Circular
City
Challenge

The transition to a circular economy is key in helping cities reach their climate targets. It provides a new alternative to build back more resilient, inclusive and locally manageable communities.

The Circular City Challenge is calling for solutions that have the potential to transition from a linear to a circular economy to create thriving circular cities.

first-person view of someone sitting on the edge of a skyscraper looking down at the city.

THE ROLE OF CITIES

Cities are at the heart of the problem, being the main drivers of consumption and therefore increasing the extraction rate of the earth’s limited resources. By 2050 close to 70% of the world’s population will live in cities. Cities emit 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, and account for 50% of global waste production. Yet, they are hubs of creativity and innovation, where the most radical of ideas can be explored and implemented.

Transitioning to a circular economy cannot be done by one city only. By its very nature, a circular economy requires contributions and collaborations from all parties to remove the barriers that limit this transition.

Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart and Vienna are embracing these challenges and aim to explore the potentials for the circular economy locally.

A view of a crossing in a city with pedestrian and greenery

The partner cities

Berlin

Stuttgart

Munich

Vienna

The four challenge areas

Your solutions must respond to at least one of the four challenge areas: Resource Management, Digital Technologies, System Infrastructure and Consumption & Awareness.

Resource
Management

Providing data on product and material flows in the city that will help design out waste communities;
Creating and supporting local resource loops in the city between different businesses, sectors, and communities.
Resource management and food flows management as well as its redistribution on the level of buildings and neighborhoods.

Digital
Technologies

Scalable and transferable models e.g. through digital platforms enabling product-as-a-service, leasing, or take-back systems with the aim of maximising use and longevity of the materials.
Digital solutions focusing on material and product sharing methods, or material surplus redistribution.
Transparency for resource flows through digital solutions.
Bridging solutions between urban and rural implementations with the help of digital technologies.

System
Infrastructures

A solution for small and medium-sized businesses in the city to support product and material longevity through reuse, repair, and repurposing.
Infrastructural solutions for convenient and user friendly collection of materials and products to foster further circulation.
Solutions for under-used space and infrastructure as testbeds for the cities.
Logistical solutions helping to prevent emission and waste, e.g. packaging waste.

Consumption
& Awareness

Engaging consumers into city circularity awareness, by providing accessible information on the city’s circulatory solutions and methodology.
Circular living solutions for citizens and thriving neighborhoods that enable local action and grass roots circularity engagement.
Solutions focusing on the behavioural change of the consumers to promote sustainable choices and prevent products only being used once.
Solutions for schools and municipalities for their circular operations; supporting different consumption and procurement possibilities, like e.g. catering systems, food supply or