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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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Business case

Direct and indirect reduction in economic costs

Cost Savings

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

Productivity

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

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 transporation equipment and providing services for thetransportation of goods and people

Transportation and Logistics

Providing specialist services to support consumers, businesses, andgovernments

Professional Services

Providing air, water, rail, and land transportation for passengers, such as airlines, airports, ferries, cruise-ships, tour boat operators, marine ports, railways, train stations, tour bus operators, vehicle rental, and taxi companies, travel agencies and related services

Passenger Transport Services

Engage with the local community where facilities or offices are located

Community collaboration

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

Guidance, dialogue with industry stakeholders

Working together with industry peers to engage in business activities or exploratory projects that advance the circular economy

Joint industry ventures, projects, pilots

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

Inform

'Manage' influences the use and function of physical and material elements within the urban environment. 

Manage

Infrastructure

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

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Rethink

Do better with less by using and supporting infrastructure, processes and products that are designed to minimize material, water and energy use and waste generation from production to end of use


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Reduce

Manufactured goods, such as vehicles, textiles, appliances and equipment and their associated production processes are big employers but:
- production processes often rely on fossil fuels and currently drive one-third of the overshoot on the climate change planetary boundary due to its GHG production, 
- material- and energy-intensive industrial activities are linked to deforestation and drive 15% on both the land use and freshwater planetary boundaries, 
- manufacturing goods results in substantial amounts of hazardous industrial waste and leaks chemicals into the environment.

Here, circular solutions must tackle the full value chain, but material demand must also shrink: this will necessitate a societal shift to favouring sufficiency over excess and reducing consumption to sustainable levels. Our four key solutions for manufactured goods are:
- Mainstream industrial symbiosis and efficiency : Achieve process improvements, scrap diversion and reduction in yield losses through greater industrial symbiosis and efficiency. Foster tighter collaboration within and between industries to deliver powerful material and emissions savings.
- Extend the lifetime of machinery, equipment, and goods: Maximise the lifetime of goods that serve our daily needs to bring a number of environmental benefits. 
- Buy what's needed: Reduce the number of purchases of common electronic goods, appliances, and other equipment to sufficiency levels. 
- Eschew fast fashion in favour of sustainable textiles: Drastically reduce new clothing purchases. All used clothing should go on to be repaired, reused or, if needed, recycled appropriately. Prioritise natural and local textile manufacturing, as well as higher-quality and more durable garments. 




👕📱 Consumer Goods

The demand for transport is rising globally—but current modes are heavily material- and fossil-fuels-intensive. Emissions from the transport system could grow by 60% by 2050, and transport is the number-one user of oil worldwide. GHG emissions result not only in warming global temperatures, but also in ocean acidification, which has severe consequences for entire ecosystems and further destabilises our climate. The transport system also drives land-use change and biodiversity loss through the development of infrastructure—also releasing harmful pollutants into the ocean. Key circular solutions:

- Embrace and enable car-free lifestyles
- Invest in high-quality public transport
- Rethink unnecessary air travel
- Electrify remaining vehicles

🚌 Mobility Systems

Businesses

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

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

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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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    ENERGIZE YOUR SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM     STAY TUNED FOR INFORMATION ON THE 2021 PEOPLE POWER CHALLENGE.  LEARN MORE  OUR SUPPORTERS        
   Get the scoop! See our latest newsletters and subscribe.       Join hundreds of businesses and realize bottom line results  Reduce utility costs Increase operational efficiency Attract, retain & engage employees Drive innovation & create new business opportunities      M You’ve committed to integrating sustainability into your operations and greening your bottom line. Let the journey begin!   A You lead by example. Embrace collaboration with other companies at the forefront of building an internationally recognized eco-business zone.        

   Chris spearheaded the development of Partners in Project Green: A Pearson Eco-Business Zone - an ambitious strategy to transform the business community around Toronto Pearson International Airport into an internationally recognized community known for its competitive, high performance and eco-friendly business climate. The Partners in Project Green Strategy was developed in 2008 over eight months with the input of businesses in the Pearson Eco-Business Zone and municipal, provincial and federal governments.         The Strategy provided background on the Pearson Eco-Business Zone, a baseline of resource use, as well as programming initiatives identified by the business community that should be developed and delivered to assist in reducing resource consumption and promoting green economic development.As a result of the Strategy, Partners in Project Green was launched thanks to a seven year funding agreement with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.To read the Strategy visit: www.partnersinprojectgreen.com/about-us?id=4:our-strategy&catid=1.To learn more about Partners in Project Green visit: www.partnersinprojectgreen.com.   

      Join a fast-growing community of businesses, government bodies, institutions and utilities working together to build the largest eco-business zone in the world.
Partners in Project Green is committed to helping businesses like yours turn sustainable practices into bottom-line results.
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At Partners in Project Green, we believe things go better when friends and neighbours work together. So we bring like-minded organizations together to talk about sustainability issues, share creative ideas and success stories, and collaborate on green business initiatives that create real value.

