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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 increased knowledge and understanding as a result of the case study

Increase Awareness

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

Jobs

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)

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

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

Joint industry ventures, projects, pilots

Increase efficiency and promote local economic growth by shortening supply chains and connecting local producers to consumers.


Support local low-impact circular economies

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

Much of the world’s croplands are situated within peri-urban areas, yet this food is often not consumed in its neighbouring urban area, rather it is exported and consumed vast distances away. By strengthening links with food producers in surrounding peri-urban and urban areas, to create city-region food systems, cities can influence the way food is produced and how resources are managed. For example, reconnecting cities with their local food production can create local economies, encourage local seasonal diets, denser local transport networks, and even support regenerative techniques that support native crop varieties. This in conjunction with trade supports a more distributed system that relies on a diverse range of suppliers, and can cycle nutrients from food wastes back to the surrounding ecosystem. 

To foster city-region food systems, local governments can engage and convene stakeholders along the local food chain, from farmers, to logistics companies, to jointly envision the path to a local circular food system. This can be facilitated through the creation of platforms to connect local stakeholders. The City can also stimulate the use of regionally and regeneratively produced foods through, for example, rewarding best practices, and raising public awareness through campaigns. 


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🍏  Strengthen urban-rural links within the food system

The industrial production and consumption of meats and animal-based products places increasing pressures on land- and water-use, and is a driving cause of global greenhouse gas emissions. Local governments can play an important role in encouraging residents to shift towards local and plant-based diets that can improve the health of the planet, as well as residents and local economies if the food is sourced regionally.

For example, local governments can help to raise the awareness of the positive ecological and health impacts of a locally sourced and plant-based diet through information campaigns in the city. Local governments can improve access to locally produced plant-based foods throughout the city by allocating space for, and supporting local markets and suppliers. To lead by example, canteens managed by the public sector, for example, in schools and municipal offices, can develop menus that offer plant-based and seasonal choices. 


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🍏  Seasonal plant based diets

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

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△Rethink

△Sustainable lifestyles

The industrial production and consumption of highly processed food products places increasing pressures on land- and water use and is a driving cause of global greenhouse gas emissions. Local governments can play an important role in encouraging residents to shift towards local, healthy, and sustainable diets that can improve the health of the planet, as well as residents. Particularly, plant-based food choices have relatively low ecological impacts. 

Some examples of how cities have supported healthy and sustainable food choices include:


Low-impact food choices

Impacts

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Industries

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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

This is a survey that dives into understanding the policy environment around specific circular solutions. 

The survey is divided into five sections, based on the five key elements of the Circular Cities Action Framework. 
Each section asks 2-3 questions to explore which policies may or may not be present within your city to support a transition towards a circular economy. 

You are not alone! Each question provides some practical examples from cities around the world that have adopted a certain policy to support their transition. This can help to compare with your city - is your city doing something similar?

The survey answers should be based on your current knowledge, and not illicit additional research - ! Please make use of the Not sure option as appropriate.


Ganbatte Cities Policy Tracker [Food]

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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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            Ashia Aubourg was Food Tank’s Food Justice Fellow. She earned a BS & BA in Food Studies & Policy Studies from Syracuse University, focusing on community-based food systems and public policy. Ashia has worked with food justice, public health, and education non-profits. Ashia is passionate about fostering an equitable food system and amplifying BIPOC food narratives.                                
   

