How can Mongolia’s iconic cashmere not only be known for its quality and durability, but also as a new reference for high sustainability standards? Building on the success of the STeP EcoLab project, the newly launched follow-up sets out to scale fair, circular, and climate-smart solutions across the cashmere sector—protecting livelihoods and landscapes alike.
In April 2025, partners from across the Mongolian cashmere sector gathered to mark the launch of STeP EcoLab Mongolia II, a new EU-funded project that builds on the achievements of its predecessor.
The event brought together herder associations, industry leaders, policymakers, certification bodies, and sustainability experts to align on a shared vision: making Mongolia’s iconic cashmere both circular and socially just.
The cashmere sector is one of Mongolia’s most important industries, providing income to around one-third of the population, especially in rural areas. At the same time, the sector faces major sustainability challenges. Desertification has already affected over 77% of the country’s land, driven in part by overgrazing and climate change*. While global demand for cashmere continues to rise, the economic benefits are unevenly distributed and ecological costs often externalised.
The STeP Ecolab Mongolia II project aims to tackle this dual challenge by building on the groundwork laid by STeP EcoLab Mongolia I. Among its major achievements were the introduction of international sustainability standards to selected companies and the co-development of a sector-wide voluntary agreement and accompanying roadmap, setting out shared sustainability commitments across the value chain. In a landmark step, this agreement was later adopted into Mongolian law, creating a lasting policy framework to support the sector’s transformation.
The new project takes these efforts further by integrating additional levers for transformation: fair pricing models, circular product innovation, and strengthened positioning towards European markets.
Key activities include:
As a long-standing transformation partner in the Mongolian cashmere sector, the CSCP will contribute its expertise in participatory strategy development, sustainable value chains, co-creation for circular economy, and sustainability communication. These elements are not only crucial for creating lasting change, they also help ensure that transformation is co-owned by those who shape the future of Mongolian cashmere every day.
The project consortium includes the National Federation of Pasture User Groups (NFPUG), the Mongolian Sustainable Finance Association (MSFA), the Mongolian Wool and Cashmere Association (MWCA), and international certification organisations. The Mongolian Ministry of Light Industry also supports the project to ensure alignment with national development goals.
The project is led by AVSF Mongolia and funded by the European Commission through its SWITCH-Asia programme.
For further questions, please contact Pawel Zylka.
*UNDP 2024
The Fifth International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5) in 2023 saw the adoption of the Targets of the Global Framework for Chemicals (GFC), a major step to setting a global path to sound chemicals and waste management beyond 2020. While this move was monumental, the real challenge is how to get there. To address this, the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) has initiated the project GFC – Implementation Project I: Roadmap to 2030, bringing together sector actors to explore practical ways of implementation. The project aims to directly contribute to Germany’s input to the GFC implementation.
Together with an experienced consortium, the CSCP is leading the GFC – Implementation Project I: Roadmap to 2030 project, aiming to identify and prepare Germany’s potential contributions to the implementation of the GFC.
As part of the project, we are committed to building the broadest possible consensus by engaging in in-depth dialogue with a diverse range of stakeholders—including actors along the chemical value chain, recycling companies, AI and digital product passport (DPP) start-ups, as well as consumer and environmental organizations.
Three fields of action have been identified as key and will be addressed through dedicated sub-projects:
De-fossilisation of the Chemical Industry: Focusing on the opportunities and obstacles for the supply of the German chemical industry from fossil to renewable carbon sources
Alternative Substance Assessment: A methodological framework to put alternative assessments for substance substitution towards safer chemicals on a scientifically broadly accepted basis.
Ecodesign/Digital Product Passport (DPP): Using the DPPs as information mediums for additives in plastics with a special focus on additives for recyclates, such as plastics from the recycling of waste.
The project is funded by the German Environment Agency and runs until March 2027.
For further questions, please contact Dr. Esther Heidbüchel.
