How can cities move from individual circular economy efforts to systemic change? In the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), a new initiative is taking this question head-on. With the launch of the Community of Practice (CoP) Circular Cities NRW, a state-wide platform will connect key actors and turn shared ambition into collective action.

Funded by the State Office for Nature, Environment, and Climate North Rhine-Westphalia (LANUK), the CoP Circular Cities NRW builds on the strong momentum of the thematic working group on circular cities, initiated and co-led since 2024 by the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia together with the CSCP.

What started as a space for exchange quickly revealed a growing need: stakeholders were looking for more continuity, deeper collaboration, and practical formats to move from ideas to implementation.

The new Community of Practice responds to this demand by bringing together municipalities, businesses, research institutions, and civil society from across the state.

Its goal, simple but ambitious: to make existing circular solutions more visible, enable peer exchange, and scale what works.

Rather than relying on one-off meetings, the CoP offers a stable space for collaboration. A digital platform will support continuous exchange and shared learning, while in-person workshops, thematic working groups, and hands-on formats such as field trips or “lessons learned” sessions will bring participants together to tackle real challenges and co-develop solutions.

At the heart of the initiative lies a shift from dialogue to action. Participants will work together in thematic groups on topics such as circular procurement, governance approaches, or citizen engagement—turning their experiences into practical outputs that can be applied and adapted by others.

By linking these efforts to national and European initiatives, the CoP also opens up new opportunities for visibility and mutual learning beyond North Rhine-Westphalia, strengthening the region’s role as an emerging frontrunner in circular city development.

The official kick-off will take place on 30 April 2026. Stakeholders from municipalities, businesses, research, and civil society are invited to join and help shape the future of circular cities in North Rhine-Westphalia.

To join the kick-off and for follow up questions, please contact Dr. Shirin Betzler.

After nearly a year of intensive exchange and collaboration, the Community of Practice (CoP) of municipal waste companies has successfully concluded. Running from May 2025 to March 2026 as part of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) Communities of Practice, the group brought together experts from municipal waste companies and waste management representatives from cities and regions from across Europe to explore how municipal waste companies (MWCs) can unlock circularity at the local level.

MWCs are uniquely positioned at the interface between citizens, municipalities, and material flows. Building on this role, the Community of Practice focused on how they can evolve beyond traditional waste collection towards becoming strategic resource managers that actively enable local circular economies. It included participants from Turku (FI), Tampere (FI), Horsholm (DK), Skanderborg (DK), Geel (BE), Alcoi (ES), Castilla y Leon (ES), Valencia (ES), Izmir (TUR), Jerusalem (ISR).

Throughout the CoP, participants engaged in peer learning, sharing experiences and co-developing solutions to common challenges. The sessions created a trusted space for open exchange—grounded in practical realities and driven by the ambition to scale circular approaches across cities.

Discussions throughout the CoP highlighted that the transition towards circular municipal systems does not solely rely on technological fixes, but rather on governance, incentives, and collaboration.

Engaging citizens and creating transparent incentive structures emerged as essential to improving material quality and reducing costs. At the same time, clear sorting rules and consistent implementation were seen as critical enablers of effective systems.

Strengthening cooperation between municipal waste companies and producer responsibility organisations further supports more coherent and impactful Extended Producer Responsibility schemes.

Overall, the CoP underscored a broader shift: municipal waste companies are increasingly taking on the role of coordinators and facilitators of local circular ecosystems, enabling reuse, repair, and more efficient resource management.

To maintain momentum, the group agreed on a follow-up exchange within six months to assess how implementation efforts have progressed in their respective cities. The knowledge generated as part of the CoP, the connections built, and the practical insights shared will support participants in advancing circular initiatives within their cities and regions, driving future impact in regions and cities.

The CCRI CoP project runs until the end of 2026, with a second batch of Communities of Practice covering topics from circular water management to social impact. The role of the CSCP in the project is establishing a structured and scalable framework for all the CoPs and supporting their implementation.

