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On Friday 2nd February, CIRCULÉIRE welcomed the programme board of the D UTCH TECH ZONE - a delegation of approximately 25 people to CIRCULÉIRE member N ovelplast t o showcase Circular Innovation and to stimulate discussions on opportunities for further collaboration and networking with Dutch Companies, in the wider European manufacturing and CE Ecoystem. The delegation, comprised of regional government, higher educational institutions and eight cross sectoral companies working in the built environment, plastics, recycling and waste treatment space were given a tour of N ovelplast by Founder and CEO Neil Skeffington and engaged in presentations from CIRCULEIRE members Kevin Cronin COO F reefoam b uilding products and Paul Farrell CEO F arrell Furniture who highlighted both the process and impacts of their Circular Economy pilot demonstrations funded by CIRCULÉIRE through the P ower of Many and Do More with Less projects. There are clear synergies between the aims of the DTZ and CIRCULÉIRE in stimulating the manufacturing industry and catalysing collaboration between educational institutions and research centres and public bodies to harness and apply the latest technological developments. The delegation visited both Dublin and Belfast meeting with The Netherlands Deputy ambassador N ora Dessing and visited other Irish manufacturing companies who are contributing to the local economy in the field of Sustainability and Circular Economy A ndor Technologies and E xact Group. This marked the first of an ongoing knowledge sharing partnership with the Dutch Tech Zone and their wider stakeholders. ABOUT The Dutch Tech Zone The Dutch TechZone is all about stimulating the manufacturing industry and promoting excellent craftsmanship in the Borger-Odoorn, Coevorden, Emmen, Hardenberg and Hoogeveen region. Their main goal is to create a fertile environment in which companies, educational institutions and government agencies work together to strengthen each other and promote craftsmanship.

On Tuesday 23rd of January 2024, the CIRCULÉIRE delivery team (led by Dr Geraldine Brennan and Ana Santos) hosted an insightful webinar where we demonstrated the findings of CIRCULÉIRE's cross-sectoral good practice guide ' Towards a Circular Economy of Water in Ireland ' (CEW). The CEW was launched at the All-Ireland Water & Waste Water Expo in November 2023. This webinar explored the current landscape of circular economy in water across multiple industries, countries, and sectors. Attendees were guided through the findings from the sectoral guide along with Industry driven case studies. If you missed this webinar you can catch up with the below links: ➡️ Webinar Recording ➡️ Slide Deck ➡️ Towards a Circular Economy of Water ' Sectoral Guide About CIRCULÉIRE CIRCULÉIRE is a public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) , together with industry partners, CIRCULÉIRE aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models. In November 2022, DECC announced €1.5m continuation funding for CIRCULÉIRE in 2023. Read more about CIRCULÉIRE here .

An effective # ESG strategy can show that an organisation is reducing risks, bringing the potential to achieve business growth whilst benefiting the community and environment. The E nvironment Ireland # ESGForumIRL explored what ESG will mean for organisations and the benefits it can bring for both the private and public sectors. Addressing delegates at the ESG forum on 29th February, D r Geraldine B rennan – Head of Circularity at I rish Manufacturing Research and project lead at CIRCULÉIRE provided a clear and concise overview on how combining circular strategies can be transformational in determining # ESG impact and outcomes and describes how the adoption of Circularity is an opportunity for ESG within the regulatory environment. She addressed the key themes of EU Taxonomy, the challenge of Double materiality and EU Twin Transition: Green and Digital from a Circularity Perspective to highlight these opportunities. CIRCULÉIRE is a private public network funded by the D epartment of the Environment, Climate and Communications with over 50 Industry members who are dedicated to closing the " Circular innovation gap" in Ireland. In line with its mission to support Irish Industry to capture Circular advantage through knowledge share and best practice, Geraldine also highlighted several case studies from CIRCULÉIRÉ funded innovation pilots as demonstrations of how Irish organisations are successfully adopting Circular business models to drive impact. R ead More About CIRCULÉIRE CIRCULÉIRE is a public-private partnership co-created by  Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR)  and   Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) , together with industry partners, CIRCULÉIRE aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models. In November 2022, DECC announced €1.5m continuation funding for CIRCULÉIRE in 2023. Read more about CIRCULÉIRE  here .

