This chapter identifies the main challenges that Tallinn faces in the transition from a linear to a circular economy and suggests policy recommendations to overcome them. These recommendations specify how Tallinn can act as promoter, facilitator and enabler of the circular economy, building on the OECD Checklist for Action on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions.
The Circular Economy in Tallinn, Estonia
OECD Urban Studies
3. Unlocking the potential of the circular transition in Tallinn
Abstract
Main obstacles to the circular economy in cities and regions
Building on the OECD framework “Mind the Gaps, Bridge the Gaps” (Charbit and Michalun, 2009[1]) and its sector-specific application to the case of water governance (OECD, 2011[2]), the OECD synthesis report on the circular economy in cities and regions (2020[3]) highlighted five types of governance gaps that cities face when designing and implement a circular economy:
Funding gap: The transition towards a circular economy implies investments and adequate incentives to make the economic and financial case for the circular economy. Funding gaps translate into insufficient financial resources, financial risks, a lack of critical scale for business and investments, along with lack of private sector engagement.
Regulatory gap: Regulatory barriers can inhibit the development and implementation of circular economy strategies. Inadequate regulatory framework and incoherent regulation across levels of government hinder abilities to respond to emerging needs related to the circular economy.
Policy gap: The variety of actors, sectors and goals makes the circular economy systemic by nature. It implies a wide policy focus through integration across often siloed policies. A lack of holistic vision, leadership or political will could lead to fragmented initiatives on the circular economy and weak accountability.
Awareness gap: Poor awareness of circular economy practices amongst key players can hinder opportunities for scaling them up. Cultural barriers are also an important obstacle prevalent within the business community, among governments and residents, which prevent the necessary behavioural shifts required to transition to a circular economy.
Capacity gap: Capacities should match the needs of the circular economy transition, in terms of skills and human resources. A lack of human resources and technical solutions represents an obstacle towards creating links and partnerships across value chains and preventing resource waste.
As a result of a survey of 51 cities and regions, OECD (2020[3])emphasised that insufficient financial resources, inadequate regulatory frameworks and cultural barriers are among the main obstacles for subnational governments to transition from a linear to a circular economy, while the lack of technical solutions were not a primary obstacle (Figure 3.1):
Figure 3.1. Main obstacles to the circular economy in 51 surveyed cities and regions
Source: OECD (2020[3]), The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions: Synthesis Report, https://doi.org/10.1787/10ac6ae4-en.
Governance challenges to the circular transition in Tallinn, Estonia
This section presents the main governance obstacles in the transition to a circular economy in Tallinn, as a result of the fact-finding mission held in November 2021, an OECD (2021[4]) Survey on the Circular Economy filled out by the local team led by the Tallinn Strategic Management Office, key messages from the policy seminar organised in September 2022 and desk-based research.
Figure 3.2. Governance gaps for a circular economy in Tallinn, Estonia
Source: Own elaboration based on OECD (2020[3]), The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions: Synthesis Report, https://doi.org/10.1787/10ac6ae4-en.
Policy gap
Tallinn lacks a clear vision for the transition to a circular economy. To date, there is no document that serves as a basis for understanding the city’s rationale for moving towards a circular economy, the needed actions to reach clear goals and how to measure their achievement over time. Such a vision would create a common narrative across government entities and stakeholders contributing to the circular economy transition, including universities, social entrepreneurs and companies. It would maximise synergies while scaling up impacts. As indicated in Chapter 2, a number of initiatives exist to reduce waste and promote reuse but they are not part of a circular economy framework that would go beyond waste management and allow for an optimal configuration of resource management in the city.
There is also a lack of complementarity among local strategies. The city of Tallinn is pursuing various policies and programmes related to circular economy objectives that could benefit from a more holistic approach. The city strategy Tallinn 2035 and the Climate-neutral Tallinn plan recognise the role of a circular economy in achieving climate-related goals. However, it is unclear how these policies are linked in a coherent way. While the Tallinn 2035 strategy includes concepts closely related to the circular economy, such as life cycle analysis (LCA) and more sustainable production and consumption patterns, most of the actions focus on optimising waste management, such as reducing waste generation and increasing recycling. The Climate-neutral Tallinn plan also incorporates the transition to the circular economy from a waste management approach, which includes waste sorting measures and whose action plan states that only waste that cannot be recycled should be incinerated. Joint actions or details are not specified. Lastly, the Tallinn European Green Capital programme is not sufficiently connected to the circular economy and the narrative on how they can complement each other is missing. For instance, the circular economy is not included within the four themes (sustainable city, learning city, inclusive city, smart city) of the Tallinn European Green Capital programme.
The city has transformed its Waste Department into a Circular Economy Department. Nevertheless, its tasks are yet to be clearly defined, especially in terms of how to co‑ordinate amongst departments and allow a holistic approach across strategic plans of the city. In practice, the substance of the daily work for the Circular Economy Department has not yet changed, being predominately in charge of waste management.
Awareness gap
While the city has been investing in awareness-raising campaigns on waste reduction and reuse in particular, the circular economy and related costs and benefits are still widely an unknown concept for many businesses and citizens. Business representatives interviewed during the OECD mission reported low levels of engagement in the city’s planned activities, largely untapped opportunities for business models applying circular economy principles and challenges to develop specific skillsets. Citizens have been involved in waste prevention campaigns but the city does not communicate specifically on the circular economy, even as part of the European Green Capital initiatives. More generally, while many stakeholders in Tallinn appreciate that the city is taking the lead in moving towards a circular economy (through the awareness-raising initiatives and ad hoc projects described in Table 2.2), there is limited understanding of the role of the municipality in this process.
There are also some data gaps. There is limited data and reporting on material flow and transparent management of waste (World Bank, 2021[5]) The Statistical Yearbook of Tallinn does not yet provide data and information on closing loops (going beyond waste management, economic structure, energy and water supply) to inform decision making, business and residents. Another area to be prioritised in this regard concerns the provision of more updated data. As of early 2023, some of the measured sections dated from the years 2019, while the most recent data were from 2020 (City of Tallinn, 2023[6]).
Capacity gap
The transition to a circular economy requires building capacities that are still partially lacking within the municipality of Tallinn. The city reckons that technical capacities in LCA and circular business models (e.g. sharing economy initiatives, renting and lending) should be strengthened. In addition, system skills (capacities to understand, evaluate and enhance) and technical skills (competencies to design, plan and accelerate the transition engaging a variety of stakeholders) are also to be built. In particular and related to green public procurement (GPP), there is a disconnect between public officials in charge of drafting the tenders and those managing the contracts, which creates challenges to follow how the contract is performing once it has been awarded. On that front, the city reports a shortage of staff to advance the GPP work.
Funding gap
The city does not allocate funds to support external circular economy projects, beyond the budget allocated to the Circular Economy Department for the implementation of the initiatives led by the municipality (Chapter 2). The main financial contribution of the municipality to the transition to a circular economy is the contribution of EUR 0.5 million to the establishment of the future Creative and Circular Economy Centre (loome- ja ringmajandus keskus), which will be operational by the end of 2024. At the national level, the Ministry of the Environment provides funding for environmental projects in the country through the Environmental Investment Centre. For example, the centre supported 42 projects related to the circular economy in Harju County (where Tallinn is located) with a total of EUR 3.2 million over the period 2011‑21 (EIC, 2022[7]). However, the projects funded do not necessarily focus on the circular economy but on resource efficiency measures.
There is a lack of adequate financial incentives to promote the adoption of a circular approach in Tallinn. For instance, in Estonia, although waste management fees are established by local government regulation, there is no standardised methodology for setting these charges (World Bank, 2021[5]). In Tallinn, whereas the waste fee is based on waste production (as users pay according to the contracted frequency of waste collection), the price of the fee is low, providing limited incentives to reduce generation. Households are usually charged a single amount for waste management, rather than a separate rate for mixed and source-separated waste. Although the lower source separation fees are intended to encourage households to sort waste at source, this is not the case, as the bills only show the total amount of waste generated. Therefore, the lack of visibility of the different charges on the bill may lead to a lack of incentives to improve waste sorting. Furthermore, there are no fines for households that do not sort their waste properly.
Regulatory gap
At present, there are no structured schemes for permanent co‑ordination between the national and local governments to develop an aligned regulatory framework that supports moving towards a circular economy. In terms of conducive regulation to a circular economy, national and local regulations are not always aligned. For example, after banning the use of plastic cutlery in Tallinn, from June 2023, only reusable dishes (plates, cups) and cutlery will be allowed in public events with less than 30 000 visitors per day. However, at the national level, the regulation on the use of reusable dishes and cutlery at all public events, regardless of the number of visitors, will not enter into force before January 2024. In terms of waste management, the National Waste Act that entered into force in 2004 placed the responsibility for all municipal waste activities with the local government, without officially specifying the reuse and recycling targets at the local level. The disconnect between national ambitions and local execution can be responsible for poorly executed waste separation or for opting for the least cost treatment options for incineration or landfilling (World Bank, 2021[5]). The city of Tallinn would also benefit from greater clarity on upcoming national regulations and priorities to advance the design of its local circular vision.
