Circular economy in the north of the Aburrá Valley

Colombia

The Environment team and Competitiveness and Innovation team of IDOM Colombia are working together on a project to promote the generation of initiatives that facilitate the transition to a circular economy in the North of the Aburrá Valley.

The environmental team of IDOM in Colombia has launched a project to encourage the creation of initiatives that facilitate the transition to a circular economy in the northern region of the Aburrá Valley. To achieve this objective, a study of initiatives carried out in other territories, both national and international, is carried out and experiences, success factors and lessons learned are extracted from them, which should be taken into account when replicating them in the Colombian study area. The project also identifies potential circular economy business models that are applicable to the real context of the area, including the identification of a portfolio of potential investment funds that will facilitate these processes.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) plays a vital role in financing and guiding the project’s design and implementation. This is the “seed” phase of the project, during which initiatives are developed and incubated to support the Government of Antioquia and contribute to the strengthening of the Departmental Circular Economy Strategy Antioquia 2022.

Initially, the IDOM team conducts a search for successful cases, considering certain criteria related to territorial issues and circular economy characteristics. Forty cases are sourced globally, from which the top 10 most fascinating ones are first shortlisted for discussion with the Governor’s Office and other relevant parties in the region.

Subsequently, with the participation of these stakeholders, the 4 most compelling cases are identified for further detailed examination. For this purpose, we contacted the main actors of each case and conducted semi-structured interviews to obtain evidence of the success factors and barriers faced during each case’s development.

Finally, we conducted a general analysis to determine which key points can be adopted in the study territory of the Aburrá Valley, and how these initiatives can be replicated and implemented. The results obtained from the research process and interviews are shared in a collaborative workshop for the development of a Circular District in the North of the Aburrá Valley, aiming to achieve symbiosis and identify stakeholders who could participate in implementing the initiatives.

More information: Northern Aburrá Valley commits to circular economy (Spanish)

Competitiveness & Innovation : Low Carbon Economics