Portrait of Monika Lichtinghagen-Wirths, Managing Director and Project Lead at the Bergisch Waste Management Association.

| Posted September 29, 2026

“How Municipal Waste Companies Can Drive Circularity”

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 […]

Circular Week 2026 Online Conference exploring future skills, digital competencies and collaboration for the circular economy transition.

| Posted September 24, 2026

Circular Week 2026 Online Conference: Circular Economy Future Skills

The circular transition requires more than new technologies and business models: it calls for new skills, new ways of thinking and new forms of collaboration. From repair and craft skills to systems thinking, digital competence and the ability to turn circular ideas into viable solutions, cities, companies and communities need the capabilities to put circularity into practice.   At the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026, a dedicated track will look into the kind of skills needed to enable the circular transition. What this track is about This track explores what people and organisations need to become truly circular-ready. It […]

Circular Week 2026 Online Conference exploring governance, financing, public procurement and partnerships for circular cities.

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Circular Week 2026 Online Conference: Levers for Circular Cities

Circular transformation does not happen through singular programmes, policies, or funding instruments. It happens when governance creates space for innovation, financing supports action, procurement creates new markets, and partnerships connect people and organisations to turn ideas into lasting change.   Join us at the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026, where we will bring together key actors to discuss levers for circular cities in a dedicated track. What this track is about This track explores how cities and regions can build the conditions for circular transformation to take root and scale. It looks beyond individual measures to the systems that […]

Circular Week 2026 Online Conference exploring repair, reuse, product redesign and policies supporting a circular economy.

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Circular Week 2026 Online Conference: Regulate, Repair, Redesign

What would it take to make repair the obvious alternative to buying new? A truly circular economy will not emerge from individual choices alone. It requires new regulation, new infrastructure and new forms of collaboration that make keeping products in use longer not only possible, but economically attractive. 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 […]

Portrait of Stephan Schaller, Senior Expert at CSCP, discussing repair, product longevity and circular economy solutions.

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3 Questions on Regulate, Repair, Redesign with Stephan Schaller

In this 3-question interview, CSCP Senior Expert Stephan Schaller makes the case for bringing repair back, not just as a sustainable choice, but as a smart business opportunity. 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 […]

Opening of Aachen’s Circular City Hub and Urban Mining Hub during Circular Week 2026, promoting resource reuse and circular urban development.

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The City of Aachen Opens Its Circular City Hub & Urban Mining Hub

On 26 October 2026, the City of Aachen, Germany, will kick off Circular Week 2026 by officially opening its Circular City Hub and Urban Mining Hub. The hubs will be spaces for collaboration, experimentation and the development of practical solutions to keep resources in continuous use and speed up the transition towards a circular city. 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 […]

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“What Europe Can Learn from Ukraine About the Circular Economy”

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 […]

Portrait of Prof. Dr. Stefan Bayer, Head of Research at the German Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies.

| Posted September 23, 2026

“Circular Economy is Key to Europe’s Resilience and Sovereignty”

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. […]

Circular Week 2026 Online Conference exploring urban resilience, circular infrastructure, resource security and sustainable cities.

| Posted September 21, 2026

Circular Week 2026 Online Conference: Resilience & Infrastructure

What happens when the systems cities depend on can no longer be taken for granted? Disrupted supply chains, geopolitical tensions, energy insecurity and crises are exposing the vulnerabilities of today’s urban systems. That’s why resilience can no longer mean simply withstanding disruption — it means being capable of transforming while change happens. At the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026 we will focus on the topic of resilience and infrastructure in a dedicated track. What this track is about This track explores how the circular economy can help cities build that capacity. From circular heating and regional material cycles to […]

| Posted September 17, 2026

Ready to Co-Create Digital Tools for Sustainable Food Systems? Join Our Next Citizen Science Lab in Your Country!

Food choices do not end at the supermarket. What happens at home, how we store food, prepare meals, and organise our eating routines, plays a crucial role in shaping healthier and more sustainable food systems. The next SPOON Citizen Science Labs (CSLs) invite citizens across six European countries to explore their everyday food practices and help co-create digital tools for healthier and more sustainable food systems. Following two successful rounds of Citizen Science Labs, the SPOON project is launching a third round across six European countries (Valencia, Spain; Bruges, Belgium, Braunschweig, Germany, Pomurje Region, Slovenia; Turn, Italy and Thessaloniki, Greece). Coordinated […]

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