Beyond Green is an annual symposium on the future of fashion, organised by Circle Economy and the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. It uses the collective power of students and industry players to tackle critical issues throughout the fashion system; allowing for new and established minds to come together and push the boundaries of what we know, and realize what we dare to imagine.
'Many companies want to take the next step in sustainability, but are not sure how to go about it. Beyond Green is a very necessary model that not only inspires industry to take action, but demonstrates what that action could look like through real business examples, and interactive workshops with students. The event got my adrenaline pumping and opened my eyes to new possibilities for my company'.
- Kirsten Zwart, Queen of Sourcing, Kings of Indigo
Photo credit throughout: Nina Albada Jelgersma
This first edition, held on the 13th of April, explored ‘The pace of the industry’, and challenged our polarized conceptions of 'fast' and 'slow' fashion. Do these terms refer to speed or quality? Does 'fast' necessarily mean unsustainable? How can 'slow' turn a healthy profit? Must we choose between them?
The first to arrive, toting backpacks packed with laptops and notebooks, eagar fashion students entered the room padded in comfortable layers, clutching coffee cups from the nearby Boterham cafe. Industry leaders promptly followed, appearing a bit lighter and less caffeinated - a mix of local entrepreneurs, notable brands and seasoned sustainability experts. As the curtains closed, seats were taken, and silence fell on the now, anticipatory audience.
What followed was an inspirational start to the day; Helene Smits (Founder, Stating the Obvious) took to the stage to introduce the day’s three keynote speakers, each seeking to explore ‘The Pace of the Industry’, the theme of this edition of Beyond Green.
‘The rhythm is self-inflicted. We can step out of the current system. There are other options to explore’
- Gwen Cunningham, Project Manager Circle Textiles, Circle Economy
Setting the context for what’s to come, Circle Economy’s Gwen Cunningham, began by showing a series of abstract images from photographer Aaron Tilley. These adrenaline-inducing scenes perfectly captured the critical moment of history that we find ourselves in. She explained, ‘we are moving away from a past that doesn’t work for us anymore, and freefalling into a future that is not yet defined’. We are challenged to use the adrenaline of such a moment- to feel the urgency to act and get ahead of the change. Gwen went on to outline five moments in the past year that have brought the topic of pace to the surface; Li Edelkoort’s ‘Anti-fashion Manifesto’; the departure of Raf Simons and Alber Elbaz; the impact of climate change on retail sales; the hijacking of fashion week by social media and the alignment of the runway and retail in the United States. In doing so, she posited that the time for change is ripe in the fashion Industry, that new rules apply, and that we can be a part of their making.
“In order to speed up the changes necessary in our industry and make those changes as relevant as possible, we need to collaborate with all stakeholders, both existing and future. Beyond Green brings all relevant parties together, and puts the right questions on the table. Discussing future solutions with students gives both insight and inspiration. Their views and perspective can help us to steer changes in the right direction, and make them more strategic and pertinent. Together we can transform and shape tomorrow’s fashion industry.”
- Elin Larsson, Director of Sustainability, Filippa K
Next up Elin Larsson, Director of Sustainability at Filippa K took to the stage to outline the company’s circular approach, which can be viewed as a new definition of ‘slow’:
The most striking and inspiring about Filippa K, is their bold trial and error approach. Their holistic plan of action has been achieved through multiple well-calculated baby steps, that add up to an impressive whole. Larsson so rightly stated, inertia is the biggest danger of all, and ‘once you are aware, either you do something about it or not, but you are still responsible.’
“Fast might not be the worst thing about fast fashion- it’s just the way that we organise it”
- Martijn van Strien, Founder, Post-Couture Collective
Lastly, Martijn van Strien, Founder of Post-Couture Collective, shared his vision for a ‘faster than fast’ approach, stating boldly that ‘sometimes fast is just better’. Post-Couture Collective offers an alternative to today’s fashion system, fuelled by an open-source mentality and 21st century technology, the company creates minimalist pieces that are specifically developed as downloadable patterns, to be produced on a lasercutter and assembled by the end user. While such a system could presumably encourage high speed, impulsive production and consumption, it also involves consumers in the production process of a garment and this experience has the potential to incite ‘emotional’ durability.
Van Strien’s media fuelled presentation, carried attendees through three variations of the topic; fast (the current state), faster (made to order, shared ownership, and maker movements) and fastest (body scanning, 3D printing, laser cutting, and virtual reality). He believes that “these methods will eventually allow us to create something new everyday, without having any damaging effects.
