FISSAC is a project seeking to stimulate the coordination and facilitation of work in the construction and demolition value chain. Accordingly, the initiative aims to gather various stakeholders and to encourage the development and adoption of a common methodology and software platform for the exchange of information and best practices.
The overall aim of the project is to help companies with sustainability practices, by creating models that can be used by anyone. The models can be:
manufacturing processes (such as demonstrations of close-loop recycling processes to transform waste into secondary raw materials)
product validations (examples of eco-design and eco-innovative construction products)
industrial symbiosis models (software platforms for example).
There are major benefits to be gained from residual flows that are used to a limited extent in food production. By scaling up the use of residual streams for human consumption, we can take a big step towards a circular sustainable food system. But because these residual flows require pioneering work in cooperation with various organisations, an impactful chain transition is not realised.
To accelerate the transition of upcycling of residual streams towards food, co-creation and rock-solid cooperation are needed. The Upcycling Community started by Foodvalley NLis a safe environment where organisations can develop their ideas together and gain inspiration from each other. With the right support and a mix of cross-sector organisations, we make a circular impact.
Forest Sharing is a platform/marketplace for the shared and innovative management of unmanaged or underutilized privately-owned forests according to PEFC standards, a network where exchanges between owners and economic operators within the supply chain are facilitated and organized, thus creating the economies of scale needed for forest activities (sale of wood or derived products, recreational areas, adventure parks, thematic routes, management of Rural Development Plans etc.) to become economically viable.
The platform, online since September 2020, has around 300 registered users for 2 500 hectares of woods in various regions, with a potential of another 2 000 hectares. In 2019 it was selected as best practice/new business idea within Rosewood.
France Barter is a B2B platform allowing companies to save money by replacing purchases with exchanges. This marketplace, created in 2015, facilitates multilateral exchanges via its own unit of exchange: the "Barter euro". The barter system allows companies to pool and optimise the use of unused assets, such as human time, machine time, storage space, surplus stock, etc.
Companies register the assets they offer and their purchasing needs, then the platform's support team helps identify under-exploited assets and structure offers. The platform thus helps companies avoid unnecessary purchases, saving money while cutting resource use.
The aim of FURN360 is to create an Innovative didactic content to promote the integration of the Circular Economy Principles within the different business models used by the furniture and woodworking sectors specialized in office and contract.
It will comprise a joint curriculum, didactic materials and a collaborative platform in line with the needs of identified different target users. FURN360 will develop and implement an innovative practice, a new training curriculum for the furniture sector, specifically for the office furniture and contract sectors, adapted to the future trends and needs of the whole society in terms of circular economy.
The GLOPACK project is investigating food packaging with no environmental footprint and the ability to extend the shelf life of food products.
The project is focusing on three food packaging areas:
biodegredable and home compostable food packaging made from agro-food residues,
bio-packaging with advanced active functionalities to improve food preservation and shelf life without additives,
battery-free RIFD bio-sensor to track food freshness.
The GLOPACk project operates a multistakeholder platform to gather the experts of the whole food and packaging supply chain. The members of the Stakeholders' Platform are involved in the actitivies of the project via webinars, stakeholder events and joint development of documents.
#gocircularnow (GCN) is a consumer-focused campaign to advance the transition to a circular economy. It encourages a more sustainable way of living and consuming that’s realistic, affordable and simple to incorporate.
As part of this movement, GCN provides consumers with the information and means needed to ask their favourite brands to #gocircularnow, while providing clarity on the many different ways in which circularity can be of benefit to their daily lives.
GCN also promotes makers currently operating within the structures of circular production, bringing them to the attention of consumers so they can be seen as viable alternatives to non-circular brands.
Its mix of engaging content and opinion communicates in ways that take the conversation around sustainability out of its current ‘eco-bubble’, connecting with everyday realities to make conscious consumption the new normal.
The Circular Economy Task Force is a business group convened by the Green Alliance. It is a forum for policy, innovation and business thinking on resource use in the UK and is currently chaired by Colin Church, chief executive of IOM3. This task force has already produced a number of reports on resource policy, recycling opportunities and manufacturing productivity.
The task force’s most recent report, Completing the Circle, has placed a spotlight on the amount of material often lost to the economy, once collected, and proposes new measures to complement recycling targets which would help to 'pull' these materials back into use in manufacturing.
Some of the task force's recommendations were picked up by the UK’s Environmental Audit Committee’s Growing a circular economy report, and by the Scottish Government’s Resource Use and the Circular Economy inquiry.
The task force has also established the North Sea Resource Roundabout project, working with the Embassy of the Netherlands in the UK to identify the regulatory barriers to the trade and use of recycled materials across European countries, and working with regulators to develop solutions.
The current members of the task force are Kingfisher, Viridor, Walgreens Boots Alliance, SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, and Veolia.
Welcome toGreen Tech Valley, focussing on Climate and Circular Solutions. The Green Tech Valley is located in the south of Austria and is internationally regarded as the hotspot for innovative energy and environmental technology.
The Green Tech Cluster initiates growth through innovation. It brings together around 220 companies and research institutions shaping green solutions of the future. With 20 global technology leaders within an hour’s drive, the location forms one of the highest concentrations of companies in this industry.
Have a look at their Don't waste / Invest campaign: One-stop-shop recycling solutions for a wide range of waste fractions derived from Austrian excellence in achieving one of Europe's highest recycling rates.
Holland Circular Hotspot is a private-public platform comprising the HCH foundation, (local) government authorities, knowledge institutes and companies. They collaborate intensively and internationally and exchange knowledge with a view to stimulating entrepreneurship in the field of the circular economy.
