TERRITORIAL AND REGIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS OF SYSTEMIC SOLUTIONS OF KEY VALUE CHAINS AND THEIR REPLICATION TO DEPLOY CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The TREASoURcE project will innovatively utilize currently unused plastic, batteries and biobased side and waste streams by deploying systemic circular economy (CE) solutions. The systemic CE solutions will integrate the two main elements of the TREASoURcE project: stakeholder engagement pilots (SE-PILOTs) and key value chain demonstrations (KVC-DEMOs). The DEMOs support chosen territory clusters in introducing CE practices to their citizens and businesses to help 1.decouple from fossil virgin resources and excess raw material consumption, 2.increase resilience (self-sufficiency, value chain security, environment and nature), 3.decrease GHG emissions and contribute to climate neutral economies. The TREASoURcE project implements and demonstrates circular systemic solutions of chosen key value chains listed in the European Circular Economy Action Plan: plastics, batteries and bio based side and waste streams. The TREASoURcE project focuses on demonstrating the CE solutions in one ’circular territorial cluster’ the Nordics (Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark), and will be replicated in the Baltics and Poland territory (of the Baltic Sea Region). The combination of the territories will enable larger reach and bigger impact as well as highlight the replicability and scalability potential of the CE solutions. The going beyond approach is to also look at value chains and materials flows (wastes, side streams) across the territories and find collaborative solutions for material circulation that produce sustainable added-value materials and products. A common issue of the territories’ material circulation is low material volumes and resulting challenges in feasibility, and one challenge is also to secure sufficient feedstock (quality and quantity of side and waste streams) for processing, which makes the needed investments high risk. However, territorial strengths lies in ambitious climate and environmental targets.