Raw Material Transition Programme

Like the rest of the world, the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area faces the challenge of having to use raw material resources much more economically. The Amsterdam Economic Board wants to stimulate reuse of raw materials by setting up and directing cooperation between stakeholders in product and/or material chains.

What is the Raw Material Transition Programme?

In collaboration with governments in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the regional Raw Material Transition Programme has been developed with the goal of redesigning at least 20 product and material chains (through procurement and tendering) and optimising high-quality recycling of at least 40 high-impact raw material streams by 2025, with an average recycling rate of 90%.

On a regional scale, the Amsterdam Economic Board has focused on the recycling of 14 product and/or material chains. Following a thorough analysis, a selection was made of a number of raw material streams that are most promising for recycling on a regional scale. Click the links to read more information.

1. Textiles
2. Mattresses
3. Servers from ICT sector
4. Public green spaces
5. Construction and demolition materials
6. Electronic and electrical waste
7. Discarded textiles
8. Incontinence materials and diapers
9. Metal (Dutch content)
10. Plastics
11. Aquatic plants
12. Industrial waste (Dutch content)
13. Sewage sludge
14. Agro-food

From 2022, with the departure of Jacqueline Cramer  – formerly a member of our Board – the initiatives will be transferred to the network. The Amsterdam Economic Board continues to work on the Green Deal Circular Textiles.

Building a Circular Future

Jacqueline Cramer  has set up and nurtured numerous circular initiatives in the Netherlands such as mattresses, diapers, biomass and circular construction and demolition materials. In her books, Cramer advocates the power of network management; by creating structure in the collaboration with roles and responsibilities between frontrunners within companies, knowledge institutions, governments, civil society organisations and citizens’ initiatives.

Download Jacqueline Cramer’s publications for free.

Results

• Regional aw materials transition programme: 20 consortia built for recycling, upcycling and sometimes reuse of diapers, roadside grass, e-waste, textiles and data servers, as well as the development of new business in the port area of Amsterdam
• Circular Purchasing: the Roadmap Circular Purchasing & Procurement was launched in collaboration with the Metropoolregio Amsterdam and a  Community of Practice was organised for innovative companies and knowledge institutions in the region so that they could achieve 50% circular procurement by 2025
• Zero Waste Zuidas: commitment concluded with 26 companies on the Zuidas working towards zero residual waste in 2030 and joint procurement of waste streams
• Circular Purchasing Community expanded with commitment from all 25 Board members: ‘100% High Impact Procurement’ in 2030
• Purchasing Community Circular ICT launched with two CircularEconomy Labs
• Scaling up of circularity in textiles with the ‘GreenDeal Circular Textiles’ in which 50+ organisations work together on regional chain initiatives.
• The regional Raw Material Transition Programme was a finalist at the ‘Circular Award 2020’
• Ten companies, governments and knowledge institutions signed 19 commitments to circular procurement with a purchase value of 150 million euros.
• In the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area 32 councillors, 2 provincial deputies and the Vervoerregio Amsterdam signed a manifesto, committing to 10% circular procurement by 2022, at least 50% by 2025 and 100% as soon as possible
• Publication of the Dutch report ‘Naar een circulaire keten voor bulkmetalen – cijfers, kansen en drempels’ (Towards a circular chain for bulk metals – figures, opportunities and thresholds)
• Development of a framework for monitoring the circular economy in the region by Metabolic, the municipality of Amsterdam and regional governments
• Keynote speeches by Jacqueline Cramer on the regional Raw Material Transition Programme in Paris during the first OECD Roundtable on circular economy in cities and regions
• Publication of Building a Circular Future, Jacqueline Cramer’s second book. With it she wants to help change-makers around the world build a circular economy
• In the book Ten Guiding Principles for Building a Circular Economy, Jacqueline Cramer shares her vast experience in implementing numerous circular initiatives in the Netherlands. As a practitioner and scientist, she has identified ten building blocks for establishing and taking forward circular initiatives based on network steering. These guidelines can support anyone who wants to start or accelerate a circular initiative.
• The publication on Network Management, working together effectively towards a circular economy
• The publication ‘Circulaire Economie versnellen doe je samen‘ (in Dutch) on what has been accomplished in the region.

View all relevant publications by Jacqueline Cramer.

Role of the Amsterdam Economic Board

To initiate, connect, drive, execute