How can we talk about circular living in a way that feels tangible and relatable rather than abstract and out of reach? In our CARE project, we are using creative communication formats as a lever for change, not just as a way of sharing project results. Through co-creation and storytelling, we are engaging with households across Europe to turn complexity into connection, and words into action.
It all started with a blank board and many of questions
No curated messages. No press releases. Just a digital blank board, a few sticky notes, and a shared sense of exploration: What does circular living really mean to people? What inspires action? What kind of words feel inclusive—and which feel out of reach?
At the start of the project, the CSCP invited project partners into a co-creative, storytelling process as a means toward achieving important project goals: increasing and enhancing circularity in European households.
The idea was to jointly develop a format that could support involved actors not merely with simplifying complexity, but also with making it understandable and accessible.
“At the heart of CARE is a co-creation approach. We wanted to create a language that empowers, not instructs — and that reflects the everyday reality of households,” says Eva Rudolf, Senior Designer at the CSCP and Creative Lead for CARE.
The insights from these workshops became the foundation for CARE’s entire communication strategy. Shaping not only its tone and narratives, but also its visual storytelling and overall design approach.
From key phrases to Circular Friends
To bring these messages to life, the team developed CARE’s Circular Friends, a group of illustrated characters that reflect real people: diverse in age, background, and lifestyle. Created by CSCP’s Sophie-Anne Val, these figures are intentionally imperfect. “I didn’t want to draw idealised characters. I wanted to create figures that felt familiar and approachable, like someone you might know,” she explains.
The Circular Friends were designed to be inclusive and relatable, representing the many realities of households across Europe. They replaced the idea of individual “heroes” with companions who reflect community, care, and shared responsibility.
Bringing stories to life through video
These characters became the heart of CARE’s two explainer videos, created in partnership with the animation studio Lichtspieler and illustrated by Kirsten Piepenbring. The goal: to communicate circular practices around food and clothing in a light, accessible way without losing sight of the importance of the topic.
From the first draft to final animation, the process was highly collaborative. The scripts were shaped by the CSCP content team—Katrin Hüttepohl, Eva Rudolf, Nikola Berger—and the CARE Communication & Dissemination group, where each project partner played an active role.
“What stood out in this project was how much care went into every word. The team really wanted to speak with households, not at them,” says Katrin Hüttepohl, Communication Manager at the CSCP.
The videos are already supporting pilot activities in five countries and will become part of a CARE toolbox for wider use by the end of the project. You can watch the videos below!
Make every meal count
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Show your clothes you CARE
Communication as connection
At the CSCP we do not approach communication as an add-on, but rather as a strategic component of how change happens. By combining storytelling, design, and a co-creative spirit, the CARE project makes sustainability feel not only possible, but relevant and attainable to people with different backgrounds, languages, and lived experiences.
“Good communication doesn’t simplify reality. It makes it accessible. It turns data into direction, and strategies into stories,” notes Katrin Hüttepohl.
You can take a closer look at how CARE is communicating across channels to increase impact: from posters to explainer videos, from project website to policy briefs, each element reflects a shared commitment to clarity, inclusion and relevance. Our colours, words and formats are designed with care to connect meaningfully with diverse audiences.
Follow along and stay in touch! Check out the CARE website for details on the project work and follow CARE on LinkedIn and Bluesky for the latest updates and to engage with us!
For further questions, please contact Katrin Hüttepohl.
What if the future of Europe’s climate resilience lies just inches beneath our feet? The iCOSHELLs project’s Train-the-Trainer series of workshops is empowering six soil health living labs—from Bulgaria’s vineyards to Sweden’s farmlands—to co-design soil health solutions that foster stronger communities, richer harvests, and a healthier planet.
Solutions for soil health are being developed and tested in six European soil health living labs in a co-creative process with various stakeholders, in particular primary land users such as farmers. The CSCP led a three-part Train of Trainers (ToT) programme to support Living Labs to tackle multiple soil health challenges. The programme took place from January to March 2025, providing participants with tools and knowledge to drive collaborative innovation and community engagement for healthier soils.
