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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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Policy case

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

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Rethink

Engage with the government on circular policies and programmes

Government collaboration

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

Save Water (SDG6)

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

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

Ecological Impact

Other

Current dominant, globalized food systems trigger far-reaching detrimental socioeconomic and environmental effects. As such, they struggle to meet the food demands of a growing population and face external shocks, such as resource scarcity, climate change and health crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Local governments are directly or indirectly connected to all stages of the food value chain. For this reason, it is importanto for them to leverage this strategic position and develop an initial and collective vision, setting out transformational targets, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and key action areas and solutions urgently required to transform food systems—from food consumption and production to waste prevention and management.

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🍏  Targets and roadmaps for a circular food system

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

Agri/Food

Impact on the health and happiness of human populations

Well-being

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

Social Impact

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

Participating in government programmes that support and advance the circular economy

Government programmes

Roadmaps and strategies and targets

High-level changes to policy and practice (such as taxation systems, investment and procurement guidelines and criteria) that disincentivize activities that perpetuate linear economic systems, as well as vision-setting (goals, roadmaps) to catalyze
action on circularity across the city

Eliminate linear incentives and set goals and incentives for circularity

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

Urban Opportunities

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

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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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AbstractThe globalization of food systems has made agri-food systems less sustainable. 
In response, the Vancouver Regional Food System Strategy seeks to address 
the challenges of contemporary global food systems, through a multi-pronged 
strategy. The strategy is focused on actions at the regional level which will lead to 
a more localized, sustainable, resilient and healthy food system while continuing 
to be embedded in the larger food system at the national and global scales. Given 
the multi-sectoral nature of food systems, a process was developed to involve a 
wide range of stakeholders: farmers, food processors, distributors and retailers, 
public health authorities, municipalities, provincial and federal government and 
their agencies as well as NGOs, community groups and academia. The unique 
platform provided by Metro Vancouver helped to mobilize this approach, which 
would have otherwise been beyond the scope and capacity of some smaller 
municipal members to achieve.
The globalized food system: resource pressures and the depletion of local marketsThe globalized food system has brought diverse cuisines into our homes. 
This has come at the cost of increased food waste, a larger carbon footprint 
of the agricultural sector and a depleted market for local produceŒ trends that 

systems estimates that 7.3 units of energy are used to produce one unit of food. In 
addition, a report of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and World 
Resources Institute (WRI) in 2013 revealed that one third of all food produced 
worldwide gets lost or wasted in food production and consumption systems, 
with the characteristically long supply chains of global food systems being a 

consumption demands, which are set to further increase in the future. 

Vancouver Regional Food System Strategy seeks to address the challenges 
of contemporary global food systems, through a multi-pronged strategy that 
involves various levels of the metropolitan administration and a variety of private stakeholders.Date2011-present
Urban NEXUS SectorsWater-Food-Land 
UseUrban NEXUS InnovationsInstitutions; Communications + User behaviorScaleRegionalBudgetn/aVancouver, Canada
Targeting NEXUS food security: Vancouver's Regional Food System Strategy 
The Regional Food System Strategy aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of the food system in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, now named Metro Vancouver. Through uniting rural 
and urban municipalities with multiple private stakeholders, synergies have been achieved to bring about increased local, equitable and sustainable food practices.              Urban NEXUS Case Study August 2014 0X03 ©Metro Vancouver, 2011
2Urban NEXUS Case StudyThe metropolitan region of Vancouver: at the forefront of 
regional and urban sustainabilityThe Greater Vancouver Regional District, with the coastal seaport city of 
Vancouver as its major urban center, is the third largest metropolitan area of 
Canada, situated in the southwest corner of the province of British Columbia. It 
is the most densely populated region in the province with 2,313,328 inhabitants (Canada Census, 2011), and is administered by the Greater Vancouver Regional 
District, better known as Metro Vancouver. Metro Vancouver acts as a political 
body and corporate entity operating under provincial legislation delivering 
regional services, planning and political leadership on behalf of its 23 members. 
The multi-sectoral and sustainability-oriented approach of Metro Vancouver is 
institutionalized by the Board Strategic Plan, adopted in early 2014, which lays 
out the priorities and long-term goals of the Metro Vancouver Board with regard 
to the regional management plans. 
Sustainability is a key concept in the governance of Metro Vancouver and the 
city of Vancouver. The city recently won the 2013 World Green Building Council 


initiatives. The Sustainable Region Initiative (SRI) of Metro Vancouver is an important 
force in the developmental activities in the region, and the Regional Food System 