Dublin 5th March - Guinness Enterprise Centre. CIRCULÉIRE this week partnered with Dublin City Council Economic Development office at the So Circular event designed to shine a light on the Circular and Social economy as part of Local Enterprise Week. This fun and lively gathering of over 100 delegates highlighted CE trends and updates and showcased real examples from circular economy enterprises who shared their insights and experiences. Geraldine Brennan described how to get back to basics regarding CE, demystifying the challenges and opportunities and hosted a panel with five entrepreneurs at different stages of their CIRCULAR journeys. Colette Van Jaarsveld – Founding Executive Director Arcology System is a pioneer in the field of sustainable interior construction. Arcology System is a circular kit-of-parts approach to interior construction that uses lightweight, post-consumer recycled aluminium profiles to create a "smart grid" that can integrate various interior components (doors, walls, ceilings, lighting), allowing for easy adaptability and upgradability of the space. Well Spent Grain - Award Winning Dublin-based Irish start-up founded by Sunkyung Choi and Patrick Nagle in March 2022. Well Spent Grain collect Brewers Spent Grain, ( by product of the brewers process ) upcycle it and create tasty snack bites – aptly named Born Again Snacks. Just last week Listed by Spark Crowdfunding in the top100 Most ambitious companies in Ireland. Read Case Study CIRCULÉIRE (circuleire.ie) Mary Fleming – CEO Change Clothes Crumlin •Change Clothes Dublin works to tackle clothing waste, provide reuse solutions for clothes at all lifecycle stages and build a creative community of clothes swappers, borrowers, up-cyclers and menders. Brian Kellard - Commercial Manager of WALK and The Green Kitchen & Garden Shop. This is a social enterprise that partners with WALK, a charity that provides education, training and employment opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities, autism and other barriers to employment. Paul Mc Quaid – Founder The Good Bike project. Paul is a former competitive and international cyclist who established this venture which refurbishes bikes and supply them to refugees in need. Paul has been constantly scaling his business from providing bikes to front line workers during Covid to donating over 2,000 upcycled to Ukrainian families in Ireland. Paul has developed his business model through the rental market and leveraging the partnerships nationwide e.g.: via national men's shed networks for wider distribution Interesting Insights emerged from delegates who stressed the importance of collaboration, and awareness generation as well as funding and regulation as key enablers to scale Circular Economy businesses. CIRCULÉIRE is a private public network funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with over 50 Industry members who are dedicated to closing the " Circular innovation gap" in Ireland. In line with its mission to support Irish Industry to capture Circular advantage through knowledge share and best practice. CIRCULÉIRE Circular Venture Programme 2024 opening soon. Check out the the profiles from our 21 Alumni Ventures 'About CIRCULÉIRE

Earlier this month, the WCEF2024 brought more than 1,500 frontrunners of circularity to Brussels, Belgium. The event was followed online by almost 8,000 people around the world from 158 countries. The forum, which took place in Brussels 15-18 April 2024, highlighted the importance of the EU’s role in accelerating the transition to a circular economy globally. A delegation from CIRCULÉIRE lead by Dr Geraldine Brennan Geraldine Brennan, PhD with Paul McCormack-Cooney Valentina Rangel Leon Agnese Metitieri on behalf half of IMR and CIRCULÉIRE members were present across the week. As one of a selected 40 exhibitors at the WCEF Expo the team engaged with European counterparts for a week of knowledge exchange sharing insights and case studies on best practice for how circular innovation is progressing among CIRCULÉIRE members in Ireland. We forged relationships to nurture current and future opportunities for European collaboration for our members. We were particularly delighted to welcome Ireland’s Minister for the Circular Economy Ossian Smyth to our #WCEF2024 Expo stand to discuss the opportunities for further collaborations for Irish Industry across the international Circular Economy Ecosystem. The Macro View The macro messages from CE experts highlighted the importance of a pan European approach, global collaboration and strong regulatory frameworks. The time for talking is over and today, the implementation of circularity is crucial for securing economic prosperity and unlocking well-being by reducing the overuse of non-renewable natural resources. There is a firm belief that : “Developing the EU’s single market to support circularity would create new business opportunities, jobs and security for all Europeans. This would strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy and competitiveness. It would also send a powerful signal of a predictable investment environment,” as outlined by Atte Jääskeläinen, President of the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, the initiator of the WCEF. For Ivonne Bojoh, CEO of Circle Economy Foundation, Radical global collaboration was cited as“ fundamental in driving the transition at the speed and scale necessary” . Indeed, the need for collaboration between the global North and South was emphasized by various speakers. Climate