Resources & Publications

The Limburg Energy Fund (“LEF”), a regional investment fund established by the Province of Limburg, is the first of its kind to join Circle Economy's membership community.

LEF has a mandate to support sustainability in or for Limburg. The fund has received €90 mln from the Province of Limburg and the European Investment Bank. It provides subordinated and senior debt, and equity financing, to projects that contribute to CO2 reduction, renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource efficiency, waste or asbestos reduction.

"We are very proud and happy to welcome LEF as our latest member. They lead by example, currently financing various circular projects. Their ambition, specific circular focus and experience will be of great value for the work we do within Circle Economy"

- Fieke de Haan, Lead Circle Finance Programme

With this mandate, LEF is the first regional investment fund with a specific circular focus, stimulating retention of value from residues of biological, technical and energy cycles and improving the efficient use or re-use of resources.

“The Limburg Energy Fund pledges to contribute to further growth of the circular economy. LEF has financed more than €20 mln in circular projects, mobilizing more than €100 mln in private sector funding. By joining other members of the Circle Economy community, we will share knowledge and hope to step up our financing of circular projects”

-- Philip Tan, Director Limburg Energy Fund

Four examples of circular projects financed by the Limburg Energy Fund

• Dutch Green Carbon is the 1st circular carbon black production facility, developed by Black Bear Carbon and Kargo Group, blackbearcarbon.com
• Quality Circular Polymers processes used plastics into virgin quality polymers used for the production of new plastic materials, www.qcpolymers.com
• Weelec is a company that disassembles electronic waste to mono streams and raw materials that are (re)usable in normal production processes. www.weelec.nl
• N+P Group retains value from non-recyclable waste streams. The waste is sold as mono stream or processed into raw materials and fuels, for example pellets that replace coal or lignite, www.np-recycling.nl/en
  

This paper features a meta-analysis of the empirical literature on the net employment effects of renewable energy. It finds that the reported conclusions on net employment effects are to a large extent driven by the methodology that is applied, and that policy reports have a greater tendency to report a positive net employment effect than academic studies.

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Its time to wake up to the opportunities of the circular economy. In the 12 months since we launched our first Circularity Gap Report, resource extraction and greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase.

Key indications confirm that the problems of the linear economy are engrained in our global system. We are headed in the wrong direction.

Today we have launched the second annual Circularity Gap Report in which we position the circular economy as a tool for the paradigm shift we so desperately need. It offers the prospect of a global economy which is regenerative and abundant.

   Read more   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGZK_uSvjfA

The 'Building Value' report launched today demonstrates the radical potential in the built environment to accelerate the circular economy. The industry should re-think how to calculate value in buildings and how to finance them.  

This report identifies key reforms to current methods of valuation and financing to stimulate circular construction. An alternative pathway is mapped from a case study of the Fridtjof Nansenhof social housing project in Amsterdam, due for redevelopment in 2020.

Download the full report

The report is a collaboration between Circle Economy, Sustainable Finance Lab, ING, Allen & Overy, Eigen Haard, The Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants (NBA),  Alfa Accountants and Advisors, Madaster, Arcadis, Arup, and DOOR architecten, co-funded by Nederland Circulair! The participants formed a Community of Practice (CoP), to develop relevant, transferable tools to guide circular construction.

Rethinking Construction: one building, six layers

The report argues that each building should be conceived as six individual layers, each with their own lifespan. Applying circular principles, strategies can be developed to maintain the value of each layer.  

The EPM hierarchy

Value can be maintained within each of the six layers by prioritizing reuse in this order: elements, products, materials (EPM). New business models, such as Product-as-a-Service, enable effective reuse of EPMs.

Market for reusable elements

Prioritizing reuse will require a developed market for building elements. Technology has enabled actors within the built environment to increasingly collect, store and exchange data. Reliable governance of EPM data is essential to respect privacy, security and transparency.

