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Circle Economy and ICLEI have partnered up to initiate the go to knowledge hub of case studies about the circular economy in cities. The Cities Collection is a repository of case studies that demonstrate the role of cities in the circular transition, and includes policies, business cases and research articles. Cases in the Collection flow into an ecosystem of digital products which support users in transitioning cities to circularity, for example [Ganbatte](https://ganbatte.world/cities/) and <a href="https://circulars.iclei.org/" target="_blank">ICLEI Circulars</a>, both part of the <a href="https://circulars.iclei.org/circle-lab-for-cities/" target = _blank">Circle Lab for Cities Programme.</a>




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Circular Cities

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The built environment sector largely exists to serve our universal need for shelter, and as such is one of the most important consumers of raw materials in the world.

We believe the built environment should be a ‘living’ system in which building materials and products are optimally used and reused— a system that operates within the boundaries of our planet, preserves the (business) value of its resources, and ensures the well-being of its inhabitants.

Tremendous opportunities to reverse the tide and prevent a state of lock-in from happening exist for regions where the built environment sector has yet to mature. There is also still hope for those regions where the fate of the construction sector may seem set in stone.

This is why two key strategies stand out: 

- Preventing lock-in through thoughtful design
- Optimising (material value) through transformative re-design

Built environment

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Starter Kit collection

Policy case

Impact on the availability of resources as well as their effect on living organisms, ecosystems, and components of the environment.

Ecological Impact

Impacts on the social fabric of the community and well-being of the individuals and families.

Social Impact

Impacts on the financial condition of a company, as well as the the economicconditions of its stakeholders and on economic systems at local, national, andglobal levels.

Economic Impact

Impact on increased knowledge and understanding as a result of the case study

Increase Awareness

Impact on the quantity or quality of jobs, and shifts in the labour market

Jobs

Direct and indirect reduction in economic costs

Cost Savings

Impact on the ease of innovation, and facilitating uptake of innovations

Innovation

Scalability

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

Reduced use of virgin materials and/or an increase of the use of secondary and bio-based materials

Reduce Material Consumption (SDG12)

Minimise waste through diversion: Instead of sending waste to landfill, it is redirected into other industrial processes for handling, treatment, recycling, recovery, or reuse in various forms. 

Minimise waste through design: At the outset of a process of project, plan and design such that there is zero waste or minimal waste during production, use, and at end of life. 

Minimise Waste (SDG12)

Reduced use of fossil fuel energy sources and/or increased use of renewable energy

Reduce Energy Consumption

Producing building materials and providing services to create residential and non-residential infrastructure and real estate


Construction and Infrastructure

Producing building materials and finished and semi-finished building products for construction

Construction Materials and Products

Account for the systems perspective during the design process, to use the right materials, to design for appropriate lifetime and to design for extended future use

Design for the future

Designing to enable multiple uses and lifecycles of a product and its materials

Design for cyclability

Designing products of multiple parts that can be easily disassembled

Design for disassembly

Rescue or mine materials or components from buildings for use in new buildings or for processing to be used in other industrial processes.

Salvage components

Buildings are where we live, work and play, and also where we store machinery and goods for later consumption. Buildings are but one component of the greater built environment which includes urban infrastructure such as roads, bridges and utilities. 
Current construction techniques have buildings consuming the bulk of materials globally. With increasing urbanisation and therefore demand for buildings of every kind, we drastically need to re-imagine how we design, utilise and decommission buildings.

BUILDINGS

'Manage' influences the use and function of physical and material elements within the urban environment. 

Manage

Site planning for circular material use

 Public Procurement

Redesign systems to lay the foundation for circular activities and enable the transition to a circular economy 

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Rethink

Eliminate waste by maximizing the recovery of resources at the end of the use phase so that they can be reintroduced into production processes


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Recover

High-level changes to policy and practice (such as taxation systems, investment and procurement guidelines and criteria) that disincentivize activities that perpetuate linear economic systems, as well as vision-setting (goals, roadmaps) to catalyze
action on circularity across the city

Eliminate linear incentives and set goals and incentives for circularity

Process waste into valuable industrial inputs or consumer products; distribute processed waste to users.