change is a universal challenge, and the regulatory initiatives undertaken by Europe will have far-reaching implications across the entire value chain, with repercussions extending to Southern Hemisphere nations. Ali-Hamndou Dorsouma, Division Manager, Climate Change & Green Growth, African Development Bank Group (AfDB) reflected on how they are going “… beyond mainstream lending practices to foster circular implementation across the continent through a comprehensive package policy support, finance support, technological support through the African CE Facility…” he also highlighted that the AFDB recognise the importance of supporting circularity in an integrated way cross-sectorally. Moreover, there was recognition that whilst implementation supports are crucial, bilateral knowledge sharing and learning from indigenous communities with deep-rooted insights into circular economy practices are essential to ensure implementation is context-attuned and doesn’t create or contribute to negative unintended consequences. In terms of policy, the message resonated clearly: Europe has set an ambitious circular economy policy framework, and now it's time for its implementation and enforcement. In this next phase, industry engagement along with robust support mechanisms to facilitate the transition is essential to set new rules of the game. Day 1 – Replacing the linear growth model with circular models. Day#1 of World Circular Economy Forum WCEF opened with the stark reminder from Janez Potocnik, International Resource Panel (IRP) that unsustainable resource use is driving the triple #planetarycrisis (climate, biodiversity and pollution) and that our economies were invented to serve humans not the other way around. Watch here Turning circular visions into actions - WCEF2024 The International Resource Panel (IRP) launched the Global Resource Outlook #2024 -that highlighted that based on current trends, world consumption is predicted to increase by 60% by 2060 compared to 2020 levels. Hence the urgency to accelerate efforts to use circular economy  to decouple resource use from wellbeing, economic activity and environmental pressures and impacts. This breakthrough report from the UNEP-convened International Resource Panel shows that it is possible, and profitable, to decouple economic growth from resource use and the environmental impacts they cause. The report stressed “ We are talking about replacing the prevailing linear growth model with sustainable and circular models: systems that keep materials, once extracted, in use for as long as possible by rethinking how we design and deliver goods and services. Circularity and more sustainable and resource-smart ways of provisioning basic services are needed in the areas of housing, food and mobility, among others. If we do this, we can create new business models, reduce environmental impacts and slash resource use in wealthier countries “ . READ HERE Global Resources Outlook 2024 | UNEP - UN Environment Programme One of the primary challenges for establishing a circular economy is mobilising capital fast enough to halt the triple planetary crisis. At the 2023 World Circular Economy Forum in Helsinki, a working group comprised of senior representatives of the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) was established to explore how we can rise to that challenge. The role of the MDBs is to invest public money, prioritising development over profit. The MDBs prioritise investment where the private market is failing. The MDB working group will focus on: Strengthening internal capacity to continue our demand-based support to circular economy approaches, both within our lending and our advisory activities. Exploring methodologies to demonstrate how circular solutions can generate economic value while fostering a just and inclusive sustainable development. Enhancing resource efficiency considerations within our operations across sectors Facilitating the exchange of knowledge with the private sector, civil society, and local, regional, and national authorities. At the Shaping a global vision for circular finance session, senior representatives from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Inter-American Development Bank Invest (IDB Invest) and the World Bank, came together to launch A Shared Vision For The Circular Economy. Watch Here European and global perspectives on policy, investment and innovation - WCEF2024 Day 2 – Designing peaceful global partnerships. Day#2 saw another stellar line-up & thought provoking kick-off by Olivia Lazard, Patrick Schröder, Emily Barran, EDNA KAPTOYO & Slendy Díaz’s in the opening plenary “Ensuring a Peaceful Circular Economy transition”, which stressed the need for partnerships between Global North & South to be intentionally designed to “remove the underlying structures and systems which contribute to local conflict” and “intentionally create more distributive systems which learn from indigenous  communities”. Watch Here Ensuring a peaceful transition - WCEF2024 Hannah Ballard Director Sustainable Change Studio and Peter Schmidt NAT Section President European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) closed the conference on an optimistic note with some key takeaways for policy makers, industry and CE investors. Have candid conversations with startups and investors on how Circular Innovation and entrepreneurship can be accelerated. Address new economic models & invest in system change. Continuous conversation and collaboration Watch Here Rethinking our