Don’t miss the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026, where we will discuss what’s needed to engage citizens in the circular transition in a dedicated track.

What this track is about?

This track explores what it takes to put people at the heart of the circular transition. From the way products and services are offered to the role of digital tools, education, logistics and local initiatives, it looks at how we can remove barriers and create everyday opportunities for people to act.

A guide into the sessions

The Mind-Opening Session, “Circularity Made Easy: From Consumer Awareness to Better Everyday Offers,” asks how circular living can become the default one, built into the products, services, infrastructure and offers that people encounter every day.

The Pioneer Sessions bring this perspective into practice: exploring how logistics and supply chains can respond to consumer needs, how digital tools and platforms can enable circular behaviour, and how education, awareness and participation can empower people to act in their everyday lives.

Your host: Rosa Strube

“A circular future only works if people see themselves in it. The real question is therefore not just how to involve citizens, but how to give them a genuine stake in shaping the cities and systems they depend on and making everyday life better in the process.”

Rosa Strube is Head of Sustainable Lifestyles at CSCP. Her work explores how we can make sustainable choices easier and more meaningful for people to truly engage. Read her interview to learn more about how we can engage citizens in the circular transition.

Check out the full Circular Week 2026 programme here to find out who the speakers are.

To join the Online Conference, please register here.

To engage with us on the topic of repair, please reach out to Rosa Strube directly!

For all other questions, please contact Nils Kreft.

The post Circular Week 2026 Online Conference: Engaging Citizens appeared first on CSCP gGmbH.

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.

The post Beyond the Product: How to Make Alternative Proteins a Natural Choice for Everyone appeared first on CSCP gGmbH.

Citizens are key to the circular transition. So, how can we meaningfully involve them in making it happen?

People are at the heart of every major transformation. Without their meaningful inclusion, efforts to change systems will ultimately fail. Circular change initiatives should therefore put citizens at the centre of participatory processes, ensuring their ideas are heard and understood while building the motivation, capabilities and opportunities needed for change.

At the same time, we need to point out the benefits of circular systems for people’s everyday lives: more self-determination, less dependence on others, a shared transition towards greater wellbeing, and the opportunity to design cities in a way that truly benefits the people who live in them.

Fortunately, there are already many positive examples: civil society initiatives transforming urban spaces into places for connection and happier living, companies developing new business models and enabling longer-term engagement with their products, or city governments involving citizens in decision-making and co-creation.

Where do discussions around circular economy often overlook the needs and realities of citizens?

Circular solutions can seem harder on the individual level at first. The way the linear economy is structured today makes it feel like everything is available at any time for a low price. Circularity acknowledges that there is a different way: one that is more sustainable, more independent and ultimately more fulfilling. But it can be difficult to see the true benefits of the transition, because “new” has been considered “better” and “easier” for a long time.

Our goal is to show that prosperity is possible and more long-term oriented within circular economy systems. However, the time and money required for circular practices, the need to learn new or forgotten skills, and the perceived lower quality of “old” resources can stand in the way of widespread adoption.

The same holds true for companies: long-term-oriented circular business models can go against existing structures and seem more complicated than beneficial.

That’s why I can’t say it enough: we need to make the benefits of circular models clearer as much as we need to create the right conditions for circular choices, bring the right stakeholders together, and give a hand to those already willing to engage with the circular economy.

What do you hope participants will do differently after taking part in your track?

All the sessions in Track 3: Engaging Citizens are designed to encourage and empower participants to act. We will share inspiring examples of initiatives and communities where circular practices have successfully reached and inspired large numbers of people. We will also look into available tools, both digital and in the real world, for engaging with circular practices in their personal lives as well as at the community or city level. So, I hope the end of the conference will be the start of new action from those who will attend.

Join Rosa Strube at the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026. Register here to secure your spot!

To explore the full Circular Week 2026 programme, please visit the dedicated page.

For all other questions, please contact Nils Kreft.

The post 3 Questions on Engaging Citizens with Stephan Schaller appeared first on CSCP gGmbH.

Bringing repair back

Repairing broken or damaged goods used to be a normal part of everyday life. Buying something new wasn’t always the go-to option, and many people had the tools and skills to fix things themselves. Over time, mass production, technological change and shifting lifestyles have changed that. Today, it is often easier to throw something away and buy a newer version. But this convenience comes with hidden costs: depleted natural resources, unnecessary emissions and huge amounts of unrecyclable waste. There is another way, however, that we used to know: ask your grandparents!