Process waste and ensure its re-entry into industry at its highest value

The built environment, including housing, commercial buildings, and the necessary infrastructure for mobility, is essential for our livelihoods, but:
- the extraction of minerals used to produce construction materials is responsible for a quarter of global land use change,
- approximately 40% of global GHG emissions can be attributed to buildings’ construction, use and demolition, and
- construction and demolition processes drive nearly one-third of all material consumption. 

Making the built environment more circular must prioritise a heavy reduction in material use—while also closing the loop on materials and bringing secondary and renewable material choices to the fore. Our four key solutions for the built environment are:
- Make the most of what already exists: Make the most of existing materials by reusing, repurposing, upgrading and renovating following circular approaches. Where new builds are needed, use secondary materials and be as efficient as possible with urban planning solutions that follow circular design principles so that buildings can be reused, repurposed, and easily disassembled in the future.
- Be as energy efficient as possible: From the design phase, utilise circular strategies to create material- and energy efficient buildings. Couple these designs with a rollout of clean energy solutions, and prioritise energy-efficient appliances and retrofitting. 
- Utilise secondary materials: Maximise the high-value reuse of buildings and components where possible. Ideally, enable the utilisation of construction and demolition outputs and ensure that as much of it as possible is recycled to avoid the need for virgin materials, such as sand and gravel.
- Prioritise circular materials and approaches: Transition to using renewable wood, timber or cross-laminated timber instead of steel and concrete, or move to other locally available materials. Utilise mainstream modular construction and prioritise lightweight frames and structures to reduce cement and steel use, as well as green roofs where possible.



🏢 Built Environment

Businesses

Cities can directly support the transition towards a circular economy and emission reduction targets by leading by example through their public procurement activities. This is especially true regarding the built environment, as cities manage a sizable portfolio of buildings and infrastructure. Through procurement, local governments can help to develop the market for circular products and services, including circular materials as well as product-as-a-service or leasing models for building components (such as flooring, elevators and lighting). They can also manage the existing and future building stock in a way that contributes to closed energy and material loops within supply chains, whilst minimising—and ideally avoiding—GHG emissions across the entire life-cycle of procured construction materials and activities. 

Local governments have several levers at their disposal: investing in renovation and maintenance work, retrofitting and repurposing (if necessary) existing building stock to avoid new construction, and specifying circular criteria in public tenders for the design, construction and management of buildings. These criteria could, for instance, include mandatory requirements for the use of secondary or bio-based materials in new development projects, or specify design for adaptability, deconstruction and reuse. Additionally, the uptake of ‘green contracts’—agreements that require the contractor to develop and implement a site management plan and favour certain types of resources—can also stimulate circular operations by integrating circularity in the legal relationship between building owners, operators and users. Furthermore, to increase the use of secondary materials, local governments can deploy staging areas, in which recovered construction waste can be temporarily stored for reuse. 

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🏢  Circular public procurement for new buildings and infrastructure

Buildings and infrastructures often include many types of components and materials used in ways that make disassembly or repurposing difficult. Some of the barriers can be solved by integrating circular concepts over the entire lifecycle of buildings and infrastructures. Flexible and modular design facilitates repurposing in response to changing needs over the life of a building and supports lifetime extension, as modular constructions are often easier to renovate. Design for disassembly (DfD) enables deconstruction instead of demolition at the end of life and recovery of high value components and materials such as doors, flooring, windows and other elements before demolition. Selective demolition, finally, allows to retain the structural integrity of a building while refurbishing it for new uses. These practices not only increase the material reused and value recovered at the end-of-life of buildings, but are often labour-intensive, creating more jobs than conventional demolition. As such, they can spur local innovation and industry, preserve local character and heritage of buildings, while reducing landfill costs and limiting the need for virgin and often carbon-intensive materials.

