Luís C. Dias, Sandra Silva and Luís Alçada-Almeida
Carlos Borrego, Sandra Rafael, Sílvia Coelho, Bruno Augusto, Afonso Silva, Johnny Reis, Ana Isabel Miranda and Myriam Lopes
The concept of circular economy is now an emergent theme on the international agenda, boosted by a need of higher resource efficiency, greater reuse and recycling, and emissions reduction. The fact that the circular economy is seen as a vehicle for achieving goals and targets – in green growth, sustainable development, climate change mitigation and adaptation – has motivated economic and government actors to seek this alignment. The Portuguese government follows this tendency, having approved the Portuguese Action Plan for Circular Economy (APCE) in 2017. This chapter synthetizes the Portuguese commitments towards a circular economy, highlighting the way the concept has been put in practice. The REMET-UA (REgional METabolism-University of Aveiro) model is described as an example of the tools that have been developed as part of the APCE. The model was designed to support regional policy makers and regional governance services, by identifying flag sectors, business opportunities and circularity potential.