Do you want to make your city more circular?

When faced with the task of developing a circular economy strategy, many cities ask us, “Where do we start?” We help cities to prioritise sectors to focus on by comparing the city's economic activities and their impacts on key metrics (such as jobs, emissions and economic value added), and identifying relevant local policies and activities underway. Priority sectors can then be analysed in further depth using Material Flow Analysis.

Using Material Flow Analysis, we identify the key points for intervention within city sectors. The MFA combines multiple data points from a variety of sources, and provides a visual overview of resource use and waste generation by the city. The analysis helps urban changemakers to better understand resource use patterns in their city, and to recognise their role in shifting them from linear toward circular.

Once the focus areas for a city have been identified, we help stakeholders to develop a strategy based on the most impactful interventions. Drawing on our extensive experience and a database of over 3,000 real-world case studies, we work with local stakeholders to select those most relevant to the context and people's aspirations. We conduct a scenario analysis on a shortlist of promising opportunities to estimate their likely impacts and choose the best options. As an outcome, the city receives a strategy for pursuing the most impactful circular opportunities, supported by data and best practices, and co-developed with core stakeholders.

To transform promising circular opportunities into local action, we co-develop step-by-step roadmaps that city stakeholders can act upon.
We provide neutral spaces for government and non-government actors to work together on addressing systemic challenges, ranging from the development of innovative pilot projects to the revision of policies to create a more enabling environment for the circular economy. We help them identify the key objectives they would like to achieve, the indicators that will aid in assessing progress toward these objectives, and the actions required to move from the current state.

Local businesses can help the cities they operate in become more circular, for example, through upscaling or diversifying their offerings, making the value chain more circular. Our expert team provides training on the principles of circular business and linear risks, and shares real-life case studies and success stories from similar contexts. Where needed, we help form communities of practice to overcome practical obstacles, from financing and accounting to regulation and bureaucracy: accelerating progress and creating a connected network of local businesses.