City governments can promote the adoption of these practices by providing locally appropriate guidance on flexible and modular design, design for disassembly and selective demolition, and including these principles in their procurement guidelines. They can also enable such practices through end-of-life standards and regulation. Additionally, they can undertake a cost-benefit analysis of deconstruction, building material reuse and DfD in the city compared to demolition and new build. This type of analysis can encourage circular approaches and help cities set targets for construction and demolition, waste minimisation and material reuse in their plans, as well as standardise design for modularity and disassembly. Finally, cities can create enabling conditions for the upscaling of such solutions by supporting digital tools such as material passports and Building Information Modelling (BIM). 
For these strategies to be successful, the city can take an active role in awareness building and demonstrating circular approaches in city owned buildings. It is also important to involve relevant stakeholders in the planning and implementation of building deconstruction and disassembly. Cities need to involve and support collaboration among representatives of their planning and construction departments, and representatives of property developers, construction companies, neighbourhood groups, deconstruction companies, and recycling and waste management companies.


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🏢  Disassembly, selective deconstruction and demolition of buildings and infrastructure

Impacts

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Industries

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A framework of policy instruments that enabled and encourage the transition to the circular economy

Policies

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A framework of policy instruments that enable and stimulate the transition to the circular economy

The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

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Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

Urban Opportunities

The Circular City Actions Framework provides urban changemakers with five complementary strategies they can use to start working towards a more circular system. 

The framework is action-based to provide users with concrete strategic directions and showcase the desired outcomes of each strategy. 
The framework consists of five complementary **strategies**, under which **sub-strategies** provide further detail. Finally, each sub-strategy consists of a diversity of tangible **solutions** which are framed in relation to key thematic areas. 

Note: solutions are currently focused on:
- 🍏 **Food systems**
- 🏢  **Built environment**
- 👕📱  **Consumer goods**
- ⚡ **Energy Systems**
- 🚌 **Mobility Systems**
- 💧 **Water Systems**

More thematic areas are coming soon...

'Click through each of the five strategy cards below to explore the framework and circular economy case studies in more depth!'



This framework was developed in collaboration with ICLEI, Metabolic and Ellen MacArthur Foundation with support from the MAVA Foundation. Read more about it [here]( https://circulars.iclei.org/action-framework/). 



Circular City Actions Framework

An action-based framework for local governments working towards circular cities

Thematic Areas

City Stakeholders

  The demographic development for the province of Limburg foresees a contraction scenario for the next decennia. The degree of shrinkage varies by region, but also the Venlo region will shrink if no new impulses arise. The ambitions of Venlo are not compatible with the foreseeable decrease. Venlo therefore opts for growth and fits a range of different strategies aimed at the planned contraction to bend it into a structural growth. The commitment to a leadership position in implementing Cradle to Cradle is seen as an important instrument to achieve the desired growth in combination with a clear and positive profile in order to entice businesses to invest in Venlo. The municipality of Venlo considers Cradle to Cradle as an innovative economic design principle, with the highest possible sustainability as a result.
Venlo has built a new City Hall as a sign of its excellent service to residents and businesses. A pleasant and healthy workplace for employees of the municipality of Venlo stands central; a building that will create a comfortable and healthy working environment combined with innovative sustainability. An icon at the river Meuse, that proudly refers to the agro-logistics tradition of the city Venlo; placed in the centre of attention for Cradle to Cradle-design. A building that exudes what the municipal organisation wants to be: open, transparent and accessible. The design of the new Venlo City Hall is inspired by the Cradle to Cradle-principles.       Case Study City Hall Venlo_Final.pdf    
   Facts and Figures:

13,500 m2 of floor area;
2,000 m2 of office space in the Nedinsco;
approximately 630 workstations (flex-factor 75%);
3-story public parking garage with approximately 400 parkingspaces; 
11 floors;
2,026 m2 green facade;
total cost: 46 million.
   In 2009, Kraaijvanger Urbis Architects won the European architectural tender procedure. Venlo did not ask for a detailed design, but for a vision. This is not the normal manner of doing things. The Association of Dutch Architects (BNA) welcomes this approach. One of the advantages is that the municipality of Venlo is directly involved from the start of the design and is not limited by the choice of an early sketch or first impression. 