Regarding public procurement, official statistics show that, in Estonia, only 4.5% of the total number of procurements and 16% of the total procurement costs are green. In 2020, 8 323 public procurements were carried out in Estonia. The cost of public procurement reached EUR 3.7 billion, which is 14% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 32% of the state budget. While the Estonian government includes green criteria in public procurement processes, these have not always been trickled down and implemented by local governments, fearing increasing prices. For instance, in Tallinn, GPP, one of the most effective tools for cities to lead by example, is not prioritised and does not fully exploit the potential of the circular economy in the products and services of municipal services. For instance, in the catering public procurement processes in schools, standards such as the use of sustainable labels or the commitment to donate leftover food are not considered. To date, there are no incentives for innovation or for the adoption of circular business models (i.e. shifting from ownership to services such as renting), as the price is the main criterion, and it is not clear what the city defines as green and circular procurement. The current public procurement legislation does not allow flexible collaboration with different stakeholders, especially for bringing green innovation and solutions to the city). The Purchasing and Procurement Centre of Tallinn is in the process of designing a GPP plan to systematically apply the principles of green procurement (Box 3.1). However, as it is currently formulated, the future plan does not take into account the circular economy requirements such as the integration of LCA into procurement decisions.
Box 3.1. Implementation of the GPP in Tallinn, Estonia
Building on Tallinn 2035 and the Climate Neutral Tallinn initiatives, Tallinn is designing an action plan to implement GPP. In 2022, a public official in charge of GPP took office, establishing the premises for introducing sustainable criteria in the city’s procurement. This plan, which has yet to be officially approved by Tallinn City Council, will prioritise five product categories (public space, construction, catering, information technology [IT] sector, transportation) and create specific working groups for each of them. These working groups will involve experts from different municipal departments and will define sustainable standards. The groups will be led by the Purchasing and Procurement Centre of the Tallinn Strategic Management Office. The plan foresees the implementation of several actions such as:
Developing a strategy for the implementation of GPP in the city.
Setting objectives of prioritised areas and defining measuring tools related to GPP.
Creating training for procurement specialists.
Developing an information catalogue on the GPP, as well as guidelines and support materials.
Organising seminars/workshops for sharing the best practices on GPP.
Source: OECD mission to Tallinn (16-19 November 2021).
Policy recommendations and actions for a circular economy in Tallinn, Estonia
Based on the main obstacles identified in Tallinn for its transition towards a circular economy and the 3Ps guiding framework, this section proposes a set of recommendations to move forward. According to the OECD, cities can act as promoters, facilitators and enablers of the circular economy (Figure 3.3) (2020[3]):
Promoters: Cities can promote the circular economy by acting as role models, providing clear information and establishing goals and targets, in particular through: defining who does what and leading by example (roles and responsibilities); developing a circular economy strategy with clear goals and actions (strategic vision); promoting a circular economy culture and enhancing trust (awareness and transparency).
Facilitators: Cities can facilitate connections and dialogue and provide soft and hard infrastructure for new circular businesses, in particular through: implementing effective multi-level governance (co-ordination); fostering system thinking (policy coherence); facilitating collaboration amongst public, not-for-profit actors and businesses (stakeholder engagement); and adopting a functional approach (appropriate scale).
Enablers: Cities can create the enabling conditions for the transition to a circular economy to happen, for example by: identifying the regulatory instruments that need to be adapted to foster the transition to a circular economy (regulation); helping mobilise financial resources and allocating them efficiently (financing); adapting human and technical resources to the challenges to be met (capacity building); supporting business development (innovation); and generating an information system and assessing the results (data and assessment).
Figure 3.3. The governance of the circular economy in cities and regions: A Checklist for Action
Source: OECD (2020[3]), The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions: Synthesis Report, https://doi.org/10.1787/10ac6ae4-en.
This chapter presents policy recommendations and related actions for the city of Tallinn, as a result of the interviews with 60 stakeholders, during the OECD mission (15-19 November 2021) and a policy seminar on 7 September 2022 (Table 3.1), as well as on the basis of international best practice. The 12 governance dimensions for each cluster (promoter, facilitator and enabler) build on the Checklist for Action for Cities and Regions Transitioning to the Circular Economy (OECD, 2020[3]). These governance dimensions were inspired by the OECD Principles on Water Governance (OECD, 2015[8]) and they are accompanied by the OECD Scoreboard on the Governance of the Circular Economy, developed thanks to the collective efforts of several cities, involved in the OECD programme on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions as case studies (OECD, 2020[9]; 2020[10]; 2020[11]; 2021[12]; 2021[13]; 2022[14]).
It is important to note that:
Actions are neither compulsory nor binding: Identified actions address a variety of ways to implement and achieve objectives. However, they are neither compulsory nor binding. They represent suggestions, for which adequacy and feasibility should be carefully evaluated by the city of Tallinn, involving stakeholders as appropriate. In turn, the combination of more than one action can be explored, if necessary.
Prioritisation of actions should be considered: Taking into account the unfeasibility of addressing all recommendations at the same time, prioritisation is key. As such, steps taken towards a circular transition should be progressive. Table 3.1 provides an indicative timetable for actions (short, medium and long terms) based on the discussion and results of the Policy Seminar on the Circular Economy in Tallinn held on 7 September 2022.
Resources for implementation should be assessed: The implementation of actions will require human, technical and financial resources. When prioritising and assessing the adequacy and feasibility of the suggested actions, the resources needed to put them into practice should be carefully evaluated, as well as the role of stakeholders that can contribute to the implementation phase.
The proposed actions should be updated in the future: New potential steps and objectives may emerge as actions start to be implemented.
Several stakeholders should contribute to their implementation: Policy recommendations and related actions should be implemented as a shared responsibility across a wide range of actors. Based on the results of the Policy Seminar on the Circular Economy in Tallinn held on line on 7 September 2022, Table 3.1 provides an indicative selection of actors that can contribute to each of the proposed actions.
Promoter
Roles and responsibilities
Having a clear vision of organisational goals and responsibilities is the first step in moving towards a circular economy in a coherent and strategic way. Defining who does what and how is essential to ensure accountability and should be a priority for Tallinn. Following the restructuring of the department in 2021, the Waste Management Department was renamed the Circular Economy Department, there is a need to further define its objectives and responsibilities to lead and co‑ordinate a circular economy transition. The department should be characterised by its transversal nature within the municipal organisation. The definition of roles should primarily take into account the tasks of designing the new circular economy strategy and complementary activities, as well as the future duties that will be involved in the implementation phase (e.g. financing and budgeting, data and information, and stakeholder engagement). Tallinn could regularly evaluate the department’s circular economy activities and adjust actions as necessary.
International practices show how local authorities are empowering and defining the roles and responsibilities of their municipal departments in charge of the circular economy transition. Since 2018, the city of Roubaix, France, set up a circular economy department dedicated to developing economic opportunities with low environmental impact, local job creation and high social value in the city. The department is responsible for setting a number of actions targeting the private sector, which are defined in the 2018 Circular Economy Mission. Examples of the responsibilities of the department include managing a network of entrepreneurs to work on circular businesses and supporting companies in identifying and accessing secondary materials in the city (EC, 2023[15]; City of Roubaix, 2022[16]). In 2018, the city of Wiltz, Luxembourg, adopted a Commitment Charter for the Circular Economy to guide activities led at the city level. In 2020, the city set up a circular economy department to integrate circular economy practices in other policy-making areas (urban planning, construction, local economic development, etc.) (Net Zero Cities, 2022[17]). In Rotterdam, Netherlands, circular economy initiatives come under the responsibility of the support programme Rotterdam Circular, led by the Municipal Executive of Rotterdam and the Port Authority of Rotterdam. Rotterdam Circular is in charge of implementing the Rotterdam Circularity Programme (2019-23). The tasks of Rotterdam Circular include removing identified barriers to the circular transition as well as, setting requirements in public procurement processes to encourage entrepreneurs to supply circular products or services (City of Rotterdam, 2019[18]).
Table 3.1. Synthesis of policy recommendations, actions and sequence for the circular economy in Tallinn, Estonia
In addition, it is important for Tallinn to “lead by example” and demonstrate its commitment and the feasibility of implementing circular practices. Beyond existing good practices (e.g. ban of single-use plastic plates and utensils at public events and joining deposit reuse systems in municipal buildings), the city should further embed circular economy principles in daily activities such as adopting circular business models moving from ownership to services, setting circular criteria in the design of public procurement tenders (encouraging the use of secondary materials such as the use of recycled plastics for office furniture, making public buildings apply circular economy principles). Box 3.2 provides an overview of international practices that can be inspirational for the city.
Box 3.2. Examples of cities leading by example for the adoption of circular economy practices
A shift from ownership to services
The city of Amsterdam, Netherlands, implemented the Learning by Doing programme, which aims to show, with empirical examples, that the circular economy is profitable in all aspects, by convening the different city departments and diverse stakeholders to define policy actions.
The municipality of Bollnäs, Sweden, has applied what the local government calls “functional public procurement” (funktionsupphandlingen) to rent light as a service in municipal pre-schools and schools.
The city of Ljubljana, Slovenia, aims to foster “product as a service” schemes by renting printers, electric lamps or furniture instead of buying them.
