#Consumer goods

Upcyclecentrum zoekt circulair ondernemers!

Het Upcyclecentrum bestaat uit drie onderdelen: een recyclingperron, het belevingscentrum en drie ondernemingen die circulaire producten ontwikkelen. Op het recyclingperron worden reststromen ingeleverd die de ondernemers mogen gebruiken als grondstoffen voor nieuwe producten! Nu zijn er in het Upcyclecentrum twee plekken vrij in het circulaire ontwikkelprogramma, voor bevlogen ondernemers met een circulair product of business concept.
 
Lijkt het jou interessant om de reststromen van het recyclingperron in te zetten als grondstoffen voor jouw onderneming? Dan is dat een mooie kans! Gedurende 2 jaar ga je aan de slag met een nieuw product, concept of business model. Hierin krijg je begeleiding door middel van een ontwikkelprogramma. Daarnaast krijg je de beschikking over een eigen ruimte van 35m2 waarin je kunt experimenteren of exposeren.
 
Voel jij je aangesproken of ken je een ondernemer? De deadline is 15 oktober! Lees er meer over of stuur ons jouw businessplan toe via almere.nl/upcyclergezocht

Ben jij een bevlogen circulair ondernemer met een nieuw circulair product of business concept? Dan is dit misschien wel jouw kans! Het Upcylcecentrum in Almere biedt per 1 november 2022 namelijk twee circulair ondernemers een plek in het circulair ontwikkelprogramma. Je krijgt toegang tot de reststromen van de recycleperrons en laat je bedrijf floreren met behulp van dit unieke concept.

Wil jij een vliegende start maken met jouw onderneming? Of ken je zo’n ondernemer? Bezoek almere.nl/upcyclergezocht voor de voorwaarden en stuur uiterlijk 14 oktober 2022 jouw businessplan in. 

Voor het derde jaar wordt het Steiger Festival georganiseerd in Almere. Het is een 3 daags festival, gericht op circulaire economie en duurzaamheid, waar we 2500 bezoekers verwachten.

Vrijdag 7 oktober is er een besloten middagprogramma  waarvoor jij van harte bent uitgenodigd. Tijdens dit middagprogramma bieden we twee workshops aan over productpromotie. In de eerste workshop leer je alles over productfotografie en in de tweede workshop gaan we in op het schrijven van (web) teksten. Na de workshops is er tijd voor een borrel en vertellen we je meer over wat we de afgelopen jaren hebben gedaan op De Steiger en onze visie voor de toekomst. Daarnaast krijgen jullie een presentatie over de Boombom en Circuloco en sluiten we de dag af met een borrel met hapje en drankje.

Programma 7 oktober
Het gehele middag programma vindt plaats in de Steiger Festival tent, tegenover Rataplan, De Steiger 51.

13.15 - 15.15 uur - Workshops productpromotie
15.15 - 15.30 uur - Opening door wethouder Maaike Veeningen
15.30 - 16.00 uur - Glaasje bubbels
16.00 - 16.45 uur - Terugblik City Lab – wat hebben we op De Steiger gedaan en wat is onze toekomstvisie?
16.45 – 17.00 uur - Presentatie Boombom 2022 – over de fusie van Almeerse natuur en hightech
17.00 - 17.20 uur - Terugblik Growing Green Cities – Making of Floriade
17.20 - 18.05 uur - Toekomst Circuloco – Terugblik Circuloco 1.0 en de Floriade en een vooruitblik naar Circuloco 2.0
18.05 - 19.30 uur - Borrel met hapje drankje/ live muziek   

Aanmelden
Ben jij erbij? Meld je dan aan voor 3 oktober voor het hele programma of een specifiek onderdeel via deze link: https://forms.office.com/r/5EeCegE59i

On Tuesday, the 13th of September 2022, the Fashion for Good Museum is organising a new edition of the Clothes Swap. A perfect way of giving your unworn items a new home and an easy and fun way to refresh your wardrobe with new (second hand) items. Good for you, the planet and your wallet!

Want to join?
Do you have any clothes you’re not wearing anymore? Those items that have been stuck in the back of your wardrobe for ages and never make the cut? Perfect clothing pieces to swap!

Collect your items and hand them in at the Fashion for Good Museum (Rokin 102, Amsterdam) from 31 august to 12 sept (daily between 11 am - 5 pm, please note: the museum is closed on Tuesdays!). Please note this timeframe is before the actual event, because we want to make sure all items handed in get a proper quality control, so that you can do happy and relaxed swapping!