In the afternoon workshops, industry and students worked alongside each other to design future models for specific segments of the market, while considering the aforementioned challenges and opportunities that come with fast and slow models of production and consumption.
“Beyond Green was exciting because of the very inspirational speakers and the mix of people from the industry and fashion students. I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with people with the same interest in sustainability and exchanging ideas and thoughts.”
- Jasmin Hammermayer, Fashion & Management student, AMFI
Expert external moderators and dedicated AMFI staff led vivid discussions and guided the participants using custom workshop materials. The result was a series of innovative business concepts ranging from the teen-oriented Vodaclothes, a fast fashion, lease-to-recycle brand included in your monthly phone bill to Wedenim, a members-only club, where basic, unisex denim is amended, treated and customized by local denim specialists, to tech-savvy Changeables, high-quality, durable clothing, equipped with downloadable nano printing technology.
To view the full length keynote presentations please use the video player below.
Special thanks to Nina Albada Jelgersma for capturing photos from this great event! Click on any of the photos below to check out the event photo gallery.
[gallery link="file" size="medium" ids="10450,10449,10448,10447,10446"]
Beyond Green is an annual symposium on the future of fashion, organised by Circle Economy and the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. It uses the collective power of students and industry players to tackle critical issues throughout the fashion system; allowing for new and established minds to come together and push the boundaries of what we know, and realize what we dare to imagine.
'Many companies want to take the next step in sustainability, but are not sure how to go about it. Beyond Green is a very necessary model that not only inspires industry to take action, but demonstrates what that action could look like through real business examples, and interactive workshops with students. The event got my adrenaline pumping and opened my eyes to new possibilities for my company'.
- Kirsten Zwart, Queen of Sourcing, Kings of Indigo
Photo credit throughout: Nina Albada Jelgersma
This first edition, held on the 13th of April, explored ‘The pace of the industry’, and challenged our polarized conceptions of 'fast' and 'slow' fashion. Do these terms refer to speed or quality? Does 'fast' necessarily mean unsustainable? How can 'slow' turn a healthy profit? Must we choose between them?
The first to arrive, toting backpacks packed with laptops and notebooks, eagar fashion students entered the room padded in comfortable layers, clutching coffee cups from the nearby Boterham cafe. Industry leaders promptly followed, appearing a bit lighter and less caffeinated - a mix of local entrepreneurs, notable brands and seasoned sustainability experts. As the curtains closed, seats were taken, and silence fell on the now, anticipatory audience.
What followed was an inspirational start to the day; Helene Smits (Founder, Stating the Obvious) took to the stage to introduce the day’s three keynote speakers, each seeking to explore ‘The Pace of the Industry’, the theme of this edition of Beyond Green.
‘The rhythm is self-inflicted. We can step out of the current system. There are other options to explore’
- Gwen Cunningham, Project Manager Circle Textiles, Circle Economy
Setting the context for what’s to come, Circle Economy’s Gwen Cunningham, began by showing a series of abstract images from photographer Aaron Tilley. These adrenaline-inducing scenes perfectly captured the critical moment of history that we find ourselves in. She explained, ‘we are moving away from a past that doesn’t work for us anymore, and freefalling into a future that is not yet defined’. We are challenged to use the adrenaline of such a moment- to feel the urgency to act and get ahead of the change. Gwen went on to outline five moments in the past year that have brought the topic of pace to the surface; Li Edelkoort’s ‘Anti-fashion Manifesto’; the departure of Raf Simons and Alber Elbaz; the impact of climate change on retail sales; the hijacking of fashion week by social media and the alignment of the runway and retail in the United States. In doing so, she posited that the time for change is ripe in the fashion Industry, that new rules apply, and that we can be a part of their making.
“In order to speed up the changes necessary in our industry and make those changes as relevant as possible, we need to collaborate with all stakeholders, both existing and future. Beyond Green brings all relevant parties together, and puts the right questions on the table. Discussing future solutions with students gives both insight and inspiration. Their views and perspective can help us to steer changes in the right direction, and make them more strategic and pertinent. Together we can transform and shape tomorrow’s fashion industry.”
