Circular Action Hub is a platform dedicated to promoting an inclusive and environmentally robust circular economy. Its operations and evolution are guided by a set of Guiding Principles (see more detail here ).
The Hub expects all its participants to be equally committed to adopting these Principles to guide their operations.
Environmental Integrity
Inclusiveness
Learning by doing
Complementarity
No Double-Counting
Transparency
Demonstrability
Fair Remuneration
Do no harm
Equally, the Hub will recognise and enable the trading of credits certified to different standards, provided that these standards are, at a minimum, aligned with the Guiding Principles of the Hub. Additional principles and criteria may be required by different standards.
Finally, Circular Action Hub expects that the use of credits complements, as opposed to displace, other efforts of corporates to reduce their own waste footprint. In this regard, the Hub recommends the adoption of the 3RI Guidelines for Leadership in Corporate Plastic Accounting as a basis for designing a credible and environmentally robust waste footprint management strategy.
The Hub recognises and support transactions of credits created through both voluntary and compliance schemes. At the same time, it recommends that buyers certify their activities to one the voluntary credit accounting standards recognised by the Hub, as these provide additional layers of social and environmental robustness to the resulting credits.
VOLUNTARY CREDIT STANDARDS
The following voluntary standards are currently recognised by the Hub:
- Circular Credits Mechanism and Standard (CCM) – an innovative market-based mechanism to increase waste recovery and recycling rates, improve livelihoods and strengthen the circular economy. The CCM was designed with the specific objective to give small waste collection projects in developing countries direct access to market and finance.
- Plastic Waste Reduction Standard – created by Verra with support from the 3R Initiative, the PWRS was developed to ensure the highest level of environment integrity and robustness.
- Ocean Bound Plastic Neutrality Subprogram – part of the OBP Certification Program, created by the NGO Zero Plastic Oceans (ZPO), which focuses on reducing the amount of plastic waste entering the ocean.
COMPLIANCE SCHEMES
Circular Action Hub also supports projects, activities and credit schemes that facilitates compliance with waste management legislation, such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes. Currently, the Hub supports instruments that meet the needs of the following regime:
CLAIMS AND CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
The Circular Action Hub does not provide any seal or label. Buyers that acquire Credits should refer to WWF’s Principles for Credible Plastic Credit Claims to report on the impact of their initiatives.
Circular Action Hub’s Project and Transaction Registries provide transparent and public records of all credits created, acquired and retired, that can be used to substantiate any claims.
