The critical role of local and regional governments to achieve a transition to a circular economy is the backbone of CityLoops, a new EU-funded project coordinated by ICLEI Europe.

Political representatives from most of the cities involved in the project – Høje-Taastrup, Roskilde and the Capital Region of Denmark (Denmark), Mikkeli (Finland), Seville and Vallès Occidental (Spain), and Porto (Portugal) – recently gathered to sign a ‘Circular Cities Declaration’. Through their signatures, they commit to enhancing the circular economy through policy and regulatory levers; to initiating a series of innovative pilot and demonstration activities to help identify the most promising solutions; to sharing knowledge with peers; and to building a wider circular cities coalition with key stakeholders and initiatives across Europe.

CityLoops focuses on two of the most significant urban material flows with remarkable environmental impacts in European cities: construction and demolition waste (CDW) – including soil – and organic waste (OW). Partners involved in this four-year initiative will develop 'circular city scan' methodology and indicators by adapting material flow analysis (MFA) and urban metabolism methods. This will drive the transition to a circular economy.

Through this process, seven small- to medium-sized cities in Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Spain will test a number of innovative tools and processes to support circular planning and decision-making related to CDW and OW. Scale-up plans in each of the demonstration cities will be prepared, while collaborative learning networks will be established at the regional level.

For more information on CityLoops, please click here.