The finalists who will compete in the battle for the Circular Awards 2020 are known. Before the awards ceremony, a plenary session with key note by Frans Timmermans and a debate led by Minister Stientje van Veldhoven will take place in the morning. In the morning there are master classes, workshops, and a circular fashion show.  

Three notable circular companies and three projects by public institutions were selected from 121 submissions. Contenders are MUD Jeans, Schijvens and Kaumera (companies), the Province of North Holland, the Amsterdam Economic Board and the Province of Fryslan. 

On February 3, they pitch against each other in The Hague to win the Circular Award Business 2020 and Circular Award Public 2020. The prize goes to the most iconic circular product or project that shows what a circular economy can mean for the Netherlands.

About the Circular Awards Business finalists

The Circular Awards Business finalists this year range from circular jeans to a new raw material made from wastewater. The jeans of the Dutch circular denim brand MUD jeans are made from only four different fabrics, one type of material for the buttons and rivets, and one type of stitching thread. You can buy or lease the jeans and returned jeans are recycled into new denim products. The textile industry must undergo a metamorphosis to be able to dress nearly 2050 billion people by 10.

Workwear producer Discs designs collections consisting of fifty percent recycled spent or broken workwear and fifty percent recycled PET. As a result, the company does not have to use new raw materials. The result: one hundred percent circular yarn.

Kaumera is a new raw material from sludge that is created during the purification of waste water. Purified wastewater is a valuable source of energy and raw materials. In October 2019, the first raw material factory in the world that produces Kaumera was opened in Zutphen. This new raw material has many possible applications and ensures less sludge waste, 20-35% less CO2 emissions and 30-80% lower energy consumption.

About the Circular Awards Public finalists

De Province of North Holland has identified the opportunities for high-quality reuse of wood in North Holland and has developed a public calculation model for various business cases. In the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area alone, used wood is available every year for a value of at least 200 million euros. The province has started a pilot for two circular wood chains. For example, wooden details have been made from trees from Amsterdam for construction and residual beams from demolition buildings are given a second life in other buildings.

In January 2015, the Amsterdam Economic Board the program 'The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area as a Circular Raw Materials Hub', in collaboration with municipalities and authorities of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the business community and knowledge institutions. The ultimate goal of the program is to make the circular economy the new normal at national level. The approach focuses on different scale levels simultaneously: district, city, region, national and EU/international. The AMEC Board functions as a trigger ('transition broker') between the parties involved and directs and builds coalitions.

The N381 (photo) is the first Frisian provincial road in which all the released two-layer ZOAB (very open asphalt concrete), 5.600 tons, is 7,2% recycled for the same new road. For example, 2020 kilometers from the old road between Donkerbroek and Oosterwolde will return to the new road as new asphalt in mid-XNUMX. A promising start to the Province of Fryslân, which is firmly committed to the circular economy to ensure that the province remains beautiful and liveable.

Circular Awards 2020

On February 3, the six finalists pitch in The Hague during the National Conference on Circular Economy. On this day, the jury will select one winner of the Circular Award Business and one winner of the Circular Award Public together with the public. The jury also presents an honorable mention to an iconic circular citizens' initiative.

Jury

Under the leadership of Prof. Jacqueline Cramer (Utrecht University), an expert jury, consisting of renowned experts in the field of circularity, selects the most outstanding circular company for the Circular Award Business. A professional jury headed by Prof. Louise Vet (NIOO-KNAW) will decide on the winner of the Circular Public Award and the Honorable Mention Citizen's Initiatives. 

Jury members include Mark Groot Wassink (Auping, winner of the Circular Award Business 2019), Cathelijn Peters (director of the Union of Water Boards) and Antoine Heideveld (Acceleration House Netherlands Circular).

Also read: Pitane Mobility launches agenda software in Frisian language

Stientje van Veldhoven
Stientje van Veldhoven
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