Circular development in the world’s cities will be essential in achieving global climate goals. 45 percent of emissions come from how we make and use products, and how we produce food. The circular economy provides a framework for using resources differently, allowing us to better operate within the confines of the planet. However, a report by Circle Economy found that our global economy has become less circular since 2018, indicating that we are heading in the wrong direction. The principles of a circular economy are thus highly relevant to cities, yet for many, this is a new topic that at first is not easy to relate to city functions.

The Circle City Scan Tool aims to allow any local government or city change agent to identify and prioritize circular opportunities for their city or region, based on socioeconomic and material flow data about their context. The tool has been developed in its prototype version by Circle Economy with support from MAVA Foundation.

To ensure the tool can be adapted to fit different regional contexts and addresses the practical needs of cities, ICLEI experts will be testing the tool with 10 pilot cities from 3 world regions. The analysis will provide the pilot cities with an overview of how much of the materials flowing through their jurisdiction are consumed and wasted, and where they can intervene to shift their economies toward circularity.

As part of the Circle City Scan Tool Pilots, Circle Economy is supporting ICLEI in:

- Guiding the pilot cities through the tool and providing capacity building activities on circular development

- Supporting material and waste data collection and stakeholders engagement to prioritize sectors for circular economy interventions

- Providing recommendations for improvements to the tool based on feedback from the practice

- Designing additional resources for the tool to enrich the circular development journey of local governments