Policy case

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


Construction and Infrastructure

Utilise waste streams as a source of secondary resources and recover waste for reuse and recycling

Use waste as a resource

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

Cross-industry projects, pilots

Incubator and investment programmes

Cycle strategies aim to cycle and reuse materials at their highest value: they maximise the volume of secondary materials re-entering the economy, ultimately minimising the need for virgin material inputs and therefore also narrowing flows. Of course, virgin materials will always be needed to a degree: all materials degrade and can’t be cycled infinitely, use energy, and require blending with virgin materials to maintain strength and functionality.

Cycle

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

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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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Singapore

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Government of Singapore

"A US$15 million fund to develop capabilities in resource efficiency, to promote the recycling of construction and demolition waste and the use of recycled materials in construction. [The fund was] set up to run for 5 years (until 2015), or until the funds ran out, whichever came first." (Source: C40's Clean Construction Policy Explorer)

Sustainable Construction Capability Development Fund - Singapore

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

Jobs

Impact on the health and happiness of human populations

Well-being

Direct and indirect reduction in economic costs

Cost Savings

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

Productivity

Impact on the ease of innovation, and facilitating uptake of innovations

Innovation

Scalability

Reduced use and withdrawal of water and rate of recycling and reuse of water

Save Water (SDG6)

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

Biodiversity

Societal Services

Providing water and sewage services, including water collection and distribution, water treatment systems and sewage treatment facilities

Water and Sewage

Ensure renewable, reusable, non-toxic resources are utilised as materials and energy in an efficient way

Prioritise regenerative resources

While resources are in-use, maintain, repair and upgrade them to maximise their lifetime and give them a second life through take back strategies when applicable

Stretch the lifetime

Use digital, online platforms and technologies that provide insights to track and optimise resource use, strengthen connections between supply chain actors, and enable the implementation of circular models



Incorporate digital technology

Replace freshwater with less impactful alternatives and enact water efficiency measures

Regenerative water

Upgrade, repair, and maintenance while in-use

Maximise lifetime of products in-use

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

Valorise waste streams - closed loop

Replacing freshwater use with rainwater, fogwater, seawater, etc.

Alternative water use

Enacting measures that optimise water use

Water efficiency

Providing upgrade programmes or upgrade services for products or parts of products

Product upgrade

Transforming waste products into materials and lower value products within the same industry

Closed loop downcycling

Employing artificial algorithms and robotics to identify, enable and/or implement circular strategies (eg. effective resource use & logistics planning, circular business models & design)

Advanced robotics, artificial intelligence

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

Inform

Data, knowledge & information sharing

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

Manage

Infrastructure

'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

 Direct Financial Support

Innovation-oriented public procurement

 Public Procurement

Develop infrastructure to support resource cycling

Information campaigns

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

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

Maintain and repair city-owned spaces and infrastructure to increase longevity, and support opportunities for residents to do the same for privately owned items and property

Support reuse, repair, remanufacturing, maintenance of existing resources, products, spaces & infrastructure

Ensure that infrastructure and built assets in the city are designed and upgraded to be as resource-efficient as possible.

Design infrastructure and the built environment for resource efficiency

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

Governments

Water system refers to the water supply network for storing and supplying water for use by the community.

One of the greatest challenges of a city is to provide its inhabitants with safe, clean water from a limited fresh water supply. Improving the city’s water infrastructure efficiency, such as minimising leakages, reduces the strain put on the limited supply, which in turn, helps to ensure inhabitants gain access to clean and affordable water.

The water infrastructure of a city typically consists of components such as surface water diversions, wells, pumps, transmission pipes and canals, treatment and storage facilities, and distribution network elements (Burian et al.). Options for improving the efficiency of the system include investing in water loss reduction systems, creating and following a regular maintenance program, and better matching water supply and demand (Global Water Partnership).

Cities can improve the efficiency of their water system infrastructure by conducting a water audit, in which all water flows are traced and losses in the system are identified to map where the most efficiency improvements can be gained. Alongside this, asset management can be used to create a short-term and long-term strategy of investing in new equipment, refurbishing existing equipment and developing maintenance programmes to ensure infrastructure is as efficient as possible, and leaks are minimised. Such management programmes create financial transparency amongst all stakeholders and provide useful long-term planning for larger infrastructure changes (US EPA)

💧 Water Systems

One of the greatest challenges of a city is to provide its inhabitants with safe, clean water from a limited fresh water supply. Improving the city’s water infrastructure efficiency, such as minimising leakages, reduces the strain put on the limited supply, which in turn, helps to ensure inhabitants gain access to clean and affordable water.

The water infrastructure of a city typically consists of components such as surface water diversions, wells, pumps, transmission pipes and canals, treatment and storage facilities, and distribution network elements ([Burian et al.](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123847034005098)). Options for improving the efficiency of the system include investing in water loss reduction systems, creating and following a regular maintenance program, and better matching water supply and demand ([Global Water Partnership](http://www.cawater-info.net/policybriefs/pdf/tec_brief_4_water_efficiency.pdf)).

Cities can improve the efficiency of their water system infrastructure by conducting a water audit, in which all water flows are traced and losses in the system are identified to map where the most efficiency improvements can be gained. Alongside this, asset management can be used to create a short-term and long-term strategy of investing in new equipment, refurbishing existing equipment and developing maintenance programmes to ensure infrastructure is as efficient as possible, and leaks are minimised. Such management programmes create financial transparency amongst all stakeholders and provide useful long-term planning for larger infrastructure changes ([US EPA](https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-water-infrastructure/things-local-officials-should-do-sustainable-water-infrastructure)).