- Elin Larsson, Director of Sustainability, Filippa K
Next up Elin Larsson, Director of Sustainability at Filippa K took to the stage to outline the company’s circular approach, which can be viewed as a new definition of ‘slow’:
The most striking and inspiring about Filippa K, is their bold trial and error approach. Their holistic plan of action has been achieved through multiple well-calculated baby steps, that add up to an impressive whole. Larsson so rightly stated, inertia is the biggest danger of all, and ‘once you are aware, either you do something about it or not, but you are still responsible.’
“Fast might not be the worst thing about fast fashion- it’s just the way that we organise it”
- Martijn van Strien, Founder, Post-Couture Collective
Lastly, Martijn van Strien, Founder of Post-Couture Collective, shared his vision for a ‘faster than fast’ approach, stating boldly that ‘sometimes fast is just better’. Post-Couture Collective offers an alternative to today’s fashion system, fuelled by an open-source mentality and 21st century technology, the company creates minimalist pieces that are specifically developed as downloadable patterns, to be produced on a lasercutter and assembled by the end user. While such a system could presumably encourage high speed, impulsive production and consumption, it also involves consumers in the production process of a garment and this experience has the potential to incite ‘emotional’ durability.
Van Strien’s media fuelled presentation, carried attendees through three variations of the topic; fast (the current state), faster (made to order, shared ownership, and maker movements) and fastest (body scanning, 3D printing, laser cutting, and virtual reality). He believes that “these methods will eventually allow us to create something new everyday, without having any damaging effects.
In the afternoon workshops, industry and students worked alongside each other to design future models for specific segments of the market, while considering the aforementioned challenges and opportunities that come with fast and slow models of production and consumption.
“Beyond Green was exciting because of the very inspirational speakers and the mix of people from the industry and fashion students. I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with people with the same interest in sustainability and exchanging ideas and thoughts.”
- Jasmin Hammermayer, Fashion & Management student, AMFI
Expert external moderators and dedicated AMFI staff led vivid discussions and guided the participants using custom workshop materials. The result was a series of innovative business concepts ranging from the teen-oriented Vodaclothes, a fast fashion, lease-to-recycle brand included in your monthly phone bill to Wedenim, a members-only club, where basic, unisex denim is amended, treated and customized by local denim specialists, to tech-savvy Changeables, high-quality, durable clothing, equipped with downloadable nano printing technology.
To view the full length keynote presentations please use the video player below.
Special thanks to Nina Albada Jelgersma for capturing photos from this great event! Click on any of the photos below to check out the event photo gallery.
[gallery link="file" size="medium" ids="10450,10449,10448,10447,10446"]
‘Money makes the world go round’, the new report on financing the circular economy, provides directions for overcoming financial barriers that circular businesses encounter. Answers lie in collaboration throughout the value chain and creating financial instruments to invest in a chain or network of businesses rather than in a single business. This way, risks and rewards can be shared and incentives to collaborate arise with the aim of creating a circular chain in which all participants earn a piece of the pie.PGGM took the lead in organizing the working group FinanCE, consisting of PGGM, Intesa SanPaolo, Rabobank, ING, ABN AMRO, EIB, EBRD, Circularity Capital, RSM Erasmus University, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, KPMG Luxembourg, Banking Environment Initiative of Cambridge, Circle Economy and Sustainable Finance Lab.The FinanCE working group was founded in order to understand the implications of the circular economy on business models and corresponding financing of circular business. The motivation behind this is the need for funding of circular business in order to take off and accelerate the transition. The report identifies opportunities for financial institutions to learn how to recognize and to invest in the winners of the future. The most important opportunities are
As part of Nederland Circulair! the researchers from Sustainable Finance Lab and Circle Economy conducted various case studies in order to understand the financial barriers that various circular businesses face. The circular economy consists of a number of new business models, which they found to be easily categorized into three categories:
All business model categories have their own financial consequences. The report specifically addresses financing issues in Circular Use Models, in which the earning model consists of retaining ownership of the products and selling the service of using them. The issues that were found concern the need for increased working capital (i.e. buying machines with a longer pay back period), which challenges cash flow-based financing. Additionally, contract-based financing becomes very important with these shifts in ownership and responsibility. What makes these business models different from already existing product-service-systems is the shift in underlying products (for example low capital (non-) consumables) and B2C markets. Consequently, there exists a need for financial solutions and ready to use product-as-a-service contracts for low capital products and B2C markets. Moreover, predicting the success of this new product-market combination is difficult, meaning the risks for investors are unclear and therefore perceived as high.Circle Economy and Sustainable Finance Lab believe this report is just the beginning. Now that the challenges are clear, the aim is to make those first circular deals by creating the necessary conditions and financial- and legal structures to invest in circular business and chain collaboration. Support by a more diverse financial landscape is crucial and can be increased reinventing equity- and debt instruments and by including innovative financial technologies (blockchain, peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding platforms etc.). We believe it is time to pave the way by designing financial structures that elevate long-term thinking and chain cooperation.