2008, with its focus on local food and urban-rural interdependencies. 
In 2002, Metro Vancouver formally positioned the concept of sustainability 
at the center of its operating and planning philosophy, a comprehensive plan 
known as the Sustainable Region Initiative (SRI). This resulted in the adoption 
of a Sustainability Framework in 2008, which provides the imperatives and 
principles to implement and operationalize sustainability as the central tenet of 
Metro Vancouver. The metropolis redesigned its regional management plans 
related to drinking water, solid waste, liquid waste, air quality and greenhouse 
gases, regional growth, and regional parks, adopted in 2011. In addition, the need 
for action to contain urban growth and protect farmland in a region with a fast-
growing population gave rise to Vancouver™s Food System Strategy.
Metro Vancouver
Metro Vancouver is a political body operating as a regional district, an 
administrative level of government, dating back to the 1960s, that is unique to 
the province of British Columbia in an effort to oversee the rapid expansion 
and resource extraction within the province, as well as to address urban fringe 
issues and those of rural areas which were increasingly becoming urban, with no 
municipalities of their own. 
Metro Vancouver is also the regional district responsible for the governing of 
the metropolitan area of the City of Vancouver. In total the dsitrict comprises 
23 members: 21 municipalities including the City of Vancouver, one treaty First 
nation and one electoral area. It represents the residents of its region under four 

The Urban NEXUS is an approach to the design of 
sustainable urban development 
solutions. The approach guides 
stakeholders to identify and 
pursue possible synergies 
between sectors, jurisdictions, 
and technical domains, so 
as to increase institutional 
performance, optimize 
resource management, and 
service quality.
It counters traditional sectoral 
thinking, trade-offs, and divided 
responsibilities that often 
result in poorly coordinated 
investments, increased costs, and underutilized 
infrastructures and facilities. The ultimate goal of the Urban NEXUS approach is to 
accelerate access to services, 
and to increase service quality 
and the quality of life within our 
planetary boundaries.
ICLEI / GIZ 2014
3 separate legal entities: Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), Greater 
Vancouver Water District (GVWD), Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage 
District (GVS&DD), and the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation (MVHC). 
The GVrD, GVWD, GVS&DD and MVHC are each governed by a separate 
Board of Directors composed of elected representatives from the respective 
members who have chosen to participate in the provision of the service.
In collaboration with its members, Metro Vancouver has three broad roles- 
to provide core utility services (water, sewerage and drainage, solid waste 
management) to its members, to carry out planning and regulatory responsibilities 
related to the three utilities, as well as to develop and implement strategies related 
to issues of regional interest, and to serve as the main political forum for the 

