Amsterdam, 6 February 2023 – The recently published Circularity Gap Report shows that the worldwide reuse of materials has decreased in the past five years. An alarming signal, considering the Dutch government is striving for a circular economy in 2050. Based on the principle to accelerate the transition through cooperation and knowledge sharing, 21 pioneering circular companies have joined forces under the name of the “Club van Circulaire Ondernemers'' (Club of Circular Entrepreneurs). Progressive companies such as NORNORM, Swapfiets, Fairphone, Reflower and Pieter Pot are part of the Club. Today (February 6), at the start of the Week of the Circular Economy, the collective is opening a pop-up exhibition in CIRCL on the Zuidas. The idea is to put circular products, services and innovations in the spotlight, and to inspire to create a more concrete action plan.
Level the playing field by opting for disruptive and permanent system change
The group of 21 circular business leaders keeps growing and evolving. By working together, the Club wants to create noise around the subject and accelerate the transition towards a circular economy. The Club is backed by 10 partners, such as Copper8, Impact Hub, Innoboost, Circle Finance Lab, and Circle Economy. Richard Burger, co-founder and Sustainability Director of Swapfiets: “On many fronts we see that the linear economy is unsustainable and not in line with a sustainable future. In addition, the current roadmap from the Dutch government is too unclear and not very stimulating. As the Club of Circular Entrepreneurs, we therefore call for circular entrepreneurship to become the status quo, to create upscaling opportunities for existing entrepreneurs, to adapt legislation accordingly, and to opt for permanent system change with positive financial incentives. Together we show that the solutions are already there, but the thresholds must be lowered to encourage more doers to adopt circular entrepreneurship.”
Exhibition during the Week of the Circular Economy
Today, at the start of the Dutch Week of the Circular Economy, the Club of Circular Entrepreneurs will open a pop-up expo in CIRCL on the Zuidas (Amsterdam). The expo puts Dutch circular designs, innovations, and services in the spotlight. At the same time, the expo serves as a call to action. “We are showing that there are already a lot of doers who are working on system change. The time of focus on networking and research is over and that is why we need to focus on the companies”, says Ellyne Bierman, founder of Reflower.
The pop-up exhibition of Dutch circular products, services, and innovations from the Club of Circular Entrepreneurs is accessible to everyone from Monday 6 February to Friday 10 February between 09:00 and 17:00 and can be visited free of charge in CIRCL in Amsterdam.
About the Club of Circular Entrepreneurs
Since 2022, 22 circular companies have joined forces to work together in the transition to the Dutch circular economy in 2050. The Club comes together during quarterly meetings to share knowledge, exchange learnings, and accelerate the transition. The club consists of 22 companies: Swapfiets, Fairphone, Repeat Audio, Reflower, CIRCLE CLOSET, BIYU, Pieter Pot, Chainable, Tiny Library, NORNORM, Moyee Coffee, Speeltegoed, Homie, MUD Jeans, Roetz Bikes, Aectual, Still, Firmhouse, BlueCity, Buurman Utrecht, Kairos Furniture, and Circ.energy, and is supported by 10 partners that are closely connected to a circular ecosystem: Copper8, Impact Hub, Circular Finance Lab, Circle Economy, CircularX, Dutch Academic Network for CE, Circo, Change Inc., Blyde Benelux, Hof van Cartesius, and Innoboost.
Seehttps://www.clubvancirculaireondernemers.nl/