A journey of co-creation and capacity building
Session one, which took place online in January and February 2025, focussed on the basic principles of the European Mission Soil and discussed the specific challenges faced by the Living Labs—from vineyards in Bulgaria to the post-mining landscapes in Greece— and how they can initiate co-creative processes on the ground.
In session two, which took place online in February 2025 with the support of GAIA and ATB Potsdam, the participants analysed the success factors for Living Labs and discussed KPIs for monitoring progress. In addition, the operational structure for living labs and a multi-level approach to data collection were presented. The focus was on coordination, stakeholder involvement and monitoring.
Session three, which took place in March 2025, moved from theory to practice as participants developed their own co-creation plans. They also discussed typical challenges of co-creation in break-out groups. In addition, RISE researchers presented methods for promoting soil literacy in co-creation sessions.
An additional workshop for the Italian living lab was held in the city of Trento, enabling site managers to adapt their approaches to the heterogeneous local contexts in the Italian lab, jointly develop site-specific schedules, and refine the monitoring tools.
Tools and resources for co-creation in the Living Labs
A new report brings together resources to support living lab actors on multiple aspects related to their co-creation processes, including:
You can download the report Living Lab Governance Framework and Train-the-Trainer Sessions here. The report is based on a baseline analysis of the soil health landscape in each Living Lab. Please take a look at the report Stakeholder Mapping and Baseline Analysis of Local Ecosystems here.
Increasing impact
The iCOSHELLs soil health living labs are currently at the start of their co-creation activities aimed at developing innovative solutions for better soil health. A total of eight co-creation sessions are planned in each living lab to ensure the involvement of end users and the collaboration of different stakeholders. Throughout the duration of the project, the living labs will be methodically accompanied by the CSCP to support their activities and ensure the success of the co-creation approaches.
For further questions, please contact Dr. Britta Holzberg.
What if the key to saving Europe’s endangered soils lies in turning biowaste into a resource? In dialogue with farmers, policy makers, and other stakeholders, the bioSOILUTIONS Living Labs have already gathered key insights on needs and expectations regarding circular soil improvers.
Across Europe, the ground beneath our feet is quietly deteriorating—over 60% of soils are now considered unhealthy. According to the European Commission, erosion, pollution, and the loss of organic matter and biodiversity threaten not just crops, but the ecosystems and economies they support.
In response, the EU has introduced key initiatives such as the EU Soil Health Law and the Mission Soil programme, which aim to ensure that all soils are healthy by 2050. Alongside these, the Clean Industrial Deal reaffirms circularity as a core focus of the European Union.
The bioSOILUTIONS project bridges these policy streams by co-developing bio-based circular soil improvers that regenerate soil and respond to the practical needs of farmers. These products offer a promising alternative to conventional fertilisers by closing nutrient loops and restoring and enhancing soil vitality.
To drive this work forward, Living Labs have been established in the regions of Valencia and Murcia (Spain) and Flanders (Belgium). These Living Labs convene multiple times a year and bring together farmers, soil improver developers, researchers, and policymakers. They provide a space for ongoing dialogue, hands-on testing, and collaborative innovation already during the product design phase—laying the groundwork for solutions that are ecologically sound, economically viable, and aligned with EU soil and circular economy goals.
While each Living Lab operates within its own distinct agricultural setting, shared perspectives are emerging that shed light on the broader landscape of circular soil improver adoption. Stakeholders across all sites show an openness to using these bi-based products—so long as their effectiveness is proven in practice.
Circular soil improvers should be compatible with existing farming systems, including farming approaches, machinery and crop rotation schedules. Considering the context-specifics of soil structure and health, the composition of the soil improvers should also be adapted to local circumstances.