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💧  Improving water infrastructure efficiency

The water consumed by households must be of a sufficiently good quality to safely drink, bathe and clean with. However, the quality of water required for each of these needs differs significantly. For example, potable or drinking water must be of a higher quality than the water used to flush a toilet or irrigate a garden (so called “greywater”).  It is possible to significantly reduce our overall water consumption by using and reusing non-potable water sources for lower quality purposes—a strategy particularly relevant for drought-stressed cities.

Greywater reuse systems can be applied at household level to collect water from showers and baths, filter and treat it, and then recirculate it to flush toilets or irrigate gardens. Alternatively, a sports centre can collect greywater from showers and hand basins and process it to be used to irrigate an adjacent sports field or community garden.

Cities can encourage the uptake of greywater reuse systems through awareness campaigns, regulations and financial incentives. Awareness campaigns can show the potential environmental and financial benefits of installing greywater systems. Regulations can be in the form of building codes and requirements in which the installation of a grey water reuse system is compulsory, unless practically infeasible. Financial incentives are usually in the form of rebates for installing such a system. Municipal governments can also lead by example and procure such greywater reuse systems in municipal or city-run buildings, such as municipal offices or schools. This can not only improve the water-efficiency of such buildings, but can also showcase the benefits of the systems, and support local market demand.



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💧  Grey-water reuse systems

Slow strategies aim to keep materials in use for as long as possible, for example through design for durability and repairability. A more circular economy is also a slower one: materials, components, and products—and even buildings and infrastructure—that we lock in stocks are made to last. This will lower material demand in the long run, in essence also serving to narrow resource flows.

Slow

Regenerate strategies phase out hazardous or toxic materials and processes and substitute them with regenerative biomass resources. A circular economy aims to mimic natural cycles—by shifting to more regenerative farming practices, for example—while also maximising the share of circular biomass that enters the economy. Regeneration can happen both at the systems level (by designing regenerative processes) as well as at the product level (by switching synthetic to organic fertilisers, for example).

Regenerate

Impacts

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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

Singapore currently imports 50 percent of its water from Malaysia.With 5 million people living in the country new options for water supplies are needed.NEWater technologies are transforming wastewater to qualities better than that in your tap.30 percent of Singapore's water supply is currently met by recycled water.The South-east Asian island country has a population of 5 million residing on less than 750 square kilometers of land. Whilst known for its strong economy, Singapore is lacking one essential asset -- water.Water security has long been a national priority in Singapore as half of its current water supplies are imported from neighboring Malaysia. "We are preparing for the day that should the water agreement expire, we should be ready to fulfill our own needs," says Chew Men Leong, Chief Executive of the Public Utilities Board. The agreement with Malaysia is due to expire in 2061, so the country has time to be ready.Singapore's strategy for a hydrated nation is four-fold: as well as importation, it includes desalinization plants, efficient catchment of rainwater and recycling of sewage. Rainwater is collected through a network of drains, canals, rivers, storm water, collection ponds and reservoirs with the aim to catch water across two-thirds of the country. But the real hope lies in the membrane technology to treat wastewater known as 'NEWater', created by the country's public utilities board.Through a four-step series of barriers and membranes, wastewater is made free of solids, microorganisms, and contaminants resulting in potable water supplies for use by humans and industry. After one decade, the technology meets 30 percent of Singapore's water needs, with plans to triple volumes by 2060."The level of quality we receive from the Public Utility Board meets and exceeds the expectation," explains Jagadish CV, CEO of Systems on Silicon Manufacturing, where the water is used in their processing of silicon wafers. "We are using the water three times before we let it into the drain," he says.The demand by industry is being further met by a new collaboration with Japanese firm Meiden that will supply factories with recycled industrial water. One and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools of water are currently filtered and treated every day. The goal is to more cost-effectively treat industrial waste streams in the long run.Professor Asit Biswas from the Lee Kuan School of Public Policy feels other countries should follow the example set by Singapore and even the current standards can be improved to eventually re-use every last drop of water. "There are two major future challenges," he says. "First is how to make the water system less energy intensive and the second one is consumer behavior with respect to water."If these challenges can be overcome, this small country will continue to flourish, long into the future.

  Circular Economy: Tapping the Power of Wastewa...  Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) consume large amounts of energy, estimated at between 1% and 3% of global energy output. State-of-the-art facilities consume ...  

Water security has long been a national priority in Singapore as the city-state is unable to store its rainfall and thus imports half of its current water supplies from neighbouring Malaysia. One of the strategies to overcome this problem lies in the membrane technology to treat wastewater known as 'NEWater', created by the country's public utilities board, granting economic, social, and environmental benefits.

Solving Singapore's water problem by distributing drinking water derived from sewage

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

Increase Awareness

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

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

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

Reduce Energy Consumption

Producing agricultural products and processing them into food and beverageproducts for consumption

Agri/Food

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

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

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

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

Regenerative energy

Designing products that are made to last and to ensure longer use

Design for durability

Engage with the government on circular policies and programmes

Government collaboration

Enacting measures that optimise energy use

Energy efficiency

Designing products to resist damage and wear, and serve a long and useful life.

Design for physical durability

For about five decades since the onset of rapid urbanization and industrialization, Singapore has placed significant emphasis on urban greening (including rooftop and vertical greenery, gardens, and park corridors) and conservation of the island's rich biodiversity as key components of its development approach, setting the foundation for its development as a “Garden City”.