 In the Netherlands, circular buildings are receiving more and more attention. New developments and innovations take place at a rapid pace and there are more and more conceivable options in the field of circularity. In this article, we have listed 5 inspiring circular buildings for you. These cases demonstrate innovative solutions, and each proves that design and sustainability can go hand in hand.
The Green House – Utrecht
The Green House Utrecht | Design: cepezed | Photo: © Lucas van der Wee
Circular bar/restaurant pavilion The Green House has a restaurant with its own urban farm and meeting centre. In 15 years’ time, the municipality of Utrecht will be redeveloping the area. That is why the building was designed to be of a temporary nature.
Fully disassembled
The pavilion can be fully disassembled and all materials are reusable. In addition, recycled materials were used as much as possible. And when the building is taken down, nothing will remain on or in the ground. The structure was built in such a way that there are no pipes, cables or sewers in the ground under the pavilion. This will leave the ground ‘clean’ after use.
Temporary court house – Amsterdam
Temporary court house | Design: cepezed | Photo: © Leon van Woerkom
Another example of a building that can be fully disassembled is the temporary court house in Amsterdam. The court’s permanent accommodations will be completed in 2022. Until then, the temporary court house will remain in use. The building is designed in such a way that it is easily disassembled and can also be given another function if necessary.
Disassembling and reassembling
In order to allow the building to be fully disassembled, a unique mounting system was developed for the hollow core slabs. This makes both the steel structure and the concrete floor slabs in the building fully reusable. In order to make the building as circular as possible, it was designed like a building kit. This makes the building easy to assemble, disassemble, and reassemble.
Alliander main office – Duiven
Main office Alliander Duiven | Design: RAU B.V. | Photo: © Alain Baars
The new Alliander office was opened in 2015 and looks brand-new. And yet there is almost nothing new about the building. Around 83% of the building is made up of recycled materials.
Reuse of materials
Old materials have been reused in the new design. For example, the used wood comes from a waste processing company. All the scrap concrete from the old building was used as replacement gravel for new concrete. The majority of the ceiling plates have been reused and the lamps are made from old transformers. They also used old materials for insulation. The insulation of the building is made of the old uniforms of Liander mechanics, among other things.
Energy positive for the first time
By using solar panels and using groundwater for the ground source heat pump system, the office building is energy neutral. In addition, the roof collects rainwater. This water is used for the toilet facilities and for the watering of plants, among other things.
What makes this building exceptional is that it is the first building in the Netherlands with an energy positive construction site. The solar panels were deliberately installed earlier, so that the energy used in construction could be generated on-site.
Venlo municipal offices
Municipal office Venlo | Design: Kraaijvanger Architects | Photo: © Ronald Tilleman
The Venlo municipal offices were opened at the end of 2016 and have already won many design awards. The building was developed according to the cradle-to-cradle philosophy. All base materials used can be fully reused without losing value. In addition, the building is completely energy neutral thanks to the use of solar panels, thermal energy storage, and solar boilers.
A healthier living environment thanks to circularity
The production process and all materials used are not harmful to humans or their environment. This makes the building circular. And not only that. The building also provides a cleaner living environment. The air in and around the building is demonstrably cleaner. This is due to the green walls with hundreds of plants that filter fine particles and nitrogen oxides out of the air.
Circl Amsterdam
Circl Amsterdam | Design: Architekten Cie | Commissioned by ABN Amro
2017 saw the opening of Circl, a popular circular meeting place in the Zuidas district in Amsterdam. Almost all materials used in Circle are previously used, can be disassembled, and can be reused. There are 500 solar panels on the roof that provide energy. Direct current is used instead of alternating current, keeping loss of energy to a minimum.
Materials are given a second life
In the building, many materials are given a second life. For example, window casings were used from old offices that were to be demolished, and the furniture was repaired and reused. In addition, old jeans were converted into insulation material for the ceiling. Reuse of materials was not only considered during construction. During daily use of the building, circularity is also at the forefront. The employees’ workwear is made from old PET-bottles, and lectures are regularly held that focus on the circular economy.
 

