| Posted December 17, 2025

CEE2ACT Wrap-Up: Advancing Bioeconomy Action in Central and Eastern Europe

With the European Union’s updated Bioeconomy Strategy now in place, a crucial question comes to the forefront: how can national bioeconomy ambitions be translated into inclusive, actionable plans on the ground? At the final conference of the CEE2ACT project in Budapest, Hungary the CSCP project team explored this challenge by sharing insights from the journeys of ten Central and Eastern European countries. The discussion highlighted what it truly takes to build stakeholder-driven bioeconomy initiatives,  rooted in national contexts, shaped by collaboration, and capable of delivering tangible impact. At the conference “The Future of the Bioeconomy in Central and Eastern Europe”, policymakers, […]

| Posted December 1, 2025

Check out the Newest ETC/CE Reports on Reusable Packaging, Textiles, and a Just Transition to Circular Economy!

Circular economy practices are being adopted across many value chains. Three recent reports by the European Environment Agency Topic Centre on Circuar Economy (ETC-CE) examine the textiles and plastics sectors (two of the most polluting industries) and explore how the transition to a circular economy can be achieved in a socially fair way. Achieving global circular production and consumption will require profound changes across value chains in all industries. These three reports explore what this transformation entails, focusing on sectors where circularity is urgently needed and examining how fairness can guide the shift. The report “Textiles and the environment – the […]

| Posted

Transformation Needs Allies

Transformation needs images that we can not only understand, but also feel deeply. This was exactly the starting point of the transform.NRW symposium held in November 2025 in Bonn, Germany. ‘Where are we now? Where do we want to go? What are we prepared to dare?’ – these questions opened the symposium at the Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, kicking off two days of exchange, inspiration and bold visions for the future. Practitioners from design, research, politics, business and civil society came together to rethink social-ecological transformation through art, culture and design. For the co-do lab, this was a special space: filled with people […]

| Posted

CEE2ACT at the Circular Week 2025: Shaping a Circular Bioeconomy for Central and Eastern Europe

How can Central and Eastern Europe lead the way toward a circular bioeconomy and a more sustainable future? At the opening day of the Circular Week 2025 in Warsaw, Poland, our CEE2ACT project team showcased how collaboration, local empowerment, and innovation can turn the circular bioeconomy from vision to action. The Circular Week 2025, which is hosted by the Institute of Innovation and Responsible Development— INNOWO, brought together high-level representatives from the European Commission, national governments, and international organisations including EIT Food, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Circle Economy. This first day, themed “Circular Bioeconomy as Key for Biodiversity and Resilience”, […]

| Posted November 28, 2025

Bridging Science and Lived Experiences to Understand the Links Between Sustainability and Poverty

How can sustainability policies truly serve everyone and ensure that no one—especially people experiencing poverty—is left behind? This guiding question lies at the heart of our project on Poverty Reduction and Sustainability, in which we are applying a system mapping approach to analyse North Rhine-Westphalia’s (NRW) sustainability strategy. “Can you say what will happen with the final results of your research once the ministry has received them? What will they change?” – this was one of key questions raised by a citizen affected by poverty, who took part in our first participatory workshop held within the Climate & Poverty research project. […]

| Posted

CSCP Reappointed to the EU Circular Economy Coordination Group

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Environment and the European Economic and Social Committee have selected the CSCP, among 23 other organisations, for the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) Coordination Group for the 2025-2028 mandate. The ECESP, a flagship initiative of the European Commission, plays a key role in connecting stakeholders from industry, civil society, academia, and policy, all united in driving forward the transition to a circular economy. As a Coordination Group member, the CSCP will work alongside key actors in shaping the future direction of the Platform, facilitating dialogue, and enhancing collaboration between diverse stakeholders. “Being reappointed as […]

| Posted November 27, 2025

20 Years of CSCP: An Interview with Michael Kuhndt, CSCP Executive Director

On the 20th anniversary of the CSCP, we reflect on a journey shaped by collaboration, learning, transformation, and impact. In a quick look back, we asked Executive Director, Michael Kuhndt to share his insights on how sustainability has evolved, the breakthroughs that transformed our work, and the wisdom gained from two decades of driving positive change. An “aha” moment that redefined the sustainability narrative? 20 years ago, sustainability was mainly thought of in terms of the image of the polar bear on melting ice. This was a problem, but it failed to communicate the profound impact climate change would have on […]

| Posted

Setting the Groundwork for Fair Trade in Mongolia’s Cashmere Sector

What does fair trade look like in Mongolia’s cashmere sector and how can processors and herders shape it together? The STeP EcoLab Mongolia 2 project has initiated a multi-year process to answer exactly this question. To kick things off, project team travelled to Ulaanbaatar to launch a structured dialogue that will, over the coming years, bring together processors, herders, cooperatives, and policymakers to jointly define what “fair trade” should mean in the Mongolian context. The first milestone was a full-day workshop with representatives from cashmere processing companies—covering the entire value chain from de-hairing to garment manufacturing. Together, participants explored how fair […]

| Posted

Spotlighting Circular Solutions at the Osaka World Expo 2025 and Beyond!

The circular economy took the spotlight at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan attracting nearly 30 million visitors over the course of six months. Within the framework of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP), Rosa Strube, Head of Sustainable Lifestyles at the CSCP, took part, focusing on sharing insights and exchanging ideas on how to empower consumers for circular living. To highlight the global importance of the circular economy, the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) curated an inspiring programme for the Circular Economy Days in Osaka, bringing together experts from Europe, Japan, and beyond. Strube’s contribution drew on […]

| Posted

From Lab to Field: bioSOILUTIONS Circular Soil Improvers Ready to Be Tested in Real Life Conditions

Over the past two years, bioSOILUTIONS partners have worked toward a shared ambition: creating circular, biowaste-based soil improvers to help stop the ongoing degradation of soils in Europe. Through regular exchanges in the Living Labs in Valencia and Murcia in Spain and Flanders in the Netherlands, farmers, local administrators, researchers and other stakeholders have openly shared their needs, hopes, concerns, and insights that have guided the development process from day one. These joint efforts have resulted in five promising soil improvers ready for real-world testing. At the second bioSOILUTIONS impact board meeting in November 2025, project partners from all three Living […]

show more