Clothes Swap rules:
- You can hand in a maximum of 5 items per person

The following types of clothing are NOT accepted:
- Underwear
- Swimwear
- Company workwear
- Fur
- Shoes in fair condition (Note. we have a strict curation for shoes and only take the ones that are in perfect condition)
-Clothes must be clean and washed
- Torn, stained or worn out clothing will not be accepted

We will categorise the clothing handed in one of the following categories:
Yellow: fast fashion brands <> worth 1 token
Red: mid end brands <> worth 2 tokens
Blue: high end brands <> worth 3 tokens

Example of token system: you bring in 2 yellow items (=worth 2 tokens), 2 red items (=worth 4 tokens) and 1 blue item (=worth 3 tokens) gives you a total of 9 tokens available for ‘buying’ your new items! You could spend this on 9 yellow items, or 3 blue items for example.
Be quick! There is a limited amount of tickets available.

Swap till you drop

Je kent het vast wel: je kledingkast puilt uit en toch heb je niets om aan te trekken. Vaak kun je anderen blij maken met jouw kleren – en anderen jou. Dus verzamel de kleding die jij niet meer draagt en kom naar de kledingruil in De Studio van NEMO. Onder het genot van een drankje ruil je de leukste jurken, truien en shirts. Goed voor je garderobe, én voor het klimaat. Je ontvangt van ons de eerste 2 drankjes helemaal gratis!

Hoe het werkt

Neem max 7 stuks kleding mee. Voor deze items krijg je punten, die je weer in kan wisselen voor nieuwe kleding. Let op: items met mankementen zoals vlekken, gaten of pillen komen niet in aanmerking voor een ruil. Wij zorgen voor een startvoorraad, zodat ook de eerste bezoekers al lekker veel keus hebben.

Locatie & tijd

De kledingruil start om 19.00 uur en duurt ongeveer 3 uur. Tijdens de workshop kun je ook de tentoonstelling Energy Junkies bezoeken.

De Studio van NEMO is een extra locatie van NEMO Science Museum op het Marineterrein in Amsterdam. De programmering is speciaal voor volwassenen.

Foto: Pixabay

Comedy for climate

Klimaatopwarming is niet het meest grappige onderwerp. Toch proberen we daar door middel van een stand-up comedy avond voor één keer verandering in te brengen. Waarbij we lachen om onszelf en het klimaat. Met alleen een microfoon zetten de comedians van Het Comedyhuis zware klimaatonderwerpen om in luchtige grappen. Een lekker avondje lachen dus. Want lachen is gezond! Om daarna met goede moed en op volle kracht te werken aan de oplossing.

Locatie & tijd

De comedy avond start om 20.00 uur en duurt ongeveer 1,5 uur. Voorafgaand aan het programma kun je vanaf 19.00 uur de tentoonstelling Energy Junkies bezoeken.

De Studio van NEMO is een extra locatie van NEMO Science Museum op het Marineterrein in Amsterdam. De programmering is speciaal voor volwassenen.

Foto: Pixabay

Op 6 juli organiseert PRICE haar eerste boekenclub, op het Floriade terrein!
In deze eerste editie van de PRICE boekenclub bespreken we het boek Happy 2050 Scenario met auteur Babette Porcelijn en Verborgen Impact Ambassadeur én docent Duurzaamheid bij Hogeschool Aeres Kitty van Zijtveld.

Wat kunnen we uit dit boek leren en toepassen in onze eigen wereld en denkbeelden? Hoe kan jij bijdragen aan een happy 2050? Met deze vragen gaan we aan de slag op het Co2 negatieve en circulaire Growing Pavilion op het Floriade terrein. Aansluitend is er de mogelijkheid om The Exploded View te bezoeken, een huis van biobased & circulaire materialen.

Heb je het boek niet helemaal tot op de letter kunnen lezen? Geen probleem! We nemen je graag mee in het gedachtegoed van Babette Porcelijn. Voor €10,- kun je er bij zijn, dit is inclusief toegang tot het Floriade terrein! Heb je al toegang tot het terrein? Dan is een kaartje slechts €5,-. Koop hier een kaartje.