For further questions and to engage with us, please contact Dr. Shirin Betzler.

Recent years have shown how quickly assumptions can be overturned: from the return of global pandemics to war on European soil to sudden shifts in geopolitical alliances. In parallel, the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly more visible, with extreme weather events intensifying, sea levels rising, and ecosystems facing unprecedented stress.

These challenges and uncertainties impact people, businesses, and institutions. So, how are we supposed to navigate through this maze of a crisis? A starting point is through strengthening our resilience.

Resilience takes many forms, from individual mental strength and business continuity to the ability of supply chains to withstand disruptions and overall security. It’s about acknowledging and understanding challenges and the confidence and ability to act effectively when needed.

Circular economy to mitigate geopolitical limbo

Resilience does not operate in isolation—it is deeply intertwined with sustainability, biodiversity, and how we organise our economies.

The circular economy illustrates this well. By keeping valuable materials in circulation, businesses—particularly those reliant on critical minerals, rare earths, or metals—can achieve a meaningful degree of self-sufficiency, reducing dependence on fragile global supply chains. Likewise, the transition to renewable energy strengthens independence from geopolitical uncertainty.

Where biodiversity meets resilience

Sustainability and biodiversity agendas also increasingly overlap with this risk logic, not only because ecosystems and their services shape exposure and vulnerability, but also since “working with nature” can deliver measurable co-benefits for natural disaster risk reduction and adaptation. This is not merely an environmental argument: biodiversity has found its way into National Security and Defence Strategies, where it is categorised as a systemic risk capable of triggering a whole web of threats—from the loss of raw materials to outright conflict over resources.

Biodiversity and ecosystem services are now treated as material to human well-being and policy choices in major science–policy syntheses. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment, for example, positions nature’s contributions as a decision-relevant knowledge base rather than only a conservation concern. In disaster risk reduction, this becomes concrete through Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based approaches: United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) documents that NbS can provide multifaceted benefits, including biodiversity conservation, climate mitigation/adaptation, and enhanced disaster resilience, and links this “working with nature” logic to implementing the UNDRR Sendai agreement on disaster risk reduction alongside other global frameworks.

Resilience and preparedness as key factors for business continuity

On the business side, continuity planning institutionalises resilience by turning disruption into a managed operating condition, which is why ISO 22301 is framed as a security-and-resilience standard for business continuity management systems. Companies rely on public infrastructure and public services, while governments and communities rely on private operators for critical functions, requiring coordination and cooperation of public services, military, emergency service organisations and communities.

Business continuity also depends on social stability—when employees cannot perform their duties because they are torn between navigating imminent threat and having to provide for their families, companies begin to falter. This, in turn, can lead to further instability, and the system enters a vicious cycle.

Resilience requires systems thinking

When resilience is treated as a system property (not as the mandate of a single agent), investments that improve the continuity of essential functions—whether through infrastructure design, governance arrangements, or ecosystem restoration—can simultaneously strengthen security, civil protection, and societal resilience and preparedness. In times of crises, it is crucial to work hand in hand—this requires trust and trained routines.

We’re in it together, and that is how we become resilient

Resilience is strongest when actors jointly reduce exposure and vulnerability while strengthening response and recovery capacity.

At the CSCP we have been thinking systems for 20 years. Working with diverse stakeholders, including those who start at very different positions, has become one of our unique strengths. This is an essential setting for achieving resilience: building bridges that help people, no matter their perspective, come together to find solutions that benefit all.

Would you like to engage with us on enabling resilient societies? Reach out to Dr. Esther Heidbüchel to start the conversation!

Jannik Schüürmann’s expertise spans neuroscience, applied psychology, and business information systems. He has joined the CSCP as a Project Manager, with a focus on designing and implementing behaviour change interventions that promote sustainable practices.

In this interview, he talks about the moments and experiences that shaped his career and life, and discusses the motivations that drive his work today.

Thinking back, what defined the first years of your career path?