In Oulu, Finland, public libraries have extended their services from borrowing traditional items (e.g. books, e-books, audiobooks, music, films, etc.) to skis, skates and other sports equipment.
Waste management prevention and reduction
The city of Paris, France, addresses waste generated by events organised in public areas and assesses their environmental impact through the implementation of the Charter for Eco‑responsible Events. The city also provides technical equipment to weigh the waste produced during events and collect waste from the event organisers.
The city of Gothenburg, Sweden, applies a waste management strategy to its Gothenburg Culture Festival, in which the use of single-use packaging is banned.
Use of secondary materials
In the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia, the public tender for the selection of suppliers of sanitary paper products included the “zero waste” criterion, which required sanitary products to be made of cardboard packaging or hollow cardboard packaging collected in the city.
Groningen ,Netherlands, opened a tender for a ten-year service of refurbished furniture for the municipality and, since 2018, all plastic bins within the municipality are made of recycled plastics.
Source: OECD (2020[3]), The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions: Synthesis Report, https://doi.org/10.1787/10ac6ae4-en.
Strategic vision
Establishing a circular economy vision in Tallinn is necessary as a starting point for the transition. Developing a circular economy strategy with clear objectives, targets and actions would allow identifying the “what”, the “how” and the “whom” of the circular economy transition in the city. The strategy should build on: i) an analysis of stocks and flows; ii) a mapping of the existing circular economy-related initiatives; iii) clear and achievable goals, actions and expected outcomes; iv) budget and resources; v) a shared understanding and co-creation with stakeholders to build consensus and vision; vi) a monitoring and evaluation framework. The Circular Economy Department could lead the following steps for the design, development and implementation of the strategy:
Collaborating with universities and start-ups in the city on the analysis of stock and flow analysis to identify key sectors potentially capable of applying circular economy principles and practices. The analysis should be repeated after a certain period of time (e.g. 2-3 years) to assess changes in production and consumption and change priorities.
Mapping existing initiatives related to the circular economy in Tallinn. This exercise could be conducted through an online platform for uploading initiatives and projects in the field of circular economy, or through offline platforms, collecting input from stakeholders through regular meetings, surveys, interviews and public consultations. Initiatives have been also mapped by this report (Chapter 2).
Defining clear and achievable objectives, actions and expected results linked to the global agendas and local priority areas. The strategy could contribute to and complement existing green initiatives (e.g. the emission reduction target set out in the Climate-neutral Tallinn plan, increasing the material reuse in Tallinn 2035). It should also define goals in terms of job creation, innovation, economic growth as well as ambitious waste management targets. The objectives of the strategy should be linked to the achievement of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and European Union (EU) frameworks. Furthermore, the long-term vision should identify priority areas for the city, such as carbon neutrality, energy efficiency, responsible consumption and job creation.
Identifying key sectors and related actions. Three sectors show great potential in the city of Tallinn in relation to their transition to a circular economy: built environment; food; and tourism and events. Table 3.2 presents an overview of all the sectors included in circular economy initiatives that participated in the OECD survey (2020[3]). Below actions for each sector are described in relation to international examples:
Built environment: As demonstrated by international practices, circular economy principles applied to the built environment concern all of the phases, from design to planning, operation and end of life. For example, the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands, developed the roadmap “Circular Amsterdam: A vision and roadmap for the city and region” in 2016. To organise the building chain in a circular way and fulfil the growth ambition to build 70 000 new homes by 2040, the roadmap planned to improve the circularity of the construction sector through: i) smart design to make building more suitable for repurposing and reuse of materials; ii) efficient dismantling and separation of waste streams for high-value reuse; iii) high-value recovery and reuse of materials and components; and iv) exchange of commodities between market players (Circle Economy et al., 2016[19]). Box 3.3 provides further examples from the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium.
Food: Circular food systems in cities are based on preventing and managing food waste, enhancing food security and promoting local food. In London, United Kingdom (UK), the strategic roadmap set in 2017 for a circular food economy consisted in: i) ensuring that no food waste is destined to landfill or incineration; ii) reducing food waste by 20% by 2025; iii) ensuring that food surplus and food waste are used to their greatest potential; iv) boosting community and commercial food growing in London. The strategy also set guidelines for responsible business and consumer behaviour, as well as good practices to prevent food waste and maximise the use of urban space for food growing (LWARB, 2017[20]). The city of Guelph, Canada, aims to become Canada’s first technology-enabled circular food economy, reimagining an inclusive food-secure ecosystem that by 2025 increases access to affordable, nutritious food by 50%, where 50 new circular businesses and collaborations are created and circular economic revenues are increased by 50%. The programme Our Future Food launched in 2020 aims to grow local food in a regenerative manner, reduce food waste, and design and market healthier food products (City of Guelph, 2020[21]). In the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium, there are initiatives: to grow mushrooms in cellars using the city’s organic waste resources and creating labels for restaurants and canteens (schools, hospitals, retirement homes, companies, nurseries); to promote the consumption of local and seasonal products, and food produced in an environmentally friendly way; and to minimise food waste (Good Food Brussels, 2022[22]; Bruxelles Environnement, 2022[23]).
Tourism and events: Circular economy practices in tourism and events can relate to innovation and experimentation, guidance and awareness-raising, and the creation of networks for collaboration across the value chain. The city of Paris, France, launched its 2nd roadmap in November 2018, which addresses waste generated by events organised in public areas and assesses their environmental impact. To tackle this issue, the city aims to foster the implementation of the Charter for Eco-responsible Events, provide logistical and technical means for weighing the waste produced during events, and undertake waste collection from the organisers (City of Paris, 2018[24]). In the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium, the agency in charge of tourism, Visit Brussels, is leading several initiatives: i) supporting collaboration and partnerships between hotel managers and start-ups and SMEs offering circular solutions (e.g. sustainable food catering, modular furniture services); ii) developing guidelines for tourists on restaurants, hotels and activities that consider circular economy principles; iii) launching pilot projects to assist hotel managers in the development of plans to encourage waste prevention and reuse; iv) producing a guide for tourism companies that want to move towards a circular economy (hub.brussels, 2020[25]). In Amsterdam, Netherlands, a total of 12 hotels have started co-operating with actors along their different value chains to incorporate circular principles in their business models. As such, they jointly purchase and bundle waste streams, contract rental services and share information to provide more sustainable products and services (CREM, 2018[26]).
Ensuring financial and human resources for the design and implementation of the strategy. Tallinn should allocate a defined part of the municipal budget to the future strategy.
Involving stakeholders in the development of a circular economy strategy. The circular economy is a shared responsibility among stakeholders, who should be engaged from the very beginning of the process. The city could involve stakeholders from civil society and the private sector. For the latter, in order to get the message across to a larger number of businesses, the city could collaborate with sectoral associations (e.g. Estonian Travel and Tourism Association, Estonian Hotel and Restaurant Association), the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce and the incubators of the city (e.g. Tallinn Creative Incubator, Tallinn Science Park, Green Tiger, green-tech and deep-tech clusters). It is particularly relevant that Tallinn consults Estonian ministries working in the circular economy when defining its own strategy. In addition, since the current version of the national white paper does not set concrete targets, this consultation with the national government could shed light on future priorities at the national level.
Regularly monitoring progress (e.g. number of circular economy-related projects, number of circular buildings to be constructed, etc.) to assess socio-economic and environmental impacts and communicate results to the public. Further information for the design of a monitoring framework for the strategy is detailed in the recommendation on data and assessment.
Table 3.2. International overview of sectors included in selected local and regional circular economy initiatives
Note: ICT – Information and communication technology.
Source: OECD (2020[3]), The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions: Synthesis Report, https://doi.org/10.1787/10ac6ae4-en.
Box 3.3. Circular economy principles applied to the built environment in the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
The Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium has been developing and implementing initiatives to foster circularity in the built environment across different areas:
Planning. Brussels is increasingly taking a district rather than an individual building approach to the built environment. This holistic approach enables a complete vision of mobility, energy and water flows before the building phase and the creation of economies of scale. In this sense, the Tivoli Green City is a flagship project that seeks to connect an existing residential neighbourhood with the industrial zone of the Port of Brussels by redeveloping a brownfield site between the two.
Digital tools. Brussels is part of the EU project Buildings as Materials Banks, which aims to create circular solutions in the building sector. The city’s participation in this project, which explores the use of different tools (e.g. digital material passports) to unleash circularity in the built environment, is part of a broader aim to encourage companies in the sector to think about buildings as material banks for new and future builds.
Capacity building. Brussels fosters circular practices in the building sector, such as waste prevention, waste reuse on site and renovation, by publishing guidelines and case studies for construction companies. With the Confederation of Building Companies, Brussels is also fostering networking between companies and setting up training programmes.
Secondary materials. Through the Confederation of Building Companies, Brussels is seeking to develop a platform to boost the creation of a market for secondary materials in the construction sector. This platform connects companies producing potential waste to companies wishing to incorporate secondary material into their construction.
