2. Towards the circular economy in Glasgow, United Kingdom
In Glasgow, the transition towards the circular economy is led by a partnership formed by the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, through its Circular Glasgow initiative, Zero Waste Scotland and Glasgow City Council. To date, the circular economy in Glasgow strongly focused on supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their circular transition through awareness-raising initiatives and events, financial support and capacity building programmes. This chapter details the main components of the existing circular economy initiatives promoted in the city of Glasgow, Scotland and in the United Kingdom at large. It identifies the state of the art of the circular economy in the city and the key actions of the main sectors for the circular transition in the city, namely: waste, food, spatial planning and the built environment, and events and tourism.
There are a number of circular economy initiatives in the United Kingdom (UK). In 2020, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the UK Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government jointly launched a “Circular Economy Package policy statement” as a response to the new Circular Economy Action Plan adopted by the European Commission (EC) (Box 2.1). The statement establishes the goal of reaching a 65% municipal recycling rate by 2035. In addition, the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental public body sponsored by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), announced in November 2020 the setting-up of five circular economy centres aiming at addressing how the reuse of waste materials in the textile, construction, chemical and metal industries can be beneficial for both the environment and economy (UK Research and Innovation, 2020[1]). The launch of these projects is expected to contribute to the achievement of the net-zero emissions target in the UK by 2050. The centres will be run under the framework of the GBP-30-million UKRI Interdisciplinary Circular Economy programme. The Interdisciplinary Centre for the Circular Chemical Economy, which will aim at reducing the fossil reliance of the chemical industry in the UK, will involve seven British universities, including Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.
According to the OECD Survey on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions (2020), global agendas and supranational strategies are relevant or very relevant for 83% and 70% of 51 surveyed cities and regions. Regarding the global agendas, the circular economy approach can contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. While it is strictly linked to SDG 12 on sustainable and responsible consumption and production patterns, other SDGs (e.g. 6, 7, 15) are also relevant for increasing sustainability in cities (SDG 11). The circular economy can also support the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change since practices of reusing, recycling, sharing, amongst others, reduce GHG emissions and simultaneously address issues linked natural resources extraction and exploitation.
In terms of supranational strategies, in Europe, the EC’s circular economy frameworks are key drivers for the circular transition. After the European Circular Economy Package in 2015, the European Commission adopted in 2020 the New Circular Economy Action Plan, as one of the building blocks of the European Green Deal. The Plan aims at boosting the production of sustainable products, empowering consumers, focusing on sectors with a high circularity potential (e.g. information and communication technology [ICT], batteries, packaging, food, construction, textiles and plastics) and ensuring less waste production.
Source: European Commission (2020[2]) , Circular economy action plan (CEAP), https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/circular-economy-action-plan_en ; OECD (2020[3]), The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions: Synthesis Report, OECD Urban Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/10ac6ae4-en.
At the regional level, England, Scotland and Wales developed circular-economy-related initiatives, including in the form of strategies, to go beyond the concept of recycling:
The Welsh Government launched in March 2021 its circular economy strategy “Beyond Recycling: A strategy to make the circular economy in Wales a reality”. The strategy sets the objective of achieving carbon neutrality and reaching zero waste by 2050 (Welsh Government, 2021[4]).
In England, the Litter Strategy for England and the Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS) address England’s ambition to transition towards a circular economy through the promotion of product reuse and the minimisation of waste generation (UK Government, 2017[5]; 2018[6]).
In 2016, the Scottish Government adopted its circular economy strategy “Making Things Last: A circular economy strategy for Scotland”, which prioritises four main areas: i) food and drink, and the broader bio-economy; ii) remanufacture; iii) construction and the built environment; and iv) energy infrastructure. The strategy builds on Scotland’s zero waste and resource efficiency agendas, discouraging the use of single-use materials and minimising waste (Box 2.2) (Scottish Government, 2020[7]). In 2019, the Scottish Government also launched a public consultation to develop Scotland’s circular economy bill. The circular economy is also seen as a means to reach the goals set out in the Climate Change Bill and its amendments. The bill sets a target of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2045 and intermediary goals: 70% emissions reduction by 2030 and 90% by 2040 (Scottish Government, 2019[8]). Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Scottish Government decided to postpone the discussion in the parliament until further notice and it will be introduced during the 2021-26 parliamentary term. Other initiatives carried out in Scotland include the approval of the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations by the Scottish Parliament in May 2020, to be launched in July 2022 (Scottish Government, 2020[9]). This framework is expected to achieve the following impacts: a daily reduction of 34 000 littered plastic bottles; an additional 76 000 recycled tonnes per year; and an emission cut of 4 million tonnes over 25 years (Zero Waste Scotland, 2020[10]). The Scottish Government also made available funds to implement circular economy projects. It provides funds to Zero Waste Scotland, a not-for-profit environmental organisation leading waste-reducing initiatives funded also by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), in charge of regulating the treatment and disposal of waste (SEPA, 2019[11]).
In 2016, the Scottish Government launched the circular economy initiative “Making Things Last: A circular economy strategy for Scotland”, which established key goals for Scotland in the transition towards a circular economy. The initiative is based on the progress made in zero waste and resource efficiency programmes and prioritises four main sectors: i) food and drink, which has the potential to save between GBP 500 million and GBP 803 million per year in Scotland, implementation of bio-economy opportunities and a circular approach in the beer, whisky and fish sectors; ii) remanufacture, contributing GBP 1.1 billion to economic growth each year; iii) construction and the built environment, responsible for approximately 50% of total waste in Scotland, which can have a positive impact on resource energy; and iv) energy infrastructure, with opportunities for reusing material and equipment, as well as considerable potential for added value.
The strategy includes all of the stages to close and narrow loops in Scotland: from waste prevention, through design, reuse, repair and remanufacture to waste transformation through recycling;; recovering value from biological resources and energy recovery.
The plan concludes with a summary of waste and resource targets and measures set by the Scottish Government and the European Union (EU Waste Framework Directive (2008[12])). In particular, by 2025, targets are the following:
Reduction of waste arising by 15% against the 2011 baseline of 13.2 million tonnes.
70% recycling/composting and preparing for reuse of all waste.
Reduction of all food waste arising in Scotland and on-farm losses of edible products.
Source: Scottish Government (2016[13]), “Making Things Last: A circular economy strategy for Scotland”, https://www.gov.scot/publications/making-things-last-circular-economy-strategy-scotland/ (accessed on 1 December 2020); EU (2008[12]), Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives (Text with EEA relevance), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32008L0098 (accessed on 11 December 2020).
Glasgow aims to become a circular city leader, as part of its profound transformation journey to transition from being a post-industrial city to becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2030. Being one of the greatest industrial cities of the world in the 19th century, whose economy has been long characterised by heavy and manufacturing industry, Glasgow aims to regenerate its post-industrial landscape (e.g. vacant and contaminated land) and create the conditions for a sustainable and just future. As such, the circular economy can result in a system where people can access local jobs and where green business practices contribute to achieving zero carbon goals. In 2019, the Glasgow City Council issued a Declaration of Climate Emergency to become a carbon-neutral city by 2030, aiming to reach the goal before the rest of Scotland and the UK, which are set to become carbon neutral by 2045 and 2050 respectively (Glasgow City Council, 2019[14]). Glasgow City Council established a Climate Emergency Working Group, which published a report containing61 recommendations to tackle climate change, through energy use, roads and transport, development, infrastructure and planning, waste management and food (Glasgow City Council, 2019[15]; 2019[16]). In 2021, Glasgow City Council launched an implementation plan of these recommendations through the Climate Emergency Implementation Plan (CEIP) and evaluated the level of advancement in terms of guidelines provided by the working group (Glasgow City Council, 2021[17]). The Declaration of Climate Emergency, the carbon neutrality target for 2030 and the hosting of the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021 have contributed to strengthening the commitment of the city towards a significant and long-lasting change. Glasgow sees the organisation of the COP26 as an opportunity to show the potential of the city in its transformation to become carbon neutral and create an enduring legacy beyond the conference. Glasgow is also a member of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA), a global group of 22 cities aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 (CNCA, 2020[18]).
Glasgow’s circular path is a shared responsibility, primarily driven by the collaboration between the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, through its Circular Glasgow initiative, Zero Waste Scotland and Glasgow City Council. The Glasgow Chamber of Commerce put in place the Circular Glasgow initiative, which aims to build best practice and capacity with regards to the circular economy mainly within the private sectors in Glasgow. In 2019, the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce launched the Circular Glasgow Network, a platform for businesses from a broad variety of sectors for collaboration and connection, which comprises 175 companies (Circular Glasgow, 2020[19]). Since 2015, this partnership between the Chamber of Commerce, Zero Waste Scotland and Glasgow City Council put in place a number of activities, consisting of: exploratory studies to track inflows and outflows of materials in the city and identify consumer footprints (Circle Economy, 2016[20]); events on the circular economy to raise awareness and facilitate collaborations; and workshops and circular economy platforms to crowdsource ideas (e.g. Circle Lab Challenge) (Table 2.1 and Figure 2.1). After five years of acquired knowledge, practice and experimentations, in 2020, Glasgow City Council launched the Circular Economy Route Map for Glasgow.
