Cities are places where massive flows of materials are concentrated, yet circular models still lose out to linear ones. Could Digital Product Passports (DPPs) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) bring about change at scale?
Where we stand today
Options like repairing, sharing, reusing and refurbishing often lose out to buying new on price, convenience, and scale. Also, too often we focus on how to manage waste better instead of looking into how to make circular business models work before products become waste.
For any product, component or material, the key questions should be: Can it be reused? Is it worth repairing? Should it be refurbished, separated for parts, or recycled?
Each option carries different costs, revenues, risks and impacts. The technical and commercial viability underpinning circular business models is anything but a given — exceptions prove the rule. One reason these models often remain weak is information: value chain actors rarely know enough about a used product’s condition, material composition, history or remaining value to act with confidence.
How Digital Product Passport could change the game?
Digital Product Passports are designed to help close that gap. A DPP records what a product is made of, how it can be repaired and what has happened to it over its life — making this information available not only to the first buyer, but also to repairers, recyclers, future owners and other relevant actors. It makes a physical object easier to assess, price, warrant, finance or procure. In doing so, DPPs can support better circular decisions upstream of waste management.
How does AI fit into the picture
Artificial intelligence becomes useful when such product information can be analysed at scale. AI can help estimate residual value, predict failure risks, identify missing information, match recovered parts with demand, compare repair with replacement, or route products to qualified repair, refurbishment or recycling actors. Its value lies in reducing uncertainty where circular decisions are too complex, fragmented or time-consuming to make manually. But AI cannot compensate for missing, poor-quality or inaccessible data.
Bringing AI and DPPs together at the Circular Week 2026
The combination of AI and DPPs may well change the economics of circular business models. Better information reduces the cost of finding, checking and matching used items, makes remaining value easier to price, and supports models such as repair-as-a-service, refurbishment contracts, reuse procurement or second-hand marketplaces.
But this process is not only about a technological fix. Digital and technological advancements are an important piece of the circularity puzzle, but their impact depends on complementary action in governance, regulation, financing, secondary markets, and incentives for durability, reuse and repair.
“This is where cities can play an enabling role. Through procurement, permits, infrastructure, local partnerships and shared data spaces, they can help create the conditions in which circular services become viable.”, says Arne von Hofe, CSCP Senior Expert
Cities can also convene the actors needed to make these models work, from municipal utilities and repair networks to producers, logistics providers, businesses and neutral data platforms.
Join us to make things happen on the ground!
The hardest obstacles are rarely technical alone. Where product data changes decisions, and where local partners build viable markets around those decisions, AI and DPPs could open real opportunities for circular business model innovation in cities.
This is the kind of question we want to explore in practice with you at our dedicated session hosted by the CSCP and the CircularTechForum at the Circular Week in October 2026.
Get in touch with Arne von Hofe for all additional questions!
What if cities became the places where Europe’s circular economy ambitions turn into everyday reality? And what can we learn from those already leading the way?
We will explore these questions at the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026 on 27 October 2026 together with policymakers, businesses, researchers, and civil society organisations from across Europe. Let’s shape solutions together—save the date now!
As a highlight of the Circular Week 2026, the Online Conference offers a focused, practical and relevant platform for those working to move circular economy ideas from strategy to implementation.
It is designed for stakeholders who want more than inspiration: participants will gain insights, examples, contacts and fresh perspectives on how circular solutions can be applied in cities and regions.
What’s the context?
Europe’s circular economy agenda is advancing rapidly, shaped by initiatives such as the Ecodesign, Right to Repair, Extended Producer Responsibility, and the forthcoming Circular Economy Act. But policy alone does not create change. Cities and regions are places where new models are tested, partnerships are built, citizens are engaged, and circular solutions become visible in daily life.
That’s why tour Circular Week 2026 Online Conference focuses on the local and regional level: the place where ambition meets action.
Agenda highlights
The conference will open with a high-level policy discussion on: How can policy enable diverse stakeholders at the city level to advance the circular economy?
