Partners
Essex County Council – Lead Partner
With over 1.3 million residents, Essex is one of the largest counties in the UK. The council aims to tackle the climate crisis with a series of strategies, policies and commissions. The Essex Climate Action Commission, for example, brings together over 30 independent members to advise on climate change. Essex County Council (ECC) has also adopted a Green Infrastructure Strategy and an Adapting to Climate Change Action Plan.
As lead partner on the BLUEPRINT to a Circular Economy Project, ECC oversaw the delivery of each work package. The authority was also responsible for project management and communications.
Working alongside our district and borough councils, ECC took part in each of the following work packages:
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a global institution, with students from 185 countries. They have campuses in Cambridge, Chelmsford, London and Peterborough. They are one of the top 40 universities in the UK, based on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2021.
One of their visions is to transform lives through inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research.
They prioritise innovative research, with real social impact and global reach. They work inclusively with all sectors to benefit the whole community.
ARU provided its expert knowledge of the social and circular economy to the BLUEPRINT Project. They worked with local government, social enterprises and residents throughout the project.
ARU was also the lead on WPT2, which involved co-designing the training programme.
Brighton & Hove City Council
Brighton & Hove was one of the first councils to declare climate and biodiversity emergencies. In order to combat these emergencies, they have committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030. They have also created a Circular Economy Routemap as part of the city’s Economic Strategy.
The BLUEPRINT project helped them to identify the challenges and opportunities of the circular economy.
It also helped to develop their Circular Economy Programme and provide an opportunity to work with households and schools. The project’s benefits for social enterprises, meanwhile, boosted Community Wealth Building.
Working on BLUEPRINT was a fantastic opportunity for circular economy principles to be embedded in Brighton & Hove.
BUILDERS École d'ingénieurs
BUILDERS École d'ingénieurs is a higher education establishment training engineers in construction work. Their school has 750 students and its own research laboratory. Their research primarily focuses on the efficiency, performance and durability of materials.
The circular economy has been at the heart of thinking for many years. They have worked on projects to reuse agricultural and textile waste, and sediment from lakes and rivers.
BUILDERS have also engaged in projects promoting professional development and educational ambition.
BUILDERS École d'ingénieurs drew on its experience of Interreg projects whilst working on BLUEPRINT. They helped to disseminate the BLUEPRINT Model and promote the project at events. They will also assisted with training individuals in the circular economy and construction sectors.
EcoWise
EcoWise Ekodenge Ltd is a digital solutions company. They work in the fields of the built environment, the circular economy, and smart and liveable cities. EcoWise was founded in 2016 in the UK and has a team of 10 experts. Their core aim is to improve sustainability by developing smart analytics and cloud-based software solutions.
Their expertise includes:
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building energy and air quality management
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waste management and circular economy
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environmental life cycle analysis
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architecture and urban design.
The EcoWise team works on several research projects including the BLUEPRINT to a Circular Economy. In BLUEPRINT they worked on:
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The delivery of the BLUEPRINT Model
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Mapping of waste flows for local authorities with a databook service
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A new product flow mapping approach based on surveys
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Identifying circular economy solutions for specific waste flows
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A Digital Management, Monitoring & Evaluation tool for the Circular Economy (Circulates tool)
Kent County Council
Kent County Council (KCC) is the largest ‘shire county’ in the UK with a population of 1.4m residents. KCC works to support economic growth whilst protecting our natural and historic environment. Achieved by creating and sustaining communities that are vibrant, healthy and resilient. The Sustainable Business and Communities Team delivers various business and environmental based projects. The team provides help and support to the 12 districts in Kent as well as the unitary authority Medway.
Led by the Kent Environment Strategy and supporting Energy and Low Emissions Strategy. A shared vision with successful collaborations. This will result in actions that will ensure that Kent is a place of choice to live, work and visit.
The strategy has 3 themes:
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building the foundations for delivery
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making best use of existing resources, avoiding or minimising negative impacts
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working towards a sustainable future
BLUEPRINT offered an opportunity to engage with residents across Kent and Medway. Reviewing what residents used or discarded they realised a BLUEPRINT to a circular economy.
KCC supported all BLUEPRINT work packages.
PECT
PECT is an environmental charity with a vision to create sustainable places. It was set up in 1993 after Peterborough became one of four UK Environment Cities.
With 25 years' experience, PECT delivers local, regional and national projects. PECT's work focuses on the natural environment, community wellbeing and responsible resource-use.
The organisation has worked with schools, businesses and local councils across the UK.
As the only charity partner, PECT brought a unique perspective to BLUEPRINT. They used their engagement and education experience to support all areas of the project.
University of Picardie Jules Verne
The University of Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV) welcomes 15,000 students across the fields of sciences and humanities.
The "UR UPJV 4287 Habiter le monde" team worked on the BLUEPRINT Project. They are a multidisciplinary team of anthropologists, geographers and sociologists. Their research includes:
- Urban spaces and the natural environment
- Forms of popular culture
- Exchange of goods and services
They are also interested in topics such as waste management, the environment and consumption behaviours.
The circular economy has been one of their research priorities for many years. They used their knowledge of the topic to help deliver the BLUEPRINT Project. UPJV worked to disseminate the BLUEPRINT Model and promote the project at events. They also drew on their expertise to co-design the WPT2 training programme.
NEOMA (The Chair in Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development)
NEOMA aim to shift the current economic landscape. The team focuses on low-carbon innovations in the bioeconomy. They drew on their knowledge of the social economy and value-chain analysis within BLUEPRINT.
They have two key areas of research:
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Developing sustainable agriculture for the bioeconomy
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Bioeconomy value chains for a sustainable prosperity
UniLaSalle
The team specialises in environmental engineering. They teach students how to lower the impact of human activities on the environment.
Their research focuses on the technologies needed to transition towards a circular economy.
They supported BLUEPRINT in the following ways:
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their knowledge of the circular economy in Brittany
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their understanding of technical solutions for waste management
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educational experience to help build the training programme