The route map, which was informed by the previous draft of this report and interviews organised within the OECD policy dialogue on the circular economy in Glasgow, UK, emphasises the goal of localising the economy through creating local jobs and promoting community empowerment (Box 2.3). The strategy identifies key sectors for transition in the city (remanufacturing, repair, sharing, packaging, waste and food and beverages) and sets out concrete actions to be developed before 2030. Some of the key actions include: building a social economy vision for the city, working towards a just transition and developing a mapping of existing public procurement activities that include circular criteria.
Adopted in 2020 by Glasgow City Council, the route map is based on eight guiding principles of the circular economy: recognising residual value; supporting the sharing economy; community sharing; reducing consumption and promoting reuse; behavioural change; developing the “second-hand” market; encouraging eco-design: and ending planned obsolescence.
The route map includes 30 key actions divided into six themes: i) policy action; ii) planning action; iii) production action; iv) people action; v) private action; and vi) public action.
1. Policy actions include among others: the creation of a city sustainability/city green charter for Glasgow to raise awareness and enable circular business; the development of indicators to measure circularity; and the establishment of partnerships at the global, European, national and regional levels.
2. Planning actions address several areas such as: supporting the development of circular construction framework through a statement; exploring opportunities to pilot projects for the reuse of construction materials; and organising circular fora targeting the construction and textile sector.
3. Production actions focus on the prioritisation of the remanufacturing sector through the review of existing local policies, pilot projects for repair and maintenance, and a waste audit to evaluate the volume and category of waste generated.
4. People activities include making unused properties available for innovation and entrepreneurship linked to the circular economy and creating a support programme for circular economy start-ups, providing funding, networking opportunities and advice.
5. Private actions address, among others, the establishment of an exchange business platform; the analysis of the waste generated in key events within the city; and the development of a city-wide scheme that supports companies taking sustainable actions.
6. Finally, public actions include: mapping existing procurement activities within the city council; supporting greening of unused vacant and derelict land; developing a recommendation report to make sure that the Just Transition principles are included in each circular action; and based on the results of the metabolic analysis for Glasgow in 2016, developing circular initiatives in the healthcare sector.
Source: Glasgow City Council (2020[21]), Circular Economy Route Map for Glasgow 2020-2030.
To date, the circular economy approach in Glasgow strongly focused on the role of businesses, mainly SMEs, to integrate the circular economy principles within their activities. This work translated into meaningful and clear messages for all businesses, such as future-proof business innovation, economic savings, collaborations, product development and customer loyalty. Business practices with an important potential in the field of the circular economy, such as in the health, education, manufacturing and food and beverages sectors, provided in 2016 over 117 500 jobs, almost 30% of Glasgow’s workforce, and had an economic value of over GBP 5.5 billion (27% of Glasgow’s total economy) (Circle Economy, 2016[20]). In 2019, 21 000 jobs in Glasgow, representing 6% of total employment of the city of Glasgow, were linked to circular economy activities. So far, Circular Glasgow has engaged with more than 650 business representatives, largely from SMEs.
Economy and finance
While there is yet no assigned budget for circular-economy-related activities in the city, some funding programmes dedicated to circular business development are currently in place. Zero Waste Scotland administers the GBP-18-million Circular Economy Investment Fund supported by the Scottish Government and the ERDF. The fund aims at providing Scotland-based SMEs with investments ranging from GBP 50 000 to GBP 1 million and tools for the development and growth of circular economy initiatives (one-to-one support, market assessment, lifecycle analysis, communications and marketing) (Zero Waste Scotland, 2020[22]). These businesses have put in place solutions for reusing electrical products, valorisation and waste recovery and repair, in Glasgow (Table 2.2) and across Scotland (Annex A). The Climate Action Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund have also been providing funds for rental and repairing activities (e.g. the Southside Tool Library and the Repair Café Glasgow respectively) (National Lottery Community Fund, 2020[23]). Since 2021, Glasgow City Council provides up to GBP 25 000 of support through the Co-operative and Social Enterprise Fund. The financial support aims to expand the social enterprises and existing co-operatives in Glasgow, as well as facilitate co-operative start-up businesses. Within this framework, some social enterprises promote the reuse of goods (Glasgow City Council, 2020[24]; Co-operative Glasgow, 2017[25]).
Awareness raising and capacity building
A number of events on the circular economy are organised in Glasgow, mainly to promote collaborations and raise awareness within the private sector. SMEs are considered a potential driving force for the circular transition. The main awareness-raising initiatives that have been carried out in the city, whether organised by the municipality or by other partner institutions, have been mainly focused on SMEs. The emphasis on this segment is particularly relevant due to its prevalence in the economic structure of the city, as detailed in Chapter 1. Examples are reported below:
The “Glasgow: Towards a circular city” summit: The Glasgow Chamber of Commerce through its Circular Glasgow initiative, hosted the event in 2018, focusing on the built environment and gathering 60 relevant stakeholders from the city (Circular Glasgow, 2019[27]).
The Circular Glasgow Showcase event: In 2018, Circular Glasgow gathered six local companies to share information on their business models based on circular approaches (Box 2.4) (Circular Glasgow, 2018[28]).
The Circular Economy Hotspot Scotland: This 3-day international event aimed at showing Scotland’s progress on the transition towards a circular economy. Organised by Zero Waste Scotland and the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and hosted in Glasgow in 2018, it gathered 400 participants (Zero Waste Scotland/Circular Glasgow, 2018[29]). During the event, the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, announced an investment of GBP 700 000 for 3 circular business: i) Total Homes, an association providing housing authorisations for housing associations in Glasgow, which promotes the reuse of household electrical equipment, furniture and other equipment; ii) Revive Eco, a Glasgow-based company that creates environmentally friendly products from used coffee grounds; and iii) Angus 3D, a start-up working with 3D printing technology for the reduction of waste in the design process and the extension of the use of machinery by manufacturing parts from 3D scans (Resource, 2018[30]).
Other relevant events and webinars organised under the umbrella of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce addressed a broad variety of sectors with significant potential in the transition towards the circular economy, such as manufacturing, infrastructure and food and drink. For instance, in 2019, in partnership with Clydesdale Bank and the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow, the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce held one of its flagship Glasgow Talks events on innovation and the potential of the circular economy within the construction sector (Circular Glasgow, 2020[31]). Another initiative to raise awareness on the circular economy was the building of a “circular hub”. Circular Glasgow partnered in 2019 with a local design studio, “ilka”, to establish an information hub to inspire citizens to rethink, reuse, repair and recycle. The hub welcomed visitors and provided information on the circular economy, the role of the business in Glasgow during the transition and the potential role citizens can take to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle (Circular Glasgow, 2019[32]). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many events organised by Circular Glasgow turned to a virtual format, such as “Construction and the circular economy” and “Creating a circular workplace” in May 2020, “Manufacturing and the circular economy” in June 2020, and “Circular Glasgow Network webinar: In conversation with Circle Economy” in October 2020.
Glasgow City Council also promoted awareness-raising activities on the circular economy. In December 2019, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Office of the UK Government, the city council hosted a 3-day event, with representatives from 20 European cities, on circular economy awareness and smart and sustainable cities. In February 2020, the city council and the clothing reuse social enterprise Apparel Xchange, organised a circular economy forum to raise awareness of the impacts of the textile sector in the city. The event welcomed participants from different public departments and authorities (e.g. economic development and waste), the private sector, academia and social enterprises. The debate spotlighted the problems arising from wasteful consumption and disposal of clothing and as outlined in Glasgow’s circular strategy, will be the basis for the development of a Circular Textiles Forum in 2021. The forum, planned to be organised in partnership with a broad variety of stakeholders (e.g. Ellen McArthur Foundation, the LWARB, Zero Waste Scotland), aims to reform the city’s approach to clothing supplies and textile waste.
During the organisation of the Circular Glasgow Showcase event, the following companies shared experiences of their transition towards a circular economy:
Scottish Leather Group: As the largest leather manufacturer in the UK, the company tried to achieve an almost closed-loop process, reducing waste sent to landfill, using renewable energy and the energy recovery from generated waste.
Revive Eco is a local company that tackles coffee waste, creating several products from used coffee for a wide range of sectors such as food and drink, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and household products. The main feature of this work is the substitution of palm oil with coffee waste.
EGG Lighting is a Glasgow-based company that designed a unique type of light fitting where only the LED and driver parts needed to be replaced.
Bottle of Ginger is a community-led soft drinks company that produces zero-waste ginger beer. The beverage is sold in bottles that are distributed and collected for cleaning and refilling.