futures - WCEF2024 So what’s next … Jutta Urpilainen EU commissioner for International Partnerships announced the establishment of the EU Circular Economy Resource Centre to facilitate peer-to-peer exchanges and partnerships between EU and third-country stakeholders, fostering the uptake of sound circular economy policies and business models worldwide. The centre will be operational by the end of 2024. Alongside the centre, the EU also announced a five-year initiative “SWITCH to Circular Economy in East and Southern Africa”. With funding of €40 million euros, it will focus on promoting the transition to circular economies in the regions. A list of 30 European companies, unveiled at the World Circular Economy Forum 2024 in Brussels, shows how circular solutions can tackle biodiversity loss and unlock new business opportunities. Alongside the list, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra released a first-of-its-kind handbook for developing circular economy business models to deliver on nature targets. READ MORE The World Circular Economy Forum 2025 will be held in São Paulo, Brazil, from 13 to 14 May 2025. It will be the first time the forum enters Latin America, where the climate and biodiversity negotiations between 2024 and 2025 will also take place, offering an opportunity to strengthen global collaboration and get businesses onboard to build a circular economy future. The WCEF2025 will be hosted jointly by the Federation of the Industries of the state of São Paulo (FIESP), the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, the initiator of the forum. Key Links The World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) creates a new economy, businesses and jobs, by leveraging circular solutions to solve the planetary crises. Since 2017, the forum has gathered forward-looking thinkers and doers to showcase and enact the world’s leading circular economy solutions. WCEF is a global initiative of Finland and Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund. WCEF2024 is organised by Sitra and produced with Circle Economy Foundation (programme partner) and the International Resource Panel (science partner), in close collaboration with international partner organisations. The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra is an active fund for the future. It aims to create a fair and sustainable future and work with partners to ensure that Finland can lead the way in the transition to a fair and competitive carbon-neutral circular economy – a new society in which our everyday lives and well-being are no longer based on excessive consumption and fossil fuel use. Sitra was founded in 1967 and is an independent public fund operating directly under the supervision of the Finnish Parliament. The International Resource Panel  was launched by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2007 to build and share the knowledge needed to improve our use of resources worldwide. The Panel consists of eminent scientists with expertise in resource management issues. It studies key questions around global resource use and produces assessment reports that distill the latest scientific, technical and socio-economic findings to inform decision-making. Circle Economy Foundation is a global impact organisation with an international team of passionate experts based in Amsterdam. We empower industries, cities and nations with practical and scalable solutions to put the circular economy into action. Our vision is an economic system that ensures the planet and all people can thrive. To avoid climate breakdown, our goal is to double global circularity by 2032. SHARE 'About CIRCULÉIRE

More than 150 delegates attended the 2024 edition of the Irish Waste Management Conference, held on Thursday, 14th March, at the Aviva Stadium. Dr. Geraldine Brennan, along with Government and industry representatives, provided insightful input on the progress and implementation of the circular economy in waste management in Ireland. Dr. Geraldine Brennan gave the conference an overview of CIRCULÉIRE and displayed some of the members' projects to scale up the utilisation of secondary raw materials and foster circularity. She also highlighted how current and upcoming regulations are enabling and pushing towards more circular business models. Some of the key takeaways from the other speakers were: Representatives of DECC and EPA highlighted the inclusion of specific circularity targets on upcoming regulations, such as the second Whole Government Strategy for Circular Economy. KPMG shared the results of its economic assessment on the Re-municipalisation of household waste management in Ireland, concluding that the management of waste by the private sector has been proven to be more effective and less costly than public management. The Southern Region Waste Management Office showcased the findings of their project to incentivize food waste separation, which includes the rollout of caddy packs and the establishment of a national food waste recycling week. The AMCS Group explained how AI could help achieve circularity targets. According to their most recent study, AI could help classify waste at the moment of its collection to avoid the contamination of recycled materials Industry shared positive news in terms of progress and commitment towards more circular practices. According to REPAK, between 2016-2023, there was a 25% increase in recycled tonnes in Ireland. Coca-Cola shared its commitment to NetZero emission by 2040 and 100% recyclable packaging by 2025.

