Members: City of Bergen, City of Sint-Niklaas, Circular Library Network, Library of Things, Les Biens En Commun, City of Hamburg, BoxUp, Ghent University, Equip Sport, SportBox, Familjebostäder, Saint Quentin, Vesthimmerlands Kommune, Kringwinkel, Hogeschool Utrecht, City of Amersfoort and others
Date: 2024-ongoing
Location: Europe
The Access Economy Alliance is the first European network of public authorities, businesses and researchers supporting Europe’s circular economy goals through the development and expansion of all access-based services. These are services that allow consumers to rent or share everyday items, such as DIY tools, kitchen or sports equipment, instead of buying them. Access-based services include self-service rental lockers, peer-to-peer sharing apps and item rental libraries, among other solutions.
The mission of the Access Economy Alliance is simple: to make the renting and sharing of everyday goods as easy as buying.
Challenge
Europe has set itself the ambitious target to transition to a fully circular economy by 2050. Existing efforts to meet this goal still focus primarily on end-of-life solutions, such as recycling discarded goods. However, this is only the first step in the transition from linear to circular economy. Access services offer a simple solution to extend product lifecycles and reduce the need to overproduce and overconsume everyday goods through rental and sharing. Yet such services remain underutilised and largely unknown to citizens, businesses, and public authorities alike.
Approach
In 2025, Bax launched the Access Economy Alliance to coordinate a cross-sector effort between businesses, public authorities and research organisations to accelerate the development and expansion of access-based, circular economy solutions across Europe. The Alliance acts as a hub for peer learning, policy advocacy, and ecosystem development, aiming to make “access over ownership” a practical and sustainable reality across European cities.
The Alliance organises workshops, webinars, and business matchmaking sessions, conducts its own research, and maintains a dedicated knowledge hub where case studies and publications are readily accessible.
Impact
For people:
The Alliance helps people save money and space by making it easier to rent or share everyday items instead of buying them.
For businesses:
We support companies in adopting Product-as-a-Service models—shifting from selling goods to providing ongoing access through rental. This strengthens customer loyalty, creates recurring revenue, and accelerates the shift to a circular economy.
For Europe:
By promoting “access over ownership,” the Alliance helps Europe move beyond recycling alone and tackle overproduction and overconsumption at the source. Increased sharing and rental means products are used more, used longer, and wasted less. This strengthens Europe’s resilience by reducing reliance on global supply chains, and helps position the continent as a leader in circular innovation.
“Joining the Access Economy Alliance will help sharing providers collectively advocate for connected lockers. Together, we are stronger.”
– Quentin Geromin, Head of Business Development, Equip Sport