Investing in a repair culture

Repair can be a skill challenge, a fun activity to do together and a way to save money and resources. Whether we repair something ourselves, join a local repair initiative or open workshop, or use a professional repair service, keeping products in use is often a better alternative to replacing them.

The Repair World Record NRW

Together with repair initiatives, businesses and people across the region, we want to repair 4,000 items in one month and break the current British record of 3,177 repaired items, set in 2024.

The initiative is part of the Circular Week 2026 and will culminate in a big finale: on 31 October, the Repair & Share Festival in Wuppertal will bring the repair community together for a Repair Café XXL and a live countdown to the world record.

Hosted by the FAB Region Bergisches Städtedreieck and the Netzwerk Reparatur Wuppertal, the festival invites repair enthusiasts and initiatives from across NRW to join the celebration. Find out more about the Repair & Share Festival.

Want to contribute to the world record?

Then simply join in! Dig out that broken lamp, repair your favourite piece of clothing, fix your bike or finally tackle that household appliance you’ve been meaning to fix. Use your skills, your tools or the support of a repair initiative near you.

Once you’ve completed a repair, simply go to reparatur.fab-bergisch.org and register it. It takes less than a minute – and every repair counts.

Will you be part of it? Because the real goal isn’t just to set a world record, but to show that repair can become normal again.

You’re a repair initiative that wants to participate? Get in touch with reparatur@cscp.org.

For all other questions, please contact Nils Kreft.

The post Can North-Rhine Westphalia Repair Its Way to a World Record? Join the Campaign! appeared first on CSCP gGmbH.

What will happen

Taking place as part of Circular Week 2026 and organised by Duisburg Business & Innovation and the Circular Rhein.Ruhr initiative, the all-day event combines high-level perspectives with hands-on exchange.

Speakers will share regional best practices and discuss the framework conditions needed to make circular business models and processes viable. The programme will also look openly at what is currently holding companies and regions back – and what needs to change to accelerate implementation.

A series of interactive breakout sessions will focus on hands-on exchange on topics such as circular construction, digital solutions for circular construction and logistics processes, validating circular business ideas, digital tools for the circular built environment, the economics of circular demolition, and the potential of AI for SMEs.

“Does it pay off?” – a session by the CSCP

CSCP will contribute with the breakout session “Does it pay off? Pragmatically validating circular business ideas”, hosted by Arne von Hofe. Organised as part of the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum WertNetzWerke, the session will explore how circular business ideas can be assessed at an early stage and how companies can better understand their economic and environmental potential.

The CSCP is a partner of Circular Rhein.Ruhr Initiative, alongside Digital Campus Zollverein, GEBAG – Duisburger Baugesellschaft and the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Event: Circular Day Rhein.Ruhr
Date: 28 October 2026
Time: 08:30–15:00
Location: Haus der Unternehmer, Düsseldorfer Landstraße 7, Duisburg, Germany
Language: German

To join the event, please register here.

For further questions, please contact Arne von Hofe.

The post Circular Day Rhein.Ruhr: Turning Regional Potential into Circular Action appeared first on CSCP gGmbH.

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.

For further questions, please contact Dr. Flandra Syla-Beqiri.

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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.

For further questions, please contact Dr. Flandra Syla-Beqiri.

The post “How Municipal Waste Companies Can Drive Circularity” appeared first on CSCP gGmbH.

At the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026, a dedicated track will look into how we can regulate, repair, and redesign in order to turn circularity from ambition to reality.

What this track is about?

This track explores how we can build the conditions for a repair and circular society, from the policies and market structures that shape business decisions to the places, services and networks that make repair, reuse and sharing part of everyday life.

A guide into the sessions

The Mind-Opening Session asks what infrastructure and spaces we need now to enable a society where repairing, sharing and exchanging become as accessible as buying new.

The Pioneer Sessions turn these questions into practical perspectives: How can digital repair services compete with the convenience of new purchases? What can repair pioneers teach us about better product design? Which new alliances can extend product lives and close material loops? And how can cooperation and governance unlock circular networks for products and construction materials?

Your host: Stephan Schaller

“Repair used to make economic sense because resources were more precious than labour. The same can be true again. By shifting the policies and price structures that shape today’s markets, we can make repair not just sustainable, but a real market requirement and a strong business case for companies.”

Stephan Schaller, is a CSCP Senior Expert, who has been exploring for many years how circularity can become a practical and compelling part of everyday life. Read his interview to learn more about how we can bring back repair.

Check out the full Circular Week 2026 programme here to find out who the speakers are.

To join the Online Conference, please register here.

To engage with us on the topic of repair, please reach out to Stephan Schaller directly!