Programma
15:00 – 15:15    Opening
15:15 – 15:45    In gesprek over het Happy 2050 scenario met Babette Porcelijn -  auteur
15:45 – 16:15    Aan de slag met jouw Verborgen Impact met Kitty van Zijteveld
16:15 – 16:45    Toepassing in de praktijk: Ingrid Zeegers
16:45 – 17:00    Afronding en vragen
17:00                 Optioneel: storytelling & rondleiding bij bio-based paviljoen the Exploded View

Moet je het boek gelezen hebben?
Voel je vooral welkom om deel te nemen aan onze boekenclub. Het is niet nodig om het boek volledig gelezen te hebben, maar het is wel fijn. Heb je het boek nog niet in huis? Bestel deze dan via: https://thinkbigactnow.org/nl/. Ook hebben we op locatie een gelimiteerd aantal beschikbaar die je direct kunt laten signeren!
Bij het reserveren van je boekenclubticket krijg je automatisch een toegangsbewijs voor de Floriade Expo (t.w.v. 35 euro). Deze is de gehele dag geldig. Heb je al een seizoenskaart? Dan krijg je toegang tot de boekenclub tegen een gereduceerd tarief.

Wat is PRICE?
Praktijk- & Innovatiecentrum Circulaire Economie, zeg maar PRICE. Wij zijn hét circulaire actielab voor Flevolandse doeners. Ondernemers, studenten, docenten, bewoners en overheid – al deze mensen brengen we samen om de nieuwe economie werkelijkheid te maken. Nieuwe economie? Ja, een economie waarin we verder kijken dan geld verdienen.

Heb jij weleens nagedacht over hoe de stad eruit zou zien zonder schoenmakers, houtbewerkers en automonteurs?

Van grote industrieën tot kleine werkplaatsen, makerschap is altijd een belangrijk onderdeel geweest van Amsterdam Noord. Verspreid door het stadsdeel vind je individuele makers en collectieven, ambachtslieden en creatieve ondernemers. Hun toekomst in de stad staat, mede door gentrificatie, onder druk. Betaalbaar onderkomen wordt schaars en makers worden de stad uit gedreven.Tegelijkertijd wordt de stad steeds meer  afhankelijk van deze makers voor uitdagingen zoals de energietransitie en de enorme vraag naar huisvesting.

Het goede nieuws is dat er in Amsterdam, en specifiek Noord, nog steeds veel makers zijn gevestigd. Wie zijn deze makers van Noord, wat maken ze, en hoe draagt dit bij aan de stad, de buurt, en ons leven? 

De tentoonstelling Makers van Noord nodigt bezoekers uit om mee te praten en denken over hedendaags en historisch makerschap in het stadsdeel. Bezoekers kunnen eigen ervaringen in het gebied - van nu en vroeger - achterlaten en hun persoonlijke verhalen delen over vakmanschap en de mensen die hen inspireren.

De tentoonstelling Makers van Noord is van 18 juni t/m 27 augustus te zien in Museum Amsterdam Noord. In de maanden juli en augustus vinden publieksevenementen plaats. Voor meer informatie kijk op: www.waag.org/makers

Openingstijden & locatie 
Donderdag t/m zondag, van 13:00 tot 17:00 uur.

Ons team wil uitbreiden! We hebben meerdere vacature mogelijkheden, van starter tot senior niveau. Neem een kijkje, tag of deel met je vrienden,... of download de details voor jezelf natuurlijk 😉

Our team is looking to expand! We have multiple opportunities from starter to senior levels. Have a look, tag or share with your friends,... or download the details for yourself of course 😉

Recent is er vanuit het Centre of Economic Transformation
van de HvA een onderzoek gestart naar regeneratieve businessmodellen. Graag nodigen we bedrijven die (stappen zetten naar) regeneratief ondernemen
uit voor een ronde-tafel-bijeenkomst, waarbij we o.a. willen onderzoeken welke
vraagstukken en drempels er zijn om regeneratief te ondernemen –
natuurlijk met als doel om versnelling aan te brengen in deze manier van
werken.

 De ‘Regenerative Round Tables’ vinden plaats op donderdag 9
juni van 14.00-17.00 op de HvA Business Campus (Fraijlemaborg 133, Amsterdam).
We gaan in gesprek met regeneratieve ondernemers in de textiel,
landbouw/biodiversiteit, de bouw en de maak- en verpakkingsindustrie.

Dear Amsterdam Smart city community

I am reaching out to you to present a bit more of my project of Piss Soap and to ask you to vote and support my project at the New European Bauhaus Prize.
You can follow the link that will lead you to the voting page.

Piss Soap is a finalist in the section of “Rising Stars”, category Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking

Please vote, share and support and make sure to check all the amazing projects around sustainability, inclusivity and a greener future together.

