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ICLEI experts share their views on circular procurement with Renewable Matter
15 Sep 2022
Why should local and regional governments abandon their business-as-usual approach to public spending in favour of a circular one? What is required to implement circular procurement? Who are the finalists this year of the Procura+ Awards hightlighting outstanding circular economy applications in the public authority’s procurement? These are some of the questions answered by ICLEI's circular economy experts Simon Clement and Helena O'Rourke-Potocki at an interview with Renewable Matter.
O'Rourke-Potocki highlights that "by procuring more circular goods and services, the cities are sending a signal to the markets. By shifting their budgets, which are now quite high when it comes to sustainable development, public local authorities have the possibility to implement early on in their tenders new environmental laws." As an example, ICLEI expert O'Rourke-Potocki talks about a tender process to remove and recycle mattresses from prisons in Ireland.
Simon Clement, coordinator of the CityLoops project, explains that for ICLEI one of the first functions to support circular procurement is to get the best practice exchange between cities at a European level. To that end, ICLEI is running an initiative called the Circular Cities Declaration. Clement also brings CityLoops to the table, as this EU-funded project aims to develop a series of innovative procedures, open-access and open-source tools to embed circularity within planning and decision-making processes for construction and demolition waste – including soil – and organic waste. For CityLoops, replication is also a key aspect.
To learn more about circular procurement, read the full interview here(in English) and here(in Italian)
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