Fab City Challenge is an initiative launched in 2014 by the then mayor of Barcelona, “challenging” cities to become self-sustainable by 2054. Since then, the project has expanded to a global network of 28 cities and one country (Georgia), cooperating with each other to improve, implement and exchange their urban practices.

The end-goal is for each city to produce everything they consume. In order to reach its objective, the Challenge vividly promotes increased collective action and co-designed solutions for the common well-being of the planet. That is the main idea of its Manifesto, which contains 10 guiding principles for promoting sustainability and liveability – with actions at local and regional levels.

CIRCLES is a platform dedicated to disseminating circular economy solutions in the Eastern Netherlands. It encourages entrepreneurs to participate in the green transition, promoting their sense of ownership in the transition process. It offers a space for stakeholders to interact and exchange views on circular economy – digitally or physically - or simply a space to establish partnerships.

Several organisations – public, private and NGOs – interact in a range of ways, including workshops, publications, opportunities to access finance. One of the initiatives, for instance, consists of a space to submit ideas. If viable, cooperation with regional universities can be established, and entrepreneurs can collaborate to reach solutions.

ACCEZ is a platform which aims to foster circular economy practices in the southern Netherlands. It pools initiatives by several regional universities and public and private actors in the following fields:

• area development
• circular agriculture
• manufacturing industries
• plastic.

The platform bolsters cooperation between partners to develop solutions for knowledge-intensive issues. To do so, they oversee and fund triple-helix research projects. The end-goal of the platform is to enhance the regional knowledge base and networks, with a view to substantially accelerating the transition to a circular economy.

The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra is a future fund collaborating with partners to research, trial and implement bold ideas that shape the future. It aims to make Finland a pioneer in sustainable well-being.

Since 2015, Sitra has been working to lead the way to a circular economy – a new kind of society in which everyday lives and well-being are no longer based on excessive consumption and fossil fuel use.

Currently, Sitra’s work focuses on supporting a fair transition to a circular economy and investigating how business can be based on sharing instead of ownership. Sitra is also working to advance circular trade policies, to increase the understanding of environmental effects of digitisation and to explore the potential of the circular economy to safeguard biodiversity.

CIRCULAR CHANGE

Specialized in establishing and nourishing dialogue between different stakeholders particularly in the process of creation of circular economy (CE) roadmaps, it is promoting new narratives, orchestrating interests, exchanging knowledge and enabling innovation. 

References

CIRCULAR STRATEGIES

• Strategic consulting in the field of CE and innovation
• Sustainable and circular brand, product and service development
• Stakeholder mapping, orchestration and circular collaboration

ROADMAPPING PROCESS

• Co-creation, development and implementation of CE roadmaps on national or local level

EXPERT CONTRIBUTION

• Research, reports and scenarios
• Coaching for circular frontrunners
• Keynote speeches, moderating, workshops, lectures.

MEDIA REFERENCES

Circular Point is a service hub set up by Geonardo Ltd to provide practical and business circular economy solutions for companies and organisations. Its versatile services allow its clients to choose the most suitable and relevant support their company or organisation needs to apply circular economy principles in their daily practice or product development.

Circular Point has a mission to serve both the efficiency and profitability of its clients, while creating a positive environmental, social and consumer impact as well. The circular economy offers a wide range of opportunities for innovation, better and long-term consumer relations as well as for reducing the negative ecological footprint and for the sustainable management of natural resources.