Source: Tivoly Green City (2023[27]), Le Projet, https://www.citydev.brussels/fr/projets/tivoli-greencity; BAMB (2020[28]) Buildings As Material Banks (BAMB2020), https://www.bamb2020.eu/ (accessed on 30 April 2019); Guide Bâtiment Durable (2022[29]), Economie circulaire, https://www.guidebatimentdurable.brussels/economie-circulaire; port.brussels (2021[30]), A propos – stratégie, https://www.port.brussels/fr/a-propos/strategie.
Awareness and transparency
While communication efforts have been prioritised in areas such as sustainability or green policies, the promotion of the circular economy in Tallinn remains largely unexplored. There is room for Tallinn to clarify how and why citizens should contribute to the transition, and how it complements other environmental initiatives taking place in the city (i.e. the 2023 European Green Capital Award and the goal of becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2050), by looking for synergies and delivering the message in the most effective way. A series of actions could be adopted, such as:
Improving the circular economy webpage of the city of Tallinn. Although Tallinn Municipality’s website features a section on circular economy and waste management, most of the information is mainly dedicated to the latter. Beyond the definition of the circular economy, some of the examples of the information included are: information on the municipal waste transport; location and price list of the waste stations in Tallinn; location of collection points for clothes and other usable items; and location of the Reuse Centres (MTÜ Uuskasutuskeskus). Moreover, the website also contains guidelines related to waste management, such as labels for collection bins, guides on waste collection for public events organisers and biowaste collection instruction material for catering and accommodation companies. Building on the current website, Tallinn could create a one-stop-shop including the following sections: i) good practices of circular economy initiatives being implemented in Tallinn both by the municipality and businesses; ii) information and access to circular economy policies and strategies at the national and supranational level (e.g. links to the Estonian White Paper, EU Circular Economy Package); iii) information on financing opportunities available from the municipality and other institutions (e.g. Estonian government, Environmental Investment Centre); iv) environmental, economic and social impacts of the circular economy; v) guidance on how to participate in public procurement processes, challenges, hackathons.
Introducing the figure of “circular economy ambassadors” to promote circular economy communication and messaging as well as events across their networks. For instance, existing clusters and incubators (Green Tiger, Tallinn Creative Incubator, Tallinn Science Park), as well as universities (TalTech, Estonian Academy of Arts and Tallinn University) could promote circular economy practices based on their expertise. ReLondon, a partnership between the Mayor of London and London’s boroughs to improve waste and resource management in London, UK, has started recruiting “circular economy ambassadors” in different companies and local authorities to share information on the benefits of the circular economy for each economic sector and to raise awareness in the workplace (LWARB, 2017[20]). In Glasgow, UK, the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce nominated 24 ambassadors from large companies and SMEs across Glasgow to share their experience and knowledge of the circular economy (OECD, 2021[13]).
Organising events on the business opportunities of the circular economy. The events allow the business community to share experiences, make synergies, find partners and seek financial and human resources needed to scale up projects. For example, in the city of Valladolid, Spain, the Agency of Innovation and Economic Development organised annual Circular Weekends between 2017 and 2019, which consisted of a two-day event to foster peer learning, share existing business models and create a network of individuals interested in pushing forward the circular economy (OECD, 2021[12]). Between 2017 and 2019, the city and Opportunity Peterborough (a council-owned not-for-profit economic development company) held five circular economy workshops open to business organisations, entrepreneurs, as well as schools and community groups. The goal was to harness learning among businesses and raise awareness in the food and agriculture, manufacturing, service, and third sectors (Future Peterborough, 2018[31]).
Facilitator
Co-ordination
There are three types of co‑ordination that can be pursued by the city of Tallinn in its role of facilitator: i) vertical co‑ordination across levels of government; ii) horizontal co‑ordination across municipal departments; iii) co‑ordination with other Estonian cities and towns to scale up solutions. As such:
Vertical co‑ordination: In order to pursue common objectives (e.g. carbon neutrality, resource efficiency), national and local strategies should be aligned to optimise the use of financial and human resources and overcome regulatory constraints. It is recommended that the city take part in consultations on strategic documents on the circular economy at the national level and engage representatives of relevant national ministries (e.g. Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Ministry of the Environment) in the development of the Tallinn strategy on the circular economy. International examples provide evidence that co‑ordination and the setting of common goals across all levels of government is essential to move from a linear to a circular economy. In the Netherlands, the programme for a Circular Dutch Economy by 2050 (Government of the Netherlands, 2016[32]), the Amsterdam Circular Strategy 2020-2025 (City of Amsterdam, 2020[33]) and the Rotterdam Circularity Programme 2019-2023 (City of Rotterdam, 2019[18]) share the common goal of reducing raw material consumption by 50% between 2016 and 2030 and achieving 100% circularity by 2050. Signed in 2016 by eight cities, including Amsterdam and Rotterdam, three ministries and three knowledge parties,1 the City Deal Circular City (Circulaire Stad) (Hotspot Holland Circular, 2016[34]) is a co‑ordination mechanism established by the national government through the circular economy programme to facilitate the exchange of best practices and knowledge sharing. Moreover, the design of the Amsterdam Circular Strategy was carried out in co‑operation with the national government as well as with governments at the subnational level. As such, it prioritises three of the five sectors identified in the national programme and set up the Amsterdam Circular Monitor (City of Amsterdam, 2020[35]) supported by three national agencies, two provinces, one municipality, five local entities and departments and three research institutions.2 In Quebec, Canada, the creation in 2017 of the Interdepartmental Group on the Circular Economy, led by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation and the regional waste management agency Recyc‑Québec, brings together 13 Quebec ministries and public companies to facilitate the implementation of the circular economy policies and initiatives led by the government of Quebec (Circular Quebec, 2019[36]). The Circular Economy Fund (Fondaction, 2023[37]), launched in 2022 to support emerging companies in Quebec and test innovative circular solutions, is the result of a collaboration between the city of Montreal, Canada, and Recyc-Québec. In Belgium, the Brussels-Capital Region defined a co‑ordination committee (Box 3.4).
Horizontal co‑ordination: The Circular Economy Department should set up regular inter‑department meetings to inject circular economy principles into municipal practices and tools, as well as ensure that a circular economy can help achieve the strategic economic, social and environmental objectives of the city (see section below on policy coherence). Due to the systems nature of the circular economy, all departments should be endowed with the necessary capacities to adopt circular business models and to design public procurement processes that include circular economy criteria. Co‑ordination should be strengthened with: Tallinn Education Department; Tallinn Urban Planning Department; Tallinn City Property Department; Tallinn Transport Department; as well as with other institutions managed by the Tallinn Strategic Management Office (e.g. Tallinn Waste Centre). In Toronto, Canada, the establishment of a cross-divisional working group in 2018 allowed to engage ten city divisions in the circular procurement pilot that is co‑led by the city of Toronto’s Solid Waste Management Services (SWMS) division and Purchasing and Materials Management Division (PMMD). Apart from citizens and businesses, the initiative Circular Gothenburg, Sweden, launched in 2016 and led by the city’s Consumer and Citizen Service Administration in collaboration with other city departments, targets the city’s own departments as important players in circular economy transformation providing them guidelines and clear goals. In Paris, France, 16 out of 20 city departments are taking action based on the city-wide circular economy strategy co‑ordinated by the Environmental Department between 2017 and 2020 (C40 Cities/Climate-KIC, 2018[38]).
Co‑ordination with other Estonian cities and towns: A circular economy can produce economic, social and environmental impacts if business models are scaled up. As such, Tallinn, as the city in Estonia that is taking action on the circular economy, could set up a platform of Estonian local governments for collective action towards a circular economy. Key actors would include representatives of cities, the Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities (AECM) and the Ministry of the Environment, although at the national level, an inspiring example in this respect is the Spanish National Coordination Commission for Waste. It involves national, regional and local authorities, represented by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP). This commission integrates 12 technical working groups (1 for each waste stream), including a specific group on the circular economy (OECD, 2020[10]).
Box 3.4. Co‑ordination of the circular economy programme of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
In March 2016, the government of the Brussels-Capital Region adopted the Brussels Regional Programme for a Circular Economy 2016-2020 (BRPCE). The programme comprises 111 measures across 4 strategic areas: transversal measures (e.g. regulation), sectoral measures, territorial measures and governance measures. The latter mainly consist of strengthening co‑operation between different levels of government, notably through a steering committee and a co‑ordination committee.
The BRPCE Steering Committee is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the strategy. It meets at least every six months but can be convened at any time to intervene and/or take important decisions. The steering committee is composed of the ministers responsible for the BRPCE, the prime minister and associated ministers. The responsible ministers are the Minister for the Environment and Energy, the Minister for the Economy, Employment and Vocational Training and the Secretary of State for Scientific Research and the Collection and Treatment of Household Waste. Associated ministers include the Minister of Education and the Minister of Social Promotion - Adult Education. In addition, several regional partners are involved in the steering committee: Brussels Environment, impulse.brussels, Brussels Economy and Employment, Actiris, Brussels Training, VDAB Brussel, Innoviris, Citydev, finance&invest.brussels, Bruxelles-Propreté, Brussels Planning Agency, the Port of Brussels, Atrium, Brussels Mobility, the Brussels Regional Informatics Centre (CIRB) and the Economic and Social Council.
