Lucie Blondel, Policy Officer at the European Commission, will join the Circular Week 2026 as a speaker in the mind-opening session of the track, Levers for Circular Cities of the Online Conference. In this interview, she shares insights into how the EU is working with and supporting cities to drive the circular transition.
The EU provides cities with a wide range of funding programmes, initiatives and support mechanisms. How can these opportunities be aligned with the realities and capacities of cities, particularly smaller cities and municipalities?
The EU offers a wide range of funding and support opportunities, but navigating them can be challenging, particularly for (smaller) municipalities with limited resources and capacity.
This is one of the reasons the European Commission established the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI): to provide dedicated support to cities and regions working on their circular transition. The CCRI community offers practical guidance, peer learning and access to technical and financial expertise.
A key element is project development assistance, helping promising ideas become more mature and investment-ready. Through cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB)’s Circular City Centre, more tailored financial and investment support is also available.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach. The objective is to provide the right support at the right stage – helping cities move from ambition to concrete, investable projects.
Cities often have a very practical understanding of what works and what doesn’t on the ground. How do EU funding and support programmes ensure that the experiences and knowledge of cities translate into European policies?
Cities and regions bring essential practical experience to the circular transition. The CCRI provides a space to share what works, what does not, and the challenges encountered along the way.
This experience feeds directly into practical guidance, tools and recommendations developed with practitioners. Concrete examples from cities and regions help turn these lessons into approaches that others can adapt to their own context.
This creates a valuable feedback loop between (local) practice and (EU) policy: we learn from what is happening on the ground, share that knowledge across the community and use those insights to inform the development of more practical and effective approaches.
Ultimately, it is about bringing policy closer to implementation – and implementation closer to the realities of cities.
With the CCRI, the EU dedicates a powerful initiative specifically to the role of cities in the circular transition. Which major learnings can you share from this initiative so far, and which recommendation do you have for our Circular Week 2026 audience?
One of the main lessons from the CCRI is that circularity is inherently systemic. It cuts across sectors, value chains and stakeholders – from urban planning and construction to mobility, resource management and new business models.
Cities and regions are central to this transition, but they cannot do it alone. Stronger cooperation with businesses, investors, researchers and other stakeholders is essential, as is breaking down traditional silos.
The CCRI community now brings together 300 cities and regions across Europe, creating a growing critical mass of experience and solutions. The next step is to turn that experience into investment and scale: helping promising projects become investment-ready and creating opportunities for solutions to be replicated in different contexts.
The message for Circular Week is simple: start where you are, build on what works and create the conditions for solutions to grow. Circular transformation does not have to start big. What matters is turning ambition into action, learning from it and building momentum.
Many urban challenges cut across policy areas such as climate, mobility, housing, economic development, resource use and social inclusion. How can the EU help cities overcome these (policy) silos and develop more integrated approaches to circular urban transformation?
Circularity is increasingly recognised as a cross-cutting priority, contributing not only to environmental objectives, but also to competitiveness, resilience and resource security. This is also reflected in the broader EU competitiveness agenda, including the priorities highlighted by the Draghi report and the Clean Industrial Deal.
The challenge now is to translate this integrated perspective into action on the ground. The CCRI’s second phase will bring new cities and regions into the community to test new systemic approaches, connect different sectors and stakeholders, and explore how solutions can be adapted and replicated.
Ultimately, overcoming silos is about creating stronger connections – between policy areas, between public and private actors, and between cities and regions. This is where European cooperation can bring real added value.
Looking ahead to the next phase of Europe’s urban and circular economy agendas, what would you most like to see change in the relationship between the EU and cities in order to scale positive solutions jointly?
Cities and regions are key partners in Europe’s circular transition. They are where many circular solutions are put into practice, bringing together public authorities, businesses, citizens and other stakeholders. Their experience is therefore essential to translating European ambitions into systemic change on the ground.
