Organisations across London are being encouraged to contribute to the capital’s first Circular Economy Week, which takes place this week (18 – 22 June).
Led by the London Waste and Recycling Board’s (LWARB) Circular Economy London programme, Circular Economy Week, said LWARB, aims to encourage businesses, charities and social enterprises to take action on built environment, plastics, food, textiles and electricals.
It will be a week of events, activities and workshops to showcase and celebrate circularity in the capital, LWARB said.
London
“Circular Economy Week provides a great opportunity to celebrate and showcase the great efforts already underway, and inspire new action to help us lead the way on the circular economy.”
Wayne Hubbard
LWARB
“London is one of the most vibrant business hubs in the world,” said Wayne Hubbard, chief executive at LWARB. “And Circular Economy Week provides a great opportunity to celebrate and showcase the great efforts already underway, and inspire new action to help us lead the way on the circular economy.
“Collaboration is vital if we want London to be the global leader in the delivery of circular economy, sharing learning and good practice with other cities around the world. We’re calling on organisations of all shapes and sizes to get involved to help us achieve this.”
London Waste and Recycling Board is a statutory Board established by the GLA Act 2007 to provide a strategic approach to waste management in London.
According to LWARB, London is a “hot bed” of opportunity for entrepreneurs and established businesses to create value through better resource management and innovative approaches to product design, manufacturing and services.
Circular London is already working with fashion retailer ASOS to develop “collaborative new circular business models”, and LWARB said it has now received further funding to replicate this activity with more retailers.
Environment Strategy
Deputy mayor for environment and energy, Shirley Rodrigues, said: “In his London Environment Strategy, the Mayor is clear about his ambition for London to become a low-carbon circular economy – the city’s economic and environmental future depends on it.
“At the moment, our economy is geared towards using resources in a linear way, but this is inefficient and unsustainable. The Mayor also wants to prevent materials from becoming waste in the first place by promoting more sustainable, circular business models across the capital.
“Circular Economy Week will help raise the profile of these important issues, encourage people across London to support the transition to a circular economy and help make London a zero-waste city.”
The first Circular Economy Week is taking place in London from 18 – 22 June
Costa is one company taking on new circular business practices, LWARB said.
Victoria Moorhouse, head of sustainability at Costa, said: “London’s first Circular Economy Week gives organisations across all sectors a fantastic chance to find out how they can take action too. We’re delighted to be part of it.”
Resources
This week Circular London is also launching a range of interactive resources which it said is designed to help businesses find partners to reach their circular economy aspirations. Organisations will be able to share challenges through a new Circular London website, where solutions, case studies and insights into those challenges can then be provided by members of the existing circular economy community.
The Circular London programme has also published a list of challenges to try during June to help individual Londoners to get involved in the activity. The 15 challenges include simple ideas such as:
- Donating unwanted items to a local charity shop or clothing bank
- Carrying a refillable water bottle or coffee cup
- Saying ‘no straw, thanks’ next time you order a drink
To find out more, follow #CEweekLDN
Related links
Circular Economy Week
15 Challenges
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Source: letsrecycle.com General