"Piss soap is made entirely out of human activity waste materials, namely wood ashes, used cooking oil and urine. All these materials are easily gathered locally, in Amsterdam. The gathering of material and production of the Piss Soap is locally implemented and redistributed to the public cleaning services as well as the inhabitants. Piss soap has a regenerative impact in our cities, allowing to transform in a creative and useful way, wastes that our cities congregate."

If you have any question or comment do not hesitate to contact me

At the end of its production process, waste or “output” produced by one company can be reborn into a valuable raw material or “input” for another.

This process is called “Industrial symbiosis”.

Learn more about it in the link below.

ONLINE INSPIRATIESESSIE vrijdag 20 mei 14.00-16.45u met Leen Gorissen, georganiseerd door het HvA innovatienetwerk INNNER.
In deze sessie ontdekken we de vraagstelling “Hoe kan je van
‘gebruikmakend van de aarde’ gaan naar ‘dienend aan haar ecosysteem’?” en
“Hoe zorg je er als bedrijf voor dat je de planeet beter en gezonder
achterlaat dan je haar gevonden hebt?”. We laten ons inspireren door de
keynote van Leen Gorissen, doctoraat in de biologie, expert in onder
andere transitiekunde, Biomimicry en Regenerative Design & Development.

The Fashion for Good Clothes Swap is making its comeback!

On the 7th of April 2022, Fashion for Good is organising a Clothes Swap at the Fashion for Good Museum. An easy and fun way to refresh your wardrobe with new (second hand) items and also a perfect way of giving your unworn items a new home. Good for you, the planet and your wallet!

Want to join?
Do you have any clothes you’re not wearing anymore? Those items that have been stuck in the back of your wardrobe for ages and never make the cut? Perfect clothing pieces to swap!

Collect your items and hand them in at the Fashion for Good Museum (Rokin 102, Amsterdam) before April 6 (daily between 11 am - 5 pm, please note: the museum is not open on Tuesdays!). You will receive special tokens for the items you bring in, which you can then use on April 7th, during the Clothes Swap, to “buy” your new items.

Clothes Swap rules:

• You can hand in a maximum of 5 items per person
• A yellow token is worth 1 point (fast fashion brands), the blue token is worth 2 points (mid end brands), the red token is worth 3 points (high end brands)
• Underwear and swimwear are not accepted
• Clothes must be clean and washed
• Torn or worn out clothing will not be accepted

Be quick! There is a limited amount of tickets available

Want to become part of the Good Fashion Movement and contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry, visit the world's first museum for sustainable fashion innovation at the Rokin 102 in Amsterdam to learn what you can do to contribute or keep an eye  on our calendar for more sustainable fashion related events!

In the 19th episode of the Better cities - the contribution of digital technology-series, I address the question of how digital technology can help in the long road to a circular society.

The contribution of digital technology becomes most visible when viewed in conjunction with other policy instruments and actions. That is why in this episode Amsterdam is in the spotlight; this city has been pursuing a consistent circular policy from 2015 onwards.

Why is a circular economy necessary?

European countries together need an average of 2.9 copies of planet Earth to meet the needs for raw materials. But even one Earth has finite resources, and it is therefore obvious that more and more countries aim to be circular by 2050. The circular processing ladder contains a range of options with the lowest step recovery of energy from materials unsuitable for re-use and furthermore recycling, repurposing, remanufacturing, renovation, repair, reuse, reduction, reconsideration to rejection.

A circular economy is an economic and industrial system that eliminates waste and takes the reusability of products and raw materials and the regenerative capacity of natural resources as a starting point, minimizes value destruction in the total system and pursues value creation in every link of the system. In this context, the term cradle-to-cradle design is often referred to. This is done in terms of material flows and the preservation of values, so that in the long term there is no longer any need for an influx of virgin materials. Maersk has developed a cradle-to-cradle passport, a first for the shipping industry, consisting of a database of all ship components, including all the steel, for recycling, reuse and remanufacturing of new ships or their parts.

The Digital Sustainability-memorandum is considering digitization as an enabler on the way to a circular economy. A fourfold distinction is made in this regard: (1) the coordination of supply and demand of materials, (2) facilitating maintenance and repairs, (3) improving the production process, and (4) supporting partners in chain cooperation. Examples of all these options are discussed below.

Amsterdam and the realization of circular principles

Amsterdam's ambition is to use 50% less virgin raw materials by 2030 compared to the current situation. This goal is also very important for achieving its climate targets: 63% of the CO2 emissions for which the city is responsible come from products and materials that are produced abroad. The municipal government can only partly influence this steam. That is why the policy focuses on three areas where the city has most influence, namely food and organic residual flows, consumption and the built environment.

