Page 9 - U4SSC: A guide to circular cities, June 2020

1. Introduction

The way we produce and consume physical goods remains largely linear: goods are manufactured
from raw materials, sold, used (consumed) and then mostly disposed of as waste. At the same time,
the sheer quantity of physical goods far outweighs our actual needs, with most consumer products
not in use over 90% of the time – and some purchased solely for single use.

This linear model has been successful in providing affordable goods, services and resources to consumers
and material welfare. However, this linear model of production and consumption is material- and
energy-intensive; it relies on the principle of economies of scale to produce large amounts of goods
at minimal costs, and typically builds on more complex and international supply chains, and creates
large amounts of waste, much of which is not only avoidable, but potentially valuable. This model of
production and management of goods, services and resources encourages short-term consumption,
creates a range of negative externalities and it is leading the planet to a potentially unsustainable
future. In this context, the concept of a circular economy has recently emerged as a vision for how to
gradually move away from this linear model to one that, by using resources better, is not only more
sustainable, but creates a range of new opportunities for inclusive economic growth.

The circularity concept can be extended beyond the sphere of economy. Cities are home to a staggering
amount and variety of assets and resources that can not only be produced, but also used much more
efficiently and sustainably. The efficiency of each item can be improved by applying circular design,
bringing positive social, economic and environmental impacts on a much larger scale. Transitioning to
a circular economy will also support city leaders in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals and
other global climate objectives.

Promoting circularity in cities is one of the strategic topics of the United for Smart Sustainable Cities
(U4SSC) Initiative, which brings together 17 UN agencies with the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and UN-Habitat serving as
the secretariat. The U4SSC’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Smart Sustainable Cities (SSC) is
one of the most effective tools for evaluating circularity in cities. The KPIs are developed based on the
international standard, Recommendation ITU-T Y.4903/L.1603 ‘Key performance indicators for smart
sustainable cities to assess the achievement of sustainable development goals’. These indicators support
cities’ efforts in evaluating their smartness and sustainability performance. The KPIs were endorsed by
the UNECE Intergovernmental Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management
(CUDHLM) (ECE/HBP/188, para 41), as well as the ITU-T Study Group 5 ‘Environment, Climate Change
and Circular Economy’, which is a global expert group under ITU that develops standards on sustainable
and circular cities.

This Guide to Circular Cities, which was developed within the United for Smart Sustainable Cities
initiative, will be very useful for cities to implement circular activities and to promote circularity and
urban sustainability.

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