The Urban NEXUS: A multi-stakeholder approach en
-sures suitable initiatives and actionsThe region of Metro Vancouver is endowed with ample agricultural lands, 
a biologically rich coastline and a multitude of freshwater resources. The 
coexistence of dense urban areas and fertile rural lands within the region, and the 
platform given through the regional jurisdiction of Metro Vancouver, gave rise 
to the opportunity for a regional food and agriculture strategy. The developed 
strategic plan aims towards creating a healthy and sustainable food system, by 
utilizing interdependent synergies at the regional level.
The Vancouver Regional Food System Strategy (RFSS) is focused on actions 
at the regional level which will lead to a more localized, sustainable, resilient 
and healthy food system which continues to be embedded in the larger food 
system at the national and global scales. Given the multi-sectoral nature of 
food systems, a process was developed to involve a wide range of stakeholders: 
farmers, food processors, distributors and retailers, public health authorities, 
municipalities, provincial and federal governments and their agencies as well as 
NGOs, community groups and academia. The unique platform provided by Metro 
Vancouver led to the mobilization of this approach, which would have otherwise 
been beyond the scope and capacity of some smaller municipal members to 
achieve. ©Metro Vancouver, 2011
Metro Vancouver about 
its Regional Food System 
Strategy:"Recognizing that a 
sustainable, resilient and 
healthy food system meets 
the needs of the present generation and protects the 
ability of future residents 
to meet their needs, Metro Vancouver is committed 
to working with others to 
support and enhance the 
regional food system - to 
ensure economic prosperity 
and preserve our ecological 
legacy. This will require 
protecting and conserving 
the region™s rich farmland, 
supporting the local food 
sector, promoting healthier 
eating habits, reducing 
food waste and addressing inequities in food access."
(Metro Vancouver, Sustainable 
Region Initiative 2002Œ2011: A 
Roadmap to Sustainability)
©Metro Vancouver, 2011
4Metro Vancouver™s Regional Food System Strategy is an adaptive program, 
designed to align with existing initiatives while implementing new activities. 
The Strategy lists various initiatives to be undertaken by distinct stakeholders, 
ranging from the local, regional and federal government. The institutional Nexus 
between public and private stakeholders enabled the Metro Vancouver Board to 
put together a tailored strategy, the primary goals of which are to:
 increase the capacity to produce more local food,
 
 encourage people to adopt healthier diets,
 ensure a more equitable access to nutritious food
 reduce waste in the food system, 
 and to protect the ecological health of the region and surrounding waters.
©Metro Vancouver, 2011
Regional Food System Strategy5 The Regional Food System Strategy is under the management of the Regional 


that focuses on the role of local governments in the implementation phase. 
The several member municipalities of Metro Vancouver have been active in their 
participation in the RFSS. The City of Vancouver developed a Local Food System 

Other municipalities, where agriculture is still an important economic and cultural 
sector (Surrey, Richmond, Delta, Township of Langley, Pitt Meadows and Maple 
Ridge), have developed agriculture plans setting individual focus areas. Metro 
Vancouver also reached out to involve the provincial and federal governments to 

participation of the private sector and community groups during the formulation 
process of the RFSS has ensured their commitment to the plan. 
Each of the stated goals of the RFSS are coupled with sample actions and 

For instance, actions planned by the RFSS to achieve its goal of increasing 
the capacity of local food production includes, among others, the support of 
hatcheries to augment the low salmon count in the region and the establishment 
of incubator farms on Metro Vancouver land to provide new farmers with a site to 
start their business. In addition, Metro Vancouver sent a request to municipalities 
to develop zoning bylaws and guidelines for commercial urban agriculture while 

existing agricultural land base. The performance measures for this goal include 

categorized as farm property and the proportion which is actively farmed, as well 
as demographics such as the average age of farmers in British Columbia. 
Dairy Classroom: raising awareness about food production amongst the youngest members of society©Metro Vancouver, 2011
6Integration within the sustainability framework The Regional Food System Strategy is one among a suite of interconnected 
regional management plans developed around Metro Vancouver™s Sustainability 
Framework. Other regional management plans which intersect with the RFSS 
include the Integrated Solid Waste and Resource Management Plan, Integrated 