The business case

Accurate valuation of individual layers and EPMs is key. The Community of Practice conducted a scenario building exercise to compare the long term (financial) performance of circular features for two building layers. The business case is shown to be highly dependent on assumptions for factors including depreciation, discount rates,  lifespan  and market development.

Valuing circular construction

Distinguishing between building layers, when realizing the value on the balance sheet, is necessary to explicitly show the value of layers and EPMs as part of the overall value. The traditional emphasis on location value as part of the total value has eclipsed the importance of building layers and EPMs. These factors should be reported separately on the balance sheet to guide investment decisions.

"Separating location and building elements on the balance sheet should result in a different way of valuing and financing buildings when the developing market for repurposed building elements is more established.”

Jan van der Doelen, Sector Banker Building & Construction, Real Estate at IN

Bringing future value into present financing

Financiers play a crucial role in identifying and mitigating risks in the transition to a circular economy. Circular business models capture value over a longer time horizon, reflected in higher future values. Investment decisions should assess this future value: "The business case of a circular construction project is based on the ambition to reduce our demand for natural resources. If a small extra investment results in increased flexibility of the building in the long-term, then it is a smart investment. This long-term investment vision could be further incentivised if financiers make circular construction an investment criterium.” says Dries Wijte, Manager Back Office Finance at Eigen Haard.  

Next steps

On the 16th of January the Community of Practise hosted an event, inviting industry professionals to further the conversation and challenge the report findings with the market. Several of the CoP partners have already committed to continue to build on the knowledge and support the implementation of a circular built environment.

The 'Building Value' report demonstrates the radical potential in the built environment to accelerate the circular economy. The industry is re-thinking how to calculate value in buildings and how to finance them. Within the Community of Practice, we formulated key reforms to current methods of valuation and financing to stimulate circular construction. An alternative pathway is mapped from a case study of the Fridtjof Nansenhof social housing project in Amsterdam, due for redevelopment in 2020.

Five key lessons:

1. Circular construction depends on the development of a market for used elements, products and materials.

2. Unlocking the potential of circular construction requires new valuation methods, distinguishing between land and buildings conceiving the building as six individual layers, each with their own lifespan.

3. Circular construction can successfully be financed when risks and future potential are balanced. This can be supported by detailed financial modelling and leveraging key strengths of circular buildings as securities.

4. Social housing corporations are ideally suited to implement circular economy business models since both favour long-term inclusive value above mere financial profits.

5. Collaboration and transparency support the creation of synergies between different fields of expertise (business, technical, legal, financial), needed to tackle the challenges of circular construction business models.

Our world is only 9% circular and the trend is negative. The circularity gap is not closing. In 12 months since the launch of the first Circularity Gap Report, the upward trend in resource extraction and greenhouse gas emissions has continued and key indicators confirm that the problems of a linear economy are 'baked in' to the global economy and we are heading in the wrong direction. On 22 January 2019, Circle Economy launches the second annual Circularity Gap Report in Davos during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. In the report, Circle Economy positions the circular economy as a tool for the paradigm shift we so desperately need. It offers the prospect of a global economy which is regenerative and abundant.

Interested in winning a free trip to Amsterdam and attend Beyond Next, including travel and accommodation? Interested in contributing to a circular economy with your research and ideas? Well read on, because we have partnered with Amsterdam Fashion Institute, ABN AMRO, Gemeente Amsterdam and HEMA to run challenges to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

You can now submit existing research, facts and figures, inspirational examples, and other key insights related to these challenges. The challenges cover four major themes of education, product as a service, organic waste in a circular city, and single use plastics.

We will synthesise and openly share the results of this crowd-based exploration on Circle Lab, the online platform for the circular economy, for everyone to find inspiration in, learn from, and use in developing new solutions.

These results will also support attendees of the Beyond Next Challenge Track as they ideate and prototype new solutions to the challenges throughout the two-day festival.

THE PRIZE

Send in some research and you could win a free trip including entry tickets worth €150 and accommodation and travel expenses up to €1,000!