This relationship should increasingly be one of co-creation: cities and regions bringing evidence and solutions from the ground, and the EU creating the conditions for those solutions to connect, scale and be replicated.
The more effectively these two levels work together, the better European action can respond to realities on the ground – and the faster promising solutions can move from local innovation to wider European impact.
Lucie Blondel, Policy Officer at the European Commission, will be one of the speakers in the mind-opening session “Are Cities and Regions Equipped to Leverage the Circular Economy Transformation?” at the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026 – register now!
Learn more about the Levers for Circular Cities track here and check out the full Circular Week 2026 programme here.
For further questions, please contact Dr. Flandra Syla-Beqiri.
Extreme weather, geopolitical tensions, cyberattacks or disruptions to global supply chains can quickly affect how food reaches our cities. Food security depends on many interconnected factors: functioning infrastructure and logistics, regional capacities, reliable supply chains and the ability of different actors to work together when established systems come under pressure. So, what does it take to make food systems resilient?
On 29 October 2026, the co-do lab invites business, retail, city, agriculture, politics, research and civil society actors to the Circular Cities, Secure Food – Partnerships for Resilient Food Systems in Times of Crisis, taking place at Gut Einern in Wuppertal, Germany and online.
Register here!
The interactive half-day event, held as part of Circular Week 2026, will offer a space to explore one central question: How can cities, businesses and civil society work together to build circular food infrastructures that help secure food supply in times of crisis?
Different perspectives, one food system
“Resilient food systems depend on many actors, often working in very different parts of the system. Bringing these perspectives together is key to this event.”, Daniela Chaves, co-do lab Core Team Member.
Key questions:
Confirmed speakers include:
Further speakers from cities, food businesses and retail will be announced soon.
Building on these impulses, the participants will move into moderated exchanges around three interconnected areas:
“We can learn a lot from nature about what makes systems resilient. Diversity plays a key role – and with diversity comes the need for collaboration. We need to understand the ecosystem we are part of: who we need to talk to, what others can contribute and which relationships we should build before we depend on them. With Circular Cities, Secure Food, we want to bring these different actors together, learn from each other and explore where we can strengthen the system together.”, highlights Daniela.
How resilient is your organisation?
To get the conversation started ahead of the event on 29 October, we are developing a simple Food Resilience Compass.
With just a few questions, organisations can reflect on how they currently approach food resilience. The Compass provides a quick snapshot and highlights areas with potential for further exploration. The aggregated perspectives will also give us a valuable starting point for the conversations on 29 October.
Event: Circular Cities, Secure Food Date: 29 October 2026 Time: 10:00-13:30 Place: Gut Einern, Wuppertal and online Language: German Cost: Free of charge
Register now for the event and get the Food Resilience Compass as a warm-up for you and your organisation!
For further questions, please contact Daniela Chaves.
Prof. Dr. Rainer Wallmann, Managing Director of the EDG Entsorgung Dortmund, will be one of the speakers in the mind-opening session of the Resilience & Infrastructure track of the Online Conference at the Circular Week 2026. In this interview, he shares his thoughts on the role of municipal waste companies in driving the circular transition.
What role do municipal waste management companies play in the circular economy?
Municipal companies are responsible for providing essential public services in municipalities. In the waste management sector, these companies come to the foreground when the municipality organises part of its collection and disposal services in-house rather than outsourcing them to a third party (private company).
Municipal waste management companies have a significant market share in the collection and transport of municipal residual waste (around 50%, based on the number of connected residents). Accordingly, it is primarily municipal waste (including residual waste, organic waste and bulky waste) that is collected and recovered by municipal companies.
That’s why municipal waste companies contribute to the circular economy in many ways: by raising awareness about waste, promoting waste separation, and directing material streams toward the highest-quality recovery route possible. In many cases, this recovery also takes place directly at the facilities of municipal waste management companies.
How do material cycles contribute to securing resource supply?