Now in it's 5th year of funding, CIRCULÉIRE’s Circular Venture Programme is the first of its’ kind in Ireland, dedicated to supporting late-stage circular economy ventures to scale. We are committed to support circular economy innovators with well developed and tested services or products who wish to avail of highly specialized circularity mentorship and business acceleration support. Information Deck HERE The programme will provide the cohort of participants with key knowledge and tools to help their circular solutions make a systemic impact on both economic and social level and drive Irelands transition to net-zero carbon circular economy. Participants will have access to workshops, training sessions, knowledge share activities and mentoring centered around: System thinking and design strategies for circular value chain and supply chain Customer discovery for circular business development Leveraging the funding landscape to support business growth Measuring impact and communicating circularity performance Perfecting the pitch and selling the circularity story Eligibility Criteria The company/business solution must be centred on/implementing or enabling “circular economy” e.g. “Circular Manufacturing” “Circular Production Systems” “Circular Supply chains”, “Circular Products”; “Circular Reverse-Logistics”; The Enterprise must be incorporated in Ireland for a minimum of 2 years; The solution must be at an advanced technology readiness level (TRL6-8) i.e. a validated technology, close to market or recently launched on the market. Applicants must demonstrate how their solution/business will benefit from the CIRCULÉIRE circular venture programme and outline how they will leverage the following to scale their business: Build relationships with representatives from sectors leading Circular Economy in the CIRCULÉIRE Members Network; Integrate system thinking and design strategies into their business models; Learn how to get funding ready to accelerate their journey; Measuring impact data and circularity performance; Demystifying upcoming regulation and understanding implications for Irish companies; Accessing knowledge and building networks. Programme Benefits The programme will offer participants added value with: Equity-free funding for your new venture: € 5,000 Coaching & training from national and international cross-sectoral experts on Circular Economy and Entrepreneurship 1-to-1 and 1-to-many mentoring by practitioners, industry representatives and experienced founders from a variety of sectors Validation of product/technology and market and finding product-market fit Access and learnings from MNC and SME supply-chains through CIRCULÉIRE’s network Sessions to get investor ready, exploring potential contacts with investors & VCs/funds Access to and opportunity to engage in wider CIRCULÉIRE Industry Network meetings and activities Chance to leverage the R&D potential of Irish Manufacturing Research (secretariat of CIRCULÉIRE) Opportunities to build relationships across the Island of Ireland CE ecosystem Application Evaluation Criteria Applications will be evaluated based on the degree to which they meet the following criteria: Alignment with CIRCULÉIRE’s Programme objectives. Track record of business performance over the previous 3 years including evidence of circular economy implementation. Evidence of strong founder in the in the business fully committed to the Programme and the ideals of the Circular Economy. Strong leadership team with a track record of skills/capabilities to make the new venture succeed. Strong Value Proposition/s encapsulated in a well-designed business model which will deliver growth and profitability through circular economy principles. Strong prospect of generating defensible IP. Evident understanding of the target market/s and the marketing strategy that is to be employed. The financial strength to fund and sustain your circular venture Programme Timeline Application Process Download and complete this form: Circular Venture Innovation & Mentoring Programme 2024 - Application Form Applicants must submit their completed application by EOD Wednesday, the 26th June 2024 via the following email: circuleire@imr.ie If you have any queries regarding the Circular Venture Innovation & Mentoring Programme please reach out to Agnese.Metitieri@imr.ie directly.