Amsterdam published its first policy plan Amsterdam Circular: Vision and roadmap for the city and regionin 2015. The emphasis was on organic waste and the built environment. It included 75 action points and its approach was positively evaluated in 2018 and a new report was published. It was decided to continue with the same emphasis with the addition of food and consumption. The addition of consumption was obvious, because Amsterdam had been making a strong case for the sharing economy for some time.

Shortly after the publication of the new report, Kate Raworth’s donut-principles made their entrance. Remarkably, none of the previous reports contain a reference to her work on the donut economics. In May 2019, the first fruit of the collaboration with Kate Raworth appeared, building on the report from the previous year. The collaboration resulted in a new report Building blocks for the new Amsterdam Circular 2020-2025 strategy, involving many stakeholders from the sectors, food and organic residual flows, consumption, and construction. It resulted in 17 building blocks, named 'development directions'.

This report was based on the original 2012 publication on the donut economy. However, there turned out to be one pitfall. The original donut model was designed for global-level applications, which, according to Kate Raworth, cannot be directly traced to the urban level. The social implications of behavior in one city not only affect this city itself, but also the rest of the world. The same applies to the ecological aspects.

As a next step Kate Raworth invited representatives from Amsterdam, Philadelphia and Portland to join a task force and discover what a city-level donut model looks like. In each of these cities, dozens of officials and citizens participated in an interactive process. The result was a new model that uses four lenses to view urban activities: The first and second resemble the original lenses but applied at the city level, for example, the impact of local industry on local nature. The third is how activities in a certain city had a negative social impact on the rest of the world, think for example of clothing, produced under poor conditions. The fourth is the impact of local actions on nature worldwide.

These activities resulted in a new publication, The city donut for Amsterdam. It is an instrument for change that can be applied more broadly than to circular policy. In this publication, the new donut model is mainly used as a conceptual model. Instead of exact calculations, snapshots are collected as illustrations.

While city representatives were busy developing the urban donut model, the work towards the circular city continued unabated, resulting in the publication of the final circular strategy for the period 2020 – 2025 and the action plan for the period 2020 – 2021 at almost the same time. In terms of content, these plans are in line with the publication of the building blocks-report from 2019, including the application of the 'old' donut model from 2012.

In the following, I use both the strategy and the action plan to show the role of digital tools. At the end, I come back to the future role of the city donut.

Digital techniques in the circular strategy of Amsterdam 2020 – 2025

I align with the three value chains: food and organic residual flows, consumption and the built environment that are central to the strategy. Three ambitions are formulated for each of these three, further detailed in several action directions, each containing several projects, most with measurable results to attain in 2021. In addition, a couple of projects are described, that bare related to types of companies, institutions and the port. Finally, there are overarching projects, in which I will again pay attention to digitization, also because the role of the city donut will become visible here.

Below I briefly describe the three value chains, name the three ambitions for each, and give references to digital tools that will play a role within each of the three value chains.

Value chain food and organic residual flows

The municipality wants to combat food waste and reuse organic residual flows as much as possible. The role of regionally produced (plant-based) food will be strengthened in line with the Amsterdam food strategy. In realizing its objectives, the municipality participates in an extensive European project, Rumore.

The three ambitions are: (V1) Short food chains provide a robust, sustainable sensory system, (V2) Healthy and sustainable food for Amsterdammers and (V3) Food and organic residual flows.

Examples of digital tools

• GROWx vertical farm is a farm that aims to achieve maximum returns by applying artificial intelligence to the indoor cultivation of food crops, among other things.

• Restore is a measurement system and simulation model for Amsterdam and surrounding municipalities and companies that provides insight into the financial, ecological, and social effects of various forms of composting and bio-fermentation, including the use of biomass.

• The InstockMarket platform will map (surplus) food flows and - if possible - predict them so that the catering industry can anticipate this when purchasing. The data from this project will be linked to the circular economy data platform

• The Platform www.Vanamsterdamsevloer.nl  makes all local food initiatives (including food events) visible and residents of Amsterdam can share news about food and urban agriculture.

Value chain consumer goods

The emphasis is on consumer goods that contribute substantially to the depletion of rare raw materials, their production is polluting and often takes place under poor working conditions. In addition, the impact on climate change is significant. The emphasis is on electronics, textiles, and furniture because repair is also possible in each of these cases.

Furthermore, a lot of profit can be made by good collection and reuse through sharing and exchange.

Here too, a multi-year research project funded by the European Commission is important. The Reflow project maps data on flows of materials and develops processes and technology to support their implementation.