Sustainability wasn’t always the conscious driver in my life, at least not at first. My early curiosity was much more “hands-on”: as a teenager, I took computers apart, compared components, and helped people in online forums put together the right setup. That interest naturally led me to study Business Information Systems. And honestly, it was also driven by where I come from: I grew up in a working-class environment, and choosing a path that I thought promised stability and a secure future mattered to me.

How did your interest evolve from technology to people?

My focus shifted over time. I was still fascinated by technology, but less by the hardware itself and more by the people it is built for. I found myself increasingly drawn to questions like: Why do people decide the way they do? What shapes behaviour in everyday life? What makes change feel possible for some and overwhelming for others? In consulting, I gradually moved away from IT topics and toward the “human side” of transformation. A particularly formative step was working at the neuroscience institute, where I got a close look at how strongly our decisions are influenced by context, emotions, and basic psychological needs. It made me realise how surprisingly simple we humans often are, much more driven by instincts and basic needs than we like to admit.

Was there a moment that clarified your direction toward sustainability?

Yes, the biggest shift happened after the Coronavirus pandemic. That period created space to pause and ask uncomfortable but important questions: What does the world actually need right now? Where can I contribute in a way that feels meaningful? At the same time, climate change and sustainability moved even more into the public spotlight – not just as another topic, but as the existential condition for humanity’s future. For me, that mix created clarity and momentum: this is the arena where I want to invest my energy.

How do these experiences shape the work you do now?

Today, I’m bringing these threads together in my research. I’m interested in how basic psychological needs influence sustainable attitudes and behavior, and how sustainability can become a relevant factor in daily decision-making processes. Not only something people agree with on paper. The question I keep coming back to is simple: how do we make sustainability part of real decisions, including the ones we make quickly, automatically, and without much reflection?

Where do you see the biggest emerging challenges for sustainability right now?

One area that feels nowadays especially important is the influence of AI on decision-making. Tools such as large language models and, increasingly, AI agents, are becoming everyday companions. They shape what information we see, the way we perceive problems, and which options feel reasonable. That influence is massive, and it comes with responsibility. What worries me is the broader direction we’re seeing globally: rising autocratic tendencies, and the growing power of tech oligarchies over public discourse and decision spaces. From a European perspective, this raises a very practical question: how do we find a way forward that protects European values as of democracy, human dignity and accountability, while we integrate AI into daily life?

So, how do we?

For me, this is where sustainability, psychology, and AI come together in a very concrete way. If AI increasingly co-pilots our choices, then sustainability cannot be an afterthought. It needs to be built into how systems support decision-making – so that we can work, collectively and responsibly, toward a good life within planetary boundaries. I advocate a human-centered approach to sustainability. This approach takes psychology seriously, acknowledges how people really behave and uses this knowledge to guide the transformation to a good life for all.

For further questions, please contact Jannik Schüürmann directly.

Few things have the power to connect people like food does. At the Flavours of Change Cup kick-off in Verona, Italy project partners came together to shape a competition that empowers migrants, celebrates cultural culinary heritage, and advances sustainable food practices—showing how kitchens can be a catalyst for positive social and environmental change.

Across Europe, migrant communities bring rich culinary knowledge rooted in sustainable, resource-conscious traditions—but these skills are often overlooked, even as the hospitality sector struggles with staff shortages and sustainable food practices are urgently needed.

Drawing on our successful KochCup project, the Flavours of Change Cup (ChangeCup) project aims to turn this challenge into an opportunity, using cooking to empower migrants, promote inclusion, and support sustainable food and cultural exchange.

At the kick-off meeting, the CSCP led a co-creation workshop where partners from Spain, Italy, Greece, and Germany shared experiences from local cooking practices and migrant initiatives. Through hands-on exercises, they jointly defined the competition framework—including many valuable learnings from the KochCup project on how to integrate sustainability and create an inclusive and oriented atmosphere.