Key actors from European, national, regional and local levels will discuss what is needed to create the right conditions for circular innovation, implementation, and collaboration.
Following the opening session, participants can shape their own conference journey through five thematic tracks, each hosted by experts and practitioners working directly on the challenges and opportunities of circular transformation.
Circular cities as a pathway to resilience and sustainable urban development
This track will explore how circular economy approaches can help cities become more resilient, resource-efficient and sustainable. Participants will discover practical examples of urban circular strategies and learn how cities are rethinking systems, services and infrastructure.
Your hosts: Dr. Esther Heidbüchel, CSCP Senior Project Manager and Alexander Mannweiler, Head of Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship at the CSCP
EU Regulation in practice: opportunities and challenges for businesses and cities
This track will translate European policy developments into concrete implications for local authorities, businesses and implementation partners. It will look at how regulation can enable circular action and where stakeholders still face barriers.
Your hosts: Michael Kuhndt, CSCP Executive Director and Stephan Schaller, CSCP Senior Expert
Engaging citizens and communities in urban circular transitions
This track will focus on people: how to involve citizens, communities and local actors in making circular transitions inclusive, practical and meaningful. Sessions will highlight participation, behaviour change and community-led approaches.
Your hosts: Rosa Strube, Head of Sustainable Lifestyles at the CSCP and Nils Kreft, CSCP Project Coordinator
Digital solutions and skills for implementing circular economy strategies
This track will examine the role of data, digital tools and new skills in making circular strategies work. Participants will explore how digital solutions can support planning, monitoring, collaboration and implementation.
Your hosts: Marc Böker, CSCP Senior Expert and Janna Prager, CSCP Project Manager
Financing and scaling circular economy initiatives in cities and regions
This track will explore one of the most pressing questions for circular implementation: how can promising ideas be financed, scaled and embedded over time? Sessions will look at investment, partnerships, business models and pathways for growth.
Your hosts: Cristina Fedato, Head of Sustainable Infrastructure, Products and Services at the CSCP and Mike Tabel, CSCP Project Manager
Tailor your experience
The format is flexible by design. Participants can choose the sessions most relevant to their work, whether they are looking for policy insight, implementation know-how, project inspiration, partnership opportunities or concrete examples from across Europe.
Who is it for?
The event is especially relevant for municipalities and municipal companies, businesses and start-ups, policymakers, networks, researchers, civil society organisations and circular economy practitioners seeking credible insights and impact-oriented exchange. The conference will be held in English and German.
Be an active part of the Online Conference
Our online conference programme is currently being finalised. If you’d like to contribute as a speaker or join us as a session partner, reach out to Mike Tabel now!
Register here to receive all updates about the programme! Read more about the Circular Week 2026 here.
The Circular Week 2026 is a co-hosted by INNOWO and the CSCP.
(Click on the image to see the full Circular Week 2026 programme in German)
For further questions, please contact Nils Kreft.
Cities and regions across Europe face similar challenges when implementing the circular transition. Over the past year, practitioners shared real-life experiences—what worked, what didn’t, and where they saw real potential—through peer exchange in the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) Communities of Practice.
The just launched CCRI hands-on online workshops build directly on that practitioner exchange.
Each workshop focuses on a key implementation challenge identified in the CCRI communities of practice and translates those insights into practical tools, methods and examples participants can apply in their own context.
Upcoming sessions include cutting consumption-based emissions through circular economy or the role of municipal waste companies in the circular transition.
The CSCP will host the workshop on the role of municipal waste companies as part of the upcoming Circular Week in October 2026, with a growing number of city actors from Germany and across Europe.
Event: Hands-On Workshop “How Municipal Waste Companies Can Drive the Circular Transition” Date: 28 October 2026 Time: 10:00-11:30 CET Place: Online Language: English Cost: Free of charge
Discover the sessions and more information here: CCRI hands-on online workshop series: from ambition to action | Circular Cities and Regions Initiative.
To join the event, please register here.
For all further questions, please contact Dr. Shirin Betzler.