and Greenways Plan. The different regional plans are consciously integrated 


For instance, the Metro Vancouver Drinking Water Management Plan feeding 
into the Regional Food System Strategy results in support for the adoption of 
environmentally sustainable irrigation practices and technologies which will 
minimize the agricultural demand for water. In a similar manner, the promotion 
of waste reduction, reuse and recycling as part of the Integrated Solid Waste and 
Resource Management Plan results not only in less wasted food and reduced 
waste from food packaging, but also fosters gleanings and food recovery activities 
to cut down waste at the production level as part of the RFSS.
Urban Nexus: coordinated regional planningThe Regional Food System Strategy 
is embedded in the larger regional 
management strategy of Metro 
Vancouver. Coordination is required 
especially with the Regional Growth 
Strategy and the Integrated Solid Waste 
and Resource Management Plan, which 
include land use policies concerning the 
region™s agricultural land base as well 
as activities to improve the economic 
viability of farming.
©Metro Vancouver, 2011
7 ResultsEarly implementation of the various regional management plans has begun. 
With regard to the RFSS, efforts have commenced towards measures such as 
containing growth and protecting agricultural lands, as well as advocating for a 

and provincial support for local food.
Current initiatives at the municipal level are supported and taken into 
consideration for the proposal of further action towards achieving the 
objectives of the RFSS. For instance, the City of Vancouver facilitated the 
operation of farmers™ markets throughout the city through bylaws, reduced permit 
fees and streamlined application processes. 
The Ministry of Community and Rural Development reviewed farm tax 
policy to ensure a fair and equitable assessment system.
 Both actions work 

levels, and were incorporated in the RFSS by the mediating platform of Metro 
Vancouver which then proposed the use of the tax system to encourage agricultural 

Lessons learnedThe importance of strong, regional institutions to connect municipalities and for 
the oversight of actions: The regional districts of British Columbia highlight the 
importance of appropriate institutions and administrative units. Metro Vancouver, 
with its regional-level jurisdiction, was able to envision greater synergies in the 
food system by linking urban and rural municipalities, which could not have been 
achieved by an individual municipality or local government. 
Effective action through an applied inter-sectoral Nexus: 
The Metro Van
-couver Regional Growth Strategy, of which the Regional Food System Strategy 
is a part, institutionalizes a cross-sectoral approach to sustainable development 
by consciously integrating the sustainable management plans for sectors which 
are normally dealt with independently, such as waste management, water and air 
management or food system management. 
 The RFSS document makes use of exist
-ing resources, institutions and legislation but is also designed to continually adapt 
to changing circumstances by deploying new strategies and initiatives.A well-integrated administrative setup overseeing the regional management 

progress.
 The Regional Food System Strategy alignes to a continued commitment 
to sustainable regional growth which appears to be strong indicators for the 
effective implementation of the RFSS.
ReplicationThrough its proposed initiatives at different administrative levels, the Regional 
Food System Strategy provides a blueprint for the governing institutions of other 
regions and provinces in Canada and other countries to follow.
City of Vancouver Food 
StrategyAdopted in January 2013, the Vancouver Food Strategy is 
a municipal-level strategic 
plan to create a just and 
sustainable food system for 
the city of Vancouver. Building 
on years of food systems initiatives by institutions such 
as the Vancouver Food Policy 
Council as well as grassroots 
community development groups, the strategy considers all aspects of the food system, from seed to table to compost heap and back. 
In comparison to the Vancouver Regional Food 
System Strategy, the goals 
of the City of Vancouver™s 
Food Strategy are more conducive to the food system 
of a highly-urbanized, 
metropolitan area. These 
include the provision of access 
at the neighborhood level to 
healthy foods and sustainable 
food waste disposal; the 
creation of opportunities that 
support green food sectors, 
technologies and social 
enterprise models such as 
measures toward urban 
farming; the advocacy for food issues of equitability and sustainability, and the 
involvement and empowerment 
of residents through 
community-based programs. 
The performance of the 
Vancouver Food Strategy is 
based on an evaluation of the 
existing target in the City of 
Vancouver™s Greenest City 
Action Plan - to increase city 
and neighborhood food assets 
by 50 per cent over 2010 levels by the year 2020.

