Smart Circular Wuppertal Imagine a city where waste is no longer an inevitable byproduct of urban life, but a resource waiting to be reused, repaired, or avoided altogether. Worldwide, urban centres generate more than 2 billion tons of waste annually, a figure that is expected to grow by 70% by 2050 if current trends continue. Cities like Wuppertal, at the heart of Germany’s industrial past and present, face a critical challenge: transitioning from linear production and consumption patterns to circular systems. But Wuppertal is not merely reacting to this challenge—it is turning it into an opportunity. By combining cutting-edge digital technologies with circular economy principles, the city is positioning itself to lead the way in redefining waste management and resource use. The aim of Smart Circular Wuppertal project is to develop a digital infrastructure that makes it possible to document and track contributions to the circular economy (e.g. waste prevention, reuse, repair and recycling) in Wuppertal in real time. This infrastructure will go beyond static overviews of zero waste initiatives by capturing the actual use and environmental impact of circular economy practices. Furthermore, the project aims to test this infrastructure through two specific pilot projects to demonstrate its feasibility and effectiveness and to develop scalable business models that enable the collection and analysis of relevant data to ensure long-term sustainability. Achieving these goals will contribute to increasing transparency in the implementation of overarching circular economy strategies (e.g. waste, repair) and their impact on resource consumption. Moreover, actionable knowledge based on real-time data will support the strategic management of municipal circular economy and waste management approaches. At the same time, higher-level R-strategies are supported by the creation of data-driven business models that incentivize circular economy practices. The CSCP is tasked with the development, validation and transfer of sustainable, circular, and digitally supported business models for pilot projects in Wuppertal with the aim of enabling long-term implementation and scalability to other cities and regions. With our co-creation approach to implementing social innovations, we will develop user-oriented business models that directly address the needs in Wuppertal. By developing sustainable business models, we want to ensure that the circular services in Wuppertal are economically viable beyond the project lifecycle. This makes it possible to continue the pilot projects in the long term and use them as models for other municipalities aiming to tackle similar challenges. Through the analysis of local value chains, we plan to identify market potential for circular approaches and cooperation opportunities between local suppliers to increase resource efficiency and reduce waste, which directly contributes to the environmental goals of Smart City Wuppertal. Through multi-stakeholder engagement, the project will engage closely with citizens, businesses, and public authorities to develop business models that are widely accepted, practical, and tailored to local needs. The Smart Circular Wuppertal is part of the broader Circular Cities NRW initiative under the EFRE funding schemes in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.