be used to drive innovation in the sector to meet these circular demands,for example, new circular cultivation techniques and technologies, and low-impact food and packaging products.


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🍏  Circular public procurement of food products and services

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

Communities

Governments

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

                 This document has been realized as part of the second phase of the City Assistance Project offered to the Municipality of Sao Paulo (Brazil) under the framework of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition Municipal Solid Waste Initiative (CCAC MSWI). The project was implemented by ISWA, the International Solid Waste Association, with the local coordination of ABRELPE, the Brazilian Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste Companies (ISWA’s National Member in Brazil). The first phase of the project was a city assessment and the establishment of an Action Plan for Sao Paulo, in line with Sao Paulo’s PGIRS (Plan for Integrated Management of Solid Waste) lasting from 2014 to 2033. The second phase of the project aims to provide technical and strategic guidance on how to pursue the Action Plan and build capacity in public communication and organic waste treatment plant operation. This strategy paper is an outcome of one of the activities in the second phase, namely for the Action “Define the strategy for organic waste diversion and help realize a pilot biowaste treatment plant” of the Action Plan. The idea of this activity came about after assessing the current Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management activities in Sao Paulo and considering the targets and guidelines defined in Sao Paulo’s Master Plan for the City of Sao Paulo (Plano de Gestão Integrada de Resíduos Sólidos da Cidade de Sao Paulo - PGIRS). The Master Plan strongly emphasizes the role of diverting organic waste from disposal (currently into landfills) by means of reducing it at source (e.g. home-composting), separate collection at large producers and households and recycling by applying composting, anaerobic digestion and pretreatment with MBT (mechanic-biological treatment) technologies. Specifically, the PGIRS foresees the realization of composting/AD/MBT plants for a total treatment capacity of about 4.700 tons/day or 1,7 million tons/year. Sao Paulo needs strategic guidance on how to achieve those goals, so the aims of the strategic guidance are to develop:  A strategy for organic waste diversion including collection, treatment and recycling and their challenges and opportunities for Sao Paulo, namely this document; A technical guidance on the operation of organic waste treatment plants taking into consideration the existing legal framework. This deliverable constitutes another document.
 Data quoted in this paper are from the PDF version of the PGIRS and the Executive Summary of it (hard-copy) dated 2014. Existing Brazilian legislations and technical norms are described according to the existing status as at the end of January 2016.                  

Kenya

Ivory Coast

Mozambique

Namibia

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Government of Kenya

Government of Namibia

Government of Ivory Coast

Government of Mozambique

Namibia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, and Mozambique have set up meal programs across different schools in cities, that encourage local public procurement of food. The programs generally aim at connecting local communities of small farmers, sometimes specifically women,&nbsp;to school canteens in order to stimulate the development of local agriculture while promoting food security.