What a week as our founding member Freefoam Building Products Ltd played host to the CIRCULÉIRE network for another jam packed agenda full with great participation at our June Network meeting 2024. 👏 Firstly huge shout out for the warm welcome from Freefoam CEO Aidan Harte and from Kevin Cronin, Patricia Hegarty and the entire team for their time and hospitality giving us the opportunity to tour the Freefoam site. This is a fully sustainable business that demonstrates how the pursuit to eliminate waste can reduce the overall impact of their business activities on the environment by keeping materials in use for as long as possible and preserving their value. 📢 Great learnings and knowledge exchange from colleagues from Zero Waste Scotland who delivered a superb overview of the Circular interventions they plan and deliver across a mix of business, public sector, regional and citizen facing activities in Scotland. The team David Barnes, hashtag#petermccafferty, hashtag#nicolamcgovern and Laura Blair outlined to members some specific work where they delivered tailored programmes of support for Manufacturing, Construction and the Built Environment, Food, Drink and the Bioeconomy and Energy Infrastructure. 🔗 We examined the link between Lean and Green with a concise overview of lean process to drive Circularity from Gráinne Leonard from LBSPartners 📣 Our own Circuleire policy lead Valentina Rangel Leon provided members with an update on what is coming down track across the policy landscape with a particular focus on ESPR regulation and what you need to know ! 🔔 Agnese Metitieri provided an overview of from the Insights from the recent member led Thematic Working Group to demystifies the topic of Remanufacturing and Recirculation strategies and what members need to be aware of. 📱 Enya O'Connell introduced our open access  AI4CE decision support tool that demystifies the use of AI in Circularity implementation. Try out the tool here https://lnkd.in/eS25bZqJ 🌊 Paul McCormack-Cooney introduced a bespoke infographic that simplifies the topic of the Circular Economy of water - as part our quest to demystify complex subject matters into digestible information.

In the pursuit of a more sustainable and resilient future, Industry 5.0 is emerging as a crucial driver of circular economy principles and overall business success. Through the power of digitization and data exchange systems, a new era of product lifecycle management is unfolding, offering profound insights into circular design and enhanced resource productivity in manufacturing processes Picture source: www.freepik.com EU's Sustainable Products Initiative: Navigating Circular Transformation The European Union's (EU) Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI) takes the lead in boosting circularity within its market. SPI integrates sustainability from product inception, with a focus on showcasing goods' circularity and eco-friendliness. Digital Passports: Empowering Sustainability Digital Product Passports (DPPs) emerge as linchpins. They gather product data, spanning material composition to circular actions like repair and recycling. Irish Manufacturing Research's (IMR) 'CircThread' pioneers a digital thread platform, providing users with insights from materials to manufacturing, extending product lifetimes. AI's Role in Circular Innovation Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a key enabler of circular implementation, particularly in challenging areas like electronics waste. Advanced AI technologies have proven their prowess in recovering secondary raw materials from e-waste, an otherwise hazardous and complex task. Innovations such as 'RoboCRM,' spearheaded by FPD Recycling/Peregrine Technologies, leverage AI to detect and sort electronics containing batteries. This not only aids in safe recycling but also enhances the recovery of critical raw materials. Towards a Circular Future with AI Projects like the 'AI for Circular Economy' (AI4CE), funded by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and led by IMR, signify a forward push. AI4CE investigates the potential of AI to expedite circular implementation. Through this initiative, a toolkit will be developed to empower companies in embracing AI to accelerate their circularity efforts. In essence, the fusion of digitization and Industry 5.0 holds the key to scaling up the circular economy. With data-driven insights, digital passports, and AI-powered innovations, businesses are well-equipped to drive circular transformation, benefiting not only their bottom line but also the well-being of future generations. Through these advanced strategies, the journey towards sustainability becomes a shared endeavor that promises lasting positive impact. The content from this post has been taken from the article Industry 5.0 is key to circular economy and business success written by Damien Coughlin and published by Profit with Purpose Magazine in Summer 2023 and businessnews.ie. About CIRCULÉIRE CIRCULÉIRE is a public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and three strategic partners: the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EIT Climate-KIC. Together with industry partners, CIRCULÉIRE aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models. In November 2022, DECC announced €1.5m continuation funding for CIRCULÉIRE in 2023. Read more about CIRCULÉIRE here.