“Together with the partners, we now have a shared framework that truly reflects our values of inclusion and sustainability. The competition format has previously worked very well to engage people and bring them together around common goals. I am sure that the Flavours of Change Cup will be another inspiring experience for everyone involved.”, says Jennifer Wiegard, CSCP Project Manager.

Looking ahead, in autumn 2026, regional pre-competitions will take place in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Germany, with the top three candidates from each country advancing to the final tournament, which will be held in Germany in 2027.

Alongside the competitions, participants will take part in workshops and learning activities focused on sustainable nutrition and professional entry into the culinary sector. The project will culminate in a recipe book featuring inspiring participant stories and innovative, sustainable recipes.

Through CSCP’s facilitation tools and the partners’ expertise, the Flavours of Change Cup combines social impact, professional empowerment, and ecological awareness, creating a unique platform where culinary talent, cultural diversity and sustainability meet.

For further questions, please contact Jennifer Wiegard.

Regina Fernández has lived in China, Irland, Taiwan, and numerous European countries. She deeply believes that understanding cultural differences is a key success factor in sustainability work and applies this principle in all her projects. Get to know her better in her own words!

Regina, can you start by telling us what sparked your passion for sustainability?

For me, the spark came from the need to improve the way we live—without overstepping planetary boundaries. I’ve always been curious about how different societies approach challenges, which is why I pursued an international path early in my career.

This international path, what was it like?

Well, while studying economics for my bachelor’s and master’s, I decided to learn Chinese and participated in exchanges in China, Ireland, and Taiwan. Since then, I’ve lived and worked across Europe and Asia. Those experiences taught me that there’s never a single perspective. Understanding cultural differences is key to working effectively, especially when collaborating with diverse stakeholders.

You started out in international business—how did sustainability come into the picture?

True, I started in international business, mainly in textiles and food industries linking Europe and China. But over time, I realised I wanted to apply business skills toward solving bigger global challenges. So, I completed a specialised masters in Zurich, Switzerland focused on sustainable business models. That opened the door for me to integrate sustainability into practical solutions, like improving resource efficiency in factories or co-creating circular economy projects with measurable impact.

What made the CSCP the right place for your next step?

The CSCP offered the perfect intersection between local action and international experience. Here, I can connect different stakeholders, foster innovation ecosystems, and manage multi-stakeholder sustainability initiatives. It’s about translating evidence into practice and inspiring long-term behavioural change. 

Can you give us some examples of the work you’re doing now?

Definitely. I’m involved in EU-funded projects tackling food waste and transforming food systems, such as Chorizo and Breadcrumb. These projects challenge social norms and reshape how people see “imperfect” products. They combine awareness campaigns, citizen engagement, and co-creation, ensuring the shift toward sustainable consumption is inclusive.

What other areas are you exploring?

Sustainable tourism is another area close to my heart. Traveling and experiencing different cities showed me the potential of community-led approaches. Now, through the Verne project, we’re exploring how tourism can be local, circular, climate-friendly, and accessible.

What has been your favourite project so far?

One standout is creating a collaborative circular economy directory. Together with experts and AI support, we’re mapping achievements, identifying gaps, and providing evidence-based insights to accelerate sustainable transformation. It’s exciting to see digitalisation and new tech supporting a practical, real-world shift.

Looking back at your journey, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned?

That diverse perspectives are a superpower. Whether it’s cultural differences, stakeholder viewpoints, or new technologies, combining them thoughtfully allows us to co-create solutions that are more resilient, inclusive, and impactful. Sustainability isn’t just about processes or products—it’s about people and collaboration.

For further questions, please contact Regina Fernández.

How can organisations turn sustainability ambitions into real transformation? And how can individuals become effective change agents within their organisations and communities? To support you on this journey, the co-do lab will host a new round of its immersive, nature-based learning programme Hello Transformation in 2026. Join one of the upcoming information sessions to learn more & become part of the next Hello Transformation round!

A Nature-Based Learning Experience for Future Transformation Leaders

Hello Transformation is a four-day nature-based learning experience designed for those who want to actively shape sustainable transformation in their organisations and beyond. The programme combines expert insights on sustainability topics with hands-on experiences in nature, creating space for reflection, experimentation and collaboration.