budget for the period between 2011 (when it was adopted) and 2014. With the 

budget.This Case Study was elaborated for the Urban NEXUS project 2013-2014. 
The ICLEI Case Study series is available at www.iclei.org/casestudies, and focuses on various 
types of urban sustainability activities of ICLEI Members and local governments that are part of 
ICLEI projects across the globe.ICLEI Œ Local Governments for Sustainability is an international association of local governments implementing 
sustainable development. ICLEI™s mission is to build and serve a worldwide movement of local governments to 
achieve tangible improvements in global sustainability with special focus on environmental conditions through 
cumulative local actions.
© GIZ and ICLEI August 2014
Key ContactsMetro Vancouver
 Ann Rowan, Senior Policy Analyst 
 Policy and Planning 
DepartmentMetro Vancouver, Canada
Tel: +1-604-451-6669
ann.rowan@metrovancouver.
org www.metrovancouver.org
ICLEI World Secretariat (WS)
Capacity CenterKaiser-Friedrich-Str. 7
53113 Bonn, Germany
Tel. +49-228 / 97 62 99-00
Fax +49-228 / 97 62 99-01Email: urban.research@iclei.org
www.iclei.org/casestudies
Sources 
metrovancouver.org/
 Metro Vancouver, Regional Food Strategy, Supporting Document: http://www.
metrovancouver.org/planning/development/AgricultureAndFood/Documents/
RegionalFoodSystemStrategy.pdf
 
http://www.metrovancouver.org/planning/development/AgricultureAndFood/Pages/
RegionalFoodSystemStrategy.aspx, accessed at July 2014
Acknowledgements 
 
Urban NEXUS Case Study 2014 - 03, Metro Vancouver, Canada
   August 2014On behalf of: The Urban NEXUS project 
2013-2014 was funded by GIZ 
on behalf of BMZ to develop 
the "Operationalization of the 
NEXUS approach in cities and 
metropolitan regions". 
The Urban NEXUS project 
included: a baseline study 


preparation of case studies 
and shorter case stories, and 
the design and implementation 
of action-oriented pilot projects 
supported by the German 
Development Cooperation.
ICLEI, as implementing partner 
of the Urban NEXUS project, is responsible for the content of 
this Case Study.
Further Reading GIZ and ICLEI, 2014, Operationalizing the Urban NEXUS: towards resource 

urbannexus

Vancouver

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Municipality of Vancouver

Food systems are multisectoral and globalised, which makes it difficult to enact large-scale change in food because a large amount of stakeholders are affected. At the same time, the globalisation of food makes its production less sustainable and makes regions more dependent on each other. Metro Vancouver tries to address this by creating an encompassing strategy that brings together producers, policymakers, retailers and distributors. Their strategy tries to allow for more regional production of food by ensuring cooperation and dialogue between municipal politics, farmers, and food processing and retail industry actors. The strategy is focused on actions at the regional level which will lead to a more localized, sustainable, resilient and healthy food system while continuing to be embedded in the larger food system at the national and global scales. Given the multi-sectoral nature of food systems, a process was developed to involve a wide range of stakeholders: farmers, food processors, distributors and retailers, public health authorities, municipalities, provincial and federal government and their agencies as well as NGOs, community groups and academia. The unique platform provided by Metro Vancouver helped to mobilize this approach, which would have otherwise been beyond the scope and capacity of some smaller municipal members to achieve.

Regional Food System Strategy

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

Reduce Energy Consumption

Cities consume about 75% of global energy and emit between 50% and 60% of global greenhouse gases ([UN-Habitat](https://unhabitat.org/topic/energy)). To reduce the negative impact of their energy consumption, cities need to shift away from fossil fuels and move towards renewable energy sources. Such a shift will help cities work towards their climate change mitigation and adaptation action plans. Renewable energy technologies such as wind, water, solar, and geothermal can also help improve access to energy in vulnerable and marginalised neighbourhoods through, for example, decentralised, off-grid solutions.

Renewable energy technologies can harvest the energy in nature’s processes, such as wind, and solar radiation and geothermal heat, that can be replenished within a human lifespan. In contrast, fossil fuels are materials that are not replenished within a human lifespan and are combusted for energy, losing the fuel material and resulting in emissions. 