One of the goals of the circular economy is the conservation of natural resources. In this view, waste can either be turned into a new product or into a secondary raw material. This not only reduces the need for primary resources, but it also often results in a smaller ecological footprint. For example, through cascading use (anaerobic digestion and composting), collected organic waste can be used to produce energy in the form of biogas and, following further processing, biomethane and compost. When used correctly, compost serves as a fertiliser and replaces parts of peat extraction, while biomethane can directly replace natural gas.
Why is the circular economy so crucial for securing stable supply chains and supporting resilience?
Germany is dependent on imports for many raw materials. The situation of the recent years (the war in Ukraine, trade wars, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz) has made it particularly clear that existing supply chains cannot always be relied upon.
The circular economy is an important step towards making Germany more independent in this respect. Although quite a lot has already been implemented in this sector, there is still considerable potential.
What framework conditions do you consider necessary in order to implement the circular economy effectively?
It is very important to create reliable and long-term framework conditions that make it possible to realise the potential of circular economy, including from an economic perspective. First and foremost, this is where policymakers need to act. Eco-design is fundamental in this regard. Companies should design products to be as recyclable or reusable as possible. This is where producer responsibility is particularly important. At the same time, research and development is essential to finding new and better ways to strengthen and optimise these cycles. This requires the right political framework. Of course, “waste producers”, both private individuals and commercial entities, also have a significant role to play, as their “proper handling” of waste (no littering, making use of available waste disposal options, and sorting waste correctly) lays the foundation for subsequent high-quality recovery processes.
Prof. Dr. Rainer Wallmann, Managing Director of the EDG Entsorgung Dortmund, will be one of the speakers in the mind-opening session of the Resilience & Infrastructure track at the Circular Week 2026 (in German) “Der Preis der Unabhängigkeit – Kreislaufwirtschaft als Resilienzfaktor”– register now!
Learn more about the Resilience & Infrastructure track here and check out the full Circular Week 2026 programme here.
While Circular Week 2026 brings together many perspectives on circular transformation, one important resource system deserves particular attention: our food system. Food connects circular economy and bioeconomy in a very practical way: from preventing waste in the first place to finding the most valuable use for unavoidable side streams.
We spoke with Nora Brüggemann, Senior Project Manager at the CSCP, about why food waste prevention remains a key sustainability challenge, what circular bioeconomy can learn from the food waste debate, and why the next step is not necessarily simply more solutions.
You have been working on food waste prevention and reduction for over ten years. Why is this topic still so relevant, and even gaining traction?
It remains relevant for two reasons. On the one hand, it connects many sustainability challenges: resource efficiency, climate change, food security and sustainable consumption. On the other, we still have not managed to significantly reduce the amount of food loss and waste generated as EU-wide monitoring data shows.
Through CSCP’s work in European and national projects – from consumer-focused interventions (ECFWF, BREADCRUMB, CHORIZO) to stakeholder dialogues with businesses, policymakers and civil society organisations (handelsforumRLV, REFRESH) or policy analysis (ETC CE), I have seen both the progress that has been made and the remaining gaps in translating knowledge into practice.
So, my impression is that we don’t lack ideas or examples. What we lack are better mechanisms to learn systematically from what already works, to connect experiences and to understand under which conditions approaches can be transferred to other contexts.
Food waste prevention is still a major challenge. At the same time, circular solutions and the bioeconomy are gaining more and more attention. How can we make sure that these perspectives complement each other?
Naturally, the first question should always be: Can we prevent food loss in the first place? If this is not possible, we need to carefully consider which alternative use retains the highest possible value.
A very helpful framework for this discussion is the food use and waste hierarchy. It illustrates the specific characteristics of food compared to other resources. An apple, for example, has a very different life cycle than a smartphone. Once consumed, it is gone, and if it is not used for its primary purpose, namely human nutrition, we need to carefully consider which alternative use makes the best use of its remaining value.
