Essex County Council led on this three-year, ERDF-funded project with nine other project partners across the France (Channel) England (FCE) region. BLUEPRINT will continue to help local authorities in England and France to connect the circular economy to sustainable and inclusive growth. The project created a toolkit for local authorities to use to transition to a circular economy, developed a circular economy training programme and engaged residents and businesses in circular economy practices.
The challenge
The transition to a circular economy in Europe could be worth €1.8 trillion a year by 2030. Local authorities are looking for ways to adapt and take advantage of new circular opportunities.
The solution
Project partners worked together to create the BLUEPRINT to a Circular Economy Model for local authorities in England and France. Throughout the project, a range of local authorities were also invited to share their thoughts and expertise to ensure the BLUEPRINT Model is inclusive and fit for purpose.
The BLUEPRINT Model supports senior managers, decision-makers, and officers at local authorities across England and France. It will help them to implement the right policies, strategies and plans to move towards a circular economy. The BLUEPRINT Model pulls together learning and expertise from across the BLUEPRINT to a Circular Economy Project, building on the existing foundation of industry best practice, to make the transition to a more circular economy as easy as possible. It can be used by any local authority in England and France. The BLUEPRINT Model is completely free to use and is supported by a training session recording.
The BLUEPRINT Project also helped local authorities to understand the potential jobs created by a circular economy and equipped social enterprises and training organisation with skills to deliver circular economy training.
The project also enhanced community engagement with regards to the circular economy. By involving families, schools and households, BLUEPRINT helped local authorities to meet the EU recycling targets of 65 per cent by 2035.
The impact
By March 2023 the project will have:
- Trained 35 local authorities to successfully adopt the BLUEPRINT Model
- Upskilled 20 training organisations and social enterprises to deliver the BLUEPRINT training programme
- Delivered training to 1,300+ disadvantaged people
- Engaged with more than 78,000 individuals in behaviour change pilots
Lessons learned
- How to connect the circular economy to social innovation
- How local authorities can implement a circular economy at local level
- The role played by social enterprises within a circular economy
- How to engage residents and businesses to implement a circular economy
- How to create a cross-border model for accelerating the transition to a circular economy
Links to relevant documents
BLUEPRINT website
More information on the BLUEPRINT Model, training programme and behaviour change case studies can be found on the BLUEPRINT website.
Contact
Lily Chambers, Programme Communications Officer [email protected].