The operational co‑ordination committee is organised by the aforementioned responsible ministers and their administrative bodies: impulse.brussels (Brussels Enterprise Agency), Brussels Environment (the agency responsible for the environment and energy), Bruxelles-Propreté (the agency responsible for household waste management and urban cleanliness) and Innoviris (the agency for the promotion and support of innovation). These agencies are responsible for the co‑ordination of the BRPCE and its day-to-day operations.
Source: Government of the Brussels-Capital Region (2016[39]), Programme régional en economie circulaire 2016-2020, https://document.environnement.brussels/opac_css/elecfile/PROG_160308_PREC_DEF_FR.
Policy coherence
The circular economy goes beyond waste and requires a holistic approach across the policies set up by different municipal departments. Enhancing a systems approach within the municipality can help strengthen synergies between departments, minimise duplication and ensure consistency, as well as clarify how the circular economy can contribute to the various municipal objectives.
Tallinn could integrate circular economy principles (e.g. reducing waste production, keeping resources in use and transforming waste into resources) activities and metrics into the strategic policies such as the Tallinn 2035 strategy, the Climate-neutral Tallinn. Tallinn Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan 2030 and the Tallinn Waste Management Plan 2022-2026. Moreover, the New General Urban Plan (2019), which promotes a compact city model, could be linked to various actions in complementary sectors that foster circularity in the city, from mobility to infrastructure. The inter-municipal co‑ordination set up towards the awarding of Tallinn as EU Green Capital in 2023 could be replicated to boost a circular economy in the city.
International practice shows that identifying synergies and strengthening horizontal co‑ordination across policies and government departments can prevent the fragmentation of initiatives and promote policy coherence, especially in reaching carbon neutrality, one of Tallinn’s goals. For instance, in Helsinki, Finland, as a result of the revision of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Climate Strategy, the Sustainable Urban Living Programme (HSY, 2021[40]) recognises the circular economy as a means to achieve climate goals through a more efficient waste and water management. In Calgary, Canada, the Calgary Climate Strategy (City of Calgary, 2022[41]) includes a pilot of circular economy grants for reuse and repair initiatives to reduce the waste-related GHG emissions. As one-fifth of the carbon footprint caused by the consumption of goods and services, the Climate Change Strategy 2020-30 of Scotland (Skills Development Scotland, 2020[42]) recognises the circular economy as a key element to achieving the net zero target and commit to ensure the development of work-based capacity-building programmes on the circular economy. Similarly, the London Climate Action Strategy 2020-2027 (City of London, 2020[43]) commits to embedding circular economy principles in the city’s core projects by using life cycle carbon and cost assessment techniques to support the achievement of the target of net zero emissions by 2050.
Stakeholder engagement
Stakeholders have a key role to play in the transition to a circular economy, as they will be the implementers of the transition. Therefore, their involvement in the design of the circular economy strategy and related policies is essential. Stakeholder engagement is key to ensuring that they will contribute in different capacities to the transition from a linear to a circular economy, by experimenting with new business models and or by adapting to different behaviour.
The municipality is aware of the importance of actively involving all relevant stakeholders. For example, Tallinn has developed its own green event guide and invited event organisers to follow the guidelines on a voluntary basis. The idea behind this initiative was to test the guidelines with event organisers before making them mandatory, in order to see how implementing the recommendations could work in practice. The aim is to explore all options and make the guidelines mandatory by the end of 2023. Tallinn could continue testing and piloting experiences to engage stakeholders in the transition towards a circular economy and set long-term strategic goals.
First, Tallinn could co-produce the strategy with all relevant stakeholders in the city (Figure 2.4). For instance, the Circular Economy Strategy of Greater Paris, France, was developed by 240 stakeholders from over 120 different organisations. They were divided into working groups and defined 65 proposals. The region of Flanders, Belgium, implemented the Green Deal Circular Procurement (GDCP) between 2017 and 2019. In total, 108 purchasing organisations, local authorities, companies, financial institutions and 54 facilitators were involved in the design of the initiative (OECD, 2020[3]).
Second, Tallinn could inform stakeholders and facilitate dialogue across the city, businesses and residents with the aim of creating a circular ecosystem in the city and fostering innovation. For instance, the current circular economy section of the municipal website could share good practices on circular economy activities and the stakeholders that are leading them (see section on awareness and transparency).
Third, the city could leverage the European Green Capital 2023 award and engage with private companies, universities and various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) through ad hoc circular events, meetings and workshops.
Fourth, the city could use digital tools to engage citizens, such as the Open the City (AvaLinn) application, while minimising environmental costs and externalities (City of Tallinn, 2023[44]). This app provides citizens with the opportunity to share ideas and make suggestions to build liveable urban space. The digital transition brings therefore opportunities for Estonia’s economy (e.g. digital public services), however, environmental costs and externalities (e.g. increasing CO2 emissions) also need to be carefully considered. Through the use of innovative technologies and digitalisation, international practices show how local governments can facilitate collaboration between public, non-profit and business actors, fostering bottom-up policy making and engaging stakeholders in the circular economy. For instance, in the city of Liège, Belgium, the launch in 2017 of the Réinventons Liège participation process supported by the CitizenLab platform provided local policy makers with valuable insights from citizens to identify 77 priority actions in the city and shape the waste management policy (City of Liege, 2017[45]). In Nesodden, Norway, nearly 300 families responded in 2016 to a survey on product needs, which served as the basis for the creation of the Tingenes Bibliotek in 2018, the first Nordic Smart Library of Things to provide shared tools to the community (Circular Regions, 2020[46]).
Appropriate scale
The development of small-scale pilot projects and their replication on a larger scale can help to adopt a functional approach, identify opportunities and efficiently adjust the appropriate scale of implementation. The city of Tallinn could facilitate pilot projects to foster the circular economy transition and scale them upon the assessment of results against pre-defined indicators. One example could be applying circular practices in schools and kindergartens (composting, producing own energy and food, using recycled materials). In Helsinki, Finland, the Smart Kalasatama pilot project launched between 2015 and 2017, co‑ordinated by the City of Helsinki Innovation Unit, acted as a district’s urban laboratory, aiming to produce and test technologies to accelerate the circular economy in an urban environment. Other areas in Helsinki and other cities in Finland have replicated this pilot project model (Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority, 2021[47]). In Stockholm, Sweden, the pilot plant of the Stockholm Biochar Project which operated between 2013 and 2020 and was awarded the Bloomberg Philanthropies prize in 2014, will be scaled up to 6 plants aiming to produce around 1 800 tonnes of biochar annually, sequestering 6 800 tonnes of CO2. In addition, Stockholm received more than 100 requests from cities and organisations interested in replicating the programme (Nordregio, 2018[48]). In Vienna, Austria, the data obtained from two pilot projects in 2016 dismantling large industrial buildings allowed the identification of key challenges in building demolitions and the integration of the projects’ results into a city GPP scheme (RREUSE, 2016[49]).
Enabler
Regulation
International practices suggest that cities and regions can promote the uptake of circular economy systems through changes in legislation and specific regulatory tools, including the potential of public procurement. Cities can use “regulatory sticks and incentive carrots” as tools for circular transformation to foster waste reduction, reuse and recycling over disposal. These tools can include policy measures such as circular procurement, product norms, industry targets, standards for secondary materials, awareness building or economic incentives such as tax reductions, extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, differentiated fee structures for waste management and investment support (EIB, 2021[50]). While public procurement holds great potential in boosting circular economy practices in sectors such as transport, waste, water, built environment and food in Estonia and more precisely in Tallinn, circular criteria are not yet embedded in GPP. Following international practices, Tallinn could:
Establish clear requirements in local tenders to foster efficient material use and reuse, quality and maintenance (e.g. use of secondary materials in publicly purchased goods).
Apply life cycle analysis (LCA) to look beyond short-term needs and consider the longer-term impacts of each purchase. The analysis shows the importance of other dimensions (installation, operation, maintenance and disposal costs) to be considered besides the price.
Stimulate a dialogue between procurement officials and potential contractors, in order to incorporate circular requirements for suppliers and design tenders to promote circularity. This could help better understand the criteria of the tender from potential suppliers and improve the efficiency of the tendering process. The dialogue could also help provide suppliers with a better understanding of the needs and public officers to get information to design feasible and effective tender specifications that match the capacity of the market (OECD, 2015[51]).
Create a monitoring and evaluation framework for GPP to analyse procurement policy results, enabling the city to incorporate the lessons learned in the design of new procurement policies and regulations.