What if thousands of people across an entire region came together to repair instead of replace? What if a broken toaster, a torn jacket, or a damaged bicycle became part of a collective movement showing that repair is alive and well? In October 2026, the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) will aim to break the record for the most repaired items in a month!
What will happen?
Throughout October 2026, citizens, repair initiatives, Fab Labs, craftspeople, businesses, manufacturers, retailers, and community organisations across NRW will join forces in an ambitious attempt to achieve the highest number of repaired items ever documented within a single month.
The initiative is part of the Circular Week 2026, co-hosted by the CSCP and INNOWO and is coordinated by FAB Region, a regional circular economy project in which the CSCP is a project partner.
“Our research identified an inspiring benchmark: in 2024, the UK-wide “Big Fix” campaign documented 3,177 successful repairs within one month. Together, NRW aims to surpass that achievement by reaching more than 4,000 repaired items. But this effort is about far more than numbers.”, says Stephan Schaller, CSCP Senior Expert who has been working on the topic for over a decade.
What we want to achieve
The record attempt aims to demonstrate a simple but powerful message: repair is big, diverse, and once again a real option. Every repaired item extends product lifetimes, conserves valuable resources, reduces waste, and helps build practical skills and stronger communities.
“Current political developments like the Right to Repair or Ecodesign directives give us a big boost towards finally turning our back on throw-away-culture and towards a real repair society. With this world record attempt and the Repair & Share Festival in Wuppertal we want to shine a bright light on the incredible power of community to come together and embrace this change in thinking and, ultimately, behaviour.”, shares Nils Kreft, CSCP Communication Coordinator.
Who can join?
Participation is open to everyone. Whether you are part of a repair café, a crafts business, a specialist workshop, a retailer, a manufacturer, a local initiative, a network, or simply someone with a screwdriver and a willingness to help, there are many ways to get involved.
What can be repaired?
Repairs can include electronics, household appliances, bicycles, textiles, furniture, and many other everyday products.
Throughout the month, successful repairs can be documented via an online platform in just a few clicks. Participants will be able to share their repair stories, upload photos of repaired items, and even enter prize draws for attractive rewards and vouchers.
Repair & Share Festival on 31 October 2026
The initiative will culminate on 31 October 2026 with the Repair & Share Festival in Wuppertal, a vibrant public celebration of repair, reuse, sharing, and circular creativity. Alongside repair activities, visitors can expect opportunities to exchange clothing, learn new skills, meet local repair experts, and connect with others who believe that keeping products in use matters.
Many repair initiatives from across NRW have already committed to participating, and a growing number of companies are exploring ways to contribute through repair services, sponsorship, communication activities, or hands-on engagement.
Interested in becoming part of the movement? Get in touch with Stephan Schaller!
How can cities and regions move beyond raising awareness and support lasting changes in everyday circular practices? On 25 June 2026, the CCRI Knowledge Hub will host the online webinar “Public Engagement for Circular Behavioural Change: From Awareness to Adoption” in collaboration with our CARE project and the global alliance of local and regional authorities and civil society, ALDA.
The webinar will explore how public engagement, participatory approaches and behavioural insights can help cities and regions strengthen the implementation of circular economy initiatives.
What to expect?
The session will begin with an introduction to the CARE framework, which explores how behavioural change towards circular practices can be supported through practice-based approaches addressing everyday routines, motivations and systemic conditions. Building on this foundation, the workshop will look at the role of citizen participation and co-creation in strengthening public engagement in circular initiatives.
Participants will also learn from practical case studies of behavioural engagement strategies implemented in different circular economy projects, including approaches such as co-creation, behavioural nudging and gamification. An interactive capacity-building exercise will invite participants to work in breakout groups and design behavioural engagement strategies for concrete circular challenges in their territories.
The workshop is aimed at actors involved in circular economy implementation at territorial level, including local and regional authorities, municipal departments, circular economy policy officers, civil society organisations, education representatives, small and medium-sized enterprises, local business networks, and Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) territories and stakeholders.
