Conduct market research and collect data

Understanding market readiness to deliver circular solutions

It is easier to procure in line with the circular principles when the market is ready to provide circular goods and services. Conducting market research will provide you with insights on the innovative circular options available on the market. Understanding market readiness will help you to select sectors or product categories for successful pilots, as well as inform the development of circular criteria that suppliers can realistically respond to. Opportunities can be prioritised depending on market readiness.

Questions to consider:

• Which businesses in your city are already providing circular goods and services (e.g. rental, reuse, pay-per-use, take-back, or leasing service)? If you cannot identify circular businesses, can you assess the willingness of businesses in cities to adopt more circular business models or provide more circular goods?

• Can you conduct market research on market readiness and feasibility to deliver circular solutions?

• Can you collaborate with local universities or research institutions to collect and analyse data on circular economy activities in your city?

Examples

1) Ahead of a call for tender for sustainable office supplies, Brest Metropole conducted in-depth market research to assess the circularity and recyclability of materials to ensure a recycling chain. The market research consisted of an analysis of the manufacturers, visits to factories and analysis of their logistics systems, regular meetings with suppliers, testing of products, and a technical feasibility study. As a result, 99.7% of the paper purchased by the local authority came from 100% recycled fibres.

2) Circular startups & scale-ups, from property to sharing, circular area development, and smart design in the Amsterdam Metropolitan region are being mapped to support circular procurement.

3) Maps and online platforms, such as London’s Repair Directory, Paris Good Fashion, or Gothenburg's Smart Map Platform can help to locate circular businesses in a city. City governments can use these existing directories or create one to track the development of circular economy activities across a city.

Resources

• The Circular Benchmark Tool developed by INTERREG Europe is an assessment tool to understand, visualize and compare progress towards a circular economy in a region. The tool analyzes the following six overarching indicators: circular procurement, access to funding, circular society, value chain activation, governance, and integrated policy framework.

• Metabolic has outlined data-driven tools to analyse circular economy solutions in cities.