More circularity among entrepreneurs on the coast
The Interreg 2 Seas project FACET wants to encourage entrepreneurs in the tourism sector to apply new circular solutions within their companies. Together with entrepreneurs and partners from the Netherlands, Flanders, England and France, we experiment with circular applications.
About circular entrepreneurship
By engaging in circular entrepreneurship, you add to the sustainability of your company. With circular entrepreneurship you put your production flows under the microscope to look at how you can maximise the use and reuse of raw materials. This is a boon for the sector, because though tourism has many economic benefits, it creates pressure on the available resources in regions. What does circularity look like in the tourism sector? Circularity can be applied in the design of holiday cottages, in reusing water flows, and in reducing and optimally recycling waste streams.
Edwin Schipper on participating in FACET
Edwin Schipper is curator at Stoomtrein Goes-Borsele (Goes-Borsele Steam Train) and takes part in the FACET project: “Via Impuls Zeeland, we were introduced to FACET to receive support in applying circular solutions. Together, it was decided to engage an architectural firm. The firm optimised the construction drawing and looked at which materials could be used circularly in the roof and walls of the building. Thanks to this assistance, we were able to take the first step and submit our request to an architectural firm. Since then, we have engaged the services of the firm for the entire project. They help us with all kinds of aspects, such as the environmental permits. Thanks to our participation in FACET, we now can, and dare, to go ahead with it all.”
Small-scale pilots
In Zeeland, Impuls Zeeland and HZ University of Applied Sciences are organising accessible, small-scale pilots with SME entrepreneurs in tourism. With a voucher, the entrepreneurs can hire experts to help them make their business more sustainable. The pilots concern the themes of waste, water, energy, packaging, accommodation and joint purchasing. With the pilots, entrepreneurs are introduced to circularity and we develop examples for other entrepreneurs. The result of a pilot: a ready-to-use action plan for your company that is shared with the sector.
