Circular Economy

Building a circular economy is an alternative to the traditional linear economy, in which we maximise the value and use of resources, and then recover and regenerate products and materials.

Bay of Connections is enabling this transition through the following projects:

Pathway to a circular economy in the Western BOP sub-region

Bay of Connections has partnered with Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council to explore opportunities for advancing the circular economy in the Western Bay of Plenty.

The collaboration aims to set a path for more efficient use of resources and improved resource recovery in the sub-region across three key sectors – construction, healthcare and food & beverage manufacturing.

To achieve this outcome, the project will assess the current level of circularity and highlight opportunities to advance the circular economy in these sectors, provide circular economy goals to guide businesses and councils, and define indicators and targets that could be used to measure success.

While the project is limited to the Western Bay of Plenty, the outputs and actions could be adopted by industry and councils across the wider region.

XLabs Taster session

Bay of Connections partnered with Circularity to introduce local businesses to the circular economy through experiencing the award-winning XLabs at a one-day ‘taster’ session in June 2023.

The session gave participants an opportunity to begin building capability to practically apply circular economy principles and solve the environmental challenges they are facing.

Circular Economy in Aquaculture

In 2020, the Bay of Plenty Aquaculture Group commissioned Circularity to explore how a circular economy can future proof the region’s emerging aquaculture industry. The report ‘Unlocking the Circular Economy Opportunity for aquaculture in the Bay of Plenty’ serves to increase understanding of what the aquaculture industry can do to be more circular, resilient and regenerative.

The executive summary is available here.

The report was funded by Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Ministry for Primary Industries.