Circle Economy Follow Up Posted on May 23, 2016 by Grounded Strategies Share this post If you need a quick primer on the Circle Economy – check out this video that Andre shared Rethinking progress: the Circular Economy. The circular economy can be applied to help communities minimize waste, maximize value creation, and generate new opportunity for prosperity. -Andre Struker The circular economy is all about closing resource loops, mimicking natural ecosystems in the way we organize our society and businesses. Andre Struker, Strategic Advisor to Amsterdam’s water utility Waternet, came to Pittsburgh to share his expertise on how the facility’s energy-from-waste ecosystem fits within the overall circular economy strategy in Amsterdam and how the utility is “mining for energy” in its goal to become climate neutral by 2020. GTECH hosted coffee with Andre Struker to explore how these innovative principles can be applied locally with businesses, community-based organizations and active citizens. First step is to understand the city. Understand what streams are coming into the city (materials and energy) and what streams are coming out of the city. -Andre Struker Here are some key takeaways from Andre’s presentation about the circle economy: Waste can be opportunity if that waste can be reduced, reused, or recycled. Turning waste into opportunity will improve the environmental and economic health of your organizations and communities. It’s about people and the environment, not just about financial gain. The Circle Economy can improve your quality of life Closed loop resource or waste systems doesn’t have to be large scale. You can start small and make changes to how your household operates. The Circle Economy is about making an investment in long-term sustainability, long-term systems, and long-term returns on investments. Stop thinking linearly and start thinking circularly about systems. View Andre Struker’s Presentation for GTECH to learn more about what we discussed.