Local governments can accelerate the transition towards a circular economy through public procurement practices in several sectors (e.g. food, built environment). For instance, in 2014, the city of Grenoble, France, cancelled a contract for 326 outdoor advertisements and planted trees in replacement to reduce unnecessary consumption and promote a shift towards more sustainable lifestyles among its population (Knowledge Hub, 2022[52]). Since 2020, the city of Turku, Finland, has implemented circular procurement to reduce food waste and GHG emissions from food and related services, in accordance with the Finnish Procurement Act, by doubling the proportion of vegetarian meals and reducing heating and electricity consumption. This initiative aims to reduce GHG emissions of food services by 25% and reduce food loss from 12% to 6% by 2029 (City of Turku, 2021[53]). Another example is the city of Paris, France, with its Sustainable Food Plan, which, since 2009, encourages the procurement of seasonal and local food to boost the local economy and reduce environmental impact. The plan covers 1 200 municipal refectories, including in schools, retirement homes and staff lunchrooms, accounting for over 30 million meals a year. Procurement is also adapted to the built environment, where local governments can help to develop markets for circular products and services (City of Paris, 2015[54]). For example, the city of Amersfoort, Netherlands, has implemented circular public procurement for construction since 2016, with a tender volume of approximately EUR 100 million per year. Besides the renovation of the town hall and the construction of the new Amersfoort ring road projects, various initiatives have been launched such as an online knowledge platform where project leaders can share experiences with circular procurement (Municipality of Amersfoort, 2020[55]). Another example is the city of Copenhagen, Denmark, which developed a strategic document Sustainability in Construction and Civil Works in 2016, which sets out environmental requirements for construction and civil works, for instance, by stating that all materials suitable for recycling must be source-separated and cleaned, unless applicable exceptions apply (City of Copenhagen, 2016[56]). Box 3.5 also provides examples of how the Brussels-Capital Region promotes the inclusion of circular economy criteria into public procurement processes.
Box 3.5. Circular public procurement practices in the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
The Brussels-Capital Region actively promotes initiatives to include circular economy criteria in public procurement processes. Some examples are:
“Buyer meet suppliers” events provide public authorities with the opportunity to meet suppliers. These events allow public authorities to have a more comprehensive overview of possible solutions while being able to meet a variety of suppliers. Moreover, the presence of different suppliers at the event can increase competitiveness, stimulate innovation and forge synergies.
Innovative public procurement allows providing the supplier with space for innovation to co‑create a solution. This solution is particularly relevant in cases where the buyer lacks a precise definition of the solution they are looking for but is instead looking for a set of key performance outcomes. The Brussels-Capital Region launched this process with the main transport company in Brussels (Steebe, in charge of metro, tram and bus management) to achieve a citywide mobility system that encourages multi-modality.
The Brussels-Capital Region offers training for public authority buyers in the introduction of sustainable criteria. This capacity-building initiative aims to provide guidelines on the criteria that authorities can include, which is often one of the main challenges.
Due to the broad approach of the circular economy, the Brussels-Capital Region also divides the tenders into product design, product use and the phase of closing loops:
In terms of product design, there are a number of criteria that products have to comply with before they are ready for use. For example, the Brussels-Capital Region has made it compulsory to purchase second-hand furniture.
Focusing on the product use phase, the Brussels-Capital Region designs tenders aimed at guaranteeing the maximum usage time of a product through tenders based on performance rather than ownership.
The Brussels-Capital Region also designs tenders targeting the phase of closing the loop. For example, some of the requirements include suppliers reusing assets at the end of the product use phase. For instance, this applies to IT equipment, requiring equipment to be reused or donated to an association for reuse at the end of its use phase.
Finally, the Brussels-Capital Region has created incentives for local administrations to include circular criteria. The introduction of circular criteria in these processes can often be challenging for local authorities due to concerns about the price escalation caused by these requirements. The region awards non-monetary prizes to those administrations that adopt circular criteria with the recognition of being “exemplary in a circular economy”, providing visibility and acknowledgement of their efforts.
Source: OECD mission to Tallinn (16-19 November 2021).
Financing
Tallinn could help mobilise financial resources and foster efficient allocation of resources to support companies adopting circular economy principles. This may take the form of grants or subsidies or guarantees to secure access to external financing. For instance, the city of Montreal, Canada, provides financial support through several instruments: municipal funding, venture capital funds, innovation grants and sectoral calls for projects (Box 3.6). The Hague in the Netherlands adopts a tailor-made funding strategy for each circular project by matching the right funding instruments (e.g. European funds such as Interreg and regional funds such as the European Regional Development Fund) to the planned activities. The Hague also proposes co-financing for the projects that require additional funding as a complement to grants and considers alternative types of funding (e.g. loans or guarantees) to ensure optimal funding decision making (City of The Hague, 2019[57]). Furthermore, public-private partnerships can be useful in de-risking circular economy projects (UNEP, 2020[58]). The UK-based private equity firm Circular Capital works actively with other frontrunners such as Circular Glasgow, an initiative launched and hosted by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce (2017[59]). In 2006, the government of Flanders, Belgium, set up the Circular Flanders initiative (2018[60]), a public-private partnership which finances circular economy projects in areas such as construction, energy, water, trade and plastics, among others. As of 2019, the initiative has supported 135 projects through its subsidy scheme. Beyond incentivising private investment through economic instruments (e.g. tax reliefs, exemptions, cross-border EPR systems), public funds could also be focused on funding initial phases of research and development (R&D), complemented with blended-finance models and supported by GPP targeting specifically innovative circular activities and relevant digital applications (Barteková and Börkey, 2022[61]).
The city should strengthen the effectiveness of municipal grants by ensuring that projects are scaled up after the experimentation phase. As such, it is key to identify and update a set of criteria that could help select the projects, evaluating proposals received based on the “scalability” of each project. It is also important to make distinctions across applicants (e.g. private, non-profit organisations) with different means, resources and scope. In addition, the city should monitor and evaluate the impacts achieved by funded projects, share information on funding opportunities after the end of the grant and consider the possibility of applying external audits to the projects (OECD, 2020[3]). For example, between 2017 and 2018, the city of Valladolid, Spain, operated a grant programme for circular projects to support the development of local circular initiatives to create jobs and economic prosperity. Through this programme, the local government financed a total of 61 projects for a total budget of EUR 960 000 benefitting in particular private companies, business associations, non-profit entities and research centres based in the city. However, projects struggled to scale up after the experimentation phase (City of Valladolid, 2017[62]).
Box 3.6. Examples of funding actions in favour of the circular economy in Montreal, Canada
The city of Montreal provides financial support to the circular economy ecosystem through various financing and investment instruments:
Municipal funding. The city adopted a dedicated budget in 2020 to develop the Circular Economy Roadmap of Montreal (Feuille de route montréalaise en économie circulaire) with dedicated budgets in the city’s 2022-2030 Downtown Strategy to ensure smooth implementation. The roadmap complements the Montréal 2030 strategic plan, the Montreal Zéro Déchêts 2020-2025 action plan and the Montreal Climate Plan 2020-2030.
Venture capital funds. In collaboration with Fondaction, a fund committed to sustainable development, and Recyc-Québec, a recovery and recycling company, in 2021, the city launched Canada’s first private venture capital fund in the circular economy. With a target capitalisation of CAD 30 million and a contribution of CAD 3 million from Recyc-Québec, it aims to support SMEs in the agri-food, recycling, resource recovery and eco-construction sectors.
Innovation grants. In 2022, the city adopted a grant programme to support start-up pilot projects with the aim of stimulating innovations that respond to an urban challenge, ecological transition or labour shortage. The Open Innovation Grant (subvention à l’innovation ouverte) encourages emerging companies to collaborate with established organisations in the city to test innovative solutions in a business context, especially related to the circular economy.
Sectoral subsidy programmes. In 2022, the city launched the Sustainable Development and Mobility Programme (Programme aménagement et mobilité durables) which finances projects up to CAD 1 million to reduce energy consumption or protect the environment, including the development of circular economy practices. In 2021, the city earmarked CAD 59.7 million for the Sustainable Industrial Buildings Program, which offers subsidies to industrial buildings supporting construction or renovation work that respects sustainable development principles (in particular UN SDGs 9 and 11).
Sectoral call for projects. Within the “Challenge in social economy - Acting for the ecological transition” (Défi en économie sociale - Agir pour la transition écologique) launched in 2021, the city funded two projects to reduce textile and construction waste to the tune of CAD 500 000 each. The Architecture sans frontières project aims to reduce the waste of construction, deconstruction and renovation materials and the Renaissance industrial pilot project aims to create new products from recycled clothing.
Source: OECD (2022[63]), Vers une stratégie d’économie circulaire à Montréal, https://www.oecd.org/cfe/cities/Montreal_economie_circulaire.pdf,
Capacity building
Tallinn can foresee two types of training programmes: internal (for public administrations) and external (e.g. for business).
Internal training can be related to technical issues for specific sectors, from food to construction, or to the use of tools for enhancing the circular economy, from creating ad hoc strategies to improving GPP. First, Tallinn should review and analyse the required skills and capacities for carrying out all activities associated with the design, definition, implementing and monitoring of the future circular economy strategy of Tallinn. As emerged from the gap analysis above, Tallinn should prioritise building capacities for the newly created Circular Economy Department and the Purchasing and Procurement Centre of the Tallinn Strategic Management Office to ensure that public officials have the right skills to work on procurement innovations. The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA), Netherlands, identified six groups of skills relevant to future circular jobs: basic skills (capacities that facilitate acquiring new knowledge); complex problem solving (abilities to solve new, complex problems in real-world settings); resource management skills (capacities for efficient resource allocation); social skills (abilities to work with people towards achieving common goals); system skills (capacities to understand, evaluate and enhance “sociotechnical systems”); and technical skills (competencies to design, arrange, use and repair machines and technological systems) (Circle Economy/EHERO, 2018[64]). There are opportunities for Tallinn to learn from its peers. For example, Tallinn could seek to collaborate with other Estonian municipalities on circular economy issues through the framework of the R-Klubi (Green Club) network launched by the engage with the AECM. This initiative, initiated in April 2023, aims to address strategic environmental and climate issues to support and promote the green transition in local government’s daily activities and investments. R-Klubi is foreseen to be a platform and network for public officials from local governments to share knowledge and experience on green initiatives. The city of Tallinn could use this platform to present the work on the circular economy, learn from other experiences and seek guidance from other cities. Regarding exchange with cities abroad, Tallinn could explore co‑ordination opportunities with nearby cities that are well advanced in their circular transition such as Helsinki, Finland.