Spruce Carpets is the only social enterprise in Scotland that specialised in carpet reuse. Accredited with a Revolve certification, the floor coverings they produce are made out of end-of-season and reused carpets to avoid them becoming waste.
Jaw Brew is a craft microbrewery launched in Glasgow in 2014. Along with a Scottish bakery, Aulds, Jaw Brew produces beers from bread rolls. Furthermore, the waste generated in the brew (grains and bread) is sent to local farms as cat food.
Source: Circular Glasgow (2020[33]), , Scottish Leather Group, https://www.circularglasgow.com/story/scottish-leather-group/ (accessed on 28 April 2021); Sustainable by Nature (2020[34]), Homepage, https://www.sustainablebynature.co.uk/ (accessed on 28 April 2021); Jaw Brew (2020[35]), Circular Economy, https://www.jawbrew.co.uk/about/circular-economy (accessed on 28 April 2021); Spruce Carpets (2020[36]), What We Do, http://sprucecarpets.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/ (accessed on 28 April 2021); OECD (2020[37]), OECD Interviews with Stakeholers in Glasgow, OECD, Paris.
New ideas on the circular economy have also been promoted through challenges, capacity-building initiatives and partnerships:
Challenges: Led by the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce through the Circular Glasgow initiative, Glasgow hosted in March 2018 the first challenge on Circle Lab,1 reaching over 600 000 people across 13 countries. The challenge called for solutions and ideas on the way SMEs could improve the economic, environmental and social consequences of the main conferences and events that are hosted in the city. Participants submitted more than 200 ideas. The three winning ideas were: i) a system for reusing bottles, containers and cutlery throughout the site; ii) the transformation of organic waste into new food, energy or fertilisers; and iii) the digitalisation, reuse and design of marketing materials for event organisations and exhibitions (Circular Glasgow, 2018[38]; 2018[39]). Another example is the Circular Economy (CE) Challenge, a six-week programme promoted by the Glasgow-based charity Young Enterprise Scotland, which works in primary and secondary schools to let young students familiarise themselves with circular economy principles and their benefits. Under the lens of the circular economy, the programme provides students with tools to create a company, conduct market research and advertise their products and services (YES, 2020[40]; Circular Glasgow, 2020[41]).
Capacity building: 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. Ambassadors promote circular economy communication and messaging as well as events across their networks. The city council set up a Carbon Literacy course to provide elected officials and officers with skills related to the circular economy.
Partnerships: In February 2020, the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and the LWARB established a partnership to help businesses apply circular economy principles. Both institutions share best practices, learnings and case studies of projects from businesses across both cities and help businesses connect with other organisations (LWARB, 2020[42]).
Green public procurement (GPP)
Despite the progress made in recent years, GPP including circular economy principles is not yet fully implemented in Glasgow City Council. Currently, the existing GPP policy is limited and even if it includes the use of sustainable materials as a requirement, it only represents 10% of purchase decisions. In March 2020, Glasgow City Council created a Sustainable Steering Group, which gathers staff involved in procurement within the city council such as corporate procurement, Sustainable Glasgow and carbon reduction groups, social work and education. The main objective of the group is to ensure that the objectives of the various city initiatives (e.g. Circular Economy Route Map for Glasgow, climate implementation plan, carbon reduction policies) are duly incorporated into the procurement process, ultimately improving the city’s environmental performance. The group is currently revising the sustainable procurement policy to ensure the adequate promotion of circular principles, the inclusion of more detailed targets and the alignment with national and regional procurement policies. Furthermore, the new policy will be complemented by a capacity-building programme for council staff in order to provide them with the necessary skills to assess and apply sustainability requirements in public procurement processes. Moreover, Glasgow City Council uses an online tool to reuse and reallocate office furniture, through which, in 2020, it saved almost 250 tonnes of CO2 and avoided the generation of 8.5 tonnes of waste (Warp It, 2020[43]). At the regional level, Zero Waste Scotland is a partner in a GPP programme named ProCirc (2018-22), partly funded by the EU North Sea Region Interreg Programme (Zero Waste Scotland, 2020[44]). The project will develop a circular economy procurement toolkit to help buy circular products and services and create a community of practice that could also benefit the city of Glasgow in the future. Furthermore, Zero Waste Scotland has played a considerable role in the promotion of sustainable practices and circular criteria in the procurement processes of Scottish local authorities. To do so, it provides procurers and staff from public authorities with capacity learning and mentoring resources (Box 2.5).
Zero Waste Scotland is actively involved in the promotion of sustainable public procurement and, to do so, it makes available a set of resources to the public sector:
Mentoring programme: To support selected procurement across Scotland’s public sector with the highest potential in terms of scale or replicability. Through this initiative, public authorities are able to include circular economy outcomes within specifications and other stages of the procurement process.
Online learning resources: The online course “Introduction to sustainable public procurement in Scotland” introduces the concept of sustainable public procurement. The module lasts 20 minutes and it is certified upon completion.
Procuring for repair, reuse and remanufacturing: Launched in 2016 by Zero Waste Scotland, the guidance aims at supporting the circular transition by helping those in charge of the implementation specification and procurement of products, equipment and services to integrate the benefits of the circular economy, mainly focused on repair, reuse and remanufacturing.
Learning and collaboration between procurers from different countries: Zero Waste Scotland is one of the partners of the ProCirc programme, funded by the EU North Sea Region Interreg Programme. It provides support to procurers on how to embed circular economy principles in procurement strategy, the tendering process and contact management. Between 2014 and 2020, ProCirc carried out 30 pilot projects with a combined value of EUR 40 million to highlight circular opportunities within procurement for several sectors (e.g. construction, infrastructure, furniture, textiles and information and communication technology [ICT]). Each pilot aims to reduce 20%-25% of raw materials, waste and CO2 emissions.
Source: North Sea Region (2020[45]), ProCirc, https://northsearegion.eu/procirc/ (accessed on 28 April 2021); Interview with Claire Guerin, Sector Manager – Sustainable Procurement, Zero Waste Scotland; Zero Waste Scotland (2016[46]), Procuring for: Repair, Re-use and Remanufacturing.
Stakeholder engagement
The city of Glasgow engages stakeholders towards the circular economy through communication, consultations, collaborations and events (see above and Box 2.6). For the development of its Circular Economy Route Map for Glasgow, Glasgow City Council targeted a variety of groups within the private sector, such as food and beverages, construction, manufacturing and events and benefited from the multi-stakeholder process set up by the OECD Programme on the Circular economy in Cities and Regions. Glasgow City Council also conducted a mapping of stakeholders working on the circular economy, from universities and community organisations to small and large companies in the private sector (OECD, 2020[47]).
Stakeholders “encompass different levels of governments (multi-level governance), the private sector, regulators, service providers, donor agencies, investors, civil society in its different forms (e.g. citizens, non-governmental organisations, users’ movements, etc.) and other relevant constituencies” (OECD, 2015[48]). According to OECD, 2015 there are six types of stakeholder engagement, each of them with different objectives:
Communication to make the targeted audience more knowledgeable and sensitive to a specific issue.
Consultation to gathering stakeholders’ comments, perceptions, information, advice, experiences and ideas.
Participation, whereby stakeholders are associated with the decision-making process and take part in discussions and activities.
Representation attempts to develop a collective choice by aggregating preferences from various stakeholders, often consists in having stakeholders’ perspectives and interests officially represented in the management of a project or of an organisation.
Partnership consists of an agreed-upon collaboration between institutions, organisations or citizen fora to combine resources and competencies in relation to a common project or challenge to solve.
Co-decision and co-production are the ultimate levels of stakeholder engagement as they are characterised by a balanced share of power over the policy or project decision-making process.
Results of the OECD Survey on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions, show that stakeholders are primarily engaged through consultation (27%), followed by communication (25%), participation (19%), partnership (13%) and co-decision and co-production initiatives (10%) (OECD, 2020[3]).
Source: OECD (2015[48]), Stakeholder Engagement for Inclusive Water Governance, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264231122-en.
Note: Results based on a sample of 48 respondents that responded “Yes, delivered” and “Yes, ongoing” to the type of stakeholder engagement implemented in cities and regions for circular economy-related initiatives.
Source: OECD (2015[48]), Stakeholder Engagement for Inclusive Water Governance, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264231122-en; OECD (2020[3]), The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions: Synthesis Report, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/10ac6ae4-en.
