Ellen MacArthur Foundation

(EMF) Circular Economy in Cities 

focuses  on opportunities in  three key urban systems - buildings, mobility, and  products - and looks  at how city governments can work to enable a  circular economy  transition.

Implementing  the circular economy in cities can bring tremendous economic, social,  and environmental benefits.The implementation of a circular economy  vision could foster the emergence of:
 

• Thriving cities in which economic productivity increases through reduced congestion,   eliminated waste, and reduced costs. New growth and business   opportunities support skills development and jobs
• Liveable cities with improved air quality, reduced pollution, and enhanced social interactions
• Resilient cities, reducing reliance on raw materials by keeping products in use and balancing local production with global supply chains

These   benefits can be achieved by changing the way urban systems are  planned,  designed, and financed, and how they are made, used, and  repurposed. 

This vision aligns with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the effects of climate change.

Circular Cities Program
 

The Circular Cities program gives members:
 

• An understanding of how to approach the resilient, circular, inclusive city. 
• Access to expertise in urban metabolism scans and spatial analysis. 
• Capacity building and sharing best practices with like-minded practitioners.
• Tools to facilitate city-specific implementation strategies.
• Access   to a growing network of other cities and knowledge institutes,   simplifying collaboration on EU projects, international research, and   joint tendering.

Using digital to accelerate and scale the circular economy
 

The Circle City Scan Tool enables local governments to discover and   prioritize circular opportunities for their city or region, based on   proprietary and publicly available socioeconomic and material flow  data,  relevant circular case studies, and users’ input as to which  sectors,  materials, and impact areas are a priority in local agendas. 
 

The  tool builds on Circle Economy’s expertise helping cities and  regions  develop circular economy action plans over the last five years,   including cities such as Amsterdam, Glasgow, Basel, Almaty,   Philadelphia, and more.  

Exploring Doughnut Economic
 

Doughnut  Economics Action Lab (DEAL) is a new organisation working with   innovative cities, community groups, businesses and teachers worldwide   to co-create and spread brilliant tools and resources that turn the   ideas of Doughnut Economics into practice.

Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL) is part of the emerging global  movement of new economic thinking and doing that is rising to this  challenge. Our aim is to help create 21st century economies that are  regenerative and distributive by design, so that they can meet the needs  of all people within the means of the living planet. We call this Doughnut Economics.

The Circular Economy in Cities
 

More than 80% of global GDP is generated in cities, which therefore  makes them ideal testing grounds for circular economy models. The  confluence of business, resident and government actors creates live  innovation labs for addressing the complex challenges of linear economic  models. The rich ecosystem of producers, consumers and intermediaries,  as well as the goods themselves and the constant flow of information,  create an opportunity to introduce new practices, including facilitation  of the reverse logistics sector, material collection, waste processing,  energy and natural resource conservation and new business models and  product design that incorporate circular thinking.
 

An Urban Circular Economy 

is  one in which cities keep resources in use for as long as possible,  extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and  regenerate products and materials at the end their life. It is a more  efficient and environmentally sound alternative to the traditional  linear economy in which we make, use and dispose of resources.

The  Circular Cities project offers a knowledge ex-change platform for both  pioneering first mover cities, and cities closely following behind, with  regards to embedding circular economy principles into their urban  operations.

The  Circular Cities project will work to identify the effects, both  positive and negative, of incorporating circularity into the cities’  planning instruments, as well as how these can be assessed. The outcomes  are meant to help policymakers, investors, businesses, consumers and  civil society to find the most promising transition pathways.

The Circular Economy Club (CEC) 

is the largest international network of circular economy professionals and organizations with over 260 CEC local chapters in   over 110 countries. Non-for-profit, global and open to anyone to join   the club for free.

The Circular Economy Club (CEC)

envisions a new era where all cities worldwide function through a circular model, setting the end of an age of waste. CEC  aim is to bring the circular economy  to cities worldwide by building   strong local networks and provide them  to the expertise to design and   implement circular local strategies.

The goals by 2022 are:

1. Bring together local actors to create circular economy strategies in 200 cities.
2. Embed the circular economy in 200 university curriculum's.
3. Support 200 startups and companies to implement circular practices, through mentoring, funding and communications.