In today's world, where environmental sustainability is a pressing concern, businesses are increasingly looking towards circular practices to reduce waste and emissions. CIRCULÉIRE, Ireland’s pioneering circular innovation network, spearheaded by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), is dedicated to supporting industries in their journey towards circularity through a comprehensive range of support and advisory services. Picture Source: Freepik.com So, how does this transformative process unfold? Let's delve into the five-step plan that has revolutionized how organizations approach circular transitions. Step 1 – Baseline Survey: Grasp the Impact CIRCULÉIRE collaborates with organizations to gauge their environmental footprint across materials, water, and energy. This uncovers impact hotspots, fostering awareness of emissions and laying the foundation for change. Step 2 – Maturity Assessment: Assessing Readiness Using a custom circular maturity toolkit, CIRCULÉIRE assists businesses to evaluate their preparedness for circular integration. From strategy to digitalization, this tool identifies strengths and areas for growth. Step 3 – Site Assessment: Unveiling Potential IMR's experts audit on-site processes, uncovering production inefficiencies and waste. This leads to opportunities for repurposing resources, boosting value creation. Step 4 – Register of Circular Opportunities: Prioritize Innovation By merging insights, organizations engage in workshops to prioritize circular innovation. This drives cost savings, supply-chain resilience, and fresh value propositions. Step 5 – CE Action Plan: Roadmap to Circular Success Guided by sector best practices, IMR crafts a tailored action plan. Covering short to long-term goals, this roadmap propels circular implementation while tracking progress. The content from this post has been taken from the article A Guided Five Step Plan to Help Organisations on their Circular Transition Journey written by Dr Vikrant Bhakar and published by Profit with Purpose Magazine in Summer 2023 and businessnews.ie. About CIRCULÉIRE CIRCULÉIRE is a public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and three strategic partners: the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EIT Climate-KIC. Together with industry partners, CIRCULÉIRE aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models. In November 2022, DECC announced €1.5m continuation funding for CIRCULÉIRE in 2023. Read more about CIRCULÉIRE here.

Sustainable Circular Economy Systems Expert, Dr Ilka Weissbrod, is joining CIRCULÉIRE on secondment from Indeed Innovation to develop CIRCULÉIRE’s 2022 Strategic Roadmap. We’re very excited to announce that Dr Ilka Weissbrod will be spinning into the CIRCULÉIRE team as Sustainable Circular Economy Systems Expert to assist in developing the strategic roadmap for a National Centre of Excellence for Circular Innovation. As part of the Department for the Environment, Climate & Communications commitment to the development of circular economy in Ireland, they have commissioned Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) to develop a strategic roadmap for a National Centre of Excellence to explore what the next stage of CIRCULÉIRE would look like. As Ireland’s National Platform for Circular Economy, CIRCULÉIRE aims to continue scaling industry-led circular innovation while leveraging existing expertise and activity within the national circular innovation ecosystem. Ilka is the Director of Sustainable Circularity with Indeed Innovation, the innovation firm for a Circular Economy and seconding into IMR to take part in the CIRCULÉIRE roadmap development project as a Sustainable Circular Economy Systems Expert. In addition to her Director of Sustainable Circularity role with Indeed Innovation, Ilka is a Strategic Research Partner with TU Dresden and her research focus is on innovation processes in business with a view to operationalizing corporate sustainability with the goal of a Circular Economy. “It is so rare to be able to take a content deep-dive at the intersection of circular innovation theory and practice – I am truly thrilled to learn and work with the CIRCULÉIRE team on this strategic project .” Dr Ilka Weissbrod, Director Sustainable Circularity, Indeed Innovation. Dr Geraldine Brennan Head of Circular Economy, and Sophie Reynolds Policy & Innovation Lead at the EU Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference In February this year, CIRCULÉIRE team members Dr Geraldine Brennan, Sophie Reynolds and Dr Ilka Weissbrod (on secondment from Indeed Innovation) attended the 2023 EU Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform Conference. This was not only an excellent opportunity to keep our fingers on the pulse of circular innovation across Europe, but also provided an unmissable opportunity for the first in-person meeting of the leading members of the roadmap development team. "We are really excited to have Ilka spinning into the CIRCULÉIRE team and to be able to leverage her insights from decades of working in sustainable and circular innovation AND developing cutting-edge research in systems thinking and experimentation" Dr Geraldine Brennan, Head of CE, IMR & CIRCULÉIRE Lead To inform the development of the roadmap, CIRCULÉIRE will be doing nationwide multi-sectoral stakeholder events over April and May 2023 to hear from actors across the circular economy innovation ecosystem. To stay up-to-date with these events keep an eye on our CIRCULÉIRE events page, our LinkedIn and Twitter pages, and our industry newsletter. About CIRCULÉIRE CIRCULÉIRE is a public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and three strategic partners: the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EIT Climate-KIC. Together with industry partners, CIRCULÉIRE aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models. Read more about CIRCULÉIRE here.

