Groningen circular hub

Local value chain for innovative re-use in Groningen

The Municipality of Groningen has asked us to apply the local value chain for the design of the Circularity Hub. The municipality wants to be a circular municipality when it comes to household waste by 2025. Setting up a Circularity Hub can make an important contribution in this regard: a waste delivery station 2.0, where raw materials and products are re-used to the greatest possible extent. One place where companies, education, circular entrepreneurs and the creative sector innovate for a waste-free municipality.

Local value chain
We have been asked to apply the local value chain and to give advice with regard to the development and design of the hub. House of Design works with what we call the local value chain. We link the links in the production chain to the impact on the environment and society and we thereby use the strengths of the region. We involve designers, architects, makers, builders, material processors, workshops, knowledge institutions, social institutions, neighborhood organisations, large and small companies, various creative initiatives and the municipality itself to properly map supply and demand.

The values ​​that we want to influence with the model are; less waste, biodiversity, reduction of CO2 emissions, promotion of local pride and employment and new circular revenue models. In the local value chain, it is important that the links are situated within a radius of 100 kilometres as far as possible, so that the impact is directly related to the region. The waste streams that we will initially focus on are b-grade wood, scrap iron and textiles.

The assignment consists of different phases:

– interviews with the links that are (want to be) closely involved in the processing of private waste
– identifying opportunities in the waste streams
– connecting with the manufacturing industry
– connecting potential customers / customers
– organising value chain discussions
– releasing a toolkit or manual

Click here for more information about our local value chain model and its application for the circularity hub. Click here for an explanation of the key links in the local value chain. (Dutch only).