The circular economy is a practical response to the main challenges of our time. As a true societal project, it carries an ambition: to develop an economy that enables indi- viduals to joyfully reclaim their forgotten ability to create the riches they need through initiatives. In a world in which endemic unemployment and alienated work continue to grow, it offers the promise of activities that are compatible both with human dignity and respect for the environment.
As a low-environmental-impact economy, it promotes new forms of production and consumption, as well as sociability, while opening up avenues for the creation of jobs that are sustainable and cannot be offshored. We are initiating this major change in the way our society works as a whole by substituting the idea of reuse for that of replacement, to create a world free of waste.
The City of Paris, a pioneer in this area, is committed to spreading the circular economy that many actors are already driving forward in their local areas. In close collaboration with twenty or so local authorities in Greater Paris, the City of Paris held the États généraux de l’économie circulaire (General Assembly on the Circular Economy) in Sep- tember 2015, during which the White Paper on the Circular Economy was presented. It identifies practical proposals for action and innovative solutions throughout the metropolitan territory, so we can at last effectively combat climate disruption, put an end to the large-scale erosion of biodiversity and reduce the impact of our lifestyles on the health of our fellow citizens.
With its first Circular Economy plan, Paris is equipping itself with a truly operational roadmap. From the path to zero waste to the fight against food wastage and the deve- lopment of urban agriculture, it now mobilises all municipal personnel in the service of a city that respects the environment.
By promoting a virtuous economy, which places competition and innovation at its core, we are providing a better living environment for Parisians and designing the city of the twenty-first century: fairer, more inclusive and more sustainable.
Anne HIDALGO
Mayor of Paris