Developing a Roadmap for the First Circular City: Amsterdam

The city of Amsterdam has made a major step in the transition to become one of the world’s first circular cities. Commissioned by the city, Circle Economy implemented its newly developed City Circle Scan to identify areas in which Amsterdam can make the most significant, tangible progress in realising a circular economy. The first City Circle Scan to be done at this scale globally, the resulting report identifies areas in which circular business models can be applied and highlights strategies to accomplish practical implementation of these sustainable solutions.

“The potential of a circular economy is enormous, and that is why we focused on research and are willing to support anyone who strives to make the circular economy a reality in our city. Globally, we are the leader in this field.” - Alderman Abdeluheb Choho of Amsterdam

The report outlines the details of the city’s system processes and identifies the construction and organic waste chains as potential drivers of the transition to circularity and long term effects each will have on Amsterdam’s current linear economy.

• Added Value: Implementation of material re-use strategies has the potential to create €85 million of value per year within the construction sector and €150 million of value per year with more efficient organic residual streams.
• Material Savings: The material savings could add up to nearly 900 thousand tons per year, a significant amount compared to the current annual import of 3.9 million tonnes currently utilised by the region.
• Job Creation: Increased productivity levels have the ability to add up to 700 additional jobs in the building sector and 1200 additional jobs in the agriculture and food processing industry.

“Practical implementation of the circular economy is critical if we are to address the great environmental and social challenges highlighted at COP21 and incorporate solutions to these challenges into the daily activities of citizens and businesses.  Amsterdam is the first of many cities around the globe implementing the City Circle Scan and developing road maps for a transition to a circle economy.”- CEO of Circle Economy, Andy Ridley

Concluding with a vision of the future, including a roadmap and action agenda, the report provides guidance on how the city’s value chains can be altered to stimulate innovation, business opportunities, and job creation in both established and newly created sectors. The municipality is inviting interested parties to submit ideas and suggestions to aid in the implementation of these relevant, circular projects.If you have an idea to help aid the city with this transition please click here.

Download the report in Dutch‍

Download the report in English

Circle Economy would like to sincerely thank our partners TNO and Fabric for their dedication to making this City Circle Scan possible.