CITY STRATEGIES AND GOVERNANCE
Circular economy action plan in Valladolid
Valladolid aims to become a climate-neutral city by 2030. In this context, the municipality has drawn up a roadmap to support the city’s transition to the circular economy in 2018 which defines a systemic, transversal and multidisciplinary approach.
This roadmap, which has innovation, sustainability, efficiency and competitiveness as its fundamental values, is based in particular on a system of municipal subsidies that promotes the implementation of circular economy projects.
Tags: Circular economy, action plan, entrepreneurship, roadmap
Challenges addressed
- Promote the circular economy as a paradigm of a new model that has economic, environmental and social benefits and provide the conditions for its development
- Create jobs and economic prosperity by funding local circular initiatives
Main objectives
- Incorporate the circular dimension into local urban policies
- Promote the circular transition of the local productive sector
- Strengthen the role of citizens as agents of change
Facts
Project type Circular economy
Implementing entity
Municipality of Valladolid
Project description
Valladolid was among the first cities in Spain to adopt a circular orientation. In 2017, the city signed the Seville Declaration, a document elaborated by Spanish cities to encourage action towards a transition to a circular economy. Following this, the city began to develop a roadmap to support this transition, consisting of plans on regulatory changes to enable circularity, awareness raising, promotion of circular entrepreneurship as well as the launch of a subsidies programme for circular projects.
The objective of the local action plan for the circular economy in Valladolid is to have an instrument that allows to direct, with maximum coherence and efficiency, all municipal actions that affect circular economy, integrating in a single document specific actions of municipal competence that are carried out or that are deemed appropriate to carry out in this regard.
Valladolid created a roadmap instead of a strategy because the city believes a roadmap can lead to faster action. The circular economy roadmap includes three strategic objectives and several steps to meet them:
- Decide on the circular economy approach and gain political support;
- Map the resource flows in the city, as well as the relevant stakeholders and indicators;
- Raise awareness of the circular economy;
- Promote circular entrepreneurship;
- Strengthen the international role of Valladolid as a circular city.
Valladolid aspires to serve as an example to other cities in its approach considering circular economy as both a challenge and an opportunity, and to be attractive as a competitive and innovative territory for the establishment and development of businesses and projects around circular economy, presenting itself as a suitable environment for innovation and investment, entrepreneurship and employment in this area.
Impact and results
As part of the roadmap, Valladolid has launched a grant program amounting €500,000 annually for circular projects of up to €25,000.
- More than 40 projects received grants. The objective of this program is to create employment and economic prosperity by financing local circular initiatives. The main criteria for selecting projects are the expected impact on the local economy of Valladolid and the new jobs created.
- In 2018, the municipality adopted the principles of European circular public contracts.
- Support for entrepreneurship has also been channeled through the Circular Labs21 project, co-financed with European funds from the Interreg-POC-TEP instrument whose strategic objective is to integrate the circular economy into new business models. business, offering spaces for creativity, idea generation and adaptation to change.
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