"Chambers for a Circular Economy - Actions to Support SMEs' Transition to a Circular Economy" aims to offer a clear overview of the wide range of initiatives led or co-managed by Chambers in the field of the Circular Economy, with the intention not only to inform and share innovative actions, but also to spur and motivate synergies, triggering collaborations and the creation of new business models. The aim of each and every of these projects is to enable businesses to evolve from a linear to a circular mode of production and consumption.

This publication presents a total of 32 projects initiated or co-led by Chambers in 13 countries, and categorized under 5 main topics:

• certification,
• circular skills,
• cooperation,
• reuse & recycle and
• waste prevention.

Up to 90 million tonnes of food are wasted every year in the EU, half of which is generated at production and/or processing stage.

Being highly versatile and efficient, insects can bio-transform many of these materials (before they become "waste") into a wide range of higher-value products and ingredients that can further be included into the food and feed chains. Their added value goes beyond that of an alternative feed ingredient.

The lower Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) of insects confirms their efficacy, but also their ability to concentrate lower value materials into ingredients of superior quality, such as proteins and lipids, in line with the natural nutritional needs of aquaculture, poultry or swine.

In the development of the circular economy, discussion around circular business models and circular revenue models is booming.

But what is a true circular business or circular revenue model? When can these models be applied, and what are the barriers that still exist?

For the past decade the authors of this paper have gathered practical experience with the implementation of circular revenue models such as lease, pay-per-use and take-back schemes. It is from this experience that they noticed that the current institutional economic framework hinders the transition to the circular economy.

The paper provides insight in four key barriers, providing a real-life business case as an example for each. It also includes a guideline for policy makers on how to address these barriers.

Samen werken aan circulaire fietsinfrastructuur. Een integrale en systematische aanpak by Stichting Circulair Bouwen is a report on a 2-year programme carried out with EU funds on building a circular bicycle road infrastructure. Over this period of time, valuable information has been gathered on how to promote and organize circular building efficiently.

To follow up on the programme, a multi-year project will be carried out in cooperation with governments, companies, educational institutions and NGOs, under the lead of the Radboud University Nijmegen, which will include two important policy fields:

• encouraging cycling (low carbon, public health, better access to congested cities, car traffic reduction) and
• the circular construction of bicycle lanes.

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is offering a 100 % online course on Sustainable Packaging in a Circular Economy. Students and professionals with basic knowledge of the circular economy and an interest in or experience of packaging can start studying anytime, at the time and place of their choosing. The course material is accessible 24/7. This is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that runs on edX.

The course programme includes:

• Business strategies that support sustainable packaging systems
• Opportunities for designing with renewable, bio-based materials
• Best practices through case studies with industry frontrunners
• How circular design principles can be applied to create 'closed loop' packaging systems.

You can enrol here.