Norwegian Center of Circular Economy

SRL 6 - solution(s) demonstrated in relevant environment and in co‐operation with relevant stakeholders to gain initial feedback on potential impact

Norwegian Center of Circular Economy

A development center for industry, business and public enterprises, which sees business opportunities in the circular economy and the green shift.

Fredrikstad, Viken, Norway

ORGANISATION / PARTNERS

Norwegian Center of Circular Economy

BUSINESS MODEL

SCALE: National

Stakeholder:

Knowledge SectorPrivate SectorPublic Sector

Type:

B2B - Business to BusinessB2G - Business to Government

BUSINESS MODEL FORMAT:

Product Type(s):

FACET & LEVEL

FACET:

AgricultureBuilt EnvironmentEducationEnergyMaterial FlowsNetworks & HubsRecyclingRemanufacturingSupply ChainWaste Management

LEVEL:

Meso - Network, Cluster & Eco-Industrial Parks

Network, Cluster & Eco-Industrial Parks

SOCIETAL READINESS LEVEL & POTENTIAL

FUTURE POTENTIAL

ScaleableReplicableNetworkable

SOCIETAL READINESS LEVEL

SRL 6 - solution(s) demonstrated in relevant environment and in co‐operation with relevant stakeholders to gain initial feedback on potential impact

SRL 6 - solution(s) demonstrated in relevant environment and in co‐operation with relevant stakeholders to gain initial feedback on potential impact

CIRCULAR CYCLE PHASE

STATUS & TIMELINE

Start	09/2016	In 2016, the Gjenvinning Østfold and Borg Plast-Net Networks, with their 45 member companies, joined forces for a preliminary project to map the needs and opportunities for establishing a national center for circular economy. Fredrikstad Municipality and Østfold County Municipality supported the project and the establishment of the Norwegian Center for Circular Economy was a fact.
Cluster Program		In 2022, admitted to the national cluster program Arena.

DESCRIPTION

TITLE: Norwegian Center of Circular Economy

CONCEPT: A development center for industry, business and public enterprises, which sees business opportunities in the circular economy and the green shift.

The Norwegian Center for Circular Economy (NCCE) is a development and competence center for businesses and organizations that see business opportunities in the green shift. The center was established in 2017 and is a membership organization with almost 100 private, corporate, and organizational members in Norway. They have a vision to manage their resources in a more sustainable way through transition to a circular economy.

In 2022, NCCE was admitted to the national cluster program Arena, which is managed by Innovation Norway, the Research Council of Norway, and SIVA on behalf of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation. The purpose is to stimulate increased innovation and strengthened competitiveness based on collaboration between businesses, research and education environments, and public development actors.

Our members represent all these actors. If we are to succeed in transitioning to a more circular economy, we must collaborate across public and private sectors, traditional value chains, and industries. The cluster will facilitate and be a catalyst for this collaboration, contributing to creating green growth and new jobs for our businesses.

LOCAL LANGUAGE DESCRIPTION: Norsk

Norsk Senter for Sirkulær Økonomi (NCCE) er et utviklings- og kompetansesenter for bedrifter og organisasjoner som ser forretningsmuligheter i det grønne skiftet.

Senteret ble etablert i 2017 og er en medlemsorganisasjon med nesten 100 private, bedrifts- og organisasjonsmedlemmer i Norge. Sammen har vi en visjon om å forvalte ressursene våre på en mer bærekraftig måte, gjennom omstilling til en sirkulærøkonomi.

I 2022 ble NCCE tatt opp i det nasjonale klyngeprogrammet Arena, som forvaltes av Innovasjon Norge, Forskningsrådet og SIVA på vegne av Nærings- og fiskeridepartementet og Kommunal- og moderniseringsdepartementet. Formålet er å stimulere til økt innovasjon og styrket konkurranseevne basert på samarbeid mellom bedrifter, FoU- og utdanningsmiljøer og offentlige utviklingsaktører.

Våre medlemmer representerer alle disse aktørene. Skal vi lykkes i omstillingen til en mer sirkulær økonomi, må vi samarbeide på tvers av offentlig og privat sektor, tradisjonelle verdikjeder og bransjer. Klyngen skal legge til rette for, og være en katalysator for, dette samarbeidet, og bidra til å skape grønn vekst og nye arbeidsplasser for våre bedrifter.

IMPACT

BARRIERS

SOCIAL
- Lack of awareness
- Lack of sense of urgency
- Lack of community connection
TECHNOLOGICAL
- Circular design
- Ability to deliver high quality remanufactured products
- Too few large scale projects
- Inability to reach 100% recycling
- Strategy to extend product service life
- Geographic dispersion of supply chains
- Geographic dispersion of products/materials
- Regional service economy infrastructure
- Complexity of the materials to be recycled
REGULATORY
- Limited Circular Procurement
- Government incentive support the linear economy
- Circularity is not efficiently integrated into innovation policies
- Recycling policies are not efficient enough to yield high quality
- Governance issues related to responsibility and property
- Absence of consistently applied standards and protocols
MARKET
- Technology and infrastructure path dependency & lock-in
- High upfront investment costs
- High planning and management costs
- Limited funding
- Low virgin material prices
- International and geopolitical competition
- Limited reverse logistics capacity
- Traceability/transparency in the value chain
- Demand for low prices
- Complementary skills/services required
- Dependencies on natural capital
- Lack of fiscal tools for internalizing environmental costs
CULTURAL
- Company/community culture
- Limited understanding on impacts
- Willingness to collaborate in the value chain
- Operating in a linear system
- Change of mindset
- Shareholder concerns dominate corporate governance

ENABLERS

SOCIAL
- Stronger personal connections
- Shared norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs
CULTURAL
- Integration of the CE concept into training and educational programs
- A creative and skilled problem-solving resource
MARKET
- Need for a long-term vision by businesses
- Knowledge of impact
- Competitive advantage for early adopters
- Functional service economy (XaaS)
- Digital infrastructure
- Valuing the services, not only the products - provided by nature
- New alliances and collaborations
TECHNOLOGICAL
- Increased resource productivity, cost reductions
- Increased environmental performance
- Increased efficiency
- Better waste processing
- Higher quality of recycled materials
- Digital technologies and engineering to support business models
- Biomimicry innovation - emulating natures strategies
REGULATORY
- Green & Circular Procurement
- Foster the development of new technologies with the support of public authorities
- Assess progress using reliable indicators for imports and local production while accounting for the life cycles of products
- Use of circular performance indicators by governments, investors and businesses can encourage the value chain to become more circular
- Investment in education and employment services to prepare the market for the next economy
- Promote public-private partnerships to better counter and lift political barriers