The ambitions are :(C1) The municipality is setting a good example and will consume less; (C2) Together we make the most of what we have and (C3) Amsterdam makes the most of discarded products.

Examples of digital tools

• The municipality will develop digital tools within the (purchasing) systems that support civil officers in circular procurement.

• The West-district supports www.warewesten.nl. This website brings together the sustainable fashion addresses of Amsterdam-West.

• Using artificial intelligence, among other things, it is being investigated how the lifespan of various goods can be extended so that they do not end up with bulky waste. This can be used, for example, on the municipal website to offer the option of first offering goods for sale or for giving via existing online platforms before they are registered as bulky waste.

• Indirectly, it is worth noting that the municipality wants to make the use of ICT more sustainable by purchasing less equipment (for example through 'hardware as a service'), extending the lifespan of equipment and reducing its energy consumption.

Value chain built environment

This value chain was also chosen because the municipality has an important voice in what and where is built and in the development of the public space. The municipality itself is also a major user of buildings.

In terms of the built environment, circular construction can be achieved through large-scale reuse of construction waste. By ensuring that buildings can be used for more purposes, their demolition can be slowed down. Sustainable materials can also be used in the design of public spaces – from roads and bridges to playgrounds. In addition, consideration could be given to the  climate-adaptive design of the city, resulting in cleaner air and dealing with increasing heat and rainfall.

The ambitions are: (G1): We do circular development together; (G2) The municipality sets a good example and uses circular criteria; (G3) We deal circularly with the existing city.

Examples of digital tools

• Introduction of large-scale application of material passports to have the most complete information possible on material use in all phases of the life cycle of buildings. This is linked to national plans, among other things by providing all materials with an OR code.

• Research into the possibilities of a (national) online materials marketplace. Such a marketplace will influence (local) material hubs, such as the Amstel III construction hub and the creation of circular business cases.

• Providing insight into the supply (demolition, renovation) and demand (new construction, renovation) of circular building materials and thus of circular material flows.

• Creating a digital twin of the public space and the subsurface to be able to furnish and maintain it functionally and circularly.

• Research in digital production due to the rapid development of digital production techniques and their applications, such as robots and 3D printing.

• Research into making the construction, equipment and water and energy consumption of data centers more sustainable.

• Research into which data about residents and users of buildings can be made public and which data should remain private.

The municipality could further simplify the process of permit applications by digitizing everything, enabling applicants to upload the necessary municipal data and construction drawings and calculating the BREAAM score. This applies to both new and renovated buildings.

Overarching theme: Data platform and monitor circular economy

On the road to a circular economy, a lot of data will become available and just as much data is needed to help citizens, companies, and institutions to make sustainable choices and to determine whether the goal of 100% circularity by 2050 is within reach. That is why a data platform and monitor is being developed. This numerically maps all material, recycle, residual and waste flows that enter, leave, and go around the city. This also makes it possible to calculate the impact on CO2 emissions. The data from the material passports and the materials marketplace are also integrated herein, if possible. The monitor also includes social aspects such as health, education, and equality. Relevant data will be open and accessible, so that it can be used for the development of new innovations and applications by the municipality and third parties, also to connect with other urban transitions.

The monitor connects to the four lenses of the city donut of Amsterdam and will collect the data that is currently missing to provide full quantitative insight. This also concerns the environmental impact of all materials that Amsterdam imports for its own consumption. Where the city donut is currently only a partially quantified, the monitor will continuously provide insight into whether the municipality is staying within the ecological preconditions or where it falls short with regard to the minimum social requirements.

Amsterdam's circular strategy and the resulting action agenda is ambitious and will inspire many other cities. Because many projects are small- and medium scaled, it is not yet possible to assess to what extent the strategy and action agenda help to achieve the targets (50% circularity in 2030 and 100% in 2050). Commitment to the development of the monitor is therefore crucial and the municipality will also have to keep an open eye on the parallel actions that citizens, the business community, the port and other institutions must take to achieve their share. After all, becoming circular encompasses much more than food and organic waste, consumption, and construction.

To document the process of the City of Amsterdam's adaptation of circular policy and the contribution of Kate Raworth, I have put together a brief dossier. This includes references to (copies of) all relevant reports and an indication of their content. This file can be downloaded by following the link below.:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lntf8izqz7ghvqp/Dossier%20circularity.docx?dl=0

Is your company looking for a framework to accelerate and manage its impact on people and the planet?