The city of Amsterdam has made a major step in the transition to become one of the world’s first circular cities. Commissioned by the city, Circle Economy implemented its newly developed City Circle Scan to identify areas in which Amsterdam can make the most significant, tangible progress in realising a circular economy. The first City Circle Scan to be done at this scale globally, the resulting report identifies areas in which circular business models can be applied and highlights strategies to accomplish practical implementation of these sustainable solutions.
“The potential of a circular economy is enormous, and that is why we focused on research and are willing to support anyone who strives to make the circular economy a reality in our city. Globally, we are the leader in this field.” - Alderman Abdeluheb Choho of Amsterdam
The report outlines the details of the city’s system processes and identifies the construction and organic waste chains as potential drivers of the transition to circularity and long term effects each will have on Amsterdam’s current linear economy.
“Practical implementation of the circular economy is critical if we are to address the great environmental and social challenges highlighted at COP21 and incorporate solutions to these challenges into the daily activities of citizens and businesses. Amsterdam is the first of many cities around the globe implementing the City Circle Scan and developing road maps for a transition to a circle economy.” - CEO of Circle Economy, Andy Ridley
Concluding with a vision of the future, including a roadmap and action agenda, the report provides guidance on how the city’s value chains can be altered to stimulate innovation, business opportunities, and job creation in both established and newly created sectors. The municipality is inviting interested parties to submit ideas and suggestions to aid in the implementation of these relevant, circular projects.If you have an idea to help aid the city with this transition please click here.
Circle Economy would like to sincerely thank our partners TNO and Fabric for their dedication to making this City Circle Scan possible.
On the 15th of March, .FABRIC and Circle Economy presented the intermediate results of a study on circular opportunities for the Flemish-Brussels metropolitan region during a workshop in the Bozar museum of Brussels. The project, commissioned by OVAM, aims at inspiring urban designers to take part in a larger program entitled Atelier BXL Productive Metropolis. The workshop was the third in a series of four so called ‘Urban Meetings’ of which the last will be held on June 2nd during the International Architecture Biennal Rotterdam (IABR) 2016.[caption id="attachment_10103" align="alignleft" width="212"]
Graphics made by .FABRIC and Circle Economy[/caption]The project Circulaire Ruimte - BXL started in December 2015 and is carried out by .FABRIC, Université Libre de Bruxelles and Circle Economy. The first phase of the project is focused on spatially mapping regional material flows – in particular construction waste, organic waste, water and freight – and identifying key impacts. For instance, the analysis shows that the value of organic waste is almost entirely lost due to incineration north of Brussels. The second phase consists of developing solutions based on circular economy strategies. For organic waste this could mean the introduction of new composting and biodigestion plants in and around the city – for example in Buda, an underused industrial site in the north of the city. Due to the mostly southern winds this location has more potential than sites in the south of Brussels.During the workshop on the 15th, the mapping and regional circular strategies were discussed amongst urban designers and external experts. New data, anecdotes, opportunities and challenges were added to finalize the maps. In the coming two months, the regional strategies will be translated into inspiring scenarios for ‘circularly’ redeveloping three specific sites in Brussels situated along the canal: Buda, Masui and Birmingham.Besides during the IABR 2016, the circular scenarios will be displayed this fall during an exhibition on sustainable urban development in the city of Brussels.
Together with the Ministry of Infrastructure & Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NLCH invited a limited group of participants to attend a 3-day trade mission from the 13th to the 15th of April. The attendees of the trade mission are a mixed group of representatives from government bodies, businesses and NGO’s from 18 different countries around the globe. During this 3 day trade mission, the group will become acquainted with leading examples of circular products, services and business models in The Netherlands. The program also includes a visit to the Circular Expo, located close to Schiphol Airport, where state of the art innovation projects on circular economy will be showcased. The mission will be concluded with a match making event that aims to create new relationships and inspire collaboration.