From the outset, it was decided that the design of the new Venlo City Hall (NL) should be Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certified and situated in an area in need of regeneration. The vision was to create a building that would enable better connections between different city departments, and that would show consideration for the health of workers, visitors and the surrounding environment. These considerations were in addition to the aim of creating long-term cost benefits from material choices and energy saving technologies.As one of the schools of thought that underpin the circular economy, C2C design allows for continuous material recovery and reutilisation in a technical or biological system. Through healthy material choices and design for disassembly, it is possible to recoup some of the original investment, at a later date, as materials can be sold back to manufacturers through a ‘buy and buy-back’ scheme, and ultimately used again. In designing Venlo City Hall, careful attention was given to the structure of the building, and also to the interior fit-out and furniture installed. The close attention to detail extended to the procurement of products within the building, such as soap.Time frameIn 2007 it was decided that all new city buildings would be designed using C2C principles.The design of Venlo City Hall began in 2009. Construction commenced in 2012 and was completed in April 2016. The building opened for use in August 2016.Focus areasWhile the primary focus for this initiative was in the built environment, it was driven by the aims of capturing long-term economic savings, protecting the environment and human health, and promoting skills and ambition in the city.Core team & participantsOf more than 50 initial proposals submitted in response to the specifications of the tender, five were shortlisted before the ultimate choice was made. The final project team consisted of eight people, including a lead civil servant, technical advisors, financial advisors and the architects. The team created roadmaps for each of the different areas that the project would need to address - from the planning of the building, to the user needs, to the financing of construction. Overall sign-off resided with the mayor, council and aldermen.FinanceThe city council’s allocated budget for the project was EUR 53 million. It was supported by a loan from Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten - a local government funding agency. When the project came in under budget, EUR 900,000 were returned to the city council for reinvestment in other areas.Outcomes to dateThe new city hall has played a key role in updating the city’s image - traditionally associated with agriculture and logistics, Venlo is now increasingly associated with innovation and circular economy opportunities that are attracting both businesses and skills. The 18-24 year-old city population has increased, as well as the number of companies basing themselves in the city. The city hall has itself received over 32,000 visitors between 2016 and 2018 and the outcomes of the project have led to Venlo making C2C compliance a part of all its future construction projectsVenlo has continued to grow its expertise in C2C and circular economy practices. In 2010, the Cradle to Cradle consultancy C2C ExpoLAB was founded in Venlo, with a focus on supporting and advancing government and built environment projects that specifically seek to harness the benefits of using C2C principles. In 2012, the first Cradle to Cradle Product Certification Training centre in Europe was opened in Venlo by the Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute of San Francisco, USA to train consultants who will guide companies as they seek certification for products and manufacturing processes. In Spring 2019, a Circular Economy Expertise Platform is due to open in the region to support innovation, material loops and product take-back schemes. Venlo is also collaborating with nearby Dutch and German cities.The journey OriginsIn 2006, in an effort to evolve its image and economy, the city of Venlo along with the Chamber of Commerce committed to embed C2C principles into the city’s economic activities. When it became necessary to renovate the original city hall these principles were kept in mind, however the structural layout of the old building did not allow for a suitable transformation of the physical space or its function in terms of power generation, energy savings, improved air quality, grey water processing, heating or cooling. The mayor, council and aldermen therefore approved the case for a new city hall to be built using C2C principles and located in an area that would benefit from the investment.In line with EU regulations, a European design tender was issued, with a brief to provide the most innovative vision for a C2C town hall. The winning bid would need to meet the overarching ambition to design and build a space that would benefit people, the environment, and the economy.Building designVenlo City Hall was built on the edge of the River Meuse in an area that would benefit from regeneration and economic development. The new building has already catalysed renovation of an old neighbourhood factory which now contains living accommodation. An additional 72 new dwellings are also being constructed next to Venlo City Hall using C2C principles.The building’s living