10th Circular Cities & Regions Roundtable – Managing the circular economy in cities and regions

Promoting the circular economy in towns and regions involves more than simply implementing individual projects. It requires a clear understanding of where a town or region currently stands, what priorities it wishes to set, how strategic objectives translate into specific areas of action and measures, and how progress can be measured.

The next one Circular Cities & Regions Roundtable therefore focuses on the question of how the circular economy operates at local and regional level strategically planned and systematically implemented can be.

The focus is on practical experience: How are strategies developed in cities and regions today? How can existing planning and management processes be utilised for the circular economy? What data and information help to better assess the current situation, potential and progress? And what structures and support services are needed to ensure that objectives are translated into concrete action?

Brief technical and practical presentations form the starting point for the group discussion. As with a face-to-face get-together, the focus of the roundtable is on the Exchange of experiences between cities, local authorities and regions.

Key topics

• From vision to strategy: How can viable vision statements and strategic guidelines be developed? Which stakeholders should be involved, and how can the circular economy be integrated with existing urban and regional strategies?
• Setting priorities and areas of action: Not everything can be implemented at the same time. How can we identify relevant areas for action, assess potential and determine priorities for our own town or region?
• From strategy to implementation: What structures, responsibilities and processes help to translate strategic objectives into concrete measures and projects? What lessons have already been learnt from cities and regions?
• Making the current situation and progress visible: What data is already available to towns and regions? What questions can help with an initial assessment of the current situation, and which key indicators can be used to highlight developments over time?
• Find support for implementation: Insights into tools, knowledge and support services for towns and regions from the project „Circular Economy Team“.

The Circular Cities & Regions Roundtable is organised by the Circular Economy Forum Austria carried out and by Valerie-Sophie Schönberg led.

The programme will run from 2024 to 2027 with the support of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management (BMLUK) organised by the Circular Economy Forum Austria.

Practical approaches to strategic planning, implementation and progress monitoring