The municipality of Oostellingswerf in Friesland is nominated for the ABN AMRO Circular Economy Award, and Frisian-based landscaping company Donkergroen won the ELCA Trend Award in September.
Circular economies are deliberately designed to minimise waste, increase reuse of materials and reliance on renewable resources. According to recent reporting from the Leeuwarder Courant,Groningen, Drenthe and Friesland are all lobbying for European Structural and Investment Funds for regional development with connections to sustainability initiatives.
Businesses, municipalities and provincial-level representatives are getting on board the circular economy train in Friesland in particular. Provincial State factions from Friesland and Zeeland visited the Dutch Senate, the Eerste Kamer, on the 11thof October to discuss topics related to sustainability, including circular economies, the energy transition and the future of agriculture. All three northern provinces have embraced those three points as priorities, but Friesland also has its own provincial initiative dedicated to developing a circular economy: Circulair Friesland.
ABN AMRO
The ABN AMRO Circular Economy Award has two categories for workplaces and regions. Oostellingwerf, which borders Drenthe is up against Arnhem/Nijmegen and Haarlemmermeer for the award. “Oostellingwerf is a great example of collaboration between business and the municipal level of government, characterised by concrete bio-based projects”, according to the description of the municipality on the online votingsite. “This region shows what can be achieved with engagement from the municipality.” The winners will be chosen on the 8th of November in Rijswijk.
Circl
On Wednesday, the 12thof September, Frisian-based landscaping company Donkergroen won the ELCA Trend Award 2018 during an international trade fair in Germany. The prize is awarded every two years to a trendsetting sustainable green project. A project developed by Donkergroen called Circl, a sustainability-focused complex at ABN AMRO’s Amsterdam, won the award. Donkergroen developed a rooftop and back garden for the complex. Circl was one of four Dutch projects up for the award.
