CIRCULAR REPUBLIC

❔ Did you know that 54% of German companies see the transition to a circular economy as an opportunity, but nearly 60% have concerns about the transition? That’s one of the astonishing insights the DIHK Report brought to light. Nearly 2,000 companies participated in the survey, conducted from March 4–22, 2024, highlighting the transformative potential of a circular economy. Although the report is in German and about German companies, we consider the results remarkable and collected all the key insights to share with as many audiences as possible. We would be glad if you could help us spread the word. Firstly, we gathered all the important numbers from the report that underscore the urgency and potential of the circular economy transition. Curious about these insights? Find them in the slides! Stay tuned, as we will share more insights on the key benefits and crucial conditions for implementing circular economy principles in our upcoming posts. 💬 What do you think about these numbers? How do you believe these insights will impact the future of sustainable business practices? #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #Innovation #BusinessGrowth #GemeinsamWirtschaftStärken

🌍🔄 The Circular Economy: More Than Just Recycling! 🔄🌍 The circular economy goes beyond just recycling – it's about rethinking linear business models to create sustainable and profitable solutions. Within the 10R framework (from Refuse to Recycle), recycling is just one strategy. At CIRCULAR REPUBLIC, we work across all 10Rs in various industries, including batteries, textiles, packaging, industrial electronics, and more. Today, we're thrilled to announce our active involvement in a crucial aspect of circular business models: with our partners GORE-TEX Brand, Bergzeit, and reverse.supply, we are focusing on the “RE-USE” strategy through our Re-Commerce project in the outdoor textiles industry. Together, we will explore and experiment with scalable, profitable, and innovative Re-Commerce concepts that address the challenges of the current market. While Re-Commerce is already a well-known concept with C2C platforms like Vinted and eBay, many B2C models still face hurdles in scaling and profitability. 🌟 Here's what we're tackling: 1. Economies of Scale Many brands struggle to achieve the necessary scale to make Re-Commerce viable on their own. 2. Core Business Concerns Second-hand sales are often seen as a threat to primary sales. However, we've found that buyers and sellers in the second-hand market represent distinct target groups, offering brands and retailers a unique opportunity to expand their customer base. 3. Consumer Incentives Encouraging consumers to sell their products remains a challenge. We're developing strategies to make this process easier and more appealing. 4. Operational Efficiency Identifying and repairing products efficiently is crucial for profitability. We're innovating in this space to streamline these processes. Together with our partners, we aspire to build an ecosystem that can address these issues head-on, creating a Re-Commerce model that not only works but thrives. Stay tuned for more updates on our journey towards a sustainable future! 🌱💪 #CircularEconomy #ReCommerce #Sustainability #Outdoor #Textiles

♻ Circular economy start-ups watch out! Circular Valley is looking for start-ups for their Batch 7 of their accelerator program. 🔍 Specifically, they’re looking for innovative start-ups with business models that have a major positive impact on the environment in the following thematic categories: - Renewable energy and energy storage - Mechanical recycling of plastics - Circular use of technical or industrial equipment, machinery, tools and furniture 📆 The two-month program starts at the end of September and consists of two on-site phases in Germany (September 30 - October 13 and November 4 - 22). The first phase is for early-stage start-ups only and provides founders with basic knowledge. The second phase is mandatory for representatives of all start-ups. 🤝 If your start-up is selected, you will participate in tailored expert workshops and training modules and will also benefit from individual support from the Circular Valley coaches. You will have the opportunity to pitch your start-up on stage in front of hundreds of high-level representatives at the Circular Valley Forum on November 15. 💲 Participation-related costs (travel, accommodation, etc.) for up to two people per start-up will be covered. ❗️ The application period is open until July 28, 2024, 23:59 (CET). ➡ Here you can find more information https://lnkd.in/dXtSwQ35 #circulareconomy #circularity #gigaimpact #circularstart-up Andreas Mucke I Jan Turek I Günter Poppen

👗 Fast fashion is out, ultra-fast fashion is in. 💨 Shein and Temu are leading the charge with thousands of new styles daily, fueling a throwaway culture. 🗑️ This unsustainable pace is wreaking havoc on our planet. 🌍 On Tuesday, at the "Inspiration & Talk: Buy or Throw Away? How Can Fashion Become More Sustainable?" event, Sabine Hansky from Munich Urban Colab highlighted the fashion industry’s staggering environmental impact: 10% of global CO2 emissions - more than aviation and shipping combined! ✈️🚢 Prof. Dr. Michaela Wänke, Universität Mannheim emphasized fashion's psychological role in expressing identity and status, but also acknowledged the need for change. Gerlind Hector, AMD Akademie Mode & Design highlighted the importance of education in valuing textiles and repair/redesign skills. 🧵 Our textile expert at CIRCULAR REPUBLIC; Carl Warkentin, challenged the notion of sustainable fashion and brought up the question how to make second-hand as desirable as new. And how can we bridge the gap between the gap between sustainability and profitability? ♻️ At CIRCULAR REPUBLIC, we try to find answers in our recommerce project. Stay tuned to learn more about it. Tuesday night, everyone agreed on one thing in any case: We can all do our bit by making more conscious decisions and consuming more mindfully, or to put it in the words of the famous fashion designer Vivienne Westwood: 💭 “Buy less. Choose well. Make it last.” #sustainablefashion #circularfashion #fashionindustry #consciousconsumption Fotos by Bert Willer 🙏