Hosted in the inspiring setting of Gut Einern in Wuppertal, Germany the programme brings together professionals from different sectors who want to move from intention to action in sustainability transformation. Through interactive workshops, outdoor coaching methods and peer exchange, participants explore key topics such as biodiversity, climate change, circular economy and organisational transformation.

At the same time, the programme focuses on personal and leadership development aligned with the Inner Development Goals (IDGs), helping participants strengthen their abilities to think systemically, collaborate across boundaries and lead change from within their organisations.

What You Can Expect

Over four workshop days, you will:

• Gain practical insights into sustainability challenges and transformation strategies
• Experience nature-based learning and outdoor coaching methods
• Develop personal leadership skills for sustainable transformation
• Connect with a network of like-minded transformation pioneers

The programme is designed to combine knowledge, experience and action, enabling participants to translate insights into concrete steps for their organisations. 

Programme Dates

The next round of Hello Transformation will take place on 1 & 2 July 2026 and 9 & 10 September 2026. All four programme days will be hosted at Gut Einern in Wuppertal.

Learn More and Register

Interested participants are invited to join one of the upcoming online information sessions to learn more about the programme, ask questions, and meet the co-do lab team.

Upcoming sessions include:

20 March 2026 | 09:00–10:00 CET
24 April 2026 | 09:00–10:00 CET
20 May 2026 | 16:00–17:00 CET

To register for the info sessions and find out more about the programme and upcoming info calls here.

We look forward to welcoming the next group of transformation leaders in 2026!

For further questions, please contact Stephan Schaller.

North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) is currently updating its sustainability strategy. Building on this momentum, around 20 civil society organisations, including the CSCP, have issued an open statement on the draft strategy, highlighting priorities and perspectives from across the region.

The organisations, which operate under the umbrella of the Sustainability Forum NRW (Fachforum Nachhaltigkeit NRW), coordinated by LAG 21, have praised NRW’s work on this topic, but urge for stronger commitments on implementation.

The updated strategy has ambitious goals: it is designed as a comprehensive framework to guide NRW toward an interdisciplinary, cross-departmental, and sustainable future. Over the past several years, the Sustainability Forum NRW has closely accompanied the update process. In November 2023, the alliance submitted ten key recommendations focused on strengthening the strategy’s binding force, effectiveness, and practical implementation.

With the new draft version on the table, the forum has reviewed whether those demands have been addressed.

The verdict? A mix of encouragement and caution.

According to the statement, the new draft sends “many positive signals” and presents compelling long-term visions. A clearer structure, defined transformation areas, and identified leverage points are seen as major improvements. The expanded and refined system of goals and indicators also marks tangible progress. Even the redesigned layout has enhanced readability.

However, the organisations warn that critical aspects of implementation remain vague. The draft, they argue, lacks clearly defined measures, binding commitments, responsible institutions, and timelines. Without these, the strategy risks remaining aspirational rather than actionable.

The CSCP pointed out the lack of strategies for considering and involving vulnerable groups such as low-income groups or people with a migrant background.

The forum’s core message is clear: the strategy should move from knowledge to action, from paper to practice.

The full statement, highlighting both positive aspects as well as proposed improvements, is now available for download.

For further questions, please contact Alexandra Kessler.

Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are no longer theory — they’re shaping real supply chains and business models. But how do we turn regulatory hype into interoperable, scalable solutions? This was at the heart of discussions at the joint webinar of our CE-RISE project and the CircularTech Forum, which took place in March 2026.

The webinar, co-organised by the CE-RISE project, in which CSCP is a key partner, brought together policymakers, industry representatives, and technical experts to explore how DPPs can enable longer product lifetimes and real circular value chains. Rather than discussing theory, the session focused on implementation.