This means that when prevention is no longer possible, circular economy and bioeconomy perspectives become important. They ask a different question: how can we retain as much value as possible from the remaining biological resources?
Can you explain this further?
Today, technological developments create many opportunities to use biological resources differently: as new food ingredients, animal feed, materials, chemicals or other bio-based products.
But when it comes to food, the key question should not simply be: Can we create something new from this resource? The more important question is: What is the most valuable and sustainable use of this resource in this specific context?
The answer depends on many factors: the quantity and quality of the food surplus, logistics, processing requirements, market demand, economic viability and environmental impacts due to additional processing, transport or energy.
A circular bioeconomy is therefore not only about finding more uses. It is about making better choices – guided by the food use hierarchy, but also considering the specific characteristics of each individual case.
Does this mean that upcycling and valorisation are not always the best solution?
Exactly. Upcycling is an important opportunity, but it should always be considered within a broader system perspective.
If a food product can still be consumed safely, direct human consumption should remain the priority. If this is not possible, other options need to be assessed carefully.
A highly processed solution is not automatically more sustainable simply because it creates a new product. We need to understand what resources are required, what value is retained and what additional impacts are created.
This is where food waste prevention, circular economy and bioeconomy come together. They are not separate agendas; they are different perspectives on the fundamental question how we can use biological resources responsibly.
Your work often focuses on behaviour change and practical implementation. What have you learned about creating impact?
A key lesson is that awareness alone is rarely enough. Many consumers and organisations already understand that food waste is a problem and want to reduce it. The challenge is translating this intention into everyday action.
This means focusing on enabling behaviour: making sustainable choices easier, more visible and more convenient.
Whether we work with companies, public authorities or civil society organisations, successful solutions need to consider real-world conditions, and ultimately collaborate, as no single actor can solve food waste alone.
So, then what is exactly needed to accelerate this transition?
First, we need stronger connections between the communities working on these topics.
Food waste experts bring important knowledge about prevention, behaviour change, and food systems. Circular economy experts contribute approaches for maintaining value and redesigning systems. Bioeconomy experts bring new technologies and opportunities for using biological resources.
Bringing these perspectives together can help us make better decisions.
Second, we need to focus more strongly on learning and replication. Across Europe, many projects, strategies and initiatives already exist. The question is increasingly not whether we have ideas, but which approaches work, under which conditions, and how successful examples can be adapted and transferred.
Looking at Germany, I see many interesting individual initiatives and innovative solutions emerging. What is still missing is a shared overview and a more coordinated approach. For example looking at food surplus valorisation: Where are the relevant side streams? Who can work with them? Which solutions have the potential to scale?
Looking ahead: what is the key message you would like to share?
My main message would be: Do not start from zero. Build on what already exists – but keep improving it.
For food waste, circular economy and bioeconomy alike, the future challenge is not simply to create more projects. It is to create better connections between people, knowledge and solutions.
Because ultimately, transformation does not happen through isolated projects alone. It happens when we connect existing knowledge, learn from each other and create the conditions for actors to move forward together.
Nora Brüggemann is a Senior Project Manager at CSCP, working on sustainable consumption, food waste prevention, and circular economy. She coordinates and contributes to national and European projects connecting research, policy and practice, with a focus on stakeholder engagement, behaviour change, impact evaluation and the development of practical solutions.
Connect with Nora to collaborate with us on food waste prevention and its connection to bioeconomy and circular economy.
Alternative proteins are becoming more available, but availability alone does not guarantee acceptance. What makes people curious enough to try them, confident enough to choose them, and familiar enough to include them in everyday meals? LIKE-A-PRO explores the systems that can turn innovation into lasting change.
A new product on the shelf is only the beginning of a food transition. For alternative proteins to move from niche to mainstream, consumers need more than access. They need confidence, familiarity, and meaningful opportunities to make new choices part of everyday life.