How Can You Track Circular Economy Impact in Your Business? As the global economy shifts towards sustainability, businesses are increasingly adopting the principles of the circular economy. But how can we effectively measure the impact of these initiatives? The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's comprehensive report offers invaluable insights into the metrics that can guide us in this transformative journey. You’ll find a comprehensive list of key metrics for measuring circular economy performance in the slides below. But how do you integrate circular economy metrics into business strategy? Here are 5 ways: 🚀 Transform Products and Services: Use metrics insights to redesign products and services for greater sustainability. 🚀 Inform R&D Investments: Guide investments in research and development to foster innovation in circular solutions. 🚀 Drive Strategic Decisions: Incorporate these metrics into broader business strategies to enhance overall sustainability and competitiveness. 🚀 Financial Statements Integration: Align sustainability metrics with financial performance to present a comprehensive view of the company's impact. 🚀 Linking to Global Challenges: Connect circular economy metrics to broader environmental and social goals to demonstrate a holistic approach to sustainability. By embracing these metrics, businesses can effectively measure and report their circular economy performance. This approach not only ensures compliance but also unlocks new opportunities for growth and innovation. Do you have any questions about circular economy metrics? Ask and discuss in the comments. Let’s learn and inspire change together! #CircularEconomy #GreenEconomy #CirculaireEconomieSupporters #Circulariteit #CirculaireEconomie #ResponsibleConsumption

𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐞: 𝐀 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Cradle to Cradle (C2C) design, pioneered by Prof. Michael Braungart & William McDonough in the 1990s, is a cornerstone of circular economy. Inspired by nature's closed loops, C2C focuses on designing products that benefit both people and the planet. 𝐂2𝐂'𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲: 1️⃣ Healthy Materials: No more harmful substances! C2C promotes safe, recyclable, or compostable materials that have been designed for being kept in loops. 2️⃣ Designed for Remanufacturing: Eliminate waste with products designed for disassembly and reintegration into new creations. 3️⃣ Smart Cycles: C2C distinguishes between biological and technical cycles. Biological materials break down into nutrients, whereas technical materials are designed to be reused, repaired, remanufactured, and recycled, maintaining their utility in closed loops for as long as possible. 4️⃣ Clean Energy: Powering production with clean, renewable energy sources is a key C2C principle and the pre-requisite for a functioning circular economy. 5️⃣ Embrace Diversity: C2C celebrates the rich tapestry of design and materials, mirroring nature's ecosystems. 𝐂2𝐂 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 C2C acts as a blueprint within the broader Circular Economy framework: 🎨 C2C as the Guide: C2C principles provide a roadmap for designing circular products, promoting disassembly, reuse, and high-quality recycling. 🌱 Beyond "Less Bad": C2C aspires for positive impact. Safe materials and innovations like biodegradability push us beyond "less bad" towards a truly regenerative economy. 🛡️Resource Revolutionaries: Businesses embracing both CE and C2C become champions of combining resource conservation with future-proof business models. This reduces pollution and fosters sustainable production and consumption cycles. 𝐈𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂2𝐂 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦: 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘕𝘎𝘖 (𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘤2𝘤.𝘯𝘨𝘰/)