Local governments can develop sustainable energy plans, considering different energy resources and requirements, to develop a robust strategy for the development of renewable energy technologies and infrastructure throughout the city. They can also institute specific legislation and tax systems to regulate energy production and consumption, incentivise research and development of cleaner, more efficient technologies. Via Power Purchase Agreements cities can buy renewable energy from green energy providers and fix the price in order to provide security to financial institutions to finance renewable energy infrastructure. Furthermore, increasing awareness and facilitating capacity-building on planning urban sustainable energy projects can help the uptake of clean energy across the city by different stakeholders—from citizens to businesses and institutions. Facilitating collaboration, then, will be crucial, since private companies operate most of the world’s energy systems.


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⚡  Harnessing renewable energy from natural processes

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

Using renewable energy like solar, wind, etc. or renewable fuels like biomass, etc.

Renewable energy, fuels

Governments

Cities consume about 75% of global energy and emit between 50% and 60% of global greenhouse gases (UN-Habitat). To reduce the negative impact of their energy consumption, cities need to shift away from fossil fuels and move towards renewable energy sources. Such a shift will help cities work towards their climate change mitigation and adaptation action plans. Renewable energy technologies such as wind, water, solar, and geothermal can also help improve access to energy in vulnerable and marginalised neighbourhoods through, for example, decentralised, off-grid solutions.

Renewable energy technologies can harvest the energy in nature’s processes, such as wind, and solar radiation and geothermal heat, that can be replenished within a human lifespan. In contrast, fossil fuels are materials that are not replenished within a human lifespan and are combusted for energy, losing the fuel material and resulting in emissions.

Local governments can develop sustainable energy plans, considering different energy resources and requirements, to develop a robust strategy for the development of renewable energy technologies and infrastructure throughout the city. They can also institute specific legislation and tax systems to regulate energy production and consumption, incentivise research and development of cleaner, more efficient technologies. Via Power Purchase Agreements cities can buy renewable energy from green energy providers and fix the price in order to provide security to financial institutions to finance renewable energy infrastructure. Furthermore, increasing awareness and facilitating capacity-building on planning urban sustainable energy projects can help the uptake of clean energy across the city by different stakeholders—from citizens to businesses and institutions. Facilitating collaboration, then, will be crucial, since private companies operate most of the world’s energy systems.


⚡ Energy Systems

Enacting measures that optimise energy use

Energy efficiency

Utilising data and models to to identify, enable and/or implement circular strategies (eg. effective resource use & logistics planning, circular business models & design)

Data analytics, modelling

Prioritize solutions that use the power of functioning ecosystems as infrastructure to provide natural services to benefit society and the environment; consider nature-based replacements for grey infrastructure.

Prioritise renewable resources 

Providing electricity and gas services, including traditional and renewable energy generation, natural and manufactured gas and operating gas networks

Energy Utilities and Independent Power Producers

Providing residential and non-residential construction services, such as architectural, engineering, planning, real-estate, contracting, and inspection services

Construction and Real Estate Services

Nace Sectors

Thematic Areas

City Stakeholders

 Half open vertical barrel to show pressure-less liquid flow using a waterbuffer fed from an internal hose. One creative way to set things up with internal irrigation.
V3 Vertical Barrel – Technical Info Sheet
The aponix vertical barrel uses gravitation for vertical irrigation whereas an inside wing system makes sure that irrigation is happening evenly between all grow spaces. Liquid nutrients always travel from top to bottom regardless how high your unit is. In order to understand the irrigation options please check section A) on our vertical barrel configuration page. V3 Vertical Barrel – Flyer
Once the liquid reaches the bottom of the barrel there are options to keep it there or drain it to a central reservoir for re-circulation. That behavior can be changed by making the choice for a different base. See section B) on our vertical barrel configuration page for more details.
The idea is to assemble ring segments that provide 2″/5cm grow spaces for your crop, making space by using grow space covers and stack them to a variable height to provide just the amount of grow spaces that you can maintain. By the end of 2020 aponix a new ‘Version 3’ soilless piece will be available that will incorporate all collected improvements from the existing user base from the last 3 years plus some amazing new features:
Some components that you can use to set up and organize 3D hydroponic grow spaces for many very different farming setups.

