How to Introduce Consumption-Based Emissions into Your City’s Circular Agenda
September 24, 2026 | 8:00–10:00 AM EDT / 14:00–16:00 CEST | Online | Free
This is a two-hour, hands-on online workshop from the European Commission’s Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), delivered by Metabolism of Cities. It is designed primarily for city and regional practitioners who want to incorporate consumption-based emissions (CBE) into circular-economy and climate strategies.
Unlike territorial emissions inventories—which mainly count emissions generated inside a city’s borders—consumption-based accounting looks at the climate impact associated with the goods and services a city’s residents, businesses and institutions consume, including emissions generated elsewhere in producing them. The workshop explains what a CBE inventory can and cannot reveal, then uses practical experiences from Greater London and Copenhagen to show how cities can begin using this information even when data, staff capacity or experience are limited.
This is deliberately designed as more than a presentation. CCRI says participants will work with real cases, examine approaches used by other European cities and regions, interact with peers, and leave with a practical method, tool or framework they can apply locally. Participation is free, but registration is required and places are limited to preserve the interactive format
Additional Details
What You'll Learn
What consumption-based emissions are and how they differ from territorial emissions and conventional carbon inventories. What a CBE inventory can—and cannot—tell local governments. How consumption data can reveal climate impacts that occur outside a city’s geographic boundaries. How CBE information can help cities determine where circular-economy interventions may deliver the greatest emissions reductions. How to connect circular-economy strategies with climate objectives rather than treating them as separate policy areas. How Greater London and Copenhagen are approaching consumption-based emissions. How to begin implementing a CBE approach even with limited data, capacity or previous experience. How to translate analysis into practical policy priorities and actions
Why This Matters
Cities can appear to reduce their own emissions while still consuming products, materials and services whose production generates substantial emissions elsewhere. Consumption-based accounting reveals this hidden climate footprint and helps prevent cities from simply shifting environmental impacts beyond their borders. For circular-economy strategies, this is especially important because decisions involving procurement, construction, food, materials, products, waste, reuse and consumption can affect emissions throughout global supply chains. Understanding those connections can help local governments direct limited resources toward actions with the greatest real-world impact. CCRI specifically describes CBE as a way for cities to prioritize more effectively and better align climate and circular-economy goals.
Action Level - LEARN
What You'll Leave With
A working understanding of consumption-based emissions. A clearer picture of how CBE complements existing city emissions inventories. Examples from Greater London and Copenhagen. Practical approaches for beginning CBE work when data or resources are limited. A method for connecting consumption emissions with circular-economy policy. Ideas for identifying and prioritizing high-impact interventions. Tested approaches to common implementation barriers. A practical method, tool or framework ready to apply locally. Connections with other city and regional practitioners working on similar challenges
Best For - Community Leaders, Social Entrepreneurs, Researchers, Educators, Students, Journalists / Media, Businesses, Investors / Funders, Local Governments, Policymakers, NGOs / Civil Society
Systems It Connects To - Circularity & Whole-System Design, Personal & Digital Democracy, Public & Planetary Health, Smarter Cities & Communities, Ethical Finance, Infrastructure, Supply Chains
Languages - eNGLISH
Practical Next Step - Before the workshop, choose one major category of consumption in your city or community—such as buildings, food, transportation, products or public procurement—and identify what you currently know about its emissions and resource impacts. During the workshop, use the CBE approach to determine what additional information is needed and identify one circular intervention that could reduce those impacts. For a Mobilized listing, I think this is stronger than simply saying “register and attend.” It turns attendance into a specific action: identify a hidden impact → understand the system creating it → find a circular intervention → begin applying it locally