The circular economy (CE) roadmap of the South Karelia region in Finland, along the Russian border, was drawn up at the end of 2018 in the framework of the CIRCWASTE project. The Finnish Environment Institute formed an expert network on CE, and began by identifying regional strengths and specific characteristics.

In South Karelia, stakeholders set the objectives of CE as:

• Sustainable wellbeing, no emissions, no waste, or excessive consumption
• More jobs and business activity in the field of environment
• Strengthening of knowledge and training in environmental and circular economy issues.

Stakeholders at different levels are responsible for achieving specific targets, from the regional development council to municipalities, private companies, networks, universities, etc.

In the framework of the CIRCWASTE project, Southwest Finland developed a Circular economy (CE) roadmap to implement the national waste plan and define regional objectives with concrete measures to achieve these.

The Finnish Environment Institute formed an expert network on CE, and began identifying regional strengths and special characteristics.

For Southwest Finland, stakeholders set a focus on sustainable food systems, high-tech industry, transport and logistics. Public services and knowledge exchange with industry, academia and and civil society are the overarching themes. 

The priority sectors are:

• Construction
• biodegradable waste
• nutrient reuse
• municipal waste.

Targeted training and versatile learning materials will advance CE in construction, where the strategy aims to generate less waste.

The Brussels Regional Programme for a Circular Economy (CE) is Belgium's capital region strategic effort towards a CE. Within this program, the Brussels construction industry with its 12,000 businesses is a priority sector. As construction and facilities management accounts for 98% of water use, 75% energy demand and 33% of waste in Brussels, there is great potential for a substantial contribution to a circular transition.

The roadmap, developed in partnership with the Environmental Agency through 3 stakeholder workshops, includes three gradual steps towards circular building in Brussels:

1. voluntary measures by construction businesses by 2025
2. comprehensive regulation for circular public buildings by 2030
3. reforming all relevant local planning regulations to include circularity by 2040.

In this policy note, the City of the Hague outlines why a circular transition is necessary and what benefits it can provide to the city for its sustainable development. Continuing with a state-of-play, the note sketches out the policy framework at European, national and regional level to provide strategic context and introduce analysis of a non-exhaustive list of 143 ongoing circular projects in The Hague area.

Links to further research show that using the opportunities a circular economy provides in the Construction, Procurement and Retail Trade sectors alone could substantially reduce carbon emissions and deliver 3,500 jobs in city's area.

Building on this research, the policy note indicates the city's priorities best lie in biomass, construction material and critical raw materials.

After the 2014 elections, the new Roubaix municipality team wanted to change the image of its city and encourage a positive attitude towards both its inhabitants and France as a whole.

The roadmap aims at turning difficulties into advantages, generating a new dynamic. Based on the Sustainable development strategy (since 2003), a zero waste policy is progressively implemented with a focus on cooperation and awareness raising among stakeholders.

The approach is global, even if some activities are implemented on a micro-scale (budget issue), mostly at the level of a city sub-district (Fresnoy-Mackellerie).

To enable the entire City of Roubaix to experience the transition to a zero waste economy, projects are open and accessible to all categories of population and businesses.

Greece's Governmental Economic Policy Council endorsed a National Action Plan on Circular Economy (CE) in early 2018 to set the country on a path towards the long-term adoption of CE principles. This supports Greece's economic strategy in its key quest to green the economy in a way that creates jobs, especially for women and youth, and long-term equitable and inclusive growth based on resource efficiency, promotion of SMEs, innovation and investment in new technologies, and boosting of the “social economy” potential.

The long-term (2030) goals of the Action Plan are:

• preventing waste and improving recycling
• promoting industrial symbiosis
• supporting circular consumption patterns
• enhancing multi-stakeholder partnerships
• monitoring progress towards a CE model through SMART indicators.

The underlying idea of the Strategy for the Transition to the Circular Economy (CE) in the Municipality of Maribor, as well as the Wcycle project, is to have an own innovative model as a system for managing all resources available in Maribor and the wider urban area.

The model is based on the operation of enterprises that are predominantly publicly-owned and already provide public services for residents. They are the city’s bottlenecks that until now have not functioned as a connecting link, which is a fundamental principle in the circular transition.

Only close cooperation between public companies, citizens, industry and local self-government can lead to a successful interconnected system that optimises resources and results - economic, environmental and social.

Luxembourg's new National Waste and Resource Management Plan includes measures and guidelines for the implementation of the amended Waste Management Act of 21 March 2012.

It analyzes the situation regarding waste management and lists measures that will be taken to ensure the re-use, recycling, recovery and disposal of waste in the most environmentally friendly conditions while remaining in line with the national and European legislative context.

The prevention program is integrated in the text of the national plan and introduces a whole-system approach for waste prevention.

The overall objective of the NWRMP is to protect the environment, cultural property and human health by preventing and reducing the harmful effects of waste. In addition, waste management has long-term goals.

The Brussels Regional Programme for Circular Economy (BRPCE) is an integrated strategy involving 111 measures aimed at delivering circular patterns at the city level. The main objectives of the BPRCE are:

• to transform environmental objectives into economic opportunities
• to anchor economic activities within Brussels’ borders, maximising resource circularity and boosting entrepreneurship, and
• to create new employment opportunities.

The transition towards a circular economy is a key project of the ecological and social transition. The linear model — producing, consuming, discarding — is inevitably leading towards the depletion of the planet's resources.

We must move towards a different type of economy, where we consume in moderation, products have a longer lifetime, we limit waste, and we are able to transform waste into new resources.

This transition is a genuine societal project whose aim is to move away from the throw-away society. It invites us to change the way we lead our lives and to invent new and more sustainable production and consumption methods. The French roadmap includes four key priority areas: better production, better consumption, better waste management, and engaging all stakeholders.