Join the City of Amsterdam's Building Better Business (BBB) programme to explore how you can be part of a more sustainable and inclusive economy, and pursue a B Corp or Economy for the Common Good (ECG) certification! And sign up for this free event to hear from new economy leaders, connect with other impact-minded companies, and learn the ins and outs of the BBB tracks.

BBB event speakers

The BBB event features a keynote by Michael Weatherhead, New Opportunities and Finance Lead of Wellbeing Economy Alliance and contributions from:

- Katie Hill (B Lab Europe),
- Robin Foolen (B Corp-certified company Secrid),
- Christian Felber (initiator of Economy of the Common Good),
- Joost Broeders (ECG-certified company Baril Coatings).

Who is the BBB event for?

The BBB programme and its inspiration event are geared towards Amsterdam Metropolitan Area-based companies that want to formalise their social impact ambitions and make the transition to a sustainable business model.

BBB is powered by Amsterdam Impact (City of Amsterdam), B Lab, Economy for the Common Good and KplusV.

In Amsterdam praten we steeds meer over het circulair maken van materiaalstromen. Maar om welke materialen en aantallen gaat het nu eigenlijk? Hoe bewegen ze door Amsterdam en welke impact hebben ze op het milieu?

Wethouder Marieke van Doorninck en Rene Koop, programmamanager CE bij Gemeente Amsterdam, delen de inzichten uit de Monitor Amsterdam Circulair. Een monitor – tot stand gekomen in samenwerking met CBS, geoFluxus en TNO – die laat zien hoe materiaalstromen zich door de regio Groot-Amsterdam bewegen. Van import en productie tot consumptie, recycling en verlies. Dankzij de Monitor Amsterdam Circulair weten we hoeveel materiaal er in onze stad rondgaat en wat daarvan de ecologische impact is. De inzichten die we daar uithalen stellen ons in staat om nog betere keuzes te maken in het belang van de circulaire economie.

Benieuwd hoe de monitor werkt? Waarom het een belangrijke asset is voor onze stad? En hoe jouw organisatie een bijdrage kan leveren? Meld je dan aan voor het online event op vrijdag 11 februari tussen 10.00 en 12.00 uur vanuit de studio in Circl.

Met o.a. de volgende sprekers: Marieke Van Doorninck (wethouder Ruimtelijke Ontwikkeling en Duurzaamheid), Rene Koop (programmamanager circulaire economie Gemeente Amsterdam), Arnout Sabbe (Data-expert Geofluxus en AMS Institute), Robert Koolen (directeur duurzaamheid Heijmans) en Nathan de Groot als dagvoorzitter.

Anne-Ro Klevant Groen is Marketing and Communications Director at Fashion for Good, a platform that connects established fashion brands with startups.

“Ever since I was a little girl, fashion has been my passion. But I also know that the fashion industry has a large, negative impact on people and our environment. We need to transform our current take-make-waste model into a circular fashion system. For me, it is very rewarding to work on solutions via Fashion for Good.

We connect sustainable and innovative startups to corporate fashion companies and manufacturers such as Adidas and C&A. Many startups have fantastic ideas for more sustainable fashion, but they don’t yet have the network or financial resources to connect with large companies. Others want to know more about intellectual property or marketing. Our mentors help these startups with tailor-made programs based on their maturity.

Corporations invest in us to help us do our jobs, but they also dedicate teams and time to our programmes. We help them with impact assessments so they can see where they will be most effective, and then we connect them to the startups that fit their goals. C&A, for example, was part of a pilot that used blockchain technology to improve transparency in the organic cotton industry. The technology helps trace the origin of organic cotton, similar to what is already being done with coffee and cocoa. Tommy Hilfiger has collaborated with a startup that makes vegan leather from the pectin in apples. We are also starting our own foundational pilot projects, including one with chemical recycling and another that’s working on developing circular polybags for clothes, such as the bags that are wrapped around our clothing when we order from webshops.”

The Amsterdam ecosystem
“Amsterdam offers us plenty of opportunities. It is a very creative city and home to many of the large fashion house’s headquarters. There’s also a good startup and investment climate. We have a co-working space in the heart of Amsterdam for innovative, sustainable fashion startups and freelancers. It’s a large open space where individuals or companies can rent desks and connect to other members of the Dutch circular fashion ecosystem. We always have some space available, so feel free to contact us if you want to be part of our network.

We are also working on an education program for MBO schools to ensure that the fashion industry’s future workforce understands the need to get rid of that take-make-waste model.