🔮 Critical Friends' Vision of a Beautiful Economy 🔮 The 2023 CIRCULAR REPUBLIC FESTIVAL wrapped up with a powerful final panel discussion featuring the CRITICAL FRIENDS gGmbH Collective. This group of thought leaders is dedicated to transforming our economic systems for a better future. Let’s delve into the key takeaways from the Critical Friends' discussion on building a "beautiful economy." The panelists represent four perspectives: 💬 Ecologist (Hannes Matt): Highlights the need for a truly sustainable future within planetary boundaries. Criticizes current strategies for being based on decoupling economic growth from material use, which scientific consensus finds unrealistic. 💬 Realist (Anna Goldhofer): Points out that reduction goals based on percentages are insufficient because economic growth outpaces reductions. Calls for absolute reduction targets, new partnerships for circular supply chains, and viewing regulations as a baseline to be exceeded. 💬 Transformer (Andrea Schneller): Emphasizes the need for a designed transformation rather than one forced by disaster. Encourages taking action, going beyond the "bubble" of circular economy enthusiasts, and focusing on the human aspect of the solutions. 💬 Visionary (Benedikt Huber): Challenges the current vision of humans being inherently bad for the environment. Proposes a shift from consumption to "metabolizing" resources, mimicking natural systems. Advocates for new business models where ownership remains with providers to incentivize responsible material use. 📣 Overall, the Critical Friends call for 📣 ▶ A beautiful economy that celebrates humanity's positive impact. ▶ Moving beyond reduction goals and focusing on absolute reductions in resource use. ▶ Building real partnerships for a circular economy. ▶ Viewing regulations as a starting point, not a stopping point. ▶ Rethinking resource management and business models to mimic natural cycles. The Critical Friends Collective has ignited a spark. Take a look at the whole session https://lnkd.in/eKQq5KxU Are you ready to join the conversation and co-create a beautiful economy for all? 🚩 Save the date for the CIRCULAR REPUBLIC FESTIVAL 2025 (May 22nd - 23rd)! Stay tuned for updates on how you can get involved. 🚩 #circulareconomy #sustainability #criticalfriends #CRF25

🔋 Recap: Success at the "Beyond Lithium Battery Workshop" hosted by CIRCULAR REPUBLIC🔋 We're thrilled to share some insights of our "Beyond Lithium Battery Workshop" that took place on July 9, 2024, at the Munich Urban Colab, where 30 leaders from different parts of the battery value chain came together to jointly discuss closed-loop circular solutions for different EV battery materials (e.g., Graphite, nickel, cobalt, lithium, copper, aluminum, etc.). Event highlights: 🎉 Engaging Start: The workshop opened with an enlightening introduction by Matthias Ballweg, CR, providing a comprehensive overview of the battery recycling sector and future developments.  🎉 Impulses: Experts from corporates (e.g., BMW Group, Aurubis) and tech-start-ups (e.g., Qkera, Circu Li-ion, Green Li-ion, Wolfram Chemie GmbH) presented in short impulse speeches their perspective on battery circularity and potential solutions to truly close the loop for different battery materials.  🎉 Collaborative group discussions: In the second half of the workshop, various deep dive discussions took place, focussing on challenges of the circular economy for batteries, solutions to overcome them and potential areas for future collaboration. Key takeaways from the workshop are:  ➡ It is important to take all battery materials into account when thinking about a truly closed battery supply chain (rather than focussing on just a few, e.g. nickel, cobalt, lithium). ➡ The recycling potential of some key battery materials, such as graphite for the anode, is still in its infancy, is largely unutilised and holds huge innovation potential for the future.  ➡ Corporate-start-up-collaboration-projects can be a valuable piece for taking the first joint steps towards promoting innovation in the field of battery circularity. ➡ Partnerships are key to realize a successful circular economy for EV batteries in Europe - no one will make it alone. The insights and relationships developed at the workshop are invaluable as we continue to drive circular innovations in battery technology. Stay tuned for more updates on our upcoming events and initiatives in battery recycling! Together, we are steering towards a more circular future! #BatteryRecycling #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #Innovation Webasto Group, MAN Truck & Bus SE, PreZero Deutschland, KUKA, Nickelhütte Aue GmbH, ANDRITZ, SAP, MWT GmbH, FORVIA

The European Union's new Right-to-Repair directive empowers consumers to repair products easily and affordably, extending product warranties and reducing electronic waste. This regulation incentivizes manufacturers to design durable, repairable, and recyclable products, promoting sustainability. It will also introduce a European online repair platform, making it easier to access repair services and creating new market opportunities in the repair sector.

🚀 Get Your Innovation Fix: Introducing the UnternehmerTUM Company Innovation Newsletter! We're passionate about fostering a culture of forward-thinking and sustainable business practices. That's why we're thrilled to announce the launch of the brand new UnternehmerTUM Newsletter that focuses specifically on innovation in companies 💡 What can you expect? 👉 Cutting-edge insights: We'll deliver bite-sized pieces of information on the latest trends in utilizing new technologies for business transformation. 👉 Real-world inspiration: Get a glimpse into successful examples of business innovation across various industries, sparking ideas for your own ventures. 👉 Upskilling opportunities: Stay informed about upcoming programs, training courses, and workshops to hone your skills and stay ahead of the curve. 👉 Networking events: Discover exclusive events designed to connect with like-minded individuals and build your innovation network. Why subscribe? The UnternehmerTUM Newsletter is your complimentary source for staying informed about the ever-evolving innovation landscape. Ready to get your pinch of the future? Click here to register ➡ http://eepurl.com/iPjovo