Call for feedback: Circular Economy Strategy for Northern Ireland

The Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland have opened a consultation on their Circular Economy Strategy for Northern Ireland. ADBA will be responding and we’d like your input.

In particular, if you have any ideas on the following, please feed them back to Jo Goad by Wednesday the 15th of March:

Proposals to create clusters and networks in Northern Ireland to increase circularity.

A cluster is a “geographic collection of interconnected companies producing similar goods/ services… seeking benefit from integration across businesses” and networks are “an alliance of organisations seeking to work together to achieve an economic goal… may involve organisations within the same sector or across sectors in the same value chain”

• What existing clusters and networks could be utilised to deliver transformative solutions for increased circularity?

What clusters and networks do you think will need to be established to maximise
resource use?

Proposals to embed Circular Economy principles in public procurement

“This provides strong potential to shape markets and behaviours through the development of specifications and contract management clauses to retain the value of materials”

• How do you think public sector procurement can best influence the behaviours of industry to increase circularity of resources?

Proposal to create and support platforms and hubs to share goods and materials

To help businesses make choices about what they want to access. This could be use to spread awareness of digestates, bio-CO2 and other products from the AD process.

• What sorts of platforms do you think would be most useful in the future to enable people and business to share and reuse products and materials?

Proposal to establish a Circular Economy funding programme

• Any thoughts on what should be prioritised/ what action should be taken to fund the CE in Northern Ireland? 
• What funding instruments do you consider would be most appropriate in years 1-3? (loans, grants and subsidies or blended finance (repayable and non-repayable mixed)
• Do you have any further comments to make on funding instruments that could be used to enable Circular Economy solutions to succeed?

Proposal to create a regulatory framework that enables circular solutions to become the norm

Regulation can support and push along AD, which regulations do you think are missing, unhelpful or needed in Northern Ireland to support the circular economy through AD.

• What other regulatory tools do you consider government can use to stimulate greater circulation of materials?

Please click here to see the full consultation. Email any responses you may have to joanna.goad@adbioresources.org