Scoping a circular ecosystem, lessons by the city of The Hague!

What was presented in the 1st City2City session?

In the 1st City2City session, the representative of the city of The Hague, Ger Kwakkel has given a workshop on how to scope a circular ecosystem in a city. Ger Kwakkel is circular economy coordinator and therefore had the opportunity to explore how circular the city of The Hague is. He did this by finding out which circular businesses and initiatives there are in The Hague. With relatively simple tools, such as online research, word of mouth and open call(s) on media including, social media it was possible to map the circular businesses and initiatives. After finding out about which circular initiatives and businesses are out there, they can be categorized into several categories, such as sharing economy, second hand shops, education, repair and (small) industry.

The main goal of this process is to build relationships with the circular initiatives and businesses and show interest in their work. Another way to engage the circular businesses is to ask what their goals are and if they could use assistance in any way. It is often the case, that small circular businesses or startups would like to scale up, but are missing financial resources or manpower. In some cases, collaboration (with other businesses) can be the way to scale up or an opportunity for businesses to share knowledge about the work they are doing. Scaling up can for example help circular businesses to grow and gain more awareness among society. This can help fasten the transition to a circular city!

Ger Kwakkel gave a brief presentation, after which cities got the chance to discuss together and see whether this approach could work for their city. The answer was a definte 'yes', however cities should take their own approach in this. However, there are some main steps and these are presented in the factsheet below.

Therefore, are you a city and want to make a 'green map' with the circular initiatives and businesses in your city? Take a look at the valuable lessons from The Hague!