Espoo commits to a circular economy
The Mayor of Espoo, Jukka Mäkelä, has signed the European Circular Cities Declaration, a commitment document from cities to use the levers at their disposal to transition to a more sustainable and circular economy.
The Mayor of Espoo, Jukka Mäkelä, has signed the European Circular Cities Declaration, a commitment document from cities to use the levers at their disposal to transition to a more sustainable and circular economy.
The main objective of a circular economy is to save natural resources by utilizing all materials efficiently and preventing waste. In a circular economy, products and materials are planned with a long-term view, ensuring they are used for as long as possible. Their good quality makes them durable, easy to repair and easy to share or resell. When they no longer serve their initial purpose, a new one is found for them, maximizing their value and generating barely no waste.
New year's resolution
The European Circular Cities Declaration consists of 10 commitments that help cities to find and tap into opportunities to transition towards a circular economy. By signing this declaration, the City of Espoo begins the year 2021 with the resolution to escalate the work that has already started, with the contribution of all relevant stakeholders.
Our first step will be to work together with different City departments, citizens, organizations and businesses to define a circular economy action plan that sets clear objectives and an action plan.
In the coming years, and based on the upcoming strategy, we will keep working on facilitating the transition towards a circular economy by using the means at our disposal: public procurement, city planning, local regulation, etc. Once a year we will report on the progress towards the commitments.
Circular economy is already visible in Espoo
Cities have a crucial role to play in the transition towards a circular economy and the City of Espoo has taken big steps in that direction. For example, circular economy can be seen in regular city services like public libraries. But also, Espoo is running innovative projects such as an international example for circular districts (Smart and clean Kera), Carbon neutral and resource-wise industrial areas (HNRY), City as a service by means of innovative procurement (InnoCaas), Partnership model for sustainable neighbourhoods (KIEPPI), or the "story of plastic - from waste to product".
Circular Cities Declaration:https://circularcitiesdeclaration.eu/(external link, opens in a new window)