Monitoring and evaluation
There are some monitoring and evaluation tools in place in Glasgow that aim to help businesses and stakeholders measure circularity, to better understand what the circular economy is and to improve its implementation. More than 50 businesses in Glasgow have used the Circle Assessment tool with the Circular Glasgow team at the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce to analyse their waste streams and identifying opportunities towards the circular economy (Circular Glasgow, 2020[49]). Within Glasgow City Council, the Carbon Management Team (CMT) is in charge of monitoring, reporting and carrying out projects that contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions within the city council. For instance, as buildings represent approximately 70% of the council’s carbon emissions, the CMT installed in 2019 an Automatic Meter Reader (AMR). This software automatically collects data which is sent through an energy monitoring software tool for analysis and tracking by the CMT (Glasgow City Council/Resource Efficient Scotland/Zero Waste Scotland, 2013[50]). Moreover, Glasgow City Council plans to conduct a compulsory carbon impact assessment for every initiative taken by all municipal departments. In 2016, the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce commissioned a metabolic study to track inflows and outflows of material and to identify circular economy opportunities for the city of Glasgow. The study showed that the food and drinks sector produced a high consumer footprint (Circle Economy, 2016[20]). The development of a monitoring and evaluation framework to measure circularity is envisaged by the city in its circular economy route map (Glasgow City Council, 2020[21]). While there are some initiatives in progress to monitor progress towards the achievement of circular economy targets, there is still room for improvement. In fact, the OECD Inventory of Circular Economy Indicators (2020[51]) identified that the majority of circular economy indicators at the local level focuses on the environmental dimension (39%), followed by governance (34%), economy and business (14%), infrastructure and technology (8%) and jobs (5%).
The below section identifies the opportunities for the circular economy in Glasgow based on the 3Ps framework: people, policies and places, which was adapted from a previous application to water governance in cities (OECD, 2016[52])to the field of circular economy (OECD, 2020[3]):
People: The circular economy is a shared responsibility across levels of government, stakeholders and firms. As such, it is key to identify the actors that can play a role in the transition and allow the needed cultural shift towards different production and consumption pathways, new business and governance models. For example, the business sector can determine the shift towards new business models (e.g. renting, reusing, sharing, etc.). Citizens, on the other hand, make constant consumption choices and can influence production.
Policies: The circular economy requires a holistic and systemic approach that cuts across sectoral policies. As somebody’s waste can be a resource for somebody else, the circular economy provides the opportunity to foster complementarities across policies. 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, from environmental, regional development, agricultural and industrial ones. Identifying these key sectors and possible synergies is the first step to avoid the implementation of fragmented projects over the short-medium run, due to the lack of a systemic approach.
Places: Cities and regions are not isolated ecosystems but spaces for inflows and outflows of materials, resources and products, in connection with surrounding areas and beyond. Therefore, adopting a functional approach going beyond the administrative boundaries of cities is important for resource management and economic development. Linkages across urban and rural areas (e.g. related to bioeconomy, agriculture and forest) are key to promote local production and recycling of organic residuals to be used in proximity of where they are produced, to avoid negative externalities due to transport.
Social enterprises
Social enterprises apply circular principles by keeping resources value, promoting sustainable consumption and avoiding waste to landfill, while saving CO2 emissions. In Glasgow, social enterprises increased by 60% between 2013 and 2019 (growing from 509 to 811) (GSEN, 2019[53]; 2013[54]). In 2018, Glasgow hosted 12.5% of all social enterprises within Scotland, which generated GBP 800 million per year (GSEN/Glasgow City Council, 2018[55]). There are several ongoing community-led circular economy initiatives based in Glasgow, working in various sectors to promote reuse, repair and sharing activities (Box 2.7), such as those interviewed during the OECD missions in 2020:
Apparel Xchange works with primary and secondary schools to gather and reuse pre-owned clothing and school uniform, footwear and accessories. The community also offers reuse, resale and recycling services to reduce the sustainable impact of the clothing sector and since 2018, its work has resulted in savings of 8.5 CO2 Eqt (ApparelXchange, 2020[56]).
Bike For Good is a Glasgow-based cycling charity, founded in 2010 and since then, it has been selling and servicing refurbished bikes, conducting maintenance courses, providing bicycle training and running community projects (Circular Glasgow, 2020[57]).
The Glasgow Social Enterprise Network (GSEN) provides members with several services, including knowledge-sharing, peer learning and access to events and training. In 2019, GSEN organised Scotland’s Social Enterprise Week, which aimed at showcasing how the social enterprises were pushing towards the adoption of a more sustainable community (GSEN, 2020[58]; Circular Glasgow, 2019[59]).
Established in 2020, the Pram Project runs free community repair events. The project originated from the Singing Rock Centre, which aimed at giving a new life to used prams. Since its establishment, the initiative has received the donation of over 100 prams destined to be repaired (Repair Café Glasgow, 2020[60]).
The Repair Café in Glasgow focuses on waste reduction and social cohesion through repair, upgrade and maintenance of a wide range of products. The Repair Café has organised several awareness-raising events in the city and it estimates that since the opening of the facility in 2017, a total of 151 kg of waste and 1.2 tonnes CO2 emissions have been saved (Repair Café Glasgow, 2020[61]).
South Seeds, the community social enterprise based in the Southside area of Glasgow, works with the local community to improve the overall appearance and liveability of the area. One of their initiatives is the Southside Tool Library. Opened in 2018, it serves 400 borrowers. The library supplies tools for a broad variety of topics such as carpentry, sewing and gardening and is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund (South Seeds, 2020[62]).
Young Enterprise Scotland (YES) is a charity that works to inspire young people to learn and succeed through enterprise in Scotland. Some of the initiatives supported by YES include the Circular Economy Challenge, which is designed to introduce students to the benefits and principles of the circular economy through practical examples and interaction with business ambassadors (YES, 2020[40]).
Social enterprises contribute to put in practice circular economy principles of reusing, repairing and sharing while carrying out social functions. Many of the employees work on a voluntary basis and the activities strongly rely on the availability of dedicated funds. As such, financial sustainability seems to be the major obstacle to their survival and for the viability of their business models. Challenges are described in Chapter 3.
In March 2020, within the new EU Circular Economy Action Plan, the EC announced, “A New Circular Economy Action Plan for a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe”, which aims at introducing the “right to repair” by 2021 into EU product manufacturing policies. The Plan includes actions to provide consumers with complete information on products in terms of durability and environmental impact. In March 2021, the European Commission introduced new regulations in eco-design that aimed at strengthening the right to repair of consumers. For instance, manufacturers will have to make key parts available after 10 years of the production of certain products (dishwashers, washing machines and refrigerators).
According to this regulation, manufacturers will be obliged to design devices (e.g. phones, tablets and laptops) in order to remain useful for a longer period of time as well as making spare parts easily available for longer. The “right to repair” also includes the update of obsolete software. Under the new plan, products should be more durable, reusable, upgradeable and made of more recycled materials.
Source: EC (2020[63]), A New Circular Economy Action Plan for a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe, https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/; EC (2021[64]), Ecodesign omnibus regulation, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021R0341&from=EN
The business sector
Large corporations
Many large corporations in Glasgow have been implementing circular principles as part of their business operations, and have succeeded in the adoption of new business models. Large corporations are taking actions towards: achieving carbon neutrality (e.g. Scottish Leather Group Technology); repurposing buildings and use of recycled materials (e.g. Balfour Beatty); improving energy and water efficiency (e.g. Scottish Water); increasing the use of secondary materials; fostering recycling, repairing and reusing processes; and raising awareness on the topic (e.g. Edrington and Hewlett Packard).
There are examples of new circular business models in companies based in Glasgow, such as service system models and hiring, which result in the increase of resource efficiency. For instance, Hewlett Packard (HP), an IT hardware company, implemented the “devices-as-a-service” and “instant ink” business models. “Devices-as-a-service” aims at optimising the resources life management of devices with flexible repair services and payment systems. The “instant ink” service is based on the number of materials printed by customer per month, who receives new cartridges before they run out of ink. The service also covers the recycling and shipping of cartridges. The company has also organised circular economy seminars to raise awareness among its employees, in co-operation with Zero Waste Scotland. As a way to engage with the community, HP works with local SMEs that employ young vulnerable people and recycle materials in Scotland. The Warp It reuse online network loans products (e.g. from chairs to printing cartridges) and allows public and private users to freely advertise unwanted items and claim available products. The platform matches users with compatible needs and keeps track of the environmental, financial and social benefits achieved. It can help lower procurement costs, reduce items disposed of in landfills and expand the life use of products keeping their value.
Several Glasgow-based companies apply circular principles to their production processes. For instance, the alcoholic drink manufacturer Edrington (whisky sector) fully reuses casks for whisky maturation. The Scottish Leather Group Technology Ltd. produces its leather with by-products from the beef and dairy sectors (Sustainable by Nature, 2020[34]). This is in line with the target set by the company to be net zero and send zero waste to landfill by 2025. Scottish Water uses smart design that is being applied to maintenance, material use (e.g. replacing concrete water tanks with metal ones in a water treatment plant) and repurposing the grit found in the wastewater system. This material, which is generally removed during the treatment process, will be used as a building material for the built environment sector instead of being sent to landfill.