The Circular City Funding Guide 

provides  information for municipalities, businesses, and other  actors that want  to create sustainable cities and implement circular  initiatives and  projects.

The  Circular City Funding Guide 

provides information on:

1) circular economy in the urban context, 

2) funding instruments and sources, and 3) how to set-up programs for circular funding and financing.

For a city to be circular, it should embed the three principles;

• Design out Waste
• Keep Material Flows Circulating
• Regenerate Earth Eco-systems

Climate-KIC Circular Cities Project

Fast-Tracking Zero-Waste City Systems

Cities  across Europe now unite in a project with the aim of developing a   shared circular economy approach to urban development. The aim of the   project is to identify best practices and act as city role models to   engage other cities on the track towards circularity.

The  Circular Cities Project will work to identify the effects, both   positive and negative, of incorporating circularity into urban planning   instruments, as well as how these can be assessed. 

The  outcomes are  meant to help policy makers, investors, businesses,  consumers and civil  society to find the most promising transition  pathways.

The  formal outcome of the project will include a circular economy  toolbox  for cities, outlining how cities can effectively incorporate  circular  economy into municipal planning and strengthen their capacity  for  systemic innovation. In this way, the municipalities, universities  and  utility companies engaged in the project will act as inspiration for   others and form the basis for possible adjustments to local and   national government regulations.

BROOKLYN, NY 

New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Newlab announced   the launch of the 2020 edition of the Circular City Program to test   and  pilot solutions designed to address the increasingly complex and  urgent challenges facing cities. Newlab and NYCEDC partnered to create   the  Urban Tech Hub in 2017 and the Circular City represents a key  part  of  the vision to make New York City a global leader in urban   innovation.

Circular  City Studio, a program established with support from NYCEDC,  encourages entrepreneurs to reimagine urban environments and help New  York City address short, medium, and long term challenges facing our  city.
 

The  2020 iteration empowers engineers, inventors, and entrepreneurs from   diverse backgrounds to pilot technologies that support NYC's  sustainability agenda and rethink energy, waste, and recycling systems   in New York City.   

Circular Charlotte, NC

Charlotte  is the first city in the United States to make a  commitment  to   adopting  the circular  economy  as a public sector strategy. In its  circular future, all of the material resources that now end up in  landfills will be the  basis  for  Charlotte’s  next  industrial   revolution: the foundation for an era of green manufacturing that  unlocks  new  technological  advances,  increases  local resilience, and  supports workforce development.

In 2018 Envision Charlotte in partnership with the City of Charlotte, engaged Metabolic to analyze Charlotte’s waste stream and develop a strategy forward for  our city. With Metabolic’s expertise in the Circular Economy, 

Envision  Charlotte will utilize a toolkit created by Metabolic to lead Charlotte  and the U.S in becoming more circular while creating  more jobs,  innovations, and a drive towards zero waste. 

Our  report,  “Circular  Charlotte:  towards  a  zero  waste and  inclusive  city”,   explores  how  Charlotte  can  start implementing a strategy to become  the first circular city in the United States. We investigate how many  valuable resources are currently lost through Charlotte’s waste system,   and  how  these  could  be  diverted  into  new, high-value uses. 

We present a vision, co-created with stakeholders from the city, for how a Circular Charlotte could look and function. Finally, we describe a roadmap of actions that  should be taken on the pathway towards this vision, and detail five  initial business cases that can serve as a starting point for action.  

Circular City of Boulder

Envisioning Circular Boulder

Imagine  a city that functions like an  ecosystem. No waste. No impacts.  Self-sufficient. Resilient and  regenerative by design. This is the idea  of a circular city, a concept  that goes beyond incremental improvement  and aims for a holistic and  fundamental rethinking of the way we do  things. 

Circularity  is catching  on globally and here in Boulder we are also committed to  making a  circular transition, but we need your help in visioning what  this  transition should look like and how to take it forward in a way  that  improves our city for everyone who lives here. 

The City of Boulder and Metabolic have been working to develop a  holistic picture of a circular Boulder,  where the current resource  system is resulting in key problems or  hotspots, and where there might  be opportunities for closing material,  energy, or water cycles locally.