Circular Economy in Cities and Regions

On April 12, the 4th OECD Roundtable on "Circular Economy in Cities and Regions" was held. Experts from Economic Research Institute JSC (ERI) took part in this event. 

The roundtable brought together key representatives from cities, regions, national governments, private sector, civil society, academic community, philanthropic and internationa.organizations from OECD member and partner countries for:

• presentation of new OECD Report on "Circular Economy in Ireland";
• discussion of the results of the OECD table on Circular Economy Management in Montreal, Canada, and the progress made in measuring the Circular Economy in Australia;
• review of circular economy initiatives and recent developments in Tallinn (Estonia), Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium) and Valladolid (Spain);
• knowledge exchange from pioneering cities, regions, countries, business leaders and renowned scientists on the transition from theory to action towards a circular economy.   

In opening the first session, OECD experts noted that Ireland is at a turning point in its transition to a circular economy. With a circular material use rate of 2% in 2020 (compared to the EU average of 12.8%), Ireland shows considerable scope for progress. The Nationwide Circular Economy Strategy 2022 provides a policy framework for the circular economy in Ireland, and the upcoming bill on the subject is expected to strengthen the legislation.

In the second session, experts presented methodologies for measuring progress on key priorities, allowing cities, regions and countries to identify key challenges and opportunities toward a more effective, efficient and equitable transition to a circular economy.

But cities are also part of the solution, given their primary responsibility for local public services such as transportation, solid waste, water supply, and energy.

The OECD further proposed to promote learning between cities by demonstrating the experiences of the cities of Tallinn (Estonia), Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium) and Valladolid (Spain) on their way to a circular economy.

For reference: OECD is an international economi.organization of developed countries, established in 1948 and recognizing the principles of representative democracy and free market economy. The goal of the OECD is to implement coordinated policies aimed at ensuring sustainable economic growth and improving the living standards of its member states. 38 countries are members of the OECD.

Kazakhstan has been cooperating with the OECD since 2008. Kazakhstan has been a full member in the OECD Committee on SMEs and Entrepreneurship since 2017.