It is not unknown that the COVID-19 pandemic caused serious economic damage across the world. As Amsterdam is in the process of recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also rethinking what economic success should look like. Traditional financial metrics will no longer determine when the city has recovered. Instead, the city will be the very first in the world to officially adopt the “doughnut” model of economics and have a circular economy.
What is a Circular Economy?
An economic system called a "circular economy" aims to use resources as efficiently as possible while reducing waste and pollution. To keep resources in use for as long as feasible, it is founded on the principles of reducing, reusing, and recycling them in a closed-loop system.
In a conventional linear economy, goods are produced, consumed, and then thrown away as waste. A circular economy, on the other hand, strives to uncouple economic growth from the use of finite resources and environmental deterioration. It advocates for a regenerative system in which goods, parts, and resources are kept in use and their worth is sustained or raised through time.
With raw materials being reused over and over again in order to preserve energy, waste is avoided. Amsterdam’s energy will come from renewable sources, such as the sun and wind, as much as possible. Having a circular economy will make it easier for Amsterdam to achieve its climate targets.
Amsterdam “Doughnut” Strategy
The circular economy can be represented as a doughnut. The “doughnut” strategy aims to significantly reduce the use of new raw materials, thus contributing to a more sustainable city. In the coming years, Amsterdam will map up various energy flows in order to preserve raw materials. By 2050, the city aims to halve the amount of raw materials being used and officially achieve a full circular city.
The inside of the doughnut represents the lower threshold of prosperity needed for a socially equitable existence. This includes one's income and work standing, as well as the status of heath, social networks, and political participation. The inner part of the doughnut is essential to the “social foundation” needed for a successful society, a foundation that can be supported by Amsterdam’s circular city.
The outside of the doughnut represents the ecological limits of the planet that need to be respected. This can include climate change, a decline in biodiversity, and nitrogen saturation. The outer ring of the doughnut is fundamentally the “ecological ceiling” which needs to be taken into account in order to have a prosperous society.
Kate Raworth, a British economist affiliated with the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, developed the doughnut model. The City of Amsterdam commissioned her to create The Amsterdam City Doughnut, which serves as an evaluative framework for achieving circularity within the city. The model assesses Amsterdam from four distinct viewpoints: social, ecological, local, and global. By considering these perspectives together, it offers a fresh outlook on creating a city where residents can thrive within a prosperous environment, while also prioritizing the well-being of all individuals and the planet's health.
What does the strategy involve?
To have a circular economy, Amsterdam will cut waste in three areas: the food Amsterdamers eat, the products they use, and construction in the built environment. Most importantly, the city is changing the way its residents and companies think, shifting people from a ‘use-and-dispose’ mindset towards one of ‘rethink- and-reuse’.
Further opportunities to cut waste have been found in unlikely places. The city has started recycling its artificial grass and examined how new grass pitches can be designed so that they can last longer. Besides that, the municipality has made the reuse of building materials the standard, instead of automatically ordering new supplies.
Two years into the city’s ‘Circular Strategy’, things are already changing, with small acts leading to society-wide transformation. With the doughnut model, Amsterdam is on the path to creating a more sustainable and efficient society.
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