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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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Article / Report

Impact on the availability of resources as well as their effect on living organisms, ecosystems, and components of the environment.

Ecological Impact

Impacts on the social fabric of the community and well-being of the individuals and families.

Social Impact

Impacts on the financial condition of a company, as well as the the economicconditions of its stakeholders and on economic systems at local, national, andglobal levels.

Economic Impact

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

Increase Awareness

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

Productivity

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)

Contributing to the improvement of biodiversity including species diversity, total number of protected species, and ecosystem health

Biodiversity

Societal Services

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

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

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

Industry collaboration

Working together with stakeholders and parties in other unrelated industries to implement circular economy strategies and opportunities

Cross-industry projects, pilots

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

Guidance, dialogue with industry stakeholders

'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

Advocate for circular change

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

Incorporate extended use in project planning phases; create or update city policies to allow for extended use.


Design and regulate for separation and recovery

Ensure that household and business waste is collected and appropriately sorted (by type, label, etc.) to allow for maximum recovery of value.


Collect and sort waste to facilitate recovery

Communities

Governments

Impacts

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Industries

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

Policies

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A framework of policy instruments that enable and stimulate the transition to the circular economy

The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

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Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

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

City Stakeholders

 Waste management company Böblingen The project "Municipal Knowledge Transfer Maghreb-Germany" between the waste management company of the district of Böblingen and the Tunisian municipality of El Guettar began with a first delegation trip in 2016.  It is part of the ComUn program, which is organized by Engagement Global gGmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW). The project aims to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience between Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan cities and German municipalities by jointly implementing urban projects and strengthening municipal self-responsibility and municipal services.  The municipality of El Guettar is an oasis settlement with approximately 20,000 inhabitants and is located in the center of Tunisia. The El Guettar oasis covers an area of 630 hectares and is an important green lung for the local population. Environmental protection is therefore a central issue for the community. The waste disposal project was initiated by the Environmental Association for Sustainable Development of El Guettar ("AEPDD") and thus to a large extent by the civil society.  The project consists of the following sub-projects:   Raising awareness of the population for waste separation  The most important aspect at the start of the project was to bring waste separation closer to the citizens and to extend the measures to all households at a later stage. In this regard, the establishment of a collection point for plastic waste with suitable equipment for shredding and baling the plastic waste in a pilot district is also part of the project. Those who bring their plastic bottles to this collection point themselves receive a compensation which reduces the waste charge. El Guettar is currently developing an app ("E-Sorting") to process the compensations given to citizens for the delivery of separately collected recyclable materials to the new recycling center. 2.  Construction of a recycling center With the opening of the recycling center in December 2019, the project partnership between the waste management company Böblingen and the municipality of El Guettar has reached a first milestone. The recycling center comprises a small sorting unit for plastics, paper/cardboard containers, and cans. 3.  Promoting awareness for biodiversity and circular economy through a pilot project on in-house composting Initially, 300 households were equipped with composters and trees were planted specifically as part of the project. With the compost produced from biodegradable waste, the company wants to support the growth of the trees and thus trigger the circular economy.  At the same time, the perception of environmental problems is sharpened and the advantages of composting are communicated in a tangible way.    4.Construction of a composting station starting in 2020 By way of making parts of the population more aware of the benefits and effects of com-posting, it is assumed that the construction of the composting plant in 2020 will be more widely accepted. In addition, an increased willingness of the population to collect organic waste separately at home is expected. Result The development and implementation of a communication plan for waste separation through-out the entire project was essential for the successful progress of the project. This was carried out using the following approaches:  Defining the communication plan for starting the separate collection including means of communication Proposals for a logo for the project Network with other Tunesian cities    To achieve a sustainable change in the behaviour of the inhabitants of the oasis settlement in dealing with waste, it is necessary to create awareness among the entire population. Therefore, a special awareness campaign for separate collection of recyclables was prepared and carried out from September 2019 to December 2019. This included the following steps:  Production of flyers and posters and their distribution, especially in public places On-site advice for households Making waste separation a topic of discussion during school visits and lessons Tender and implementation of a video contest (competition) for young people on the topic of waste separation Use of social media  After signing a partnership agreement between the district of Böblingen and El Guettar during a delegation trip with Roland Bernhard, the chief administrative officer of Böblingen, the partnership is to be extended to other fields of action (environmental protection, education, tourism/culture, arts and crafts).  

