Page 8 - U4SSC Case study: Circularity to promote local businesses and digitization, June 2020

The district of Buiksloterham, on the northern bank of the IJ waterway, once the site of Amsterdam’s
most polluting industries, is being transformed into a sustainable area in which to live and work.

Over the coming years, Buiksloterham will develop into a sustainable district, based on the principles
of a circular economy. It will be up to the project partners in Buiksloterham to determine the particular
issues that need to be solved.

The City of Amsterdam is one of the signatories of a manifesto that has been drafted to emphasize
the circular ambitions of the project. Over the next 10 years, Buiksloterham will be transformed into
a circular neighbourhood where products and raw materials are re-used as much as possible.

Conclusions

The past three years of circular economy action in Amsterdam have showcased the importance of local
policy in supporting circular economy activities. Indeed, policy can be the support that circular projects
need to transform ideas into practice, or scale up from anecdote to standard.

Key lessons learned along five municipal policy instruments: knowledge instruments, public procurement,
legislation, spatial planning and business support are as follows:

1. Knowledge instruments are developed to disseminate insights about the circular economy through
research to the business community and residents of the city. By means of knowledge instruments,
the municipality can increase insights into, and awareness of, the circular economy among its
population.

2. Circular public procurement is the process of acquiring products or services with a view to optimally
(re-)using products, parts and materials during and at the end of their lifetime. By means of circular
procurement, the municipality can use its purchasing power to influence the market and so stimulate
the production of circular products and the delivery of circular services.

3. Legislative instruments are obligations that the municipality can formally impose on itself, the
market and consumers in the form of, for example, standards of bans. By means of legislation, the
municipality can use its legal authority to require or prohibit more or less circular practices.

4. Spatial planning instruments influence the physical environment by determining the amount and
function of space, what materials are used, as well as its physical character. By means of spatial
planning, the municipality can divide and classify the physical environment in a way that promotes
circular resource management.

5. Business support instruments assist companies with financial and non-financial resources such
as grants, guarantees and technical advice. Through business support, the municipality can assist
(small- and medium-sized) businesses that have limited internal capacity and resources to launch
circular products or services, or those that need high-risk investment.

2 Case study: Circularity to promote local businesses and digitization, June 2020