From an economic standpoint, cost-effectiveness and affordability remain key barriers. While there is market demand for circular soil improvers, uptake is limited due to financial constraints and perceived risk.
Farmers and stakeholders have also voiced concerns regarding a lack of clarity in current regulations on circular soil improvers and have noted that current European legislations present challenges regarding the uptake of circular soil improvers.
Ethical considerations have also emerged, particularly in relation to using animal blood as a feedstock for the circular soil improvers. Stakeholders have raised concerns about the acceptability of such inputs in food systems and potential negative reactions of end-consumers. This highlights the need to build trust in circular soil improvers over time. Including relevant stakeholders in the design and development process of circular soil improvers, as is being done in the bioSOILUTIONS Living Labs, can be one of the key ways to achieving that.
During the upcoming project phase, the developed soil improver prototypes will be field validated by farmers in all three Living Lab locations, providing additional direct feedback to the developers on the usability and effectiveness of the products.
Discover how bioSOILUTIONS is turning biowaste into sustainable soil improvers — from lab to market. Stay informed and be part of the journey by following the project on LinkedIn!
For further questions, please contact Livia El-Khawad.
This year’s EU Green Week conference focused on the circular economy as a key driver for sustainable competitiveness, waste reduction, and innovation. The three-day conference “Circular Solutions for a Competitive Europe” unpacked the “three Cs”—clean, competitive, and circular—exploring how to place circularity at the centre of Europe’s economic transition.
Key European players delved into the topic of circularity as a lever for competitiveness at the policy discussions (3 and 4 June 2025) and the stakeholder event (5 June 2025). The stakeholder event was organised in partnership with the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP), to which the CSCP is a long-time member.
At the EU Green Week 2025, the ECESP joined hands with the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) to host the all-day event “Circular Solutions in Action”. As living labs where businesses, policymakers, and communities collaborate, cities and regions play a central role in the circular transition.
The CSCP Executive Director, Michael Kuhndt was part of the Plenary Session ”From Policy to Practice – Activating the Circular Economy Ecosystem at the Local Level”, putting the stress on the power of collaborations to drive positive change.
As co-leaders of the ECESP Leadership Group on Citizen Engagement & Circular Behaviour, we also co-hosted a session as part of the stakeholder event on the topic “Engage for Exchange: Exploring Ways to Engage Citizens Towards Circular Actions”.
During the session, together with our partners from the Rediscovery Centre, speakers from the EU Ecolabel, the Horizon Europe CARE project and the NUDGES Interreg project, we dived into the themes of engagement techniques, the role of language and storytelling in making the circular economy relatable and accessible as well as spotlight case studies of where engagement has driven behavioural change.
Drawing on the experience of our EU-funded CARE project, CSCP Senior Designer Eva Rudolf presented the CARE 100 circular households project and the CARE explainer videos as a creative format to engage European household on the topic of circular economy.
Cristina Fedato, head of the Sustainable Infrastructure, Products, and Services team at the CSCP took part at the parallel session “Bioeconomy in Action: Success Stories, Challenges, and the Road Ahead”, sharing our experience as part of the CEE2ACT Project.
As part of EU Green Week 2025, the Rural Bioeconomy Alliance (RBA) hosted an online partner event titled “Circular Solutions for a Competitive Bioeconomy” on 11 June 2025. The CSCP joined the session as part of our CEE2ACT project, a major initiative supporting 10 Central and Eastern European countries in their efforts to develop national bioeconomy strategies.
The EU Green Week has been organised for 25 years by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment. The conference offers a key annual platform to raise awareness, showcase progress, and debate current and future developments in European environmental policy.
For further questions, please contact Eva Rudolf.
Whether it’s about preventing and reducing textiles waste or inspiring and shaping a new repair culture across Mediterranean countries, many innovative solutions and circularity approaches depend on changing the behaviours of the people they impact.
