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Mapping Weak Signals

Inspired by: FP7 » Venlo – A Whole Town Adopts the Principle of „Waste is Food“

version: 1 / created: 2010-08-10
id: #972 / version id: #972
mode: VIEW

Originally submitted by: Vanessa Watkins
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Last changed by: Vanessa Watkins
WI-WE status:
submitted unpublished

Source of inspiration

European Commission Framework Programme for RTD (FP7)

Theme/activity of inspiration

Theme 8 - Socio-economic Sciences and the Humanities

Sub-theme/area of inspiration

Blue Sky Research on emerging issues and other research economies

Optional reference/s to FP7 project/s

Use the following format: Project Acronym (Project Reference No.). Use commas if more than one project is associated to this Wild Card, for example: ALFA-BIRD (213266), SAFAR (213374), LAPCAT-II (211485)
Source: INFU (225229) - http://www.innovation-futures.org/ Interesting video on the cradle 2 cradle concept: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3058533428492266222# More information on the Dutch cradle to cradle initiative: www.letscradle.nl http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/unbound/media.asp?id=256

Signal's headline

(max. 9 words)
Venlo – A Whole Town Adopts the Principle of „Waste is Food“

Signal's description

(approx. 150 words)
Please describe the Weak Signal (approx. 150 words)
Venlo (NL) and its 90.000 inhabitants adopted McDonough and Braungart´s concept of Cradle to Cradle (waste = food) as a vision for their city. This joints the industry with the politicians, the general public and the creative people in a giant common project. Entrepreneurs in Venlo saw it as a great tool for innovation that also makes sense economically, while saving our planet. The Venlonians agree that the concept is very difficult to put into practice by the industry, but Cradle to Cradle is a common goal towards which they all work, share ideas, raise questions, find answers and take actions to make it work. An exhibition in Maastricht in 2008/2009 now presented the first Cradle to Cradle (C2C) products developed by companies in the region of Limburg (where Venlo is situated). An important future milestone will be the Floriade in 2012, the World Horticulture Fair, held every 10 years. The Floriade organisers have also decided to adapt Cradle to Cradle as their main theme, building a 66-hectare sustainable fair ground, which afterwards will be used to build Greenpark Venlo, a planned green business area.

Keywords

innovation, cradle to cradle, environmental movement, Netherland, sustainability

Signal's first apperance

2000-2005

Signal's potential evolution

It could lead to...
issue type of issue/development potential impact on society timeframe for the issue to become at least 50% probable
#1 Change in current innovation patterns new/emerging
 		very beneficial
 		now-2025

Under what assumption the Weak Signal might evolve.

This WS could indicate that after the last innovation wave triggered by ICT we are on our way to enter the area of sustainable technology. Truly applying the principle of “waste = food” changes the innovation process of products since it forces designers and innovators to consider the entire lifecycle of each component and / or make the best of those materials, which can be fully re- or up-cycled.

Importance

please specify
please select
Level 3: important for the European Union
Level 4: important for the whole world

Key driving forces of this signal

Please use these boxes to provide up to 2 drivers of HIGH importance. Click on HELP to see examples:
Driver 1 Driver 2
Technological/Scientific Sustainable technology is believed to be the 6th wave of innovation (including radical resource productivity, whole system design, biomimicry etc.). Since the First Industrial Revolution, there have been at least six waves of innovation. In the 1700s: Iron, textiles, mechanisation, commerce. In the 1900s electricity, chemicals, cars. In the mid 20th century: petrochemicals, space race and electronics. The most recent wave of innovation brought computers and the information age.
Economic Spread of green business models that help to build profit, brand and competitive advantage, while reducing “waste”, environmental impact, and risk. Air pollution, ground water contamination, degraded land and waste endanger economic growth.
Environmental Shortage of fossil fuels, freshwater, minerals and metals. Time frame to reroute: 3 to 4 decades.
Political Increasing governmental aid for sustainable markets as well as political regulations, penalties & environmental standards for corporations.

Major risks & opportunities associated to the signal

Please choose the most appropriate timeframe option(s) to which you would like to provide inputs.
Risks Opportunities
before 2015 The C2C concept has no clear link to the financial economy. If C2C competes in a traditional economical environment, it will suffer. As long as the financial economy stays linear, the real economy cannot become circular.

Signal's relevance for European Grand Challenges

where? please justify:
particularly relevant Europe world
Economic prosperity/dynamics
Sustainability and climate change

Signal's relevance for thematic research areas

please justify:
particularly relevant
Nanosciences, nanotech, materials & new prod. tech.
Environment (including Climate Change)
Research infrastructures

Pan-European strategies influencing the signal

please justify:
particularly relevant
Developing and funding world-class research infrastructures
Strengthening research institutions and universities
Facilitating and promoting knowledge sharing and transfer
Increasing the efficiency and impact of public research through Joint Programming (i.e. combining national and pan-European research efforts) or the optimisation of research programmes and priorities, for example.

Research-friendly strategies potentially improving understanding of the signal

For further information about 'research-friendly strategies' click here
please justify:
particularly relevant
Overcoming sub-criticality and systemic failures
To be subcritical means that the effort in a particular field or subfield lacks resources, equipment or a sufficient number of researchers to achieve a desired goal
Addressing cohesion through a localised articulation between supply and demand
(e.g. making research institutions more engaged with their own context and local users; reinforcing knowledge flows into and out of regions; etc.
Creating a closer link between researchers & policy-makers
(e.g. supporting both thematic and cross-cutting policies, highlighting the strategic purpose of the European Research Area, etc.