For consumers, we have the Fashion for Good Museum on the Rokin in Amsterdam, where we want to educate visitors so they can make better fashion choices. The museum industry is still fairly new to us, and we would like to get in touch with parties that can help us reach more people. Ultimately, it is consumers who either have to buy less or get to know more about the sustainable apparel our partners are developing, make better decisions and demand a better product.

We publish what we learn about sustainable clothing and textiles in our website’s Resource Library. It’s accessible to everyone—free of charge—so startups don’t have to waste valuable time reinventing the wheel. By working together better, we work more efficiently and can accelerate our transformation to a circular fashion system.”

If you’d like to get in touch with Anne-Ro, you can find her on this platform.

This interview is part of the series 'Meet the Members of Amsterdam Smart City'. In the next weeks we will introduce more members of this community to you. Would you like show up in the series? Drop us a message!

Interview and article by Mirjam Streefkerk

On Thursday, November 4, 2021 you are most welcome to join the webinar about TRANSFORM-CE in English. The project team will then tell you what it is looking for and provide examples of business support opportunities.

Opportunity for your business?
Interreg NW Europe funded project, TRANSFORM-CE, launches the first in its informative webinar series on turning single-use plastic waste into valuable new products. It will introduce two innovative technologies, additive manufacturing and intrusion-extrusion moulding, which are facilitating the transformation of this common waste stream into the feedstock for countless applications, from roof tiles and decking to architectural models and 3D printed components.  This is a fantastic opportunity for businesses, manufacturers and government authorities interested in learning more about TRANSFORM-CE and the potential benefits of transitioning to a circular economy business model. The project partners also welcome designers, creatives and members of the public who are interested in exploring the potential of single use plastic waste.

New technologies for a circular economy of plastic?
TRANSFORM-CE is currently running two pilots to turn single-use plastic waste into raw plastic feedstock: an AM R&D centre in Greater Manchester (United Kingdom) and an IEM plastic factory in Almere (The Netherlands). A third AM facility, a prototyping centre, will open early 2022 in Belgium. Work has already begun, using the feedstock to manufacture products like outdoor furniture, building materials and even houses. Once the technology is scaled up, TRANSFORM-CE’s partners will have the potential to develop circular economy business models and stimulate new secondary material markets across North West Europe and beyond. Waste plastic can be re-purposed and revalued.

Who will speak?
• Rhiannon Hunt: Circular Economy Project Manager at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
• Bram Peters: Owner of the Green Plastic Factory Almere and Save Plastics, the Netherlands.
• Malou van der Vegt: Researcher and Lecturer in the Circular Economy at the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands.
• Evert-Jan Velzing: Scientist and Lecturer at the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands.

David Greenfield will be the facilitator of the webinar. He is managing director and founder of SOcial, ENvironmental & EConomic Solutions (SOENECS) Ltd.

What will be preliminary programme?
14:00 Opening address and introduction to TRANSFORM-CE
14:05 Transforming single-use plastic waste into filament for additive manufacturing
14:15 Creating new products from single-use plastic waste using intrusion-extrusion
moulding
14:25 The business case for adopting circular economy solutions
14:45 Be a part of TRANSFORM-CE; opportunities for businesses
15:00 Q&A

BLUNDER BREAKFAST - Circulaire ondernemers uit Almere geven je concrete voorbeelden van hoe circulair ondernemen er uit kan zien en vertellen over de dingen waar zij tegenaan zijn gelopen.

Na een eerste editie eerder dit jaar, gaan we verder met een tweede reeks workshops over circulair ondernemen. In de eerste sessie horen we de verhalen van Almeerse ondernemers die hun blunders en successen met ons delen. Welke keuzes hebben zij gemaakt en wat zouden zij anders hebben gedaan?

Wat kun je verwachten?
•    Een informele bijeenkomst met leuke verhalen en leerzame ervaringen uit het Almeerse duurzame bedrijfsleven
•    Netwerken met andere Almeerse ondernemers
•    Leuke start van een boeiende reeks onder het genot van een kopje koffie en zoete broodjes om je dag mee te beginnen!

De Blunder Breakfast  is onderdeel van een reeks bijeenkomsten, georganiseerd door Van Loof in opdracht van de Gemeente Almere. Deze bijeenkomst is op woensdag 22 september en duurt van 10:00 tot 12:00, in het World Trade Center in Almere. Het adres is P.J. Oudweg 4, 1314 CH, Almere. Het WTC ligt naast het station en is daarom makkelijk bereikbaar met het openbaar vervoer, er zijn ook diverse parkeergarages in de buurt.

Zien we je daar? Meld je aan of lees meer via de link!