Water and energy efficiency is also part of the circular economy strategy for large companies. Scottish Water launched in 2020 the Net Zero Emissions Routemap, which includes the commitment of emitting net-zero emissions by 2040. Due to the energy and emissions-intensive work of the company, the strategy has prioritised five main areas of action: i) energy efficiency; ii) low-carbon construction practices; iii) the use of low-carbon energy products; iv) storage of unavoidable emissions; and v) investment in renewable energy (Scottish Water, 2020[65]). In 2018, Scottish Water signed a Sustainable Growth Agreement with the SEPA to maximise resource recovery from Scotland’s wastewater and reintroducing it into the system (SEPA, 2018[66]; Scottish Water/SEPA, 2020[67]).
Some common obstacles are preventing the circular transition among large corporations in Glasgow. Two main barriers have been highlighted by large corporation representatives during the OECD missions in 2020. First, the current definition of waste and “end of life” prevents materials from being reused for new products. Second, budget restrictions are extremely relevant in the contractual requirements and commercial agreements for large companies, while material specifications are not a priority. Consequently, the incentives to use sustainable materials are low (Chapter 3).
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
The SMEs community in Glasgow adopts circular economy business models, such as:
Return-refill-repeat scheme: For example, the company Beauty Kitchen, based on the cradle-to-cradle principles, produces reusable sustainable cosmetic packaging and offers return and refill services, according to the so-called “return-refill-repeat” scheme. All packaging is fully recyclable and 50 refill stations are already functioning in Glasgow.
Product-as-a-service: The Egg Lighting Company designs and manufactures LED lighting with the lighting-as-a-service business model, which consists in paying for a lighting service instead of for the ownership of light bulbs.
Reuse: The company Re-Tek provides an information technology (IT) collection service and repairs, refurbishes and resells them (e.g. computers, laptops). The company is also involved in projects aiming to remove metals (e.g. tantalum and cobalt) for reuse, involving community organisations and charities.
Create value from waste: The start-up Revive-Eco creates value from food waste. It harvests coffee grounds, produces soil fertiliser and is starting to extract oil from grounds for use in other industries (e.g. as palm oil replacement). Zero Waste Scotland, through its Circular Economy Investment Fund, provides economic support to this project.
SMEs effectively act as external innovators of larger companies to bring new innovations to market. For example, they can push larger companies to embrace circular initiatives such as the installation of refill stations and the application of the reverse logistics model. Furthermore, the existence of good practices that show the economic feasibility of circular business models, serves as a role model and inspiration for other SMEs in the adoption of these initiatives.
Access to funding and the existing regulatory barriers are the major challenges SMEs face. The exploration of new business models, such as “product-as-a-service” can be challenging for some SMEs as they must acquiring the asset first and a return on investment is a lengthier process. The transaction cost from a linear ownership model to a more circular model based on the use can require additional funding for the first stages of SMEs. Moreover, existing legislation is also perceived as an obstacle for some SMEs. A fit for purpose regulation (e.g. waste, reuse of electronic devices) could be a relevant way of moving towards circularity. In addition, despite increasing sustainability awareness from consumers, SMEs perceive the need to engage them and deliver messages in a simple, clear and scalable way, as consumer engagement is one of the key factors for change.
Knowledge institutions and universities
Universities are a very relevant asset for the city of Glasgow, as they can help promote and increase the skills needed for the transition to the circular economy. Through the diverse research and pilot programmes, universities and other knowledge institutions have established collaborations to advance towards the transition to the carbon-neutral and circular economy. Some examples are reported below:
The University of Glasgow, the fourth oldest English-speaking university in the world, founded in 1451, has been exploring the circular economy from a consumer-centric perspective. Some of the research areas include: disposal, resale and donation, the potential of digitalisation for the circular economy and sustainable consumption for clothing. The university also runs its own sustainable procurement programme and, in 2020, launched a consultation on a climate change strategy and action plan for the University of Glasgow (2020[68]; 2020[69]; 2020[70]). The University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde take part in the Climate Ready Clyde project, a cross-sector initiative that aims at understanding and addressing the risks posed by climate change to the Glasgow City Region (Climate Ready Clyde, 2020[71]; 2020[72]).
The City of Glasgow College and Glasgow Caledonian University, in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland developed a project that embeds circular economy into curriculum delivery in construction-related subjects. The course on “Circular economy and the construction sector” addresses the major introductory principles of the circular economy, how circular criteria can be applied in the construction sector and potential solutions to reduce waste generation through the application of circular economy principles from the early stages of the construction phase (City of Glasgow College, 2020[73]).
The University of Strathclyde is making progress in research on the circular economy. For instance, the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is involved in the research of a range of major fields of the circular economy such as the effectiveness and recyclability of material flows, mainly glass fibre composites (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2019[74]). Furthermore, the Institute for Future Cities of the University of Strathclyde analyses the role of cities and the economic, environmental, social and technological challenges they face (University of Strathclyde, 2020[75]).
Consumers
Consumers in Scotland are increasingly paying attention to the environmental impacts of their consumption choices. According to a survey conducted by Zero Waste Scotland and Revolve in 2019, approximately half of Scottish consumers state that second-hand shopping is a relevant factor to tackle climate change and almost the same are in favour of buying second-hand if the quality and cleanliness of materials are assured (Zero Waste Scotland, 2019[76]).
For the second-hand clothing sector, lack of trust in terms of quality standards seems to be one of the main obstacles for its wider use (OECD, 2020[37]). However, certifications can be used to fill this gap. For example, the Revolve standard is a quality certification for second-hand stores in Scotland, which is issued by Zero Waste Scotland. The main objective of Revolve is to provide shops that meet requirements in terms of safety, cleanliness and service with support and evidence that can help build consumer trust. The certification assures that the items on sale have been previously subject to a quality and safety check and it also aims to support local businesses while having a positive environmental impact. In 2020, there were 120 Revolve-certified stores in Scotland, 31 of which were located in Glasgow. Added to the acquisition of the standard, certified stores receive: additional support in terms of promotion of stores through press, website and social media channels; training to meet and keep the Revolve certification; support on customer service, visual merchandising and marketing campaigns; and access to Revolve brand and campaign materials to raise awareness and trust among customers (Zero Waste Scotland, 2020[77]).
All sectors are concerned in a circular economy but some have higher potential. Often the circular economy in cities and regions is seen as synonymous with waste recycling but it goes beyond that. For cities and regions, the circular economy can be defined as a guiding framework whereby: services (e.g. from water to waste and energy) are provided making efficient use of natural resources as primary materials and optimising their reuse; economic activities are planned and carried out in a way to close, slow and narrow loops across value chains; and infrastructures are designed and built to avoid linear lock-in (e.g. district heating, smart grid, etc.) (OECD, 2020[3]). Making a sector “circular” implies rethinking value chains and production and consumption processes. “Circularity” entails that any output can be an input for something else within and across sectors. It aims to: make products and goods last longer through better design; produce goods using secondary and reusable materials, and renewable energy, while reducing atmospheric emissions; produce and distribute products locally and consume them in a conscious and sustainable manner; and transform waste into a resource. According to the OECD (2020[3]), cities and regions identify the waste sector as key in their progress towards a circular economy (98%), followed by the built environment (75%), land use and spatial planning (70%), food and beverages and water and sanitation (65%) (Figure 2.4). Below, specific attention will be dedicated to those sectors that more prominently came out from the discussion with various stakeholders in the city of Glasgow, such as waste, food, spatial planning and built environment and events and tourism.
Note: Results based on a sample of 40 respondents that selected sectors responding to the question: “Which sectors are included in your city/region circular economy initiative?”.
Source: OECD (2020[3]), The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions: Synthesis Report, https://doi.org/10.1787/10ac6ae4-en.
Below, some sectors that emerged predominantly during interviews with stakeholders from the city of Glasgow are reported. This description does not aim to be exhaustive of the sectors that can contribute to the circular economy transition; however, it provides an overview of those activities that hold high potential in the city.
Waste
Approximately half (49%) of the total waste generated by households in Glasgow was sent to landfill in 2019 and only one-quarter (24.1%) was recycled (SEPA, 2019[11]). As in 2011, Glasgow was among the five Scottish cities with the lowest recycling rate and the second-highest in terms of landfill, the city’s response was to build the Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre (GRREC) in 2019 to boost recycling while producing energy. The GRREC annually manages 200 000 tonnes of residual waste and diverts 90% from landfill. The new treatment facility is expected to contribute approximately 10%-12% to the city’s household recycling rate and produce energy for approximately 26 500 households per year. The centre has created over 250 new jobs, including 17 apprentices, supporting local social enterprises, and SMEs throughout the building programme and its implementation (Viridor, 2020[78]). The local authority collects different waste streams each week from households. The council provides a network of over 650 sites across the city where materials can be deposited for recycling which covers paper, glass and plastics (Glasgow City Council, 2020[21]; 2020[79]).
In 2016, the city launched a food waste collection service on a trial basis, which has subsequently been rolled out across the city. Currently, 300 000 households citywide receive the food waste collection service, which almost covers all households in the city. The implementation of the service to flatted properties received GBP 2.3 million of funding support from Zero Waste Scotland (Glasgow City Council, 2020[80]). Food and garden waste are treated in an anaerobic digester for biogas or transformed into compost, which is eventually used in agriculture, regeneration projects, horticulture and landscaping projects.