Eight winners will be chosen based on a combination of the number and the quality of their contributions.

For more information on the challenges and how to contribute, check out the challenges below:

Beyond Ownership >
How can we promote access over ownership in the household? 
Brought to you by ABN AMRO

Beyond Plastics >
How can we transition to a system free of single-use plastics?
Brought to you by HEMA

Beyond Education >
How can fashion education equip students for a ‘new reality’?
Brought to you by the Amsterdam Fashion Institute

Beyond Leftovers >
How can we effectively collect and use organic waste throughout the city?Brought to you by the Gemeente Amsterdam

Cities and regions hold huge potential for circular disruption. Their secret weapon? Policy! Circle Economy is excited to share 300+ examples of circular policies from over 40+ countries to the Knowledge Hub - the world’s largest open-access case study library of circular initiatives, technologies, and now, policies. By sharing practical examples of circular policies, cities and policymakers throughout the world can share their knowledge and expertise to overcome the barriers towards a circular future. The collection of inspiring cases have been collected in collaboration with ICLEI, and with the support of the Goldschmeding Foundation.

Visit the Knowledge Hub for Cities

Breaking down the barriers to circular knowledge

In 2017, Circle Economy recognised the huge need for a single location that assembles practical knowledge, expertise and example of circular solutions that are proven to work. The solution? The Knowledge Hub - the world’s largest case study database of circular businesses, initiatives - and, now, circular policy is added to that list. The platform provides an open-access platform for cities and policymakers to connect and further share their experience and expertise on circular policy.

Throughout the world, successful circular policies are blooming. Yet, all too often, this knowledge and experiences of these circular policies are held in silos, hidden away. Now, the Knowledge Hub for circular policy aims to break down these walls.

300+ circular cases across 40+ countries

Building upon the policy framework created by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2015, the 300+ circular policies span 25+ policy instruments that are boosting the transition to a circular economy throughout the world; from circular procurement to collaboration platforms; landfill bans to green bonds. To give a taste of some of the innovative circular policies that can be found on the Knowledge Hub, here are three inspiring examples from European cities and regions;

• Flanders' pay-as-you-throw waste collection scheme charges household depending on the quantity of waste they generate;
• The Catalan Eco-Vouchers Programme aims to foster eco-innovative projects and solutions that would help SMEs pursue circular innovation;
• London's FoodSave Scheme has supported the reduction of unavoidable food waste through free waste audits for participating local food restaurants and cafés;

As the recognition of the circular economy continues to grow, globally, so too will the library of circular policies in the Knowledge Hub. Open-access and collaborative, this digital platform will continue to empower and inspire a global community of circular changemakers. We invite cities and policymakers to share their knowledge, experiences and best practices on circular policies to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy.

The Fibersort is a promising technology that can automatically sort post-consumer textiles by fibre type, but its success depends on being able to sell its outputs; these sorted post-consumer textiles. Without a demand for post-consumer textiles, there is no market for the Fibersort.

This report outlines the amount of post-consumer textiles that could potentially be Fibersorted and used as feedstock for textile-to-textile recycling. Recycling technologies often process feedstocks with a specific composition, so quantities of each fibre type are important to consider. It is also important to understand the costs of these post-consumer textiles, however, it must be noted that the prices for these materials may vary greatly - similar to virgin commodities. The report provides an indication.

Processing recycled content brings considerable environmental and social benefits. However, materials are traded throughout the supply chain and can rarely be tracked. In order to make claims on the recycled content of their products, brands and retailers often dependent upon certifications and standards. An overview of the main certification schemes for recycled content is therefore provided.

While the Fibersort project looks to commercialise a technology, it is much more than this. Fibersort has the ability to transform non-rewearable garments into feedstock for textile-to-textile recycling. To do so we must develop recycling technologies, support an industry where brands feel comfortable using post-consumer textiles as raw material to create new garments, and support the market transition through measuring, reporting and monitoring the current conditions for post-consumer textiles. This report is one step towards this goal.

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