Saturday, June 15, 2013

Circular economy in smart city Rotterdam, the Netherlands

The circular economy is a new concept for building a new economy that’s regenerated by design. Nothing is lost, everything is transformed. Moving away from linear transformation process, based on ‘Take-> Make->Dispose’ to a circular process where waste becomes input.  What is the relation with the city of Rotterdam? This post introduces a case of circular economy vision in the city of Rotterdam; and is also a call for discussion and idea sharing around this topic with the readers and the Networked Society ecosystem members.


Erasmus Bridge Rotterdam 
Rotterdam is a charming, young, dynamic and international city. It is the home of internationally acclaimed renaissance humanist Desiderius Erasmus that has given his name to a popular European education program. Rotterdam is a world city and a world port, where more than 30% of Europe import/export goods transits. The port of Rotterdam is the most important industrial cluster and the largest logistics hub in Europe. It hosts many corporates headquarters and/or regional hubs. Rotterdam is also a smart city, where fiber, broadband and LTE networks are largely deployed. Anyone can enjoy free WiFi access everywhere in the city and a variety of services are offered on mobile devices. 

Many initiatives for building a smarter Rotterdam are launched from public and private sectors and are supported by the city council. Innovations -empowered by ICT- in healthcare, transportation are surging and encouraged in order to make Rotterdam city life easier. 


Because of the fragile geological state of the Netherlands (below sea level and permanently under threat of flooding), the Dutch people have developed - earlier than anyone else - the awareness about mother nature and its ecosystem. They have embraced sustainable technologies and practices, and now use ICT to reduce carbon emissions and industrial waste. 

One the most ambitious, groundbreaking and visionary project driven by the port of Rotterdam –truly the heartbeat of the city of Rotterdam - is the strategic vision of implementing the circular economy framework to this gigantic industrial cluster by 2030.
This strategy is a call for all ICT players and the Networked Society ecosystem to take part in this activity, and spot the opportunities; by providing innovative ICT solutions and business models across all industries domains; fleet management, smart grids for electricity, bio-based industry, etc.

Many consulting companies are already on the starting blocks to provide their expertise and services.
Ericsson, with its global professional services organization, its global network of consultants, its cutting-edge sustainable portfolio and its global footprints in ICT solutions can be a strong partner that can deliver great values to the port of Rotterdam 2030 vision.