According to the OECD (2020[3]), circular waste implies a series of upstream and downstream activities to prevent waste generation and transform waste into resources, amongst others. A circular waste management system is one where waste is conceived as a valuable resource, where citizens reduce waste generation (e.g. organic, technological, etc.), “pay as you throw” (PAYT) schemes are in place, waste fractions, included organic ones, are collected separately and the final treatment and disposable model is replaced by a recycling and recovery model. In circular waste management, a market for secondary raw materials is in place, substance traceability and information flows are established and accepted by the main market players and secondary materials satisfy a prominent percentage of the demand for materials for goods production (OECD, 2020[3]).
Glasgow City Council foresees several concrete actions to make the waste sector more circular, along with planned initiatives by the Scottish government. The Scottish framework influencing waste management in cities is the following : i) the Zero Waste Plan launched by the Scottish Government in June 2010(Box 2.2); ii) the approval of waste regulations from the Scottish Government in 2012, which introduced a number of measures to achieve the Scottish target of recycling 70% of all waste generated in the region; and iii) the development of the Zero Waste Taskforce to complement the Zero Waste Plan, which prioritised communications, quality of the collected materials and public procurement (Glasgow City Council, 2010[81]). In 2021, Glasgow City Council launched a new waste strategy (Resource and Recycling Strategy 2020-30), which replaced the previous strategy that set out a plan for the management of waste for 2010-20 (Tackling Glasgow’s Waste – Cleansing Waste Strategy and Action Plan). The new strategy aims to support the implementation of the Circular Economy Route Map for Glasgow (mainly the actions related to waste management and recycling) and the Scottish Government’s Circular Economy Bill by promoting behavioural change and reducing consumption levels. The new waste strategy also foresees the introduction of a textile collection service and awareness-raising campaigns on the reuse of household goods (Glasgow City Council, 2021[82]). Moreover, Scotland’s resource and recycling industry is planned to undergo a transformation in the coming years with the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme in 2022, the upcoming Review of the Household Charter for Recycling and the entry into force of the Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (Packaging EPR) in 2023. Additionally, the city council will conduct waste audits within the council to measure the amount and category of waste produced, which will serve as a basis for future domestic policy (Glasgow City Council, 2020[21]).
Food
The food sector is closely linked to the objective of the city council to become carbon neutral by 2030, as approximately 30% of GHG emissions in Glasgow originate from the food system, in particular due to the energy consumed during the growing, harvesting, transporting and packaging processes. The food sector holds considerable potential for Glasgow’s circular transition as it is responsible for more than 5 000 jobs in Glasgow (Glasgow City Council, 2020[83]).
The city’s food strategy will embed sustainable and circular principles, consisting in avoiding food waste, amongst others. Glasgow City Council together with a team of food associations (Glasgow Centre for Population Health, Glasgow Food Policy Partnership, Glasgow Community Food Network and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde) launched in 2021 a long-term food strategy, the Glasgow City Food Plan 2021-31. The aim of the strategy is to deliver a just, resilient and environmentally friendly food system in Glasgow and prioritises six main topics: i) food poverty; ii) community food; iii) food procurement and catering; iv) food economy; v) environment and food waste; and vi) children and young people (Glasgow City Council, 2020[84]; 2020[85]; 2021[86]). It is worth noticing that, given the relevance of the sector for the city, Glasgow City Council is a member of the industry trade association Scotland Food and Drink (Glasgow City Council et al., 2019[87]). The city council also incentivises local and healthy food production, through the Environmental Business Awards.
Local communities actively promote sustainable farming practices and foster local food production in Glasgow through awareness-raising and capacity-building initiatives. For example, South Seeds, a community-led organisation, has conducted gardening capacity-building sessions to teach local residents how to grow fruit and vegetables. It promoted the “adopt-a-bed scheme” for urban gardening in a disused tennis court (South Seeds, 2017[88]). The environmental charity Urban Roots, located in South Glasgow, involves local people in growing their own food. Some of the results of the work has been the transformation of abandoned and derelict land into green gardens for the growing of food (Urban Roots, 2020[89]). The charity offers a variety of training courses on environmental and food-related programmes on growing, cooking and permaculture. Moreover, several social enterprises in Glasgow promote sustainable food production and consumption. The Community Growing Partnership aims to increase access to locally grown fruit and vegetables. The Glasgow Community Food Network was established in 2017 to bring together practitioners and organisations in the private, public and third sectors along with other interested individuals to develop urban farming in Glasgow. The network contributed to the Glasgow City Food Plan (Glasgow City Council, 2021[86]) .
Preventing food waste can foster food security in the city. In Glasgow, there is a large community of food banks, pantries and social enterprises that seek to help those who cannot access food, while tackling food waste. The existence of these initiatives is particularly relevant in Glasgow, a city where close to 10% of adults experienced food insecurity (5% for severe food insecurity) in 2018 (NHS, 2019[90]). This issue has been intensified with the COVID-19 outbreak and lookdowns, as in the UK, food insecurity increased from 3.8% in a pre-COVID-19 scenario to 15.6% during the first 2 weeks of lockdown (Understanding Glasgow, 2020[91]). For example, FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland provides food surplus to approximately 80 community groups and charities within Glasgow and its surrounding areas (FareShare, 2019[92]). Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the demand for these services has quadrupled in the Glasgow area compared with 2019, with 72 000 people receiving food from charity (HeraldScotland, 2020[93]).
By November 2020, the city of Glasgow hosted three food pantries in different locations of the city (Castlemilk, Govanhill and Ruchazie):
Ruchazie Food Pantry, located in northeast Glasgow, the first food pantry in the city in 2020, aims at reducing food surplus and social inequalities (Community Enterprise, 2020[94]).
The People’s Pantry is a community located in the Govanhill area of Glasgow. The pantry provides support to people facing food insecurity and helps reduce food waste and negative environmental impacts. Members can use the pantry by paying GBP 2.50 per shop and in exchange have access to a minimum of GBP 15 worth of food and other essential items. The project was launched by the Govanhill Baths Community Trust along with other organisations in the area (Crowfunder, 2020[95]; Neighbourly, 2020[96]).
Castlemilk Community Food Pantry provides fresh, nutritional, good quality food at a subsidised rate. The community receives and distributes surplus food, provided through partnerships, such as with Fareshare Glasgow.
According to various experiences, circular food systems in cities and regions are based on strengthening synergies across the food value chain from production to distribution and waste handling. Some cities promote local production. The city of Paris, France, for example, is planning to relocate part of its food production, to reduce the average distance travelled by food from its production to the Parisian consumer, which is currently 660 km: an issue in terms of environmental impact but also a threat of shortages in case of shock or blocked transport. Many cities set up initiatives to reduce food waste within the hospitality, food service and wholesale sectors. In 2017, the city of Umeå, Sweden, created the Sustainable Restaurants Network to connect restaurants with local producers and to guide citizens towards sustainable choices. The city of Groningen, Netherlands, launched the Food Battle Groningen to raise awareness on reducing food waste. The city of Toronto, Canada, has put in place the Urban Harvest programme to help reduce food waste and benefit the broader community by collecting surplus fruit and vegetables from residents’ backyards and redistributing them to local food banks and programmes (OECD, 2020[3]). Examples of policy frameworks against food waste in France are reported below (Box 2.8).
Spatial planning
One of the historical key priorities in Glasgow is the urban regeneration of vacant and derelict lands. While there are many activities already in place to increase the environmental sustainability of these areas, the focus on maximising resource use is still lacking. Glasgow City Council is responsible for local land use and planning applications (OECD, 2017[97]). The Property and Land Services group of Glasgow City Council planned to conduct an audit of the vacant and derelict lands in 2021. However, due to the release of a new Vacant and Derelict Land register for the city, the audit has been has been postponed. The objective of the audit was to identify the areas with greater potential for regeneration and circular economy-related activities within the city, such as storage options and material reuse, eco-parks, urban farming, rewilding and regenerative initiatives, crops for biofuel and carbon sinks (Glasgow City Council, n.d.[98]). The idea of prioritising the renewal of abandoned land, also known as “brownfield first”, originated from the need to reduce health inequalities within the city. It consists in reinforcing existing communities and building in more sustainable locations where there are amenities. The city created a taskforce for land recovery and it acknowledges the need for a strategic approach to land reuse. A successful example is the decontamination process of a depreciated site for the construction of the Athletes Village for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the East End of Glasgow. The Games Village was initially used as an accommodation facility for the athletes taking part in the games and was subsequently transformed into a residential area (RMJM, 2014[99]; ADS, 2014[100]).