 Lead Organization Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ GmbH). Partners Tunisian Ministry of the Interior; General Directorate for Local Government (DGCPL, Tunisia); General Directorate for Local Government (DGCL, Morocco); Center for Training and Support to Decentralization (CFAD, Tunisia); National Institute for Urban and Territorial Planning (INAU, Morocco); Germany’s Association of Cities (DST); Morocco’s association of mayors (AMPCC); Tunisia’s FNVT (National Federation of Tunisian Cities); and around 40 partner cities. Members of the orientation committee.   Challenges  High urbanization rate in the Maghreb countries increase expectations towards urban municipalities to deliver better urban services and ensure good living conditions. Municipalities need to develop local democracy and strengthen citizen participation in the context of the ongoing social and economic transformation processes.  Program Objective To strengthen cities as key players in national, regional, and local development and reinforce their capacities, structures, and urban services through exchanges among cities in the Maghreb region. To increase the diffusion of sustainable solutions in the urban sector and encourage the use of instruments and good practices existing in other contexts (peer-to-peer). To support the development of networks of cities on several themes by facilitating discussion and exchange of solutions. Selected Results  Informed policy/involved stakeholders: Development of learning networks on different urban topics or issues and services such as solid waste management, public transport, energy efficiency, and rehabilitation of medinas:  Technical assistance to Morocco’s recently created association of mayors (AMPCC) and support in the ongoing public debate on the new decentralization law. Funding of four thematic city networks involving a total of 30 municipalities in Morocco. Implementation of seven city development projects in cooperation between civil society and the municipalities. In Tunisia, the network on waste management, involving 20 cities, signed an agreement with the National Federation of Tunisian Cities (FNVT) as the network's national partner.     Increased capacity: Reinforcement of local democratic structures in Tunisia, with CoMun providing several kinds of support to the partner cities:  In Tunisia, one-stop shops providing municipal administrative services were established in 8 cities by end of 2014, 7 more are being planned. The délégations spéciales of the cities of Touzeur, Gabes, La Marsa, and Menzel Bourguiba adopted their municipal budget and approved the projects that had been prioritized in a participatory approach. A series of workshops on local democracy and citizenship, provided in partnership with the Center for Training and Support to Decentralization (CFAD) between May and October 2014, mobilized more than 100 representatives from municipalities. They were supported by a training of trainers approach in order to develop moderator capacities in different regions of Tunisia. A youth project initiative, Contest of Ideas for Youth, was organized in three cities in Tunisia to support youth participation. Institutional development at the FNVT in order to promote and protect the interests of cities.     

Germany

Stuttgart

Tunisia

Gafsa

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GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit )

WtERT

Center For Mediterranean Integration

German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) 

Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW)

The project "Municipal Knowledge Transfer Maghreb-Germany" between the German waste management company of the district of Böblingen and the Tunisian municipality of El Guettar is part of the CoMun program and strengthens the cities as key players in national, regional, and local development. Furthermore, it reinforces their capacities, structures, and urban services through exchanges among cities in the Maghreb region.The project consists of several key objectives: Raising awareness of the population for waste separation, construction of a recycling centre, promoting awareness for biodiversity and circular economy through a pilot project on in-house composting and construction of a composting station which started in 2020. The municipality of El Guettar is an oasis settlement with approximately 20,000 inhabitants and is located in the centre of Tunisia. Moreover, it is an important green lung for the local population. Therefore, environmental protection is a central issue for the community.