Dutch
KNOWLEDGE MAP Back to overview

Circular Economy

CircuLaw

CircuLaw is a knowledge platform dedicated to enabling the transition to a circular economy by identifying opportunities in current law to support a circular future. Amidst the escalating climate crisis, the global community is under significant pressure to transition towards a more sustainable and circular economy. With the European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plan and the Dutch government’s commitment to a 50% reduction in the use of primary raw materials by 2030, formal commitment to this transition is taking shape. CircuLaw identifies opportunities in current law to support this circular future.


The complexity of the law

Unfortunately, citizens, market players, and policymakers often see laws and regulations as obstacles to change, many were not drafted with the support of transitions in view. Presently, the legal system is perceived as too complex and is largely only understood by specialised lawyers, resulting in many circular policy opportunities being overlooked. Consequently, it is easier for policymakers to create a subsidy program or form a knowledge consortium rather than exploring the available legal opportunities.

Afbeelding-Circulaw-Laptop-EN

Making the law accessible

Therefore, the City of Amsterdam, Dark Matter Labs and a growing coalition of knowledge and funding partners have been working to accelerate the transition to a circular economy by identifying opportunities within existing laws and regulations. This collaborative effort is aimed at making relevant and innovative legal information more accessible to policymakers so that they can adequately support the circular transition through policy intervention. This is done through research, exploration and creating of multiple services, culminating in the creation of this legal knowledge platform, circulaw.nl.

Beyond Dutch law

CircuLaw has been primarily focused on Dutch laws and regulations, meaning that at present, this website is still only available in Dutch. However, the aim is to expand horizons by exploring the applicability of CircuLaw in a different legal context, while at the same time taking a closer look at the influence of European Union law. In doing so, the CircuLaw project will tap into an entire new source of legal and policy innovation, surpassing the interests of an exclusively Dutch audience. As such, the website will be translated into English as soon as the content becomes more relevant to non-Dutch policymakers.

Lees meer

Series of CircuLaw white papers in English.