Two consecutive laws, promulgated in 2015 and 2016 respectively, made France the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold products. The “Energy transition for green growth” law (Loi n° 2015-992 du 17 août 2015 relative à la transition énergétique pour la croissance verte), which includes “the fight against waste and the promotion of the circular economy: from product design to recycling”, and the Law on Combating Food Waste (Loi n° 2016-138 du 11 février 2016 relative à la lutte contre le gaspillage alimentaire) are the two main instruments to reduce food waste in the country.
The anti-waste law for a circular economy (Loi n° 2020-105 du 10 février 2020 relative à la lutte contre le gaspillage et à l’économie circulaire), approved by the French National Assembly in February 2020, strengthens the fight against food waste by setting ambitious targets. For instance, by 2025, the food distribution and catering sectors (supermarkets, canteens, etc.) will have to reduce food waste by 50% compared to 2015 levels. Moreover, retailers are obliged to donate their unsold food products to charities, while the law prohibits the disposal or spoiling of unsold food. The new law reinforces penalties for the destruction of unsold but edible food and also the introduction of a national anti-food-waste label (label national anti-gaspillage alimentaire), which aims at promoting initiatives to reduce food waste and guide consumer choices.
Source: ADEME (2019[101]), Réduire le gaspillage alimentaire, https://www.ademe.fr/expertises/dechets/passer-a-laction/eviter-production-dechets/dossier/reduire-gaspillage-alimentaire/cadre-reglementaire; Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition (2019[102]), The Antiwaste Law for the Circular Economy; Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition (2020[103]), “The anti-waste law in the daily lives of the French people, what does that mean in practice?”, https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/sites/default/files/anti-waste_law_in_the_daily_lives_of_french_people.pdf; The Independent (2020[104]), “FoodCloud total income increased to €4.8m after 'transformative year'”, https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/foodcloud-total-income-increased-to-48m-after-transformative-year-39486812.html, Food Cloud (n.d.[105]), Homepage, https://food.cloud/; Business in the Community Ireland (2020[106]), “Leading retailers and FoodCloud launch first national food appeal to support communities affected by Covid-19”, https://www.bitc.ie/newsroom/news/leading-retailers-and-food-cloud-launch-national-food-appeal-to-support-communities-affected-by-covid-19/.
Due to the issues raised from the derelict land of the city and the difficulties for the population in terms of access to housing, there are 67 local housing associations in Glasgow, driven around poverty and affordability for their tenants. The Two Banks (Les Deux Rives) district industrial symbiosis initiative that took place in Paris, France, can be inspirational for Glasgow in terms of creating synergies across different neighbourhoods and tackle the existing inequalities in certain areas (Box 2.9).
The “Quartier Les deux rives” (Two Banks District), located in the east of the city, considered the first "circular district" in Paris, is a project led by Paris City Council in collaboration with some companies located in that district.
The aim of the initiative is to bring companies together to jointly design innovative solutions for the management, operation and development of their activities in the 4th largest business district in Paris, on a 350-hectare area between Gare d’Austerlitz, Gare de Lyon, Bercy and Tolbiac. The Two Banks District relies on a digital collaboration platform, connecting large companies, entrepreneurs, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), citizen groups and policymakers to share best practices and co-create solutions.
In particular, the project enables more than 30 companies to share equipment and services and recycle and upcycle waste in a synergetic way, reducing disposable food packaging, aggregating carpool services and collectively managing waste.
In the future, the project will explore how to further generate positive spill overs and social value for underprivileged citizens.
Source: Les Deux Rives (2020[107]), Les Deux Rives, Quartier circulaire, https://lesdeuxrives.paris/ (accessed on 30 April 2021); OECD Interview with Paris City Council on 27 July 2020.
The built environment
In Glasgow, the city’s housing strategy sets the target of building 25 000 homes by 2025. As such, new constructions can potentially include circular principles in the planning, operation and end-of-life phases (Glasgow City Council, 2017[108]). Glasgow will establish a circular economy framework for the built environment, issuing a Circular Economy Statement. This declaration will address the development of a local material passport for public construction activities within the city and a commitment to end the demolition of buildings. The city recognises the reuse of the construction materials as one of the areas of action for the short term. Under the framework of an experimentation pilot project on public procurement carried out with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and in collaboration with Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Zero Waste Scotland and the SEPA, Glasgow City Council will launch, at the end of 2021, a pilot project to promote the reuse of materials within the built environment sector (Glasgow City Council, 2020[21]).
In Scotland, the built environment sector is responsible for 50% of total waste (Scottish Goverment, 2016[13]). As such, the construction industry is starting to take a longer-term view and progressively embodying carbon net zero targets from the planning phase. There are some initiatives in this sense. Strathclyde University is leading a project, in co-operation with Glasgow City Council and other stakeholders from the city, to develop a climate-neutral district. The project will identify potential solutions to build a 100% renewable energy system for energy, heat, transportation systems, climate adaptation, welfare and social inclusion within the area (Climate Ready Clyde, 2020[109]; University of Strathclyde, 2020[110]). In 2020, Architecture and Design Scotland (ADS) helped local authorities prioritise carbon reductions and climate action while working towards decarbonisation and contributing to the improvement of the citizens (ADS, 2020[111]). Another example of the application of circular economy in the built environment in Glasgow was the retrofitting of the Woodside Multi-storey Flats project, located in the Woodside area. The project, in collaboration with the Queens Cross Housing Association, consisted of the refurbishment of three blocks of flats built in the 1960s, instead of opting for its demolition. One of the primary objectives of the refurbishment was to alleviate the fuel scarcity of around 800 residents and provide residents with a reduction of heating and water bills, through solar thermal panels installed on the rooftop (Collective Architecture, 2019[112]; ADS, 2020[113]).
Repurposing properties is a priority for Glasgow City Council. City Property Glasgow, a dedicated arm’s length external organisation (ALEO) of Glasgow City Council, is in charge of the management of all of the properties belonging to the city (800 in total). Glasgow City Council sees the possibility of maximising the use and making profitability from its estate in order to provide hubs, workspaces and premises for circular economy actors. Shared premises and facilities, Wi-Fi, Internet broadband and equipment can help lower costs and liabilities, while providing partners and start-ups with space to grow and develop. Furthermore, Glasgow is facing difficulties in terms of keeping the city centre as the pillar of the local economy. Despite being the main retail destination in the UK after London, the retail business in the city centre is facing several challenges in countering the increasing competition from shopping centres located outside of the city as well as online services. This scenario, combined with the potential negative impacts of COVID-19 on businesses located in the city, will require exploring opportunities to make use of existing buildings and spaces.
Due to the potential of the built environment sector, Glasgow City Council applies economic instruments for incentivising the responsible use of energy in buildings. As such, it foresees tax reductions through the Council Tax Energy Efficiency Discount Scheme, which offers citizens who have carried out loft and cavity wall insulation works in their homes the opportunity to apply for a discount. This reduction varies depending on the number of energy efficiency measures carried out and their cost (Glasgow City Council, 2020[114]).
The built environment sector faces several challenges and obstacles in Glasgow. First, there is a lack of legislative drivers towards the circular economy, given that the Scottish circular economy bill does not include the built environment sector. Building standards in Scotland are not yet encouraging the circular economy in the sector. Second, the financial framework does not encourage extending the use of buildings, as higher taxes are applied to refurbishment activities than to new constructions. Other identified barriers affect the monitoring processes. For example, non-material variation after planning can lead to the use of cheaper materials rather than using reused or recycled sources.
Events and tourism
Glasgow is a well-known business events destination, hosting over 500 conferences a year attracting approximately 150 000 delegates and generating an economic impact of GBP 140 million. The city is one of the most popular conference destinations in Europe and is the British city that hosts the greatest number of international delegates in the UK, after London (Glasgow Tourism and Visitor Plan, 2020[115]). By 2022, the city aims at carrying out an assessment in terms of carbon emissions, waste generation and energy consumption in three main events.2 Glasgow’s Tourism and Visitor Plan will conduct an analysis of the potential impact on the tourism and hospitality sector of the implementation of a Transient Visitor Levy. The study has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Glasgow City Council et al., 2019[87]). Glasgow will host the COP26 in 2021, an event projected to host more than 30 000 delegates and visitors from all over the world (Glasgow Tourism and Visitor Plan, 2019[116]). Hosting this conference in a post-industrial city is sealing the city’s commitment to becoming into a green city. There are several international examples of the organisation of big events such as the Olympic Games, festivals, congresses that embed circular economy principles, as seen in Box 2.10.
2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan
For the celebration of the 2020 Olympic Games, which took place during the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Tokyo, Japan, hired equipment instead of buying it. As such, Tokyo 2020 rented close to 65 000 computers and tablets, as well as 19 000 desks and chairs. Furthermore, the close to 5 000 medals that were awarded during the Olympic Games were manufactured using extracted materials from electronic devices gathered from people and communities across Japan. The organising committee also used recycled household plastic waste and marine waste to manufacture the medal ceremony podiums.