For all other questions, please contact Nils Kreft.

The post Circular Week 2026 Online Conference: Regulate, Repair, Redesign appeared first on CSCP gGmbH.

If you could change one thing about the way we design, use or repair products tomorrow, what would it be?

Product longevity is completely underestimated. At least in some product categories I would love to see products that are more or less designed to live forever; that are timeless, functional and aesthetically appealing and can be inherited, passed on or sold if not needed anymore.

In product categories with higher innovation cycles, I would like to see more modularity and future thinking: What might be a future product feature that I can take into account today already (and build interfaces for it)? Modularity is in itself a desirable feature as it allows for easy repair and maintenance and upgrade-ability. But this is now more than this “one thing” – sorry for that!

For generations, repairing things was an integral part of everyday life. What will it take to bring it back?

At first glance we “simply” need to reverse cost and resulting price structures. We used to repair more because resources were more precious and expensive relative to labour, not necessarily because we loved repairing things. Interestingly, people spending free time in repair initiatives (as I do myself) seem to have rediscovered resources as something valuable and worth preserving, regardless of the fact that the market pricing system suggests otherwise. Or as some people put it (rightly): market prices do not tell the full truth. They often neither reflect scarcity nor associated social and environmental costs.

So, let us use the very same policy instruments that determine our current market prices and consistently gear them towards sustainability. If we take a closer look into the EU Circular Economy Act, we already see a lot of initiatives that will support a greater market and price shift towards repair—and it embodies many of the characteristics of a successful master plan: supply, demand, transparency, minimum quotas, and more.

From this perspective bringing back repair into people’s lives as a company is not a “nice to have” anymore, but increasingly a market requirement and a strong business case.

What conversation do you hope participants will still be having after leaving the Regulate, Repair & Redesign sessions?

Currently, the introduction of many regulative packages seems overwhelming for some companies. They seem to lose sight of the underlying aim: Turning linear products and business models into more circular ones. I am very interested in listening to the experiences of pioneers who believed in circular economy as part of their business way before it became compulsory. Maybe we can learn that trying to closely align your business with societal and planetary needs, plus implementing common transparency standards already covers 95% of upcoming regulatory requirements?

A second aspect I’d hope to highlight is the need for partnerships: In a circular economy we cannot solve and do it all by ourselves – and it’s not always about competition. We will explore a number of interesting and unconventional alliances that formed around the idea of promoting a circular society. I am sure there will be lots of eye-opening moments and inspirational ideas to further discuss and follow-up with.

Join Stephan Schaller at the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026. Register here to secure your spot!

To explore the full Circular Week 2026 programme, please visit the dedicated page.

For all other questions, please contact Nils Kreft.

The post 3 Questions on Regulate, Repair, Redesign with Stephan Schaller appeared first on CSCP gGmbH.

As part of the Circular City Aachen project, the hubs are designed to bring circular economy principles to life by connecting knowledge, people, materials and ideas and turning them into practical solutions.

The opening event on 26 October 2026 will explore circularity from European and Euregio perspectives through keynote contributions, a panel discussion, political and cultural impulses, and a marketplace of opportunities.

“The focus is not only on discussing the circular economy, but on creating connections and encouraging people to get involved.”, notes Stephan Multehaupt, CSCP Senior Expert.

The Urban Mining Hub, or Bau-WIRK-Statt, will explore how building materials and furniture from demolition and renovation projects can be systematically identified, tracked and reused instead of becoming waste. By connecting material flows with digital tools and strategic partnerships, the project seeks to demonstrate how urban resources can remain in circulation and create value locally.

The CSCP is a project partner in Circular City Aachen, alongside the City of Aachen, Aachen City Services, the City of Aachen’s Municipal Building Management and Concular.

“We contribute our expertise in circular economy through best-practice research, strategic concept development and stakeholder engagement, thus helping to create the conditions for new circular solutions and business models to emerge.”, explains Stephan.

The opening event also marks the start of Circular Week Aachen 2026 and Circular Week 2026—two major events taking place in the same week and bringing fresh momentum to the circular transition.

Event: Launch of the Circular Week with the opening of the Circular City Hub (Kreislauf-WIRK-Statt) and Urban Mining Hub (Bau-WIRK-Statt)
Date: 26 October 2026
Time: 11:00–19:00
Location: C-Werk GmbH, Philipsstraße 15, 52068 Aachen, Germany
Language: German
Cost: Free of charge

To join us in Aachen, please register here.

To explore the full programme of the Circular Week, please go here.

For further questions, please contact Stephan Multhaupt.

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