“Cities Are Uniquely Positioned to Boost the Circular Economy”

Cities and regions are at the heart of the circular economy transition. Drawing on decades of experience in Europe and the Global South, CSCP’s Cristina Fedato discusses what is needed to speed up change, how much progress has been made, and where the biggest opportunities remain.

Many circular economy approaches still overlook how deeply the linear model is rooted in regulatory frameworks, governance structures, and human behaviour. Why is that?

I believe that a linear approach is more deeply embedded in economic and social models. Regulatory frameworks and governance structures simply follow and reflect our way of life and the way we conduct economic and social thinking. Our relationship with natural resources has been linear from the very beginning; the extraction of natural resources was seen as technological progress. For example: in the last century, in my home country, Brazil, advancing into the Amazon rainforest was once considered a pioneering achievement. A felled tree was a symbol of progress.

The Industrial Revolution transformed production and accelerated economic growth, but  it also established a linear pattern of resource use that contributed to environmental challenges. Sustainability emerged to address these impacts, while the circular economy represents a modern approach that seeks to maintain economic growth by minimising waste, extending resource life cycles, and regenerating natural systems.

The Circular Economy can be seen as an effort to create a more sustainable model of development by transforming production and extending circular principles to procurement, consumption, resource management, and everyday behaviours, drawing lessons from both the achievements as well as the limitations and the environmental and social costs of the Industrial Revolution. Cities and regions are the privileged loci to foster this new revolution!

How so?

I see cities in a privileged position both as public authorities that can create the right policies, conditions, and infrastructure for circularity (on an economic and societal level) as well as active actors that have the responsibility to make their operations as service providers more circular and sustainable.

But this is a big role that many cities seem not fully equipped to take on…

That is true, however a lot has been happening in Europe, in particular over the last few years, to help cities and regions unlock this potential. The EU has moved circular economy higher up the political agenda through the Circular Economy Action Plan, which has shifted the focus from waste management to designing products, services, and systems that follow the waste hierarchy and use resources more efficiently throughout their entire lifecycle.

At the same time, cities and regions are receiving more targeted support. Through initiatives such as the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), local authorities can access technical expertise, funding opportunities, peer learning, and practical guidance to turn circular economy ambitions into concrete projects. The idea is to help cities move from isolated pilot projects to systemic change. We as CSCP actively participate in projects supported by this initiative.

Europe is also creating a more enabling policy environment. New rules promoting product durability, repairability, and reuse, including the Right to Repair and Ecodesign, make it easier for cities, businesses, and citizens to adopt circular practices in everyday life.

Of course, there is still a long way to go. But compared to a decade ago, cities are no longer expected to figure it all out on their own.

Can you explain how you and other CSCP experts work on circularity with cities and regions?

Our work with cities and regions combines expertise from across teams to make circular economy ideas practical and scalable in real urban contexts. For example, in a typical CSCP project, an expert on social norms may work closely with an expert on circular business model innovation when addressing topics that require both behavioural change and systemic business transformation.

We combine strategic policy support, stakeholder engagement, and hands-on implementation through initiatives such as circular procurement, urban food systems, circular behaviours, biowaste management, and circular business models.

This integrated approach reflects our broader role as a bridge between research, policy, and practice.

We work at the same time in projects at the EU level as well as the local and national level in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and Germany, leveraging learnings and experiences from one level to the other.

How does such work play out on the ground?

It depends on the level we are looking at.

On an EU level, our work is closely linked to major efforts such as the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative and the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform.

Across Europe, we have been working closely with cities and supporting them in moving from ambition to implementation through big projects like the Route to Circular Economy (R2Pi), Circular Cities Declaration, City Loops, HOOP, SCALIBUR, or CARE.

In Germany we work with many cities, including Aachen, Wuppertal, or Duisburg to explore, design, and test concrete solutions on the ground and together with businesses, citizens, and communities.

But this work is never done in isolation with individual cities alone, and we increasingly see the need to take a regional perspective. We experience this first-hand through our role as hosts of the North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) Circular City Round Table and, more recently, as leaders of the Community of Practice for Circular Cities in NRW.

From what you describe, there seems to be strong momentum in cities. How can we better connect and amplify these efforts?

The Circular Economy asks for a new collaborative mindset beyond a linear and fragmented model of thinking: no one can become circular alone.

Not just public authorities and policymakers; businesses, too, come from a fragmented linear view, so all instances (need to) learn through circularity to work beyond their immediate walls to get collective results. Businesses and citizens need public authorities to offer them the right infrastructure in order to act in a circular way.

A good source for further reading on circular economy at a city level?

There are many, but our pioneering publication, the Circular Economy Guidebook for Cities, still remains a relevant compilation of key insights on circular economy in cities.

And to wrap up, what is your “dream scenario” for circular cities?

That circularity becomes the default way cities think and operate and that they become enablers of circular businesses and societies.

Cristina Fedato leads the Sustainable Infrastructure, Products, and Services team at the CSCP. You can read more about her work here and approach her directly to engage with us on circularity on a city and regional level.