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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

Impact on the health and happiness of human populations

Well-being

Contribution to social parity, or impact on social disparity

Equality

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 and providing services that utilise the creative talent of individuals to generate intellectual property, including movies and television shows, music, live performances, advertising, marketing or public relations services, newspapers, magazines and books, and commercial printing services

Creative Services

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

Agriculture

Processing and producing food and beverages for consumption

Food and Beverage

Work together throughout the supply chain, internally within organisations and with the public sector and communities to increase transparency and create joint value

Team up to create joint value

Engage with the local community where facilities or offices are located

Community collaboration

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

Manage

Infrastructure

Develop infrastructure to support sustainable lifestyles

Eliminate waste by maximizing the recovery of resources at the end of the use phase so that they can be reintroduced into production processes


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Recover

Process waste into valuable industrial inputs or consumer products; distribute processed waste to users.

Process waste and ensure its re-entry into industry at its highest value

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

Communities

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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     Join the harvest, have an impact.  Learn More  
	           35  Partner Agencies
Registered      185  Picks This Season      10,240 lbs Pounds Picked      3,413 lbs Pounds Donated        2,992  Total Picks
to Date      2,442  Number of
Registered Trees      196,941 lbs Total Pounds
Picked      65,647 lbs Total Pounds
Donated             “Food brings people together. Without food, there is no conversation. When you share food, people start to talk.” Ashrafi Ahmed, Garden Coordinator Regent Park Community Food Centre        “There’s so much food in this world, and when you pick a fruit tree you realize how much it bears. People think food insecurity happens because there isn’t enough food in the world. But there really is. There’s food everywhere, but it’s also about the distribution of it.” Gracie James Pick Leader        “It's a justice issue for us. Working with Not Far From The Tree is one way our family supports those in our community who do not live in abundance.” Jim Lewis Tree Registrant        “I think it would be such a shame if the fruit in this city is wasted when it could be going to people who can’t afford it or agencies who couldn’t afford to buy it for their clients.” Melissa Coiffe Pick Leader        “Working within the shelter system, access to fresh food is important and isn't always as accessible as we would like. I think it’s really important that our residents have access to fresh fruit and food in the summer.” Pavan Buttar, Shelter Manager Na-Me-Res (the Native Men's Shelter)            

 We’re highlighting community groups and initiatives that are showing how Toronto can get to zero waste. You can read more about the zero waste vision in Zero Waste Toronto: A Vision for Our City.
Not Far From The Tree
Connecting volunteers with homeowners to harvest from urban fruit trees!
The challenge:
Toronto has thousands of fruit trees, but a lot of it just falls to the ground, too much for one household to eat. Healthy local fruit goes to waste, ending up in the yard waste bag, or in the garbage, instead of being shared with the community.
The solution:
Mobilize community volunteers to help homeowners with fruit trees harvest the fruit. Redistribute the produce in the community to feed hungry people and prevent food waste!

About Not Far From The Tree:
Not Far From The Tree (NFFTT) is a fruit picking project that is inspired by the spirit of sharing and a passion for environmentally sustainable living.
More than 1,800 homeowners have registered their fruit tree and can contact the organization when their trees are ready for harvesting.
Volunteers are mobilized and arrive at the home with picking tools. When all the fruit is collected, the harvest is split three ways: 1/3 is offered to the homeowner, 1/3 is shared among the volunteers and 1/3 is delivered to local food banks, shelters and community food banks via bicycle.
NFFTT has harvested 58 tonnes of edible fruit from Toronto trees since 2008 and donated 17 tonnes to over 30 local social service agencies. They estimate that 680 tonnes of fruit is available on fruit trees across Toronto each year. 
You can visit their website here. 

Canada

Toronto

Toronto’s fruit picking and sharing project.

Not Far From the Tree

<p>Not Far From The Tree is a Toronto’s fruit picking and sharing project. The organisation connects generous treeowners registrants with volunteers in their community who are willing to harvest and share urban fruits. Their mission is to address issues of food waste, food access and climate change by empowering Torontonians to pick and share the bounty of Toronto’s urban orchard.</p>