2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France
In view of minimising the event’s carbon footprint, the city of Paris will use 95% of existing or temporary venues. The organising committee, whose ambition is to propose the 1st Circular Economy Games, launched its Zero Waste Strategy for the games in 2017. The strategy foresees the reuse or recycling of 100% of the temporary infrastructure after the games in the country. For instance, the Olympic and Paralympic Village will become an eco-district for the benefit of the local population.
Source: OECD (2020[3]), The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions: Synthesis Report, https://doi.org/10.1787/10ac6ae4-en; Olympic News (2020[117]), Showcasing a sustainable society: Tokyo 2020 releases its Sustainability Pre-Games Report”, https://www.olympic.org/news/showcasing-a-sustainable-society-tokyo-2020-releases-its-sustainability-pre-games-report (accessed on 29 April 2021); Paris 2024 (2017[118]), “Paris 2024 unveils its "Target Zero Waste" strategy for the Games”, https://youtu.be/O_aKqRaP_5M (accessed on 29 April 2021); Tokyo 2020 (2020[119]), “Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games Sustainability Pre-Games Report Unveiled, https://tokyo2020.org/en/news/tokyo-2020-olympic-and-paralympic-games-sustainability-pre-games-report-unveiled (accessed on 29 April 2021).
A number of initiatives exist to reduce the environmental impacts of mass events taking place in the city. In 2019, all event venues and 31% of the hotels in the city were sustainability certified, alongside 40% of professional congress organisers (PCOs) and destination management companies (DMCs). The Scottish Event Campus (SEC) holds the highest award possible – the Gold Award – for Green Tourism and provides free city bike hire for delegates. Moreover, some 40% of Glasgow’s hotels have achieved a Green Tourism award. Glasgow was the first British city to join the Global Destination Sustainability Index3 on sustainable conference cities in 2016 and ranked fourth in 2019, after Gothenburg (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Zurich (Switzerland). Examples of circular economy principles applied to the hospitality sector, such as restaurant and hotel networks in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Umeå, Sweden, are reported in Box 2.11.
Restaurants and hotels hold significant potential to become more sustainable and circular through the management of their food waste. There are several initiatives that seek to unlock this potential at the international level:
In order to tackle food waste, the Irish Hotels Federation, the Restaurants Association of Ireland and the Local Authority Prevention Network conducted in 2017 a seminar on “Turning food waste into profit”. Furthermore, the Irish Hotels Federation supported the Prevent and Save programme and Ireland’s Pledge on Plastic Waste run by the environmental not-for-profit organisation, Repak. On average, food waste generates a EUR 24 000 annual loss for Irish restaurants and EUR 150 000 for hotels.
In 2018, the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands, launched the Circular Hotels Leaders Group (Kloplopergroep). A total of 12 hotels have started co-operating with actors along their different value chains to incorporate circular principles in their business models (e.g. by exchanging knowledge; joint purchasing and bundling of waste streams for useful applications; using furniture and (replaceable) carpet tiles made from recycled material; repair and reuse of beds; replacing buffet breakfasts by a la carte schemes; making the best of circular purchasing power through collaboration with other hotels, for example contracting rental services of sustainable linen and laundry).
In 2017, the city of Umeå, Sweden, created the Sustainable Restaurants Network (Hållbara Restauranger), which involves 14 restaurants in the city for sustainable practices in the food industry and food waste management. The network also aims at connecting restaurants with local producers while providing advice and information to citizens about sustainable consumption.
Source: Green Hospitality (2017[120]), “Turning food waste into profit”, https://greenhospitality.ie/turning-food-waste-profit/; OECD (2020[3]), The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions: Synthesis Report, https://doi.org/10.1787/10ac6ae4-en; OECD (2021[121]), The Circular Economy in Granada, Spain, https://doi.org/10.1787/5f8bd827-en.
Large music events are increasingly prioritising green practices, such as the reduction of single-use plastics and food waste, with the potential of applying circular business models. In 2008, Glasgow was declared the first United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) City of Music in the UK and is the Scottish city hosting the highest number of music events, with a weekly average of 130. The live music sector brought in GBP 1.1 billion to the UK in 2018, including GBP 443 million to Scotland (Statista, 2020[122]). City centre parks and surrounding areas host music festivals, which are increasingly embracing green practices due to an environmentally aware audience. The event called T in the Park was the first carbon-neutral festival in the UK in 2008, which initially took place in Strathclyde Country Park. Linked to Glasgow’s plastic strategy, the events industry aims at reducing the amount of plastic, through the ban of any plastic reusable products by the end of 2021. Most of the live events organised in Glasgow apply sustainable practices, such as deposit refund schemes to reduce the amount of used plastics.
The cultural sector holds the potential to conduct initiatives that address circular principles in Glasgow. For instance, the Scottish Contemporary Art Network and the Glasgow-based Sculpture Placement Group have created the Circular Arts Network (CAN). This online platform is intended to facilitate the redistribution of surplus, used and spare materials, the exchange of expertise and labour and the co-ordination of transport to benefit the local art community. Users mainly come from artistic sectors such as stage, screen, music, visual arts, dance, craft, etc. The functioning of the tool is based on a simple process in which users upload a photo of their surplus, specifying where and when it can be collected (CAN, 2020[123]).
The links between Glasgow and other Scottish cities can set the basis for a city network on the circular economy. Zero Waste Scotland is co-ordinating the development of cross-regional projects and sharing best practices across five areas in Scotland: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Highlands and Islands, North East Scotland and Tayside. This partnership can potentially lead to a network that connects the circular cities, resulting in shared learnings and best practices across Scotland (Zero Waste Scotland, 2020[124]).
In 2020, Glasgow City Council and Zero Waste Scotland formed a partnership with the Scottish Cities Alliance (SCA) to advance on the circular transition and agreed to initiate a city-to-city collaboration by sharing information on waste management. The Scottish cities that form this alliance (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth and Stirling) have agreed on a series of short-, medium- and long-term objectives and priorities to make the circular economy happen in Scotland through awareness raising, capacity building and innovation, among others (Box 2.12).
The Scottish Cities Alliance (SCA) is a partnership composed of Scotland’s seven cities (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth and Stirling) and the Scottish Government, which aims at working together on the promotion of economic development. The partnership, which focuses on four main workstreams (smart cities, hydrogen, investment promotion and policy), embarked in 2020 on the circular economy by setting up a partnership with Glasgow City Council and Zero Waste Scotland. This collaboration has identified a series of preliminary and tentative actions and priorities for moving towards the circular economy by 2030:
Revision of the existing circular economy initiatives led by Zero Waste Scotland to identify how SCA member cities can add value and provide support.
Building on the work of Zero Waste Scotland and the circular economy strategy of the Scottish Government, development of a joint circular economy action plan.
Development of a joint approach to circular economy innovation, building on existing initiatives in Scotland.
Development of an action plan for each city with common themes to enable cities to share knowledge and information through peer learning across the member cities.
Design and delivery of circular economy education strategy across the city councils of the seven member cities.
Broadening the understanding of opportunities from the circular economy across council departments and other agencies through campaigns and capacity building.
In 2020, the Scottish city of Dundee, a member city of the alliance, 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.
Source: Glasgow City Council (2021); Scottish Cities Alliance (2021[125]), Homepage, https://scottishcities.org.uk/ (accessed on 3 March 2021); OECD (2021[126]), Highlights on the 3rd OECD Roundtable on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions, OECD, Paris.
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Notes
← 1. Circle Lab is an online platform, set up by Circle Economy in the Netherlands and supported by the Ebay Foundation. It aims at engaging a community of cities, businesses and citizens worldwide to address global challenges with circular solutions.
← 2. These events are: i) RNSMT, a three-day major music festival on Glasgow Green next to the city centre; ii) the All-Energy Conference, a three-day energy seminar in the SEC Centre; and iii) the Summer Sessions, a three-day music festival in Bellahouston Park.
← 3. The index is calculated by the Global Destination Sustainability Movement, a platform that aims at enabling destinations to become more attractive. It was founded by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), MCI, IMEX Group, European Cities Marketing (the association for tourist boards, convention bureaux and city marketing organisations in Europe) and Gubi Consulting. The ranking specifically recognises the People Make Glasgow Greener strategy, which aims at helping conference organisers in the organisation of a conference in the city and which is aligned with Glasgow’s Tourism and Visitor Plan to 2023. The index presents the limit of ranking members only. Therefore, many cities notoriously known as international touristic destinations are not included in the ranking. Nevertheless, it helped to push the event and tourism sector in the city to become greener (from the 7th position ranking in 2016 to the 4th in 2019). The index also measures sustainable procurement and supply services of all services connected to the touristic experience: sustainability certificates in airports, green mobility facilities, hotels holding green certificates and restaurants awarded with a Taste Our Best certificate. The index also considers waste to landfill, pollution produced and corruption index, amongst others (Taste Our Best, https://www.visitscotland.com/es-es/see-do/food-drink/taste-our-best/).