Welcome to our March 2023 edition!

NEWS: CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN AFRICA

WCEF2022 Summary Report

The World Circular Economy Forum 2022 took place in Kigali, Rwanda in December last year. ACEN was a co-host alongside the African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA), the Government of Rwanda, and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. The Forum brought together 4,167 participants from 149 countries to chew over the main target: how Africa can contribute to a global circular economy. The first two days consisted of 7 in-person sessions, and the third day was a series of Acceleration Sessions held in hybrid formats. Five African Studios screened sessions from the main event, facilitating contextualised circular economy discussions. To read more about the Forum, read the summary report online. 

Stop Waste Colonialism Campaign

The Stop Waste Colonialism Campaign was recently launched by the Or Foundation as facilitators, with Kantamanto Community in Accra, Ghana as the driving force. Amongst other things, the Campaign sets out a call for a globally accountable Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). And Kantamanto is demanding to be heard. To participate in the campaign, read the Position Paper and refer to the FAQs for more information. On the website, you can fill out the form to enforce the paper and stand in solidarity with Kantamanto. 

NEWS: ACENF

Circular Economy Study report launched!

ACEN Foundation, together with their partners Tandem Circular Consulting, Agova and Trinomics, identified 10 circular economy opportunities for Zambian and Finnish businesses in Zambia's waste management, manufacturing and agriculture sectors. The findings can contribute significantly to the growth of businesses, paving the way for a stronger enabling regulatory framework yet to be developed.

ACEN Foundation starts developing country snapshots!

ACEN Foundation is taking an exciting new approach to understanding the state of play in African countries. With ACEN experts on the ground, ACENF is creating country snapshots that provide a comprehensive overview of the country's progress towards a circular economy. These snapshots contain both general and specific information, e.g. the country's political climate, economic challenges, social issues, and environmental concerns. By involving ACEN experts, we ensure the information is vetted and confirmed, providing a reliable basis for our future work. Interested in getting involved? Contact Vivian Hartlief, ACEN Foundations international coordinator.

PROJECT UPDATES

A brief glimpse of JUST2CE

The JUST2CE project is coordinated by Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain and ACEN is one of the African consortium members. ACEN will be hosting two co-creation workshops in March in South Africa (Cape Town and Johannesburg) to explore with a diverse range of stakeholders the main question of “How do we achieve a just transition to a Circular Economy in South Africa?”. To stay tuned, please subscribe to the newly launched JUST2CE YouTube channel and have a look at the latest release. If you are interested in the project please reach out to Katharina Gihring.

NETWORK

OPPORTUNITIES

Volunteers!

ACEN is rapidly growing and is looking for volunteers to support the Knowledge Sharing and Communications Committee. If you have experience with either social media management, content creation, website audits and updates, graphic design, events planning and/or public relations and would like to offer a couple of hours per month, please get in touch with Tashma Kritzinger. Circular Economy knowledge is a bonus, but not required.

REQUESTS

A Global Roadmap for an Inclusive Circular Economy

Have you heard of the initiative of developing a Global Circular Economy Roadmap by Chatham House and its knowledge partners? The initiative is moving from concept to collective action and now inviting stakeholders who were formerly involved in roadmapping to join the process. If you would like to contribute your knowledge, please fill in this survey to allow us to access your valuable reflections and insights. ACEN, as a member of the Executive Committee, would very much appreciate your contributions.

NOTIFICATIONS

2023 ACEN Membership

We’re at the start of a new membership year and ACEN members have started paying their fees! Due to technical problems, we have removed some payment methods from the website. Please make your membership payment via an Electronic Payment Transfer (EFT) or contact Vanessa requesting a PayPal link. If you are having trouble making a payment, please also email Vanessa. Thank you!

CIRCULAR ECONOMY EVENTS

World Circular Economy Forum 2023

Finland will host the world’s leading circular economy event, WCEF2023 from 30 May to 2 June, co-organised by Nordic Innovation and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, with partners from around the world. The main programme on 30–31 May will consist of 4 Plenary Sessions and 16 Parallel Sessions and hosted in Helsinki, Finland and online. ACEN will collaborate with Nordic Circular Hotspot and Holland Circular Hotspot to bring the lessons from Africa's first hosting of the 2022 event in Kigali, Rwanda, to the attention of our global partners. In-person and online registrations will be launched later this month. Stay tuned on ACEN’s April newsletter and LinkedIn Page for updates.

RESOURCES

Trashion: The stealth export of waste plastic clothes to Kenya

Changing Markets Foundation, together with les Amis de la Terre France, Wildlight, and Clean up Kenya launched a report that presents findings from an on-the-ground investigation in Kenya, looking at what happens to used, unwanted clothing that gets exported from Europe to the Global South. The used-clothing trade is at breaking point. Over 1 in 3 pieces of used clothing shipped to Kenya contain plastic and almost immediately become waste. This report reveals a big loophole in the Basel Convention and EU’s plans to ban shipping plastic waste – synthetic fibres.

The Low-How: We’re going nuts about the circular economy

Bopinc’s podcast series, The Low-How, which shares the know-how about low-income markets, featured O-Farms in their latest episode: “We’re going nuts about the circular economy”. In this episode, The Low-How talks with Doreen Nyambura Njau, Factory Manager at Big Thunder Nuts, and Valentin Sènou Atchaoue, Regional Business Manager at TechnoServe, about their experience creating new value with waste from macadamia and cashew value chains.

O-Farms has also launched its Circular Idea Blender!

Having learned from inspiring agrifoods entrepreneurs from across the globe, the O-Farms team decided to create a playful tool that you can use to originate product ideas from waste materials. On the left drop-down tab, you are able to choose the type of food waste you have access to, and on the right drop-down tab, you can choose a product outcome. The tabs can be used interchangeably. The Blender includes 55 examples of companies making new products from waste or production by-products. 

FOOTPRINTS AFRICA CASE STUDY

Osei-Duro

Osei-Duro promotes small-scale artisanal production by helping creators to improve and expand their work. The brand strives to reduce excessive waste. They save and give away their textile offcuts to customers, quilters, artists, schools, non-profits, and makers. They deliver orders in compostable packages. They are advocates of “wear more, wash less” and run a buyback programme. They are currently partnering with another batik business in Ghana to develop a low-tech wastewater treatment process for batikers.

Design and copy by: Tashma Kritzinger