Umeå, Sweden is one of three pilot cities to participate in the OECD Circular Economy in Cities & Regions Programme.

OECD REPORT: Towards a circular economy in Umeå, Sweden

A series of workshops as a follow up to the OECD Circular Economy in Cities and Regions Programme. As recommended in the Action Plan, mapping of the Circular Economy would allow the city to: 

1. obtain deeper understanding of circular economy-related initiatives; 
2. identify those sectors where circular initiatives are taking place at all stakeholder levels, as well as the gaps;
3. learn from success and failure;
4. develop an understanding of what the circular transition means for each sector; and 
5. explore potential cross-sector synergies and their common features.

Workshop 1: The initial workshop aims to identify the data points related to the Barriers, Enablers and Impact of the Circular Economy for Public Entities. We invited representatives from all departments in the City of Umeå, as well as regional representatives to participate in order to identify relevant data points.

Workshop 2: Inviting Stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors to gain a holistic understanding of the Circular Economy, an introduction to the data points and map the first drafts of Circular Best Practice in the region.

One-on-one meetings: Stakeholders were invited to individual zoom calls with their local Systems Entrepreneur to confirm the data points prior to publishing to ensure a proper curation of initiatives.

In the process of mapping best practice, we tested data input both from the bottom-up perspective, as well as a top-down approach – bridging them to support added value. Lessons learned to be documented for mapping best practice.