In April 2025, CSCP Head of the Sustainable Lifestyles Team, Rosa Strube led a training session in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for project representatives from across the Mediterranean region. The session focused on practical strategies for influencing citizen behaviour, with an emphasis on the theoretical foundations of behavioural science and key considerations for driving more sustainable actions. A follow-up session on practical examples of nudging for waste recycling was offered by Michele Giavini, from the biology and ecosystems experts panel, BioEco.
The training took place as part of a Community of Practice (CoP) meeting organised by Interreg Euro-MED Innovative Sustainable Economy (ISE) Mission, a European territorial cooperation programme that focuses on the Mediterranean region. The event brought together representatives from 14 thematic projects aimed at boosting a fair transition to circular economy. The 14 projects work toward a smarter and greener Mediterranean, aligning with two of the programme’s three core priorities.
The 14 project teams had the opportunity to collaboratively explore behavioural challenges identified across their initiatives and to exchange experiences during an interactive session following the keynotes, with valuable support from the speakers. The session highlighted how powerful this additional perspective can be: deepening the understanding of project target groups significantly enhances the relevance and effectiveness of interventions, ultimately increasing the impact each project can achieve.
These discussions will continue at the upcoming session Breaking Barriers: Behavioural Change Strategies for Circular Economy Implementation at the EU Green Week on 18 June 2025. Register here and join us!
For further questions, please contact Rosa Strube.
The transition toward a circular and sustainable economy is not just a matter of intent—it requires smart tools, good data, and close collaboration. As part of the Competence Centre WertNetzWerke, we invite you to join two upcoming events that highlight the potential of digital technologies to drive sustainable transformation in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
Event: Sustainability Data in Companies: Collecting and Using It for Reporting Hosted by: Janna Prager & Mike Tabel, CSCP Date: 24 June 2025 Time: 10:00 – 12:00 Place: Value Creation Lab at Gut Einern, Wuppertal
Navigating the increasing demands of sustainability reporting starts with knowing your data. This workshop will introduce companies to a range of digital tools that simplify the collection, management, and use of sustainability-related data. From self-assessment to EU regulatory frameworks, participants will learn how to turn their data into a strategic asset and meet future reporting requirements with confidence.
In this workshop you will receive:
To join the workshop, please register here.
Event: Circular Economy and Digitalisation: An Overview of Digital Tools for CE Hosted by: Janna Prager & Stephan Schaller, CSCP Date: 8 July 2025 Time: 9:30 – 11:30 Location: Value Lab Creation at Gut Einern, Wuppertal
How can companies unlock the potential of digital technologies to enhance circularity? This workshop offers an interactive overview of practical digital tools that help businesses identify resource cycles, foster collaboration, and increase transparency across value chains. Participants will get insights into real-world applications and are encouraged to explore the tools hands-on.
Here, the focus is on:
Both workshops are organised by the Competence Centre WertNetzWerke project, which supports small and medium-sized enterprises in exploring digital innovations for a more sustainable and circular economy. As part of the centre, the CSCP specifically looks into how digitalisation can be used to enable more sustainable business models and production processes.
For further questions, please contact Janna Prager.
Alternative proteins, such as plant-based, fermentation-derived or insect-based products, offer promising pathways toward more sustainable and healthy food systems. But understanding how consumers perceive and choose these products is essential if we want them to become part of everyday diets. Our recent LIKE A PRO workshops shed light on how consumers perceive alternative proteins, food labels, and the environment in which they make decisions.
The third round of the Living Labs was conducted by the CSCP in two different locations in Germany to explore how consumers perceive food labels and how food environments may influence their decisions.
We collaborated with first-year students at a vocational school for dieticians in Ratingen to explore how food environments—from supermarket shelves to restaurant menus—influence the visibility and acceptance of alternative proteins. Clear visual cues, familiar packaging, and subtle integration into existing menus helped make these products more accessible and appealing. However, concerns remained around unfamiliar ingredients, high prices and forceful marketing practices.