Through CE-RISE, the CSCP contributes to developing an integrated information system that supports reuse, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling by structuring and connecting product data across value chains. During the webinar, the team demonstrated how circularity indicators and Digital Product Passport data can help companies make informed decisions — from assessing repairability to improving transparency for secondary markets.

One example shared during the discussion illustrated how manufacturers can use structured DPP data to identify components suitable for refurbishment instead of disposal. Another case highlighted how recyclers benefit from standardised material information, enabling higher recovery rates and better material quality. These are not abstract ideas — they are practical use cases currently being piloted within CE-RISE.

Participants actively engaged in the discussion, raising critical questions around interoperability, data governance, and trust. A recurring theme emerged: regulation may trigger DPP adoption, but collaboration determines whether it creates real impact.

As one participant noted during the session: “Digital Product Passports will only create value if the ecosystem builds them together — across sectors and across borders.”

The webinar demonstrated how CE-RISE, together with CSCP’s expertise in sustainable consumption and production systems, is helping translate EU policy ambitions into workable digital solutions. By connecting industry needs with technical development and policy frameworks, the project contributes to shaping a practical, scalable DPP ecosystem.

The outcome? A clearer roadmap for collaboration — and a shared understanding that Digital Product Passports are not just compliance tools, but enablers of systemic circular transformation.

If you missed the webinar, watch the recording below.

Through initiatives like this webinar within the Global DPP Ecosystem – CircularTech Forum, the CE-RISE project and the CSCP are actively building the bridges needed between regulation, technology, and real-world implementation.

For further questions, please contact Elliana Jensen-Abieva.

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) make up over one third of Costa Rica’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Even with their strong role in the economy, many still struggle to move their sustainability efforts forward. That was precisely the question we had in mind when launching the Green Codes project in 2024: How can small businesses advance their green transition in ways that are practical and accessible? And what solutions can we develop together that don’t just look good on paper, but actually work in practice?

Over the past two years, the Green Codes project has supported Costa Rican SMEs in structuring and strengthening their sustainability practices through a system of voluntary sustainability agreements.

By working closely together with our partner, the Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica, our work was focused in supporting SMEs integrate sustainability into their business models so that they can grow and become more resilient.

Rather than imposing external standards, the programme followed a participatory co-creation process with companies from agriculture, industry, manufacture, innovation, and services. Through five cycles of virtual sessions, companies explored topics such as programme ambitions, governance and resources, implementation strategies, and monitoring and evaluation.

A key objective of the project was to show that, unlike formal certifications, voluntary agreements give SMEs a flexible, step-by-step approach to improving sustainability in their operations. This often included helping them structure and document practices they were already using but hadn’t yet formalised.

Together with the participating SMEs, the project developed a framework structured around four sustainability categories: labour and social wellbeing, circular economy, environment and climate change, and governance.

Across these categories, 24 sustainability commitments were defined. Companies joining the programme were required to implement at least eight commitments, including two related to labour and social wellbeing, three to environment and climate change, two to circular economy, and one to governance.

In total, the programme engaged 202 SMEs, delivered 18 workshops, and organised two business matchmaking events. The project also demonstrated strong inclusivity: 78% of the SMEs were led by women, around 70% were micro-enterprises and another 20% were small businesses.

The project concluded officially in early March 2026 in San José, Costa Rica. From the voluntary agreement, the SMEs had to pick a minimum of 8 commitments in order to get the green codes accreditation.

After two years of collaboration, around 100 SMEs successfully obtained the Green Codes accreditation, demonstrating the implementation of at least eight sustainability commitments within their businesses.

For many participants, the programme provided a practical roadmap:

“A very useful tool that serves as a guide for the actions companies can implement to transition towards more sustainable, circular and resource-efficient business models.”, said one participant at the final Green Codes ceremony.

“We deeply value the collaborative process of building a list of good practices adapted to the Costa Rican business context.”, added another.

The Green Codes project was developed under the AL-INVEST Verde programme, funded by the European Commission as part of the Global Gateway. The project was implemented by the CSCP together with the Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica.

For further questions, please contact Adriana Ballón Ossio.