FACET
Facilitate the Adoption of Circular Entrepreneurship in the Tourism and leisure sector
Priority Axis
Resource Efficient EconomySpecific objective
Circular Economy
Lead partner
NV Economische Impuls ZeelandContact
Start Date
01/01/2020End Date
31/03/2023Project budget
3 890 352 €ERDF amount
2 334 211 €ERDF rate
60%About
Common challenge
Tourism plays a strong role in the regional economies of the 2 seas area and according to the UN World Tourism Organisation tourism will increase from 5 to 8% yearly in the 2seas countries. Besides income, tourism also brings mass consumption of resources (estimated global increased consumption is 92% water, 189% land (Tourism Watch)) which could strain the already limited resources of the region where tourism and other sectors compete. Tourists also tend to produce more waste than locals (European Environment Agency in Tourism and the Environment 2018), further increasing the challenge (in particular due to the seasonality) of waste and waste processing. Although demand for sustainable tourism increases, and some entrepreneurs are starting to look for circular solutions, the general approach in tourism remains linear, in part because entrepreneurs lack knowhow on how to switch to the circular approach needed to ensure that tourism continues to be economically beneficial.
Overall objective
Main outputs
Cross border approach
Main Achievements
The first year of FACET focused on developing cooperative models, conducting studies to look into motivations, regulations & financial mechanisms, building a circular economy toolkit, preparing pilots & engaging tourism stakeholders to participate in FACET.
FACET is all about increasing the adoption of circular solutions in the tourism sector. If you want tourism SMEs to adopt these in their business, it’s essential to know their specific needs & provide them with the right tools. Based on desk research 2 questionnaires have been developed: 1 to further look into their motivations to adopt circular solutions & 1 to explore the SMEs main drivers, barriers & enablers. Also the partnership has taken its first steps in facilitating the formation of cooperation systems for local SMEs: the first draft of a circular economy value chain model has been created, based on academic research combined with input from tourism SMEs during value chain meetings. The base has been set for circular economy joint purchasing & quadruple helix support groups. Inventories have been made based on desk research. These (combined with experiences from the field) will lead to recommendations to foster new regulations & improved financial mechanisms. Various tools have been developed such as evaluation, monitoring & financial performance tools, a circular business model canvas & circular business template. All the developed tools have been customised for testing in 2021 by SMEs in the different regions and will be compiled into a toolkit. The toolkit, with examples & best practices, will be uploaded to the FACET Wiki that has been created to enhance dissemination (www.facetwiki.eu).
A number of pilots have been shaped (WP3 & WP4) to work towards circular economy solutions in the tourism sector. The partnership agreed to work on 6 themes: Water management, Renewable energy, Waste management, Circular Building, Joint Purchase & Sustainable packaging. In Zeeland & Belgium tourism SMEs have already embarked for an individual coaching program towards their personal circular solutions.
The Circular support team has been put together to advise participants throughout the project. The next years, the partnership will continue to increase incentives and propose recommendations & strategies to facilitate the uptake of circular solutions.
Digital working groups have been set up per topic so that all partners can cooperate across borders, share knowledge & experiences to achieve the best results.