Birmingham & West Midlands Circular Economy Club leads Debbie Ward, Lydia Dutton, and Clare Ollerenshaw explain the club’s positive impact on the region.
The Birmingham & West Midlands Circular Economy Club (CEC) was born in 2017 as part of the wider CEC international family.
Since then, as volunteer leaders, we have facilitated at least three meet-ups a year, focused on topics such as sustainable procurement, circular economy and urban planning, with events including a councils/social housing roundtable, joint networking sessions with other like-minded organisations and regular circular economy mapping events.
The aim has always been to share good practice, have a network of circular economy professionals to face challenges together and to bring new folks into the circular way of thinking.
Our biggest achievement as a group was to influence the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in 2020 to create a Circular Economy Task Force that oversaw the writing of a circular economy road map.
All three of us sat on the Task Force and worked with the group to provide guidance and feedback, including acting as a conduit for CEC members’ ideas – you can read the road map here.
In 2023, the Government awarded £70 million to the WMCA as a Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund to help communities in the region. £1m of this was made available as grant funding through the Community Environment Fund to support communities in delivering initiatives that improved the environment and people’s lives.
One of the five environmental themes of the fund was the circular economy, and Lydia sat on the review panel.
Projects funded through the scheme included a pilot initiative called the Reuse Hub in Wolverhampton, in which Debbie played a key role.
During the year it was in operation, the Reuse Hub took 120 tonnes of surplus materials from construction sites, builders’ merchants, wholesalers, and others in the supply chain, to sell on to local small traders, DIYers, gardeners and crafters at a discounted cost; diverting the surplus material away from landfill sites.
Other activities funded were the Active Wellbeing Society’s bike repair group, which taught participants to perform their own ‘M’ Checks (simple checks and maintenance to ensure safe riding).
Norton Hall Children and Family Centre delivered a Level 1 Tool Use Award course, while Wildside Activity Centre trained children on junk modelling, sewing skills, making cuddly toys from old jumpers, and rag-rug making.
BME United trained five peer mentors as Climate Change Champions, who are now actively driving change within the community. You can take a look at the full impact of the funding here.
Outside of the WMCA, there have been some great examples of circular economy approaches being embedded across the region.
Following a sustainable refit of their Birmingham office that received a WELL Building Standard Gold in 2020, engineering firm Cundall has recently been working at 78-90 Colmore Row in Birmingham city centre, retaining the building’s heritage whilst enhancing its energy efficiency with new windows, fortified walls, and renewable energy by installing PV panels.
The Cundall team also focused on material re-use, working closely with demolition consultants, product manufacturers and the design team. For example, the project team made conscious choices to reuse and recycle wherever possible, including reusing electrical sockets, retaining existing containment, and even attempting to repurpose the luminaires. Where that was not possible, specialist recycling facilities were sought through Thorlux Lighting.
The Active Wellbeing Society has been supportive of CEC activities and operates some inspiring examples of circular economy practices which help local communities to meet social as well as environmental needs.
Many sustainable lifestyle choices, such as cycling, composting and repair, can be expensive upfront. Their projects remove financial barriers to enable people to learn and experiment with sustainable and low-carbon activities in the community.
Their Share Shack project embodies the circular economy, seeing items loaned out for free and skills shared through community-led sessions. Their Free Bike movement also works to promote more sustainable active travel choices.
Underpinning both these projects is a commitment to sharing repair skills and knowledge for people to care for their belongings long-term.
The West Midlands is also home to International Synergies (ISL), an expert in industrial symbiosis. International Synergies works with private sector clients across diverse sectors – from food manufacturing to infrastructure – on carbon reduction, feedstock analysis, and supply chain engagement using industrial symbiosis facilitation and their resource matching platform.
The West Midlands Resource Reuse Network (WMRRN) is a regional, facilitated programme by IS based on the WMCA’s core policy objectives, highlighting the following waste streams: wastewater sludge, sand and metals.
The WMRRN project enables ISL to provide support to companies managing these waste streams with the potential to generate impact, including cost and carbon savings, new revenue streams, job creation, waste reduction, resource efficiency and social value creation.
The universities in the region have also been contributing, with the University of Wolverhampton running the EnTRESS scheme from 2017 to 2023, funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Around 200 SME businesses in Black Country and Stoke & Staffordshire were supported with the adoption of environmental technologies, resource efficiency processes and waste reduction.
Organisations from metal finishers Pym & Wildsmith to beauty products company Laydidee’s Natural Skincare were supported by the EnTRESS team over the 6 years of EnTRESS 1 & 2.
From regional government, to local communities and big business, to higher education – the circular economy is beginning to get embedded across the West Midlands, and the CEC has been a big part of that.
Many thanks to long-term supporters of the CEC in this part of world, including Philippa Birch-Wood (Chetwoods and now UKGBC), Tim Stidwell (Cundall), Kim Gault (Cundall) and Jordan Gerrard (WMCA).
Cundall have been a great supporter of the CEC Birmingham and West Midlands, kindly offering their office to host many of our networking events. We’ve also tried to host some of our more social events in circular economy led cafes including Ba-Ha and Clean Kilo, thank you to those venues.
If you’d like to get involved, we’re planning an event in November as part of the CEC’s global Circular Cities Week initiative. All details will be posted on our LinkedIn page!
You can get in touch with one us to be added to posts on the LinkedIn page, enquire about events or find out how to get involved with the Birmingham & West Midlands Circular Economy Club.