External training can provide entrepreneurs and employees with deeper knowledge and tools to succeed in their circular projects and discover business opportunities in a circular economy. This training could target business actors and be supported by the city in collaboration with universities, such as Tallinn University of Technology, the Estonian Academy of Arts and Tallinn University. For example, as part of the Circular Flanders initiative (Belgium), the Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM) offers a masterclass on the circular economy. In four half-day sessions, participants are trained to identify the opportunities for their business to adopt circular economy principles (Circular Flanders, 2023[65]). Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, UK, has organised workshops and events to build capacity and share good practices among businesses aiming at transitioning to the circular economy, especially on topics such as manufacturing, low carbon and renewables, retail, textiles and fashion (Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, 2017[59]). In 2022, the City Council of Dublin, Ireland, supported by the Eastern-Midlands Regional Waste Management Office, developed MODOS, a circular economy training programme for micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises in the construction and the built environment, food, retail, manufacturing, textiles and fashion, electronics, plastics and packaging sectors. Training can also provide city administrations with the skills and knowledge to successfully implement circular economy strategies, initiatives and projects (Local Enterprise Office Dublin City, 2022[66]). For example, in 2018 the city of Toronto, Canada, established the Unit for Research, Innovation and Circular Economy within the Solid Waste Management Services (SWMS) Division (Ellen McArthur Foundation, 2019[67]) to support the development of the circular procurement project, together with nine other city divisions (Recycling Council of Ontario, 2018[68]). This unit supports both internal and external circular economy training and capacity building, for instance, by holding one-on-one discussions to explore how setting a cross-divisional working group could impact each division’s procurements or by holding cross-divisional workshops to develop the circular economy framework for Toronto. The Paris Region Institute in France intervenes in areas such as energy efficiency and renovation, circular economy, planning and sustainable building, through its Energy and Climate Department. The institute aims to increase the skills of city actors in these areas, in particular elected officials and technicians of the local authorities, by proposing tailor-made educational tools and by organising training and workshops (FEDARENE, 2023[69]). In 2021, the Basque Government and Bilbao City Council, Spain, set up the Basque Circular Hub as a result of a public-private partnership. This circular economy services centre, managed by the Public Society of Environmental Management of the Basque Country (IHOBE), aims to support 500 companies and train 1 200 professionals by 2024. Since 2021, the hub supports the city of Bilbao in the development of a circular economy roadmap and in the search for innovative circular solutions (Basque Government, 2021[70]).
Innovation
Despite a large number of incubators present in the city, support services for start-ups in their transition to the circular economy are incipient. The entrepreneurial and innovative environment of Tallinn, especially in the IT sector, and the large number of initiatives aimed at supporting start-ups (e-residence, incubators) can be useful to stimulate action towards a circular economy from local businesses. There are some measures that the city can consider supporting business development, including:
Organising hackathons and idea competitions on the circular economy. Building on the experience of organising hackathons on strategic areas of the city, such as waste management, green technologies and the design of the future of Tallinn, the city could pose a number of local challenges (e.g. projected increase in single-person households, waste generation) to be solved through solutions that include circular economy principles. Once the main ideas have been identified, they should be accompanied by incubation and business support. In order to scale up the project, the city could consider providing financial support (through direct grants or loans, or funding programmes) and physical space for project development (e.g. in facilities provided by the municipality to businesses). Tallinn could launch a competition following the Tallinnovation model that aims at implementing Smart City solutions. For the circular economy solutions, Tallinn could co‑operate with universities to provide mentoring and recommendations for project implementation to those entrepreneurs participating in the competitions.
Stimulating demand by being a launching customer. Tallinn can be the first customer to stimulate demand and encourage business in small companies and start-ups. More specifically, circular design products and technological solutions (e.g. in the recycling processes) need demand to be in the market. Tallinn can stimulate this demand by seeking solutions. If the solution provided by a project is successful, the municipality can invest in it, being the first customer of innovative products and goods.
Establishing a one-stop-shop on the circular economy for SMEs. Tallinn could aim to offer all services, information and administrative support regarding circular economy projects for businesses, in order to reduce transaction costs for entrepreneurs and SMEs willing to be a part of the transition. This single window could be incorporated within the section on the circular economy of the municipal website.
International practices show evidence of how cities support innovation and encourage the development of new circular products and business models. In 2017, the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands, revitalised a former water park resort, turning it into the BlueCity business park, a circular incubator that provides over 30 start‑ups and scale-ups access to resources, knowledge and expertise on circular economy areas such as the built environment, food, textile and plastics (EU, 2017[71]). The city of Espoo, Finland, co‑ordinated the Smart and Clean - Collaborative Kera 2022-2023 project, which aims to transform the Kera industrial area into a smart and circular district, consisting of repurposed buildings and new circular buildings for housing and a physical hub. This hub, supported by a digital platform, will facilitate the co-creation of new circular ideas through networking, experimentation and prototyping (City of Espoo, 2022[72]). Finally, Box 3.7 shows how the city of Montreal, Canada, is encouraging business innovation in the field of circular economy.
Box 3.7. Actions to support innovation and business development in the circular economy in Montreal, Canada
The city of Montreal encourages innovation in the field of the circular economy through:
Calls for projects and support for pilot projects. As part of Reinventing Montreal (Réinventer Montréal), the city seeks to rethink the use of a former industrial site, 4 000 Saint-Patrick, which covers 28 000 square metres. Sid Lee Architecture won the international call for projects launched in 2020 with its Les Ateliers Cabot project, which aims to transform the former industrial site into an artistic, entrepreneurial and technological hub.
Programmes. The city of Montreal has set several programmes to provide financial support to incubators and accelerators, to support the development of pilot projects. The 2022 Montréal in Common programme (Montréal en commun), led by the Montreal Urban Innovation Laboratory, aims to test 13 innovative projects on mobility, food and data through a CAD 50 million award from the government of Canada as part of the Smart Cities Challenge.
Innovation incubators and accelerators. The city supports the Esplanade, an accelerator for social and environmental impact businesses, which seeks to support innovative solutions related to the circular economy, the environment and the climate. Since 2015, the Esplanade has accelerated 254 businesses, supported 22 cohorts and mobilised over 100 coaches.
Collaborations with knowledge institutions. The city collaborates with certain universities and research centres such as the Policy Lab of McGill University and the Centre for Intersectoral Studies and Research on the Circular Economy (CERIEC) of the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) set up in 2020 to help shape and deploy the circular economy. CERIEC co‑ordinates the Quebec Circular Economy Research Network, which aims at building capacity to deploy circular economy strategies at the scale of industrial sectors and territories.
Co‑operation with networks. The city collaborates with the PME MTL Est-de-l'Île network to support the Synergie Montréal initiative with a financial contribution of CAD 1 275 000 until the end of 2024. Synergie Montréal supports companies in integrating circularity strategies into their business model, having supported 1 900 companies and contributed to the achievement of more than 200 synergies between 2018 and 2021.
Source: Reinventing Cities (2020[73]), Réinventer Montréal, https://www.c40reinventingcities.org/en/events/reinventer-montreal-presentation-publique-public-presentation-1531.html; City of Montreal (2020[74]), “Montréal en commun : la ville comme laboratoire”, https://montreal.ca/articles/montreal-en-commun-la-ville-comme-laboratoire-15119; Esplanade (2023[75]), Homepage, https://esplanade.quebec/; PME MTL (2023[76]), Synergie Montréal, https://pmemtl.com/outils-et-ressources/synergie-montreal.
Data and assessment
A circular strategy for the city of Tallinn should be accompanied by a set of indicators to measure progress and impacts. Developing a monitoring framework for the future circular economy strategy can help assess progress made on the achievement of the targets. For the design of the monitoring framework, Tallinn could be inspired by the structure defined by the OECD Expert Group on a New Generation of Information for a Resource-efficient and Circular Economy (RECE-XG), which identified a set of key indicators to measure the following dimensions: material life cycle and value chain; interactions with the environment; responses and actions and socio-economic opportunities for a just transition (Table 3.3). Tallinn could incorporate circular economy data into the city’s dashboard and make it available to the public. The Tallinn Dashboard contains green statistics on air quality, noise, municipal waste (e.g. treatment and collection), water (access to drinking water, wastewater reuse), nature and biodiversity, green spaces and sustainable land use (City of Tallinn, 2023[77]). The city could complement these data by addressing other fields such as reuse and use (amount of waste deposited at Waste Centres or the amount of the items collected in Reuse Centres [MTÜ Uuskasutuskeskus]), the economic dimension (e.g. number of companies implementing circular business models) and the social dimension (e.g. number of jobs from circular economy-related activities). A number of cities have developed monitoring frameworks to assess progress towards their strategies (Box 3.8). The OECD collected more than 400 circular economy indicators in its Inventory of Circular Economy Indicators, gathering indicators from 29 circular economy strategies (OECD, 2020[78]).