The EU-funded LIKE-A-PRO project investigated what enables this shift. Through Living Labs, behavioural intervention pilots, and engagement with stakeholders across Europe, the project explored a key question: what needs to change around consumers to make sustainable protein choices easier, more attractive, and more normal?
The answer is clear: there is no single lever. Lasting change happens when different parts of the food system work together.
Communication plays an important role, but simply providing more information is not enough. Consumers are more likely to engage when messages connect with everyday priorities such as taste, convenience, affordability, health, and familiarity. Campaigns that create curiosity, use trusted voices, and show how alternative proteins fit into real meals can help build trust without creating pressure or resistance.
The environments where people make food choices matter just as much. Retailers, food service providers, and public institutions can support trial and acceptance by making alternative proteins more visible, accessible, and appealing. Public procurement can further accelerate change by creating demand and helping sustainable protein options become part of everyday meals in schools, workplaces, and public settings.
Building familiarity also starts early. Schools or educational institutions are not only places where young people learn about food. They are food environments themselves. By connecting classroom learning with school meals, cooking activities, tasting opportunities, and student participation, educational institutions can help young people develop the skills and confidence to engage with diverse protein choices.
Trust remains a foundation for all these efforts. Clear and consumer-friendly information can help people understand what alternative protein products are, compare options, and make informed choices without feeling overwhelmed.
Based on these insights, LIKE-A-PRO developed a set of governance mechanisms that provide practical guidance for policymakers, educators, retailers, food businesses, and other actors working to support sustainable food transitions.
Download them here:
Enabling Sustainable Protein Choice Through Public Procurement Policy
Marketing Alternative Proteins Through Food Environment Design
A Consumer-Informed Labelling Format for Alternative Protein Products
Communication Campaigns for Alternative Proteins
Embedding Alternative Proteins in School Food and Learning Environments
“The key message is simple: alternative proteins will not become mainstream through products alone. They become part of everyday life when the surrounding food environments, narratives, and systems make them feel accessible, desirable, and possible.” Says Arlind Xhelili, CSCP Project Manager.
To find out more and collaborate with the CSCP on the topic, please reach out to Arlind Xhelili.
Dr. Susanne Kadner, co-founder of the CIRCULAR REPUBLIC and director at UnternehmerTUM, will be one of the speakers in the mind-opening session of the Circular Economy Future Skills track at the Circular Week 2026. In this interview, she shares her insights on a range of topics, from getting started on the circular economy journey to what sets successful efforts apart.
Many companies are aware of the need for circularity and may be willing to act, but feel overwhelmed by where to start. What are some practical first steps companies can take to move from intention to action?
Start somewhere—and start with a partner. Many companies get stuck searching for the most promising business model or the R-strategy with the greatest environmental effect. However, it is more important to start moving. A first project does not have to be perfect; it needs to generate experience. No company becomes circular alone, so the most valuable thing an early project produces is the experience of building new processes together with someone outside your own organisation: who takes the product back, who owns the material, who carries which cost… Building and testing out new partnerships is part of the learning process. It is exactly this experience that makes the next project—and the harder questions that come with scaling— considerably easier.
Circularity is often perceived as a demanding transformation driven by regulation or environmental responsibility. How can we reframe it as a source of innovation, competitiveness, resilience, resource security and new business opportunities?
We have reframed it ourselves. CIRCULAR REPUBLIC started with an ecological and a regulatory narrative; today we largely speak about resilience. The geopolitical situation pushes companies in a similar direction like Brussels did before with regulation. Chinese export restrictions on critical raw materials, which we need to drive our energy and mobility transition, constitute real challenges for businesses.
What has changed is the incentive to act: not compliance, but the protection of one’s own business. This is particularly relevant for the medium-sized companies we work with. If critical materials become scarce, large players will still be supplied; medium-sized companies, however, may end up last in line and not be able to absorb the price spikes. Keeping access to products and to the materials inside them thus becomes an economic strategy—and that makes companies proactive rather than „just“ compliant.
