Launch of the Circular Europe Network website

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The Circular Europe Network is proud to announce the launch of its website and database of good practices on circular economy: www.circular-europe-network.eu.

Brussels, Belgium.  “Discover your gateway to best practices on circular economy from cities and regions across Europe”. With these words, Philippe Micheaux Naudet, project manager at ACR+ in charge of the Circular Europe Network (CEN), unveiled the brand new CEN website during the network’s third workshop, held on 30 October 2015 in Brussels.

The website features a comprehensive database of best practices on circular economy from cities and regions, available in full to ACR+ members. These factsheets are accessible via an interactive map on the homepage of the website. In particular, some of the factsheets offer an overview of general circular economy strategies and governance at both local and regional levels. Users can also browse using different criteria – Instruments, Business models and Resources - and as such can access a wide range of concrete cases, for instance product service systems in Brussels, waste prevention in Catalonia or industrial symbiosis in Kalundborg.

The database capitalises on the 20 years of expertise ACR+ brings to the network and its involvement in many projects related to resource efficiency and circular economy. The database already includes about sixty cases and will be updated on a regular basis.

Upon navigating through the site, users will also have access to reports and publications. For example, the CEN general guidelines on circular economy strategies by local and regional authorities published by ACR+ last May. The website is organised so as to provide quick and direct access for all users to information about the network and its activities, along with the possibility of viewing a summary of all available factsheets.

"Local and regional authorities are key-actors in the circular economy. However, to fully play this role they need access to best practices and the possibility to share expertise. This is what the CEN is offering to do with its website. The website is a dynamic resource that public authorities can use to learn more about the circular economy strategies which have already been efficiently implemented." Françoise Bonnet, ACR+ Secretary General

On top of discovering the new website, the 60 participants of the third CEN workshop took part in a series of discussions on sustainable public procurement including green public procurement (GPP), public procurement of innovation (PPI) and waste performance contracts. Indeed, public procurement can help to increase the market share of products and services that are more respectful of the environment and thus in the future contribute to reducing the price of those products and services.

ACR+ is now creating working groups on governance and planning, indicators and urban metabolism, sustainable food and sustainable construction, in order to increase the technical input to the CEN and the sharing of expertise on these specific topics.

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