Procurement. This would mean taxation shifting from labour to resources, especially virgin resources, as this will help to increase employment in Europe and decrease resource use while incentivising businesses to move towards circular production and consumption patterns.

There is no single group with the undisputed authority to define what the circular economy means exactly.

Furthermore, each one can be characterized in greater, quantitative detail, forming the basis for Circularity Indicators, or KPIs, in many different contexts..An important note on these seven characteristics is that in making decisions not all of these outcomes should be equally prioritized.

RSS. For example, with a very energy-inefficient product such an old refrigerator, it may actually be systemically better in terms of energy impact to just scrap it and replace it with a newer model than to extend the life of the whole product. So we began by taking this principle to its ultimate conclusion: in a circular economy, all materials should be used in such a way that they can be cycled indefinitely (just as they theoretically can in nature).This statement, however, implies some additional complexities: we don’t just want these materials to be theoretically possible to recover – it has to happen on a time-scale that’s relevant to people (so, if we create wastes that need thousands of years for recovery, potentially in the case of nuclear wastes, that doesn’t exactly address our original goals or criteria).

WALKING THE CIRCLE: The 4 guiding pillars for a Circular Economy Efficient material management, reduction of toxic substances, energy efficiency and economic incentives The Circular Economy could bring significant environmental, social and economic benefits to the European Union.

Although we know the total amount of energy available on the planet is not a constraint as the sun produces more than enough for everything we need, collecting this energy in usable form does require the use of scarce materials, which are a constraint themselves.As we continue to explore the implications of striving for a fully closed, circular material cycle as a cornerstone of the economy, we ultimately encounter many other connections throughout the economic system that need to be arranged in a way which upholds broader human ideals. For this reason, it became essential for us to define what the performance characteristics of a fully circular economy would be.A great deal of focus in the circular economy field is on the management of materials and ensuring that resource cycles are closed, in a similar way that occurs in natural systems (in the context of an ecosystem, water and nutrients are continuously cycled among different uses). Forms of value beyond financial include aesthetic, emotional, ecological.

In a world with infinite and free energy, it’s very easy to design and develop systems that will fully recover all materials through extremely costly and energy-intensive recycling processes (which is how we currently recover metals from electronic waste, for example). Circulagronomie defines the concept of Circular Economy by notably detailing the 7 pillars and 3 fields of action.

Aside from this time-scale issue, there’s an important recurring principle within discussions of the circular economy, and that is around the preservation of value and complexity: we want to ensure that materials can be cycled at the highest value possible, preferably as whole products, then as components, and finally recycled back down to basic raw materials (which is extremely costly in terms of energy). The EU must not hesitate to spearhead the transition to a circular economy, for the benefit of both people and planet.Ferran joined the team in May 2015 after several months of collaboration with Zero Waste Europe. Biodiversity is structurally supported and enhanced through all human activities.

So, we don’t arbitrarily support “product-as-a-service” models because they have been associated with the circular economy, but we actually look at where, and under which conditions, these models actually result in better circular performance across the board.For us at Metabolic, these seven characteristics of the circular economy are an essential tool. Deposit and refund schemes are useful for educating citizens on the value of recycling, as well as ensuring the collection of commonly littered items such as beverage bottles, and can be integrated within extended producer responsibility schemes.The circular economy will help reduce costs related to extracting and transporting virgin resources. Habitats, especially rare habitats, are not encroached upon or structurally damaged through human activities.As another form of complexity and diversity (and therefore resilience), human cultures and social cohesion are important to maintain. Using this tool, City officials will be able to determine which of the proposed projects during a tender process should be selected for development, thus keeping Amsterdam’s urban development on a circular path.We’ve developed this set of characteristics that define the circular economy through a trial and error process over the course of around two hundred projects. This can be done by progressively closing the loop with effective product and waste policies.To tackle Europe’s resource dependency, the EU needs to measure and reduce its material, water, land and carbon footprints.

Embrace the circular economy.