What distinguishes companies that remain stuck in circularity pilots from those that successfully scale circular practices across their business?
We call it the Valley of Pilots, in analogy to the Valley of Death: the pilot works and then nothing happens. It affects large corporations as much as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). And here the human dimension becomes so important. Scaling such projects needs to be carried by people—internal champions who translate circular economy concepts into the specific context of their company, build networks across departments, and connect to peers in other companies.
Two conditions make them effective. First, a mandate and a sponsor as high up in the hierarchy as possible: a pilot anchored too low is never seen by anyone with decision power. Second, the ability to make the economic case: at some point every project has to convince finance and management that it earns money; new customer segments for refurbished products, for example, are routinely underestimated.
That is the exact reason why we built our Circularity Catalyst programme: the aim is to train these people systematically rather than leaving it to chance, because today most of them have to create their position and build their networks on their own.
Dr. Susanne Kadner is co-founder of CIRCULAR REPUBLIC and director at UnternehmerTUM. Meet her at the Circular Week 2026 mind-opening session (in German) “Der Mensch macht‘s!? Wie die zirkuläre Transformation in Städten gelingen kann – register now!
Learn more about the Circular Economy Future Skills track here and check out the full Circular Week 2026 programme here.
Monika Lichtinghagen-Wirths is Managing Director and Project Lead at the Bergisch Waste Management Association and joins the Circular Week 2026 as a panellist in the mind-opening session of the Regulate, Repair, Redesign track at the Online Conference. Ahead of the event, we spoke with her about the role of municipal companies in driving circularity – read the interview!
Which current EU legislation or political initiative do you consider particularly important for the path towards a circular economy?
At the EU level, the green deal, in particular, has introduced many legal requirements, which now have to be implemented into German law. Currently, many are related to regulations in packaging law. From a North Rhine-Westphalian (NRW) perspective, however, the national circular economy strategy with its action plan as well as the recently published NRW circular economy strategy, are of particular importance.
In your view, what are some „exemplary places“ for circular change? And where can we find these already?
You couldn’t have asked a better person : 20 years ago, we transformed a former landfill site into a teaching and research centre for resource management. What was still pioneering work 20 years ago, and was very often met with a great deal of incomprehension, has today developed into the :metabolon site, an internationally recognised research centre. With five research halls covering a wide range of topics relating to material cycles, such as mineral waste and composite plastics, as well as an appropriate transfer infrastructure, this site is one of the pioneers nationwide in implementing circular change.
How will municipal waste companies need to change in the course of the circular transformation?
Municipal companies will increasingly need to diversify. In the past it was waste disposal only; now topics such as waste recovery, recycling, and thermal treatment have become more relevant. This trend will continue through the implementation of the R-strategies, whereby municipal companies have an important role to play. Above all, when it comes to waste from private households. A major focus will be on recycling centres, in order to be able to accept as many separately collected materials as possible, but also on supporting reuse,recovery and repair.
What are the biggest challenges for municipal waste companies in view of these changing responsibilities?
The biggest challenges are the changes within the companies themselves. Structures have to be changed, new business models need to be developed, and innovative ideas for individual solutions in the respective region have to be found.
For example, whether it makes sense to collect bulky waste directly from people’s homes may depend on the local context. In densely populated areas, such a service may be a practical solution, whereas in rural areas it may not meet the needs of local residents. Every company should therefore analyse its own customers and their needs, and determine how these needs can best be addressed through meaningful environmentally and economically viable circular economy solutions.
Monika Lichtinghagen-Wirths is Managing Director and Project Lead at the Bergisch Waste Management Association. Meet her at the Circular Week Online Conference session (in German) “Auf dem Weg zur Kreislaufgesellschaft – Welche Infrastrukturen und Orte wir jetzt schaffen müssen” – register now!
Learn more about the Regulate, Repair, Redesign track here and check out the full Circular Week 2026 programme here.
