The BlueCity business park is one of Rotterdam's unique landmarks: formerly a water park resort, the complex is now a circular incubator housing over 30 startups experimenting towards a sustainable future.
ACR+, the Association of Cities and Regions for Sustainable Resource Management, celebrated its 25th anniversary in June 2019. At this event, member organisations presented their respective work on the circular economy and committed to continue furthering the circular transition.
ACR+ has made substantial contributions to developing monitoring systems with corresponding indicator sets for urban and regional authorities. Among others, ACR+ has continued its Circular Europe Network projects within the Urban Agenda Partnership on Circular Economy, while also contributing to the CIRCTER final report on sub-national circular economy monitoring.
Following a 19 February 2019 workshop on Circular Economy Competences - Making the Case for Lifelong Learningin the European Parliament, ACR+ and Zero Waste Scotland have produced a report detailing how to introduce circular thinking in education, create vocational training programmes in waste management, repair and reuse, and developing training programs for local authority staff.
ACR+ has consistently advocated to accelerate the circular economy, while also showcasing urban best practice in circular economy throughout 2019 at various events across the European continent.
For four days in 2019, more than 750 company leaders, scientists and policy makers from all over the world came to Antwerp for the World Resources Forum organised by OVAM - the Public Waste Agency of Flanders featuring sessions on the power of the circular economy and the link with climate change, and an introduction to numerous pioneering projects and initiatives that are driving the transition.
In this guidebook, the CSCP classifies cities into four broad categories: a legacy city or a pioneering city in a developed or an emerging economy. Based on this classification, a number of examples from cities across the continents this guidebook documents the journey towards becoming more circular, and provides suggestions for cities seeking to make the shift.
Local government programmes that encourage and support circular economy practices, such as repair, recycling and circular design activities help attract new investment, create jobs and result in tangible socio-economic benefits for the city and its people, reveals the report: The Role of Municipal Policy in the Circular Economy: Investment, Jobs and Social Capital in Circular Cities.
The report explores the connection between municipalities pursuing circular economy policy and investments in circular business that create jobs. In order to maximise circularity's benefits for society, municipalities can employ a series of regulatory, economic and soft instruments that include strategies, targets, loans and subsidies, which are all also conducive to generating employment.
On the occasion of the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF), held on 4-5 June 2019 in Helsinki, the Architects' Council of Europe (ACE) published a Statement highlighting the importance of design to achieve more circularity in the construction and building sector, as well the solutions that architecture can bring.
Like many other sectors, the construction and building sectors operate largely within a linear economy model of “take, make and waste”. Yet, there is growing awareness of the finite nature of natural resources and fragility of our environment, and thereby of the urgent need to develop more sustainable and regenerative economic models.
Architecture has a crucial role to play here as many decisions taken during the design phase have long-lasting consequences on the environment.
This publication, managed and delivered by C40 Cities, provides 40 thorough examples of practical circular economic initiatives from cities around the world, for inspiration and replications by other cities.
The Climate-KIC Circular Cities project is investigating how city governments can be transformational change agents and creators of smart and sustainable neighbourhoods.
The results are expected to improve how cities manage building, construction and utility waste and, through productively utilizing household and industrial waste streams, can increase the growing perception that what was once viewed as waste can now be viewed as resource streams.