Check out the key results from CIRCULÉIRE’s working groups on ‘End-of-Waste, By-Products and Waste Licensing Pathfinders’ & ‘Financing the Circular Economy’ End-of-Waste, By-Products and Waste Licensing Pathfinders TWG Public Webinar Hosted by CIRCULÉIRE on 14th September 2022, this webinar presented the key results and innovation opportunities identified by CIRCULÉIRE’s End of Waste, By-Products & Waste Licensing Pathfinders Thematic Working Group. Expert Facilitators, Re-Mine Limited, presented the main findings of the working group including: The state of play of Ireland’s end of waste and by-product policy context, and the role that this plays in driving Ireland towards circularity; What key lessons industry can apply when looking to prepare strong end-of-waste and/or by-product applications; Major barriers to circularising Ireland’s economy using these specific tools, and the recommendations identified on what’s needed to overcome them; Recommendations identified by CIRCULÉIRE’s cross-sectoral Thematic Working Group Panel Members about how Ireland’s end of waste and by-product regimes might be optimised for a circular economy. Other outputs: Industry Fact Sheet: End of Waste, By-products and Waste Licensing Pathfinders Thematic Working Group (2022) Synthesis Report: End of Waste, By-products and Waste Licensing Pathfinders Thematic Working Group (2022) Policy Briefing: End-of-Waste, By-products and Waste Licensing Pathfinders Thematic Working Group (2022) CIRCULÉIRE (2022) Self-guided Worksheet - End-of-Waste and By-Products Application Preparation CIRCULÉIRE (2022) End of Waste, By-Products & Waste Licensing Pathfinders Public Webinar Financing the Circular Economy TWG Public Webinar Hosted by CIRCULÉIRE on 7th October 2022, this webinar presented the key results and innovation opportunities identified by CIRCULÉIRE’s Financing Ireland's Circular Economy Thematic Working Group. Expert Facilitators, Liz Gavin (Digital Village), and Kate Van Der Merwe presented the working group's main findings, including: The state of play of Ireland’s circular finance and funding landscape, and the role finance can play in driving Ireland’s shift to circularity; Major barriers to financing Ireland’s circular economy and recommendations identified to overcome them; Innovation opportunities identified by CIRCULÉIRE’s cross-sectoral Thematic Working Group Panel Members about how Ireland’s funding and finance landscape might be optimised for a circular economy. Other outputs: CIRCULÉIRE (2022) Financing the Irish Circular Economy TWG Final Report CIRCULÉIRE (2022) Financing the Irish Circular Economy TWG Fact Sheet CIRCULÉIRE (2022) Financing the Irish Circular Economy TWG Policy Briefing CIRCULÉIRE (2022) Financing Ireland's Circular Economy Public Webinar CIRCULÉIRE (2022) Financing Ireland's Circular Economy Public Webinar - PRESENTATION About CIRCULÉIRE CIRCULÉIRE is a public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and three strategic partners: the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EIT Climate-KIC. Together with industry partners, CIRCULÉIRE aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models. Read more about CIRCULÉIRE here.