north facade comprises over 100 plant varieties which serve to improve the air quality outside the building. This living facade not only converts carbon dioxide to oxygen and filters particulates, it also provides a level of noise insulation and creates a habitat for birds and insects. An interior green wall helps to add moisture to the air inside the building.The building’s connections to natural systems also minimises the draw on resources. Rainwater is collected on the roof where it makes its way to a helophyte filter, a type of reed bank, along with wash basin and pantry water. The filtered water is then used for flushing toilets. In addition, 1,300 m2 of solar panels have been added to the exterior to provide power and shade.Two solar chimneys also passively heat and cool the building. One is on the top of the building and the other is on the upper levels. In simplified terms, these solar chimneys capture heat from the sun and create thermals which circulate air throughout the building. Heat exchangers and air wells are used to regulate the temperature according to the seasons. The design is both attractive and saves money and energy as the building doesn’t require traditional heating or cooling systems. In addition, when temperatures range between 18-22oc , the pleasant open space inside the solar chimney on the upper levels can be occupied by workers.The components in the building are documented in a digital ‘material passport’ that discloses the material constituents, along with how to disassemble, then recycle or return them to the manufacturer - thereby recouping a proportion of the original investment. By creating a log of the residual material value within the building it becomes possible to quantify the potential value of buildings as material banks.In a similar vein, the furniture in the building is also provided under a ‘buy and buy-back’ arrangement and is easy to disassemble for maintenance, ensuring workable components can be reused. Material choices within the furniture facilitate recyclability.Certain materials have also been avoided - in this case paint and glue, in part due to the lack of ingredient transparency and in part to ensure material health and aid the future recovery of materials.Measuring progressTo establish a baseline measure against which to track progress, measurements were taken from the previous city hall such as air quality, temperature, air moisture and fine dust particles. In spring 2019, Venlo City Hall will conduct a comparative study. The University of Maastricht is also measuring the connection between improved air quality and the reduction in the number of employee sick days compared to those in other buildings. It is already known that the building’s green facade absorbs 30% of sulphur and nitrogen oxides in the air in the vicinity of the building, offsetting the emissions of particulate matter from local traffic.Alongside the productivity, health and environmental benefits, the project is also forecast to deliver a 12.5% return on investment by 2040 and some returns from the C2C and bioclimatic design of the building are already being realised. The procurement of C2C furniture alone leads to an 18% cost saving in part achieved through the embedded value of the materials, which can be returned to the original manufacturer at the end of the product life through the buy and buy-back scheme, recouping a percentage of the original investment.ReflectionsDeveloping a long-term vision. In 2006 Venlo officially embraced C2C principles in its building projects as a means of generating innovation and economic growth. This paved the way for C2C principles to play a central role in the tender for the new Venlo City Hall. By embracing a new approach Venlo has been able to showcase what is possible in how we can build, design and service the built environment.Creating a culture of innovation and integration to unlock circular economy opportunities and benefits in the city. Multiple cross-disciplinary meetings were held to create and communicate the ideas, vision and business case for the new building and several scenarios were developed to understand and demonstrate the potential long and short-term benefits of different choices. The project also required the support and courage of the city to invest upfront, in order to unlock savings in the long term.Securing leadership endorsement, trust and commitment. The willingness of Venlo’s Mayor, Council and Aldermen to take a different approach to supporting the city’s prosperity was key to the overall project’s success. Biannual meetings were held with the city council and the aldermen to confirm the project was on track. They gave the project team the trust and space to move construction forward which was integral to the project’s ability to innovate and ultimately to create a building that represents far more than a place of work.For more informationWebsite: www.c2cvenlo.nl/en/home Contact: info@c2cexpolab.euThis case study is part of Circular economy in cities, Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Venlo

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Municipality of Venlo

<p>The municipality of Venlo, Netherlands, has commissioned its new city hall—built by Kraaijvanger—to be built using cradle-to-cradle (C2C) design principles. The new city hall will showcase healthy material choices and design for disassembly.&nbsp;</p>