 Alberta Cooperative Grocery Product Buying Guidelines 
The Alberta Cooperative shall provide high quality, healthy and affordable food products.  The Cooperative shall obtain such products primarily from local, regional, organic and socially responsible sources…(Article II; Bylaws of ACG)
These guidelines have been developed to guide ACG buyers in making product choices that reflect the mission and values of our cooperative community. The guidelines below are meant both to highlight the issues that effect current purchasing and to guide future decisions and new buyers.
Because each separate department has a set of issues specific to them, the criteria stated below are not meant to be read as moving from most important to least. Also, because economic, environmental, and social conditions are not static what’s most relevant from year to year and buyer to buyer can change. This is a living document that will evolve through time as we do, but always staying true to our mission of offering healthy products that contribute to a just and sustainable society.
ACG is aware that often products will not meet all of the guidelines, and sometimes guidelines will conflict with each other. It is the job of our buyers to judge between these competing demands and make the wisest choice possible. ACG also recognizes that industry practices often make relevant information unavailable or inaccessible. As buyers become aware of new information they will factor that into their purchasing choices.
Specific Issues:
Organic & Sustainable Agriculture
ACG will seek out and prioritize products developed using organic and sustainable methods of agriculture whenever possible. Conventional products carried by the Coop meet our customer’s needs and may be the best option because the benefits of local outweigh the advantages of organic, after research we find there is no organic option for a product that meets most or all of the other guidelines, for political or environmental reasons organic is not available, or the alternative is price-prohibitive.
Local & Regional
ACG realizes that having a direct relationship to our food system minimizes environmental degradation, increases local food security, and reinvests in our local economy. Often the Co-op will prioritize locally produced and manufactured products where there is a choice. As the cost of transportation increases ACG will work on strategies to increase our selection of local products.
Affordability
ACG recognizes that we are located in a mixed income community. The Co-op will strive to meet the needs of everyone in that community by making our store as affordable as possible. We will meet these ends through our Co-op Basics program, active research to lower our cost of goods, and offering products that are accessible in price while not compromising the rest of our mission. ACG’s buyers are aware that we have limited control over the cost of products and cannot develop a pricing strategy that compromises ACG’s financial health.
Genetic Modification
ACG will strive to maintain a GMO-free product selection and actively educate it’s members and customers about the issues of genetic manipulation in our food chain. Whenever we become aware of genetically modified ingredients in ACG products our buyers will research alternative options and alert customers through proper signage.
Animal Cruelty
Recognizing the need to meet the needs of everyone in our community, ACG offers a selection of dairy and meat products. ACG will only carry animal products where the producers and manufactures have demonstrated efforts to take the dignity of the animal into account when raising and slaughtering. ACG will not carry products where animals have been treated with antibiotics or artificial growth hormones. The Co-op will not carry farmed salmon, tuna, or other fish breeds not traditionally farmed. The Co-op will also seek out products free of unnecessary animal products and animal testing in the production of supplements and body care products.
Fair Trade
ACG will prioritize Fair Trade Certification when purchasing products from outside the United States. ACG recognizes FTC as a minimum standard for internationally traded goods. Buyers will prioritize working with companies exceeding FT standards and who trade directly with farmers and producers. For products not meeting basic fair trade standards buyer research will seek out products made with high standards for worker welfare. This will be the exception and not the rule and will be done in cases where the product meets a basic need of our members for which there is no fair trade alternative.
Cooperatives & Ethical Workplaces
In line with cooperative principles ACG will support other cooperative businesses by giving priority to their products when possible. ACG will prioritize products from other companies that demonstrate a high level of workplaces standards, worker health and empowerment. In cases where companies have a reputation for poor workplaces conditions, union busting, or engaging in other activities harmful to workers, buyers may pull their products from our shelves or offer a comparable product in it’s place.
No chocolate, cocoa, or cacao products at the Alberta Co-op will be sourced from companies that are known to use child labor or slave labor.  Furthermore, no chocolate, cocoa, or cacao products will be sourced from regions where child or slave labor is known to be rampant, unless the company can show that their sourcing is ethical.
Independent Producers
ACG recognizes that the organic foods industry is rapidly consolidating as it evolves into a national market. This trend poses major risks to the integrity of organic foods taking economic and political control away from small businesses and the communities in which they operate. The Co-op will strive to carry products from producers and manufacturers independent from the influence of corporate America, giving priority to cooperatives and privately owned small businesses.
Packaging: Environmental Impact
As part of ACG’s mission we aim to reduce our environmental impact by promoting fresh produce and bulk products; minimizing our amount of products manufactured with non-recyclable materials; creating opportunities for recycling; promoting the reuse of materials; and offering products packaged in returnable/reusable containers.
Packaging: Advertising & Information
ACG will not carry products with: 1) packaging that make false or misleading nutritional, environmental, or ingredient claims; 2) whose packaging is deemed exploitive, oppressive or perpetuates harmful stereotypes; 3) predatory advertising, especially advertising to children.
Special & Alternative Dietary Needs
Recognizing the wide range of nutritional and dietary needs in our community, ACG will strive to offer a selection of products that reflect this diversity. ACG will offer signage to make customers aware of products that are wheat/gluten free, diabetic safe, non-dairy, raw foods, etc.
Whole Foods
ACG will prioritize whole foods. This includes products with a minimum of processing and refining. The Co-op will not carry products which contain artificial coloring, preservatives, sweeteners and other flavorings. 

Portland

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Alberta Cooperative Grocery

<p>Since 2001,&nbsp;Alberta Cooperative Grocery’s&nbsp;mission has promoted affordability, community, education, diversity, and cooperation. In response to the city’s&nbsp;increased food insecurity,&nbsp;Alberta launched the Food for All program, which allows SNAP participants to receive a discount on food. Alberta also aims to strengthen regional food systems by fostering direct purchasing relationships with various local farmers. In 2018, Alberta’s annual report highlighted direct-purchase relationships with over 20 farms.&nbsp;</p>