Positioning the Netherlands as a circular hotspot is a promising and necessary ambition that will inspire and connect not only the Netherlands, but also the rest of the world. The Netherlands is spearheading a movement towards a more circular economy and has become a “living lab" that provides the rest of the world with examples to learn from. Being a frontrunner in the circular economy will create benefits for both the Dutch economy as well as the society as a whole.‘The Netherlands Circular Hotspot’ campaign positions the Netherlands as an international circular hotspot during the time of the Dutch presidency of the EU in 2016. Circle Economy and prince Carlos de Bourbon de Parme (INSID) are collaborating with a diverse group of decision makers and visionaries to discuss how The Netherlands can inspire governments and international businesses to take action.Follow the trade mission and other updated from NLCH on social media!
Twitter: @CircularHotspot and #NLCircularHotspot
Facebook: facebook.com/NLCircularHotspot
More information about circular showcases and business cases visit http://www.netherlandscircularhotspot.nl/home.html
How do logistics shape, enable and/or support the circular economy? And how to integrate circular (business) concepts and logistics in existing activities and make it commercially viable? These issues and more where point of discussion during the latest member Deep Dive on March 22 at FreedomLab, Amsterdam.Three panelists from the member community- Branko Schuurman (DHL), Florens Slob (Van Gansewinkel) and Rob Kragt (Desso) - engaged in a lively discussion with each other and the audience.The costs of take-back mechanisms and reverse logistics is often one of the biggest challenges for businesses engaged in circular concepts. Companies and business are currently dealing with not enough or fluctuating demand to make reverse logistics commercially feasible. For example, there is a huge amount of household and small technical equipment, such as cameras and cell phones, lying unused in people’s drawers and attics. These products, or at least some of the materials in them, have high residual value. Currently there hardly is an incentive to bring them back. What could and should be done to change this?Perception of value is another important aspects. As long as people perceive unused items as waste, there will be no trigger nor a perceived personal gain to bring products back. Consumers should be well aware that their end of life products are very valuable. On the logistics and costing side, companies are looking for possibilities to collect products/materials more efficiently. Technological developments, such as the internet of things, and tools for consumers getting involved in first and last mile logistics could have a huge impact.From the perspective of creating, using and optimizing circular logistics solutions, it is essential for all sectors to consider the entire supply chain rather than all the separate links. The strength of logistics lies not in optimising the quantity of transported tonnes per kilometre, but in the value (people, planet, profit) that is added per kilometre of transported goods. The need for return and service logistics is only increasing. Therefor a more vital question should be: which part of the value could be mine, what other value is created or cost prevented and where do I fit in the whole chain? There are still more than enough questions left unanswered and we are curious to see how the field of circular logistics will develop.
“Although it’s just a 2 hr meeting, this deep dive had the right angle, the right people to get into a intensive, in depth and lively discussion on this topic. These meetings leads to new partnerships and the ability to meet other companies (and people) willing to make a change and towards a circular economy.”Florens Slob, Director Business Development at Van Gansewinkel
Quarterly sector- or industry based Member Deep Dives are part of the membership offering. They are an excellent way for the Circle Community to meet, share insights, learnings and real life issues on specific topics, and contribute to creating business opportunities for and between members.To become a member, or learn more about the membership click here, or contact us directly via membership@circle-economy.com.
Last year November, the FIBERSORT partner consortium led by Circle Economy, submitted a phase 1 proposal for the ‘Market demonstration and validation of FIBERSORT technology’: an automated sorting technology able to sort large volumes of mixed post-consumer textiles based on material composition. Now, a year later, the partner consortium has successfully proceeded to the final step of the INTERREG NWE programme and is a serious contender to receive funding to support further plans.
The textiles industry is the second most polluting industry in the world and fashion is the second largest consumer and polluter of water. This is why over one year ago, Wieland Textiles, Valvan Baling Systems, Metrohm Applikon, Worn Again, Salvation Army ReShare and Circle Economy joined their forces in the Textile Sorting Project. The project aims to demonstrate FIBERSORT technology to the market in a demo plant to validate this as the key value adding innovation to enable the shift to high value recycling for recyclable textiles and create a tipping point for a closed loop textiles industry. The objective is to realize widespread implementation of the technology.
“We are proud to announce that the NWE Monitoring Committee has approved the proposal and all partners are excited and dedicated to submit the final phase 2 proposal by June 24th of this year”, comments Hélène Smits from Circle Economy.
Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) is a European Territorial Cooperation Programme funded by the European Commission with the ambition to make the North-West Europe area a key economic player and an attractive place to work and live, with high levels of innovation, sustainability and cohesion. It invests EUR 370 million of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in activities based on the cooperation of organisations from eight countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The Project
In North-West Europe ±4650 Kt of textiles are discarded every year, of which only ±30% is collected. Of these collected textiles ±40% is not suitable for re-wear and these recyclable textiles are currently being down cycled. Of these, ± 50% could be regenerated into new textiles through high value (textile to textile) recycling routes.
Essential to the success of this project is the collaboration between different stakeholders in the value chain. Within the partner consortium, all three domains that are needed to achieve the main objective and outputs are represented: textile recycling value chain (Wieland Textiles, Salvation Army ReShare, Worn Again), technology providers (Valvan Baling Systems, Metrohm), market uptake & implementation (Circle Economy and associate partner network).
Cities and urban areas are at the core of our current linear economy. The millions of people living in these areas here buy, consume and waste enormous amounts of products and materials. Urbanisation has caused 70% of the world’s population to live in cities. The growing number of urban consumers also means in increase in the influx of goods. People living in cities are responsible for 67% of the global energy consumption and 70% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. Continuing with the way we utilise our resources, cities like Beijing, New Delhi, Milano and Brussels will face higher levels of air pollution and environmental degradation than ever before.Clearly, this is not what our city administrators desire. Their efforts are generally aimed at creating a community that is resilient, competitive and self-sufficient. They want to provide a healthy living environment where people can thrive and be happy, without having to worry about food, jobs or poverty. More and more cities also want to be climate neutral. This is why they are looking for concrete, practical and scalable solutions to change consumption patterns, rejuvenate industries and use waste as a resource. Treating waste as a resource opens up the possibilities for new forms of business – think for instance of repair cafes that provide a new life to discarded products or water purification plants in cities that retrieve ‘struvite’ from wastewater.Cities are key to starting the transition to the circular economy. Being the centres of political and financial power, the nodal points for many value chains and their waste streams, and the hotbeds for creative power and innovation, cities possess all the relevant levers to turn around our economy. This is also true for the scaling up of transformative economic activities: while current circular business models often focus on individual companies, applying a city focus can boost entire chains or sectors to move towards circularity. But what is perhaps more important is the influence of city administrators - unlike at the federal level - they are directly linked to the practical implementation that can happen ‘just around the corner’. They know their citizens and their citizens know them. A mayor can immediately see and feel the effects of change that he or she has introduced, on the road, in surrounding areas or in the air.
“This is where the strength of cities comes in - and this is why we need to make mayors heroes.”
- Andy Ridley, CEO, Circle Economy
The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, is convinced that the circular economy provides an answer to many challenges cities are confronted with. In the Livre Blanc de l’economie circulaire du Grand Paris (2015), she writes that she sees the circular economy as “An economy with the smallest impact on our environment, on our climate and also on our health” and states that “it is the direction we have to follow as of today”. Some 500 kilometers north of Paris, the alderman for sustainability of the city of Amsterdam, affirms: “The potential of a circular economy is enormous, and that is why we are focused on research and are willing to support anyone who strives to make the circular economy a reality in our city.”What is the real potential of the circular economy within a city? To answer this question Circle Economy developed the City Circle Scan. This tool allows cities to develop practical and scalable solutions to save resources while creating new jobs, a healthier environment and improved livability. A report about the possibilities for circularity within Amsterdam, published last year, shows that material reuse strategies have a potential of creating €85 million of value per year in the construction sector, while €150 million of value could be preserved when organic waste streams are handled more efficiently. In terms of total material savings in the Amsterdam metropolitan area, this could add up to nearly 900 thousand tons per year, a significant amount compared to the annual import of 3.9 million tonnes currently utilised by the region. Lastly, employment could be boosted through increased productivity levels adding up to 700 additional jobs in the construction sector and 1200 new jobs in the food processing industry.Paris and Amsterdam have set the first steps towards circularity and now more and more cities are becoming aware of the impact they can have on a global transition towards a circular economy. At this moment, Brussels and Glasgow are being ‘scanned’ for circular opportunities in order to create a roadmap for change. Other cities such as Vancouver, Taoyuan and Cape Town have indicated they have a strong drive to initiate the transition. The question now is: Who’s next?By: Ben Kubbinga, Lead Partnerships and Collaborations, Circle Economy
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