Building a circular economy in cultural tourism What is the challenge? (FR)

The Lens-Liévin area is home to prestigious cultural institutions like the Louvre-Lens Museum and the Louvre Conservation Centre. These venues often use short-lived equipment for exhibitions and events, generating large amounts of waste. Practices like donation or reuse are rare, and there is no shared system to coordinate circular use of resources.

To reduce waste and strengthen the cultural economy, there is a need for collective action on reuse, joint purchasing, and modular exhibition design.

This pilot supports the cultural tourism sector in:

• Reducing waste through reuse and recycling
• Creating a network for shared purchasing and equipment pooling
• Promoting circular scenography and eco-design
• Strengthening sustainability practices across museums and events

It helps cultural venues become more resilient, environmentally responsible, and cost-effective.

• Creation of a regional circular economy network bringing together cultural stakeholders to promote reuse, repair, and recycling of cultural equipment.

• Establishment of a working group with 4 stakeholders.

• Exchanges with 15 cultural institutions ready to experiment with new circular economy solutions.

• Collaboration with a consulting agency to launch a one-year study, including a diagnosis of waste generated by the sector and the design of tailored circular economy solutions.

• Preparation of a training program on eco-design for scenography designers to reduce waste upstream and encourage the use of modular, reusable elements.

This pilot focuses both on upstream design and downstream reuse, connecting creativity with sustainability.

This pilot is led by ADEME and the Communauté d’agglomération de Lens-Liévin, with partners including:

• Musée du Louvre
• Opéra de Lille
• Région Hauts-de-France
• Musénor, Echo and Team2

The pilot uses the Territorial Tourism Ecology (TTE) method to bring together cultural and environmental actors. TTE is a new concept inspired by industrial ecology. It aims to foster cooperation between tourism stakeholders to expand the circular economy across the entire tourism value chain. By pooling resources, knowledge, and expertise, TTE helps optimize how territories use and manage their assets. ADEME has previously developed TTE projects through the Interreg program “FACET.. You can find a guide on TTE here : https://librairie.ademe.fr/industrie-et-production-durable/6740-mettre-en-place-un-projet-d-ecologie-touristique-et-territoriale-ett-9791029722011.html 

In this project, knowledge-sharing synergies are being created. Stakeholders collaborate to identify best practices, reduce waste, and promote reuse. Potential synergies include:

• Resource substitution – where waste from one actor becomes a resource for another.

• Resource pooling – where museums, festivals, and other cultural institutions engage in joint purchasing or equipment sharing to maximize the value of their resources.

• A circular framework for cultural exhibitions and events
• Eco-design guidelines and training for scenography professionals
• Shared purchasing models and material reuse platforms
• A tested model that can be replicated by cultural destinations across Europe

Project lead ADEME Hauts-de-France – https://www.ademe.fr/contact/
🔗 Learn more: ADEME TTE Guide