Become an eco-business leader, and unlock the power of collaboration!
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Canada

Toronto

Community working with leading companies to help promote the adoption of sustainable business practices.

Partners in Project Green

Toronto Pearson International Airport

<p>'Partners in Project Green: A Pearson Eco-Business Zone' is an ambitious strategy to transform the business community around Toronto Pearson International Airport into an internationally recognized community known for its competitive, high performance and eco-friendly business climate. The strategy was developed in 2008 over eight months with the input of businesses in the Pearson Eco-Business Zone and municipal, provincial and federal governments. The aim was to help businesses surrounding the airport to reduce resource costs, uncover new business opportunities and address everyday operational challenges in a green &amp; cost-effective manner. As a result of the Strategy, Partners in Project Green was launched thanks to a seven year funding agreement with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. 3.6 million cubic meters of natural gas were saved during the first year of changes.</p>

Eco-Business Zone at Toronto Pearson International Airport

Contribution to social parity, or impact on social disparity

Equality

Producing and providing business and consumer goods and services

Goods and Services

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

Industry collaboration

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

Open loop collection

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

Using open loop recycled materials

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

Circular procurement

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

Research and Development

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

Mobilise

 Convene Towards Action

Matchmaking platforms

Use longer and more often by extending and intensifying use of existing resources, products, spaces and infrastructure

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Reuse

Create and support online platforms and physical spaces for sale, sharing and exchange of spaces, items and materials.

Facilitate second-hand markets, sharing & exchange platforms

Governments

 Waste management in a city the size of Toronto is a complex task. Last year alone, the City managed approximately 900,000 tonnes of waste, which is not sustainable. With a growing population, the changing nature of waste and limited landfill space, a long-term strategy to guide waste management in Toronto is key.
A Road Map for the Future
The City’s Long Term Waste Management Strategy (Executive Summary, Full Report), also known as the Waste Strategy,  was approved by City Council in 2016 and provides a road map for the way waste will be managed in Toronto over the next 30-50 years.
It was developed over two years and is supported by extensive research, guidance from key stakeholders and a comprehensive public consultation and engagement program.
The Strategy focuses on:

waste reduction, reuse and recycling
activities that promote resource conservation and reduce environmental impact.

It also sets a goal of diverting 70 per cent of Toronto’s waste away from landfill by 2026 and supports the City’s move towards a circular economy and zero waste future.
Implementing the Strategy for a More Sustainable Tomorrow
Throughout 2017, the City was in the research and planning stages for many of the Strategy’s recommendations. Today, the City is delivering on a number of those recommendations through the implementation of various new programs and initiatives. Join the Long Term Waste Management Strategy mailing list:
Subscribe 

 Partners in Project Green’s Material Exchange program  facilitates the exchange of material generated within our stakeholder community (businesses and non-profit groups) to divert waste from landfill and move towards a circular economy.
Through the Material Exchange program, businesses and non-profit organizations provide information about material they would like to offer or receive. Partners in Project Green staff then facilitate interactions between participants to complete and promote successful exchanges.
Learn More & Participate
Businesses Non-Profits

HOW YOUR BUSINESS CAN GET INVOLVED
What can be diverted and reused? You’d be surprised! Tell us about all of your waste streams, and we will find a home for your material. If material cannot be reused, we will help ensure it is recycled.
GET STARTED NOW!
STEP 1: SUBMIT
Submit information about your material to Partners in Project Green.
Submit Your Information Now
STEP 2: CONNECT
Connect with non-profit organizations and recyclers. After you  submit your online form, Partners in Project Green will facilitate introductions to groups in our network.
STEP 3: EXCHANGE
Exchange the material to divert it from landfill. You can negotiate any terms of agreement for the exchange of material. We encourage generators to provide shipping support to help get material to non-profit organizations. Partners in Project Green will remain involved to help facilitate communication between participants.
STEP 4: PROFILE
Celebrate your success story! Profile the exchange through your website and social media channels. With your permission, we are also happy to feature the exchange in an upcoming issue of the Partners in Project Green Newsletter to inspire other businesses to take part in the Material Exchange program and divert items from landfill.

HOW YOUR NON-PROFIT CAN GET INVOLVED
Are you a local non-profit organization looking to accept material? Register with us for free and let us know what material you can accept. When businesses make material available that you can accept, we will connect you to them.
We will also profile your organization to demonstrate your commitment to diverting waste and supporting local communities. Recyclers are welcome to register as well.
Register Now
Results 2014-2020






Tonnes Avoided:
18,500

Value of Material Donated:
$625,000




 Contact
Catherine Leighton, Coordinator, Waste Management | catherine.leighton@trca.ca | 416.661.6600 ext. 5946 

<p>Material Exchange&nbsp;facilitates the transfer of surplus materials between businesses and non-profit organizations to divert waste from landfill and support local communities. Through the Material Exchange program, businesses and non-profit organizations provide information about material they would like to offer or receive. Partners in Project Green staff then facilitate interactions between participants to complete and promote successful exchanges.</p>