In another session, we focused on food labels. While awareness was high, trust remained relatively low. Students valued transparency and credibility and highlighted the desire for more clarity around certification standards and the impact of product processing.
At a different venue, a weekly farmers’ market in Solingen, we spoke with a diverse group of consumers. Appearance, packaging and ingredients were the most important deciding factors. Reactions varied across generations — older adults tended to be more sceptical about edible insects, while younger participants showed greater curiosity and openness toward novel food products. The participants had limited trust in labels, wishing for more transparent and straightforward guidance, especially when it comes to sustainability claims.
Across all three sessions, it was evident that consumers are open to alternative proteins if the products are easy to identify, transparently labelled and fit seamlessly into familiar food settings.
Looking ahead, the LIKE A PRO Living Labs will continue in early Summer 2025, where we look forward to shaping the future of food together with you!
If you’d like to be involved as a participant or a host, please reach out to Jennifer Wiegard for further information.
For questions on the project and living labs across the 11 European countries, please contact Arlind Xhelili.
Every year, Europe generates millions of tonnes of waste—yet preventing it remains a challenge. As the International Day of Zero Waste was marked on March 30, two new reports shed light on how European Union (EU) Member States are tackling waste prevention with a special focus on food waste.
Waste prevention is at the heart of the circular economy, offering the most effective strategy to reduce environmental impact, improve resource efficiency, and cut carbon emissions. The EU Waste Framework Directive (WFD) recognises this, placing prevention at the top of the waste hierarchy. However, effective prevention policies require a systemic approach, integrating multiple policy areas and moving beyond voluntary initiatives.
In the context of the ETC/CE project, CSCP topic experts co-authored two new reports that take a closer look at these efforts. The European Environment Agency (EEA) report, Preventing Waste in Europe: Progress and Challenges, with a Focus on Food Waste, evaluates the EU’s progress in waste prevention policies, supporting this. The ETC/CE report, Ambitions Towards Food Waste Prevention in the EU-27 Member States, provides a detailed assessment of national efforts in 2023.
A key objective of EU waste prevention programmes is decoupling economic growth from waste generation. Encouragingly, waste intensity—waste per unit of economic activity—has declined by 13% since 2010, with 8% of this reduction occurring between 2020 and 2022. However, while progress is visible, stronger action is needed to accelerate this trend across all sectors. The EEA report highlights that most waste prevention policies still rely on voluntary measures (81%), while market-based instruments (6%) and extended producer responsibility schemes (2%) remain underutilised. A shift towards stronger economic incentives and regulations could significantly enhance waste prevention efforts.
Food waste prevention efforts show similar patterns. The ETC/CE report analysed 332 food waste prevention actions collected in 2023. It found that at the time 62% of initiatives focus on awareness-raising and education, while only 4% involve economic measures and just 1% use regulatory interventions. Moreover, few countries integrate food waste prevention into biodiversity and climate strategies—missing key opportunities for greater impact.
“Reliable data is key to driving change. We see that Member States have made significant progress in monitoring, closing data gaps, and improving accuracy since mandatory reporting began in 2020. This foundation should greatly enhance efforts to identify and address sector-specific hotspots with targeted prevention policies – a necessity to meet upcoming binding food waste targets.”, says Nora Brüggemann, CSCP Senior Project Manager.
Ultimately, both reports provide practical insights for policymakers, businesses, and organisations looking to strengthen waste prevention strategies. Moving from waste management to true prevention requires ambitious policies, robust data, and better integration with climate and biodiversity goals. As Europe works towards a zero-waste future, these insights will be key to ensuring meaningful progress.
Please go to our library to download the report Ambitions Towards Food Waste Prevention in the EU-27 Member States.
Please go to the European Environment Agency website to download the report Preventing Waste in Europe: Progress and Challenges, with a Focus on Food Waste.
For further questions, please contact Nora Brüggemann.
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