Circular Economy

Finding solutions together
© Louis Fourmentin

The Netherlands and Norway inspire each other to create a more circular economy. The Netherlands embassy in Oslo assists in building bridges to make this happen.

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Both the Netherlands and Norway actively work on the transition of our linear economy towards a more circular economy. With the differences in geography, economy and culture the approach of each country is very different. This makes it interesting to cooperate: to learn from and inspire each other and co-creating a bigger impact.

The Netherlands embassy in Norway has been a strong advocate of the circular economy for several years. We have been active in sharing Dutch initiatives, strategies and innovations with Norway. More concrete, the embassy has been organizing meetings with Norwegian ministers, branch organisations, companies and networks to discuss each other’s approach. The embassy invites Dutch experts to share their knowledge at events and assists delegations in finding the right people to talk to when organizing a study trip.   

Cooperation between Holland Circular Hotspot and Nordic Circular Hotspot

In the autumn of 2021 a formal Partnership Agreement was signed between the Holland Circular Hotspot and the Nordic Circular Hotspot. The signing ceremony took place during the state visit of King Willem Alexander and Queen Máxima to Norway.

The organizations Holland Circular Hotspot and Nordic Circular Hotspot have been working together for several years to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. They do this by organizing (network) events, initiating projects, sharing knowledge and stimulating collaboration between various stakeholders, both nationally, regionally and internationally. By signing the formal partnership agreement both organisations stated the importance of a long term relation with each other.

The aim of the agreement is to organize more joint initiatives and events, to exchange knowledge and experience, and to further stimulate business opportunities and other partnerships between the Netherlands and the Nordic countries. 

Image: ©Terese Samuelsen
Signing the formal Partnership Agreement between the Holland Circular Hotspot and the Nordic Circular Hotspot in the presence of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands and Crown Prince Haakon Magnus and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway.

Cooperation between the embassies in the Nordics and the Nordic Circular Hotspot

Screenshot photo of the ceremony to celebrate the signing of the Formal Partnership Agreement by the Dutch embassies in the Nordics and the Nordic Circular Hotspot.
The Formal Partnership Agreement signed by the Holland Circular Hotspot and the Nordic Circular Hotspot, was followed by another partnership agreement. An agreement between the Dutch embassies in the Nordics with the Nordic Circular Hotspot. The participating embassies are located in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo.  With the formalized cooperation, the Dutch embassies hope to support and strengthen value-creating initiatives as well as benefit from synergies through connecting people by organizing events together and exchange knowledge.

The role of regional clusters in the circular transition

In the spring of 2021 the Dutch embassies in Finland, Sweden and Norway organized a webinar with a focus on the role of regional clusters in the transition to a circular economy. There is a lot of innovative thinking and action taking place on this level and therefore the embassies decided to showcase some good examples to inspire other regions. It was a truly Nordic-Dutch event which created long term relations.

Circular Public Procurement

Image: ©Netherlands Embassy Norway

In November 2022 the Dutch embassies in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway organized a webinar on circular public procurement. We discussed questions such as: How can we stimulate circular public procurement? What are the hurdles that prevent us from implementing circular procurement criteria more effectively? 

We had chosen this topic because creating a more circular public procurement can make a huge impact. Not only because enormous amounts of materials are being used in public procurement projects (for example infrastructure and construction) but also because governments can lead by example. 

During the webinar we shared best practices and challenges from the Netherlands and the Nordics. The webinar attracted hundreds of participants from all over Europe.

Further reading

Both the Dutch and the Norwegian government work actively with the transition to a circular economy and have written several documents to stimulate the transition. Some examples for further reading:

Norway is also working hard to create a more circular economy. In 2021 the National Strategy for a green, circular economy was launched: Sirkulær økonomi - regjeringen.no

Contact

Please do not hesitate to contact the Netherlands embassy in Oslo for more information.