Circular Turku
The first Circular Turku report is out now
Released in February 2020, the report “Circular Turku: A blueprint for local governments to kick start the circular economy transition” captures some of Turku’s best practices and learnings to operationalize circularity. Learn more:
- Circular Turku: A blueprint for local governments to kick start the circular economy transition, by ICLEI and City of Turku
The City of Turku is committed to a resource wise future with zero emissions, zero waste and a low ecological footprint with the sustainable use of natural resources by the year 2040. Turku aims at being carbon neutral already by 2029 and climate positive with negative net emissions thereafter. In order to reach these ambitious goals, we collaborate with regional partners to accelerate the circular transition of the Turku region.
Circular economy is in the core of a successful climate policy with positive impacts on environment, economy and wellbeing. A circular climate policy also addresses the indirect emissions embedded in products and materials along their entire lifecycle.
The current linear economy relies on intensive resource extraction where the vast majority of materials are wasted after a single use. This generates huge amounts of emissions and drains natural resources.
Circular economy is growth redefined. Materials and products are maintained in use for as long as possible and the consumption is based on using services. Circularity decouples economic growth from the consumption of finite resources, regenerating natural systems, minimizing waste and pollution and creating wellbeing.
A recent study by Finland Futures Research Centre recognized about 700 circular economy operators in the Turku region, 270 of them being businesses visibly engaged in circular economy. Cities have a crucial role as enablers of circularity and in creating a good operating environment for new solutions.
Circular Turku – collaboration for resource wisdom in the Turku region
Circularity is a massive challenge that requires broad collaboration. Circular Turku is a joint effort of local, regional, national and international partners to accelerate the circular transition.
Special focus is put on involving all relevant stakeholders - from municipal companies to regional bodies, businesses, universities and community groups - in the design of an inclusive and systemic circular economy roadmap for the Turku region, to be released in 2021. Together with ICLEI, Turku is aiming at no less than a scalable action model, that can be replicated for other cities’ and municipalities’ use.
A roadmap to operationalize circularity in the Turku region is a joint effort between local and regional stakeholders, ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) and Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra.
Turku is a member of several international partnerships and networks advancing circularity:
- The ICLEI Green Circular Cities Coalition, and strengthens thereby the global circularity agenda with other cities from around the globe, sharing best practices and exchanging knowledge on circular solutions.
- The International Urban Co-operation (IUC) city pairing programme, where Turku partners with Japanese Nagano City and Obuse Town to facilitate the sharing of circular solutions.
Publications and useful info on circularity
Circular Turku: A blueprint for local governments to kick start the circular economy transition, by ICLEI and City of Turku
- Multi-Stakeholder collaboration for a Circular Turku
- Increasing the circularity ambitions of regional waste management with Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto Oy
- From extraction to resource recovery, a systemic water concept in Turku
- Smart chemistry park: An industrial symbiosis project to redesign the chemistry sector
- Supporting circular food systems through public procurement
- Laying the foundations of a circular construction industry
- Policy brief: Towards carbon-neutral circular economies at the regional level, by ICLEI and City of Turku
- Feasibility study on circular economy actors in the Turku region, by Finland Futures Research Centre
- Sitra: Finland’s roadmap to a circular economy 2.0
- Circular economy in Southwest Finland
- ICLEI and Turku kick-start partnership to design a blueprint for regional circularity
- Turku’s advice on circularity? Imagine the possibilities. Then get started
- Why climate neutrality needs circularity
- Using the circular economy to reach carbon neutrality
- Putting the circular economy into action
- How to cut consumption-based emissions? Try a 1.5-degree lifestyle
- Key learnings for cities to enable 1.5-Degree Lifestyles
- How are cities actually racing to zero?
- Tackling sustainability, food, and social inequalities: A roadmap from industrial legacy cities
- An equity framework from industrial legacy cities
- In Finland, cities are part of a broad coalition working towards circular economy
- How to kickstart the circular transition: Learnings from Circular Turku
- Daring Cities: Episode 2: Turku, Finland (podcast)