Date: 25 June 2026 Time: 10:00–13:00 CEST Format: Online Language: English Cost: Free of charge Organised by: CCRI Knowledge Hub in collaboration with the CARE project and ALDA
To join the webinar, register here.
The CSCP supports the webinar, drawing on its role in the CARE project’s communication, dissemination and stakeholder engagement activities.
Follow along and stay in touch with the CARE project, follow the project activities on LinkedIn and Bluesky.
For further questions, please contact Katrin Hüttepohl.
What if repairing products became the default rather than the exception? How can a single day demonstrate what this could look like in practice? How many products could be given a second life in just one day? This will be at the heart of our Repair & Share Festival 2026 in Wuppertal, Germany, the flagship closing event of our FAB Region project.
The festival will bring repair and second-hand practices closer to everyday life and showcase how circular consumption can become an attractive and viable alternative to buying new.
The festival marks the closing event of Circular Week 2026, creating a strong link between regional action and broader discussions on circular economy transformation. It will provide a platform to explore a key question: What does it take for repair and second-hand to become the “new normal”?
A festival for circular solutions
The event will bring together stakeholders from civil society, voluntary initiatives, and the private sector to collaboratively pilot a Repair Hub and foster synergies between grassroots repair initiatives and professional repair businesses. Through a diverse and engaging programme—including a second-hand fashion show, interactive activities for all age groups, and hands-on repair experiences—the festival aims to make circular practices tangible, social, and empowering.
Join the repair movement—and a world record attempt
A central highlight will be a world record attempt for the most repaired items in a single day—read more about this topic on the FAB Region website!
Visitors will be able to actively contribute by bringing and repairing a wide range of items, from electronics, bicycles, and furniture to clothing and everyday household goods.
The festival explicitly invites both individuals and organisations to take part: whether by repairing an item on-site, sharing expertise, or engaging in collaboration around the new EU directives on Ecodesign and the Right to Repair. By opening participation to a broad audience, we look forward demonstrating the collective impact of repair at scale.
Interested in participating with your organisation? Get in touch with Stephan Schaller!
More than repair
In addition to the official programme, food trucks and informal gathering spaces will make for a welcoming festival atmosphere—get ready to be inspired, exchange, and engage!
Event: FAB Festival Repair & Share Date: 31 October 2026 Place: Wuppertal, Germany Language: German and English Cost: Free of charge
The Repair & Share Festival represents both a culmination and a starting point: concluding the FAB Region project phase while laying the groundwork for future circular initiatives in the region and beyond.
Don’t miss it & reach out to Nils Kreft to engage with us!
Algae-based products can contribute to healthier diets, sustainable materials, and sustainable innovations. Yet, despite these advantages, they remain rather unfamiliar and under-adopted. Join our AlgaeProBANOS summer school 2026 and learn how to co-create sustainable products, increase their market acceptance, and creatively showcase their benefits to the wider public!
In the AlgaeProBANOS project, the CSCP supports algae entrepreneurs in increasing the market acceptance of their products by co-creating their sustainability storylines and supporting the exhibiting of their products.
Starting from June 2026, you will have the unique opportunity to join the AlgaeProBanos online summer school to deepen your skills on sustainable innovation, co-creative product development and consumer and stakeholder engagement!
What’s in it?
Together with the AlgaeProBanos partners we have put together algae knowledge and insights from the project and created a 4-week online summer school:
The summer school is designed for aspiring and active algae and blue entrepreneurs, students and researchers in blue bioeconomy disciplines (including biotechnology, marine sectors and business).
The importance of consumer acceptance
As part of the project, we recently published a report on influencing factors on consumer acceptance of algae-based food, feed, cosmetics, textiles, nutraceuticals and bio-stimulants.
What we found: While health and sustainability are strong motivators, novelty, unfamiliarity, and accessibility are key barriers. Targeting health-conscious, innovative, and eco-conscious segments, and ensuring clear communication and consumer engagement, is essential to scale adoption across sectors. Would you like to learn more? Read the full report here!