Bart Gruyaert is Project Director Ukraine at NEO-ECO and co-host of the session “Resilience, Reconstruction and Circularity in War – Project Examples from Ukraine” at Circular Week 2026. In this interview, he explains what the rest of Europe can learn from Ukraine’s approach to circularity.
Ukraine is implementing circular solutions in extreme conditions. What is this experience teaching us, or perhaps challenging us to rethink, about what we consider possible for the circular economy in Europe?
Outside Ukraine, we tend to overcomplicate things and there is less urgency for a call to action. We find too many reasons why not to act and instead of thinking in terms of scaling and making solutions economically viable, we think in funding (grant application) cycles.
Ukraine teaches us that circular economy is possible without major public funding schemes and that it can happen at scale. For the circular economy to work in Europe, we need to put the economic rationale at the heart of the transition, alongside sustainability. We also need to think bigger and not approach circular efforts as one-offs.
Also, in many European countries, collaboration is often not so smooth between different companies. In Ukraine, you don’t have a choice: you work with your competitors and learn together in the field.
What makes this collaboration work, beyond the sense of urgency?
Civil society is a cornerstone to all circular economy movements and efforts in Ukraine. They are the driving force for change, not the central or local government. There is a kind of “can-do mindset” in these civil society organisations that we somehow lost in Western Europe. Also, legal frameworks should be seen and used as enablers. Currently, we tend to see them as constraints or safeguards, rather than as tools that can enable the circular economy.
How can the innovative approaches to circular construction, material recovery and reuse be transferred to other contexts outside of Ukraine?
Due to climate change, it is very likely that more natural disasters will occur across Europe. The agility and methods used in Ukraine can be replicated in many other contexts. For example, as part of Neo-Eco, we are applying solutions developed in Ukraine to support reconstruction in post-earthquake sites in Turkey.
What does (the rest of) Europe need to unlearn about the circular economy?
To be passive and wait only for initiatives from the government. We tend to look to them for solutions, but before doing so, we should ask ourselves: what did we do ourselves?
If you could change one thing about how Europe approaches circularity, what would it be?
Be more ambitious and think in bigger terms. Don’t protect the interest groups but enable the innovation. It takes 5 years in a country like France to bring innovation from a Technology Readiness Leve 3 to 7; in Ukraine this is done in 18 months.
Bart Gruyaert is Project Director Ukraine at NEO-ECO and co-host of the session “Resilience, Reconstruction and Circularity in War – Project Examples from Ukraine” – register now to join him at the event!
Prof. Dr. Stefan Bayer is Head of Research at the German Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies and Professor of Economics at the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg, Germany. In this interview, he explains why the circular economy is key to Europe’s resilience and sovereignty.
With geopolitical tensions rising, sustainability objectives are sometimes portrayed as competing with security priorities. How can we overcome this perceived trade-off?
Sustainability is often perceived and discussed in a way that reduces it to the consideration of ecological aspects alone. In doing so, systematic interrelationships—which arise from the interdependencies between ecology, economy, and social factors—are overlooked. In our work on the topic of sustainable defence, we analyse precisely these systemic interrelationships and try to integrate them into strategic defence debates. For example, to many NATO member states, it is currently almost inconceivable to successfully manage defence without fossil fuels. A sustainable energy supply would thus offer the potential to defend effectively, contribute to greater climate protection, and reduce economic dependence on energy imports.
You have pointed to a lack of dialogue between sustainability actors and defence and security institutions. Why do these communities often speak past each other?
The protagonists often believe that their goals have little in common with those of the others. This is a major fallacy! For example, in addition to its benefits for climate protection and the preservation of biodiversity, peatland conservation (or peatland rewetting) also offers significant defence advantages.
If Europe wanted to launch this conversation at scale, which actors would need to be at the table, and how should such a dialogue be structured to build trust rather than deepen divisions?