Tallinn could also assess the progress towards the enabling conditions for the circular economy by using the OECD Scoreboard on the Governance of the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions (Box 3.9). The OECD scoreboard is a self-assessment tool of governance which aims at supporting cities and regions, to evaluate the level of implementation of circular policies and identify gaps. The scoreboard results from a literature review that collected over 450 indicators from national, regional and local circular economy strategies, the OECD Inventory of Circular Economy Indicators and discussions at the OECD online workshop “Measuring circularity in cities and regions through the OECD Scoreboard” (OECD, 2020[3]).
Table 3.3. Frameworks, themes and indicators identified by the OECD expert group RECE-XG to monitor progress towards a circular economy
Note: The OECD RECE-XG and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Task Force on Measuring the Circular Economy (UNECE‑TF), along with country representatives, have identified a set of key indicators based on an in-depth review of existing monitoring frameworks and datasets.
Source: OECD (2022[79]), Decarbonising Buildings in Cities and Regions, https://doi.org/10.1787/a48ce566-en.
Box 3.8. Examples of circular economy monitoring frameworks at the local level
A number of circular economy monitoring frameworks have been developed at the subnational level in several countries. Indicators employed in regional and local monitoring frameworks tend to measure the results and impacts of circular economy strategies:
The city of Paris, France, proposes performance indicators and impact indicators for each of the 15 actions included in the Roadmaps towards a Circular Economy. More than 100 indicators help measure progress towards a circular economy covering areas such as: the built environment, energy, food and textile.
The city of Amsterdam, Netherlands, measures its level of circularity using three main indicators developed in 2015 by a programme of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment of the Netherlands: value preservation (measured by raw material efficiency and by the use of renewable resources), economic (measured in added value per person and the percentage of circular services in the economy) and ecological (measured by environmental costs, water pollution, CO2 emissions) impacts.
In Toronto, Canada, the 11 indicators from the Circular Economy Procurement Implementation Plan and Framework focus on the impacts and results of procurement activities, in environmental (e.g. CO2 savings as a result of procurement activities), social (e.g. number of green jobs created and secured, number of city staff trained on circular economy procurement principles) and economic (e.g. waste reduction savings) areas.
In Peterborough, UK, the Circular City Roadmap published in 2018 is monitored through eight impact-focused indicators divided into four categories to measure impacts related to: i) economic (share of circular jobs; share of circular business); ii) social (number of shares on Share Peterborough, a resource sharing platform for business in the city; share of adults cycling and walking); iii) energy (CO2 emissions per capita; the amount of renewable electricity available to each household); and iv) waste (share of non-household waste recycled; share of household waste recycled) dimensions.
In North Karelia, Finland, the Roadmap of the Circular Economy of North Karelia includes: four indicators in the field of construction and waste: the recovery rate of construction waste as material; the recycling rate of construction waste; a separate collection rate of construction waste; and construction waste.
In Brussels, Belgium, the Regional Programme for the Circular Economy 2016-20 (PREC) includes a set of 15 proposed indicators for measurement, mainly measuring the governance of the circular economy transition.
In Galicia, Spain, the Galician Strategy of Circular Economy 2019-2030 foresees 101 circular economy indicators to measure the level of implementation of education and awareness-raising related actions, in addition to the following actions: eco-design, service models, industry, food production, urbanism, the built environment and public works, water cycle management, waste management.
Source: OECD (forthcoming[80]), An International Review of National and Sub-national Circular Economy Monitoring Frameworks: Lessons and Ways Forward for Italy, OECD Publishing, Paris.
Box 3.9. OECD Scoreboard on the Governance of the Circular Economy
The OECD Scoreboard on the Governance of the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions counts 12 key dimensions, whose implementation governments and stakeholders can evaluate based on a scoreboard system, indicating the level of implementation of each dimension: Newcomer (Planned; In development), In progress (In place, not implemented; In place, partly implemented) and Advanced (In place, functioning; In place, objectives achieved). Each dimension aims to serve as a guide for governments to promote, facilitate and enable the circular economy as follows: i) roles and responsibilities; ii) strategic vision; iii) awareness and transparency; iv) co-ordination; v) policy coherence; vi) stakeholder engagement; vii) appropriate scale; viii) regulation; ix) financing; x) capacity building; xi) innovation; xii) data and assessment. The visualisations of the results provide an overview of the level of circularity of a city or region for each of the 12 circular economy governance dimensions.
Self-assessment has been applied by a number of cities to carry out an assessment of their governance conditions. In 2020, the Scottish city of Dundee used the OECD Scoreboard on the Governance of the Circular Economy to identify the level of advancement towards a circular economy. The tool enabled the city to gather stakeholders, engage different departments, understand the state of the art of the circular transition in the city and receive valuable information to design the future vision. In 2021, the city of Montreal, Canada, applied the OECD scoreboard. enabling local stakeholders to self-assess enabling conditions towards the circular economy in the city. In total, 117 stakeholders were involved in the process and the tool served as a stepping-stone towards a circular economy strategy for the city (Vers une feuille de route pour l’économie Montréalaise).
Figure 3.4. Visualisation of the OECD scoreboard results
Source: OECD (2020[3]), The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions: Synthesis Report, https://doi.org/10.1787/10ac6ae4-en; OECD (2022[63]), Vers une stratégie d’économie circulaire à Montréal, https://www.oecd.org/cfe/cities/Montreal_economie_circulaire.pdf.
Tallinn can also make the most of information obtained through digital tools such as digital maps, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) to trace the origin of materials and promote sustainability through supply chains. Digital technologies, such as AI, blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing, facilitate the transition to a more resource-efficient and circular economy, by helping overcome obstacles to the large-scale adoption of greener business models and more effective implementation of circular economy policies (Barteková and Börkey, 2022[61]). Blockchain can support the circular economy by improving transparency and traceability for producers, consumers and recyclers, as well as tracing the origin of raw materials, and provides essential data in order to promote sustainability within supply chains. AI includes the ability of machines and systems to acquire and apply knowledge and carry out intelligent behaviour. AI applications hold many promises for the circular economy, creating value in terms of productivity gains, improving and automating decision making, saving costs and enabling better resources. For example, AI systems can help improve the monitoring of the quality of specific materials, thus reducing the demand for and dependence on virgin materials. Finally, through accurate and remote monitoring, IoT technology ensures that products are managed more efficiently, especially regarding end-of-life collection, remanufacturing and recycling. Many cities have started to use “smart bins”, which are enabled with IoT sensors to track real-time the level of waste in the bin, providing key information for the collection process. In the built environment, cities have started to implement IoT monitoring for predictive maintenance or to optimise transport flows with adaptive signal control systems.
There are some international examples showing how digital tools can enable a circular economy. For instance, in 2021, the municipality of Mikkeli, Finland, used circular material management methods to undertake a circular demolition of the Pankalampi Health Centre and Tuukkala Hospital. Following a selective demolition procedure, salvaged materials were incorporated into a digital databank developed by the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences and a construction materials marketplace developed by the private company MIKSEI. The use of the marketplaces is being promoted to both private and public actors who are interested in obtaining secondary construction materials (City Loops, 2021[81]). Similarly, since 2021, the municipality of Oslo, Norway, maintains a database of the planned and ongoing demolitions to serve as “material banks” for the construction of public and private projects in the city. The database allows social enterprises such as city architects and project managers to reclaim materials when sites are demolished (ICLEI, 2020[82]). International practices show that indicators employed in local monitoring frameworks tend to measure the results and impacts of circular economy strategies. Between 2024 and 2017, the region of Chania in Greece and the city of Sevilla, Spain, implemented the LIFE EWAS “Sustainable waste management using ICT tools” project. This project aimed to optimise waste collection in terms of collection frequency and route planning by using sensors to measure the level of filing of containers (BlockWASTE, 2021[83]). More recently, the city of Prague, Czech Republic, introduced smart waste management as part of its zero-waste plan Smart Prague 2030, by providing real-time data through sensors or quick response (QR) codes (Smart Prague, 2017[84]). To date, the city has implemented three pilot projects: Smart Waste Collection (2022), Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Waste Bins (2022) and Smart Solar-Powered Compacting Bins (2017) (Smart Prague, 2022[85]).
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Notes
← 1. The signatories of the City Deal were the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Housing and Civil Services, the municipalities of Amsterdam, Almere, Apeldoorn, Dordrecht, Haarlemmermeer, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Venlo and Circle Economy, Royal Haskoning DHV and TNO Research.
← 2. Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the National Climate Monitor, the provinces of Flevoland and Noord-Holland, the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the Amsterdam Economic Board, the Port of Amsterdam, various departments of the city of Amsterdam, Metabolic, Doughnut Economics Action Lab, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).