Liquid will be guided more thoroughly inside. It will have a new more robust and tighter click connection mechanism (hexagonally designed instead of square) and air traps to keep the liquid inside the barrel also on higher flow rates and prevent a permanent liquid film in critical areas on the inside. A unit will be 100% light tight. All micro gaps have been closed (Special thanks go out to the user who put a strong light source inside a unit in a dark room sending us a picture with some tiny little sparks in 2018). Former frequent leaks using V2 have been reduced by 70%. For the users who like to make the units super liquid tight, the connection areas have been re-designed and can now additionally be sealed with a tiny drop of mounting grease or food grade silicone when you assemble the ring segments in 2 spots on the connection. It provides an extra large and flat area for that.

Reusable Plug Pot with optional metal trellis and grow space cover for unused spaces vs standard single use plastic net pot.
There will be a reusable grow plug insert, that in general should replace 2-inch single-use plastic netpots and per design also in other soilless systems based on 2″ netpots. It will also have an optional plant trellis insert to grow larger flowers and fruiting dwarf varieties to increase the range of plant that can be grow in it. Get one available shape from us or bend your own.
In combination with the new lid-base setting up lines of vertical barrels is facilitated and sped up. This part is also used for rotating units by some users.
There is a dedicated sprinkler dome lid now to make irrigation using recommended but also own sprinklers more robust, easy and convenient. You simply can not hit any critical spot anymore.
V3 vertical barrels get more sturdy and stable when assembled and can be stacked higher than V2 was able to.
There will only be a single ring segment piece in ‘Version 3’ with 2 grow pod inserts that only allow 2 stacking positions – for 6 or 12 plants per level. If spaces are unused they can be closed with a nice green cover.
Compatibility: All larger and new parts will be backwards compatible. You can just not mix V2 and V3 parts in the same ring segment and you should not mix V2 levels with V3 levels within the same vertical barrel unit. Diameter of the grow spaces, diameter and metrics, wall thickness are exactly the same from V2 to V3.

Chained standing version with external reservoir 
The most common use case is to arrange your barrels standing, for example in greenhouses or suitable protected urban spaces. Please also check a few integration examples on this page.


With the lid base we improved the initial multi barrel base into a more versatile and at the same time more compact base solution: The lid base has dual use: a) You can use a standard 40mm PVC pipe underneath to integrate drainage and a fixture for the pipe at the same time. And b) you can put it on a base with a diameter of 60cm to make it rotate. Irrigation input and output are located in the center and can be created without fixed contact.
Standalone version with own reservoir Home and hobby users who are not afraid of managing a soilless setup can use our closed base and stack their soilless grow spaces on top of that. There is no need for an external nutrient reservoir. If you like to run a smaller farm without the need to maintain and setup an external nutrient reservoir, you can inter connect the closed bases to increase the amount of liquid in a circle. You can integrate one or even multiple revision parts in order to be able to reach inside the unit ones it has plants growing and is operating.

These units use a standard submersible aquarium pump inside of the 36l base connected internally to the top waterbuffer. In this case the units were used outside. Irrigation was done in cycles using a simple mechanical timer.
Hanging Version of a soil-less barrel The top lid can also be used as a hanging base. In this case you can attach 3 stainless steel ring hooks to the ribs that are then used to tighten strong nylon ribbons to hang a barrel to a swivel hook for example.      Hanging setup      Nylon ribbon tightened to the top lid.      Ring hook attached      Hanging + rotating   Each hanging barrel is strapped together using 3 ribbons. According to your lighting situation the barrel can be rotated using a swivel hook in order to assure even lighting for your plants.

  

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