This dialogue should be established as a comprehensive threat analysis that works towards solutions prioritising human security. This also includes threats arising from, climate change, declining access to drinking water, and health impacts. In such a setting, it quickly becomes clear that the issues at hand are not one-dimensional “either/or” questions, but rather, in many cases, “both/and” scenarios.
As Europe seeks to strengthen its strategic autonomy and overall resilience, what role can the circular economy play in these efforts?
The situation regarding circular economy is very similar to issues related to energy use in Europe: both aspects will play a central role in the reducing Europe’s strategic dependencies. Unfortunately, market prices have so far failed to reflect these dependencies. On the contrary, imports of critical materials or energy are usually cheaper than developing and using alternatives here at home.
If Europe wants to strengthen its sovereignty and resilience, the costs of dependencies and potential import shortages need to be reflected in market prices. One could also say that in the future we would have to factor resilience costs into prices to avoid becoming (or remaining) subject to dependencies. This would be a central task of government policy, ideally at the European level. However, we should not lose sight of the social aspects of sustainability in the process.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Bayer is a panellist in the mind-opening session of the Resilience & Infrastructure track of the Circular Week 2026 – register now to join him at the event!
What does it take to motivate people to make healthier and more sustainable food choices? And under which conditions are citizens willing to share their personal food-related data to support research and innovation? 254 citizens across six European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Belgium, Slovenia, and Spain) explored these questions as part of our Citizen Science Labs (CSL) organised within the SPOON project and coordinated by the CSCP.
What motivates citizens to share data
The first CSL iteration focused on understanding citizens’ expectations and concerns regarding the sharing of food-related personal data. The discussions showed that citizens are generally open to contributing data when there is a clear purpose and meaningful benefit. However, trust is a decisive factor. Participants highlighted the importance of transparency, simple explanations, strong safeguards, and the ability to maintain control over their own data. Universities, research institutions, civil society organisations, and other non-commercial actors were generally perceived as more trustworthy, while concerns about commercial use, profiling, and unclear data flows reduced willingness to participate. Citizens also emphasised that participation should provide visible value, such as personalised insights, support for healthier diets, food waste reduction, or contributions to improving food systems.
What impacts behaviours most
The second CSL iteration explored everyday food planning and purchasing behaviours using the COM-B behavioural model. The findings showed that citizens generally have the motivation and knowledge to make healthier and more sustainable choices. However, everyday realities strongly influence behaviour. Time pressure, affordability, household routines, product availability, and the retail environment often determine whether intentions can be translated into action.
The SPOON multimedia questionnaire & digital toolset
Participants also tested and provided feedback on SPOON’s multimedia questionnaire and digital toolset. Their input highlighted the importance of intuitive design, clear communication, simple onboarding processes, and transparent explanations of how data are managed.
“The Citizen Science Labs demonstrate that successful digital solutions and behavioural interventions need to go beyond providing information: they must build trust, reduce barriers, and create tangible value for citizens.”, shares Arlind Xhelili, CSCP Project Manager.
Next steps
As coordinator of the CSLs, the CSCP facilitated the exchange between European communities and will focus next on ensuring that their experiences and perspectives directly inform the further development of SPOON tools and interventions.
The first two CSL iterations mark the beginning of a journey of citizen engagement within SPOON. Over the coming months, three further iterations will explore additional stages of the food consumption journey, including food storage, preparation, eating practices, leftover management, and food waste prevention.
Building on the insights gathered so far, the CSLs will continue as spaces for co-creation, bringing together citizens and relevant stakeholders to develop and implement behavioural change interventions addressing specific challenges identified across the project’s pilot regions and along the food consumption journey.
Beyond the content-related insights, a key outcome of the CSL journey will be the further development and application of the SPOON Digital Toolset. This will provide the foundation for large-scale food-related data collection across Europe while enabling citizens to actively participate in shaping future food systems and decision-making processes.
To find out more about the Citizen Science Labs and opportunities for collaboration, please contact Francesca Grossi.
For further information, please reach out to Arlind Xhelili.
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