Color Circle
Color Circle is a project coordinated by HESAM Université. It brings together five European regions: Burgundy Franche Comté (Regional Council), Centru Region in Romania (Regional Development Agency Centru), Central Bohemia (Central Bohemian Innovation Centre), Friesland (Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences), and Granada County (Granada County Council).
Brochure
COnnecting and empowering LOcal authorities with Research capacities to unlock the full potential of CIRCuLar Economy (COLOR CIRCLE)
Regional policies in the field of the circular economy are still in the making. The COLOR CIRCLE project starts from a shared analysis by 5 regions:
- The circular economy crosses boundaries, and does not fit into sector-bound policies. A systemic approach is required, bringing together different resource streams, policies and stakeholders. Technology and industry alone will not deliver sustainable solutions.
- Local authorities can be key players to overcome segmentation and to ensure sustainability : they are used to addressing their community as a whole, bridging gaps between different policies and maintaining a long-term vision.
- Local authorities can be key players to make circular economy solutions happen : they manage the local management of resources; they support bottom-up approaches to develop sustainable hands-on solutions that meet local situations and public interest (collaborative solutions, citizen initiatives for responsible consumption, source separation, support to local entrepreneurs, etc.). They can help overcome obstacles in the implementation phase
- The potential of the circular economy in rural areas and small cities is stalled : local authorities need to begin a process of permanent innovation and lack the expertise and capacities to start or support new solutions. Community-led solutions involve genuine empowerment of local authorities and stakeholders
- A stronger knowledge-based role for local authorities means more efficient use of resources.
Several regions have successfully addressed this issue by connecting local authorities and research capacities via different models.
The project will share best practices of cooperation between research and local authorities that boost and equip territorial intelligence. The targeted policy instruments all contain an element of circular economy. The purpose of the project is to consider how these policies could be improved by strengthening the circular economy realm or by developing a new and broader vision.