Methods to foster co-creation
Beyond understanding why consumer acceptance and engagement matters, concrete formats and structured processes are needed to involve relevant actors effectively. In sustainable product development—particularly in emerging fields such as algae-based innovation—co-creation extends beyond consumers.
It also involves entrepreneurs, value chain partners, and external stakeholders who influence feasibility, positioning, and market uptake. Each group brings different perspectives: strategic, technical, regulatory, or experiential.
In the AlgaePro BANOS project, the CSCP implemented several practical formats to engage both stakeholders and end-users. At the summer school you will learn about our three-stage co-creation journey, leading you from ideation to experimentation to validation. You will also get exclusive access to our “Sustainable Product Guidebook” for algae entrepreneurs.
How creative formats increase acceptance
The CSCP hosted a successful first algae exhibition in Berlin in 2025, to showcase algae’s potential for sustainable product development. This and other creative formats will be presented to you to discuss with your peers and develop your own engagement strategy.
As part of the AlgaeProBANOS project, the CSCP also researched factors influencing consumer acceptance of algae-based products in 6 different product groups and published a report.
To join our AlgaeProBANOS Summer School, please register here.
For further questions, please contact Carla Schmid.
How can we turn Europe’s circular economy strategies into tangible change in cities and regions? This year, the CSCP has joined hands with INNOWO as a co-organiser of the Circular Week 2026, a European platform turning circular economy ambition into urban action. From 26–31 October 2026, cities, policymakers, and practitioners will come together to explore how circular strategies can be turned into real change on the ground.
Since its launch by the INNOWO Institute in 2018, the Circular Week continues to grow, with the 2026 partnership with the CSCP marking a step forward in advancing cross-border collaboration for circular and climate-resilient cities. Building on a strong Polish–German cooperation and diverse local experiences, the Circular Week 2026 aims to demonstrate how Europe’s circular economy ambitions can be translated into practical, place-based solutions in cities and regions.
The Circular Week brings together cities, practitioners, researchers, businesses, citizens and policymakers who are actively shaping the circular transition. Rather than focusing only on high-level strategy, the 2026 edition puts implementation at the centre: How do circular economy policies become tangible impact? How can cities decarbonise industry and empower communities to take action? What does a circular and resilient urban system look like in practice?
What’s in it for you?
Throughout the week, participants can take part in various activities, including engaging site visits in Germany and Poland, a high-level online conference, and other collaborative formats designed to encourage genuine exchange. The programme will explore how cities and regions are:
A platform to connect and engage
By co-organising Circular Week for the first time, the CSCP reinforces its commitment to accelerating sustainable consumption and production through practical, systems-oriented approaches. The Circular Week 2026 provides a platform to connect European policy ambitions with on-the-ground implementation and to strengthen partnerships between cities and regions across borders.
Become part of the Circular Week 2026
The event is conceived as an open European platform. Circular economy pioneers, networks and initiatives from across Europe are invited to become part of the week or the online conference by contributing case studies, sharing experiences, organising satellite events or joining as partners to increase collective impact.
The online conference explores how policy can empower diverse stakeholders at the city level by bringing together actors from the EU, pioneering businesses and municipal representatives. It addresses key questions such as how to build resilient urban infrastructure, finance circular economy efforts, actively engage citizens, and leverage regulations like the Ecodesign and Right to Repair directives to foster truly circular societies.
Cities are key drivers of Europe’s circular and climate transition and the Circular Week 2026 seeks to amplify their role as laboratories for innovation and collaboration, showing how circular ambition becomes an urban reality.
More information on locations and programme highlights will follow soon. If you are interested in becoming a partner of Circular Week 2026 or organising your own event as part of the programme, please get in touch with us!
Event: Circular Week 2026 Date: 26–31 October 2026 Location: Online as well is in selected locations in Poland and Germany Language: English and German Cost: Free of charge
To learn more about the event, please visit the Circular Week 2026 website.
The Circular Week 2026 is funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Fur further questions, please contact Nils Kreft.
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