RETRACE

RETRACE – A Systemic Approach for Regions Transitioning towards a Circular Economy

RETRACE aims at promoting systemic design as a method allowing local and regional policies move towards a circular economy when waste from one productive process becomes input in another, preventing waste being released into the environment.
RETRACE addresses the EU challenge of transitioning towards a Circular Economy following the priorities set up by the “Flagship Initiative for a Resource-efficient Europe” for a shift towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy to achieve sustainable growth as enshrined in Europe 2020 strategy and the EC Communication “Towards a circular economy: A zero waste programme for Europe”.

What is a Circular Economy?

A Circular Economy is a new eonomic paradigm which has been defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as "restorative and regenerative by design. Relying on system-wide innovation, it aims to redefine products and services to design waste out, while minimising negative impacts. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural and social capital" (source).

RETRACE Objectives 

RETRACE’s main goal is to promote the adoption of Systemic Design as a method allowing regional and local policies in their transitions towards a Circular Economy, focusing thus both on a territorial/regional policy perspective and on systemic approaches for a Circular Economy. To that end, RETRACE will achieve the following outputs and results: - Development of 5 regional/national Holistic Diagnoses - Identification and exchange of 30 good practices in 5 target policy areas - Holding of 7 interregional exchange of experience activities with the participation of stakeholders and partners - Engagement of 5 regional/national stakeholders groups all along the exchange and strategic thinking process leading to the definition and implementation of 5 Action Plans - Outreach of politicians and policy-makers with specific activities and publication for increasing the ownership of process at target policies and RIS3 level - Issue of policy recommendations and road map for the adoption of method and good practices by other EU regions. 

RETRACE POST COVID-19_Additional activities

In 2021, the RETRACE project was further funded to carry out additional activities on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. RETRACE regions, Piedmont (Italy), Biscay (Spain), New Aquitaine (France), North-East (Romania) will analyse how should the next Circular Economy look like in the post-pandemic era. Therefore, this following part of Retrace will address the upcoming regions' recovery strategies, proposing innovative circular strategies to build back more resilient EU regions. The consortium aims to assess how the COVID has worsened/improved the Policy Gaps related to the Circular Economy in all the partner regions. The main goal is to boost the current and upcoming policy instruments on Circular Economy through an exchange of experience that identifies new Good Practices generated in this accelerated innovation process produced by COVID-19. The results will be shared through two Virtual Policy Learning events.

What is the Systemic Design?

The Systemic Design approach, developed by the research group of the Department of Architecture and Design at Politecnico di Torino (Italy), seeks to create complex industrial systems. It aims to implement sustainable productive systems in which material and energy flows are designed so that output from one productive process becomes input to other processes, preventing waste from being released into the environment. RETRACE partners deem that the adoption of more systemic approaches at territory/regional level can play a leverage effect in such transition.  The video provides a brief expalination of Systemic Design in Italian; more information can be found here.