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as the circular economy. We used the following definition of
circular procurement as starting point: Circular procurement
aims to prevent environmental pollution by closing the loop of
water, energy and resources and obey a proper balance between
economy, ecology and social wellbeing. Experimenting with new
ways of cooperation and innovative business models is a crucial
aspect in realising this goal. Instead of the traditional procurement
criteria, based on the lowest price or overall cost, the focus was
on greatest value for money, including also environmental and
social specifications. This implied a shift to price per delivered
service and the application of new business models. Collaboration
between the procurer and potential suppliers from an early stage
in the tender process also became a focus point, particularly via
a competitive dialogue procedure. The participants learned from
each other and acquired the necessary expertise to implement
circular procurement within their own organisation. It was left to
the participants themselves, mostly procurement managers, to
determine which circular procurement projects and contractors
to select. They were in charge of mobilising internal support for
their ideas.
Phase 3: Scaling up
From 2019, we started scaling up cases that could be replicated
elsewhere in the region or could be extended in scope and/
or ambition. We also started strengthening the network of
participants in both strategies. The assumption was that scaling
up would accelerate circular initiatives within and across
sectors and product chains. For strategy 1, on closing the loop of
resources, we focused on scaling up positive business cases and
simultaneously building a broader ecosystem approach, in which
prevention, redesign and reuse were also given greater priority. An
example is the development of the regional Circular Textile Valley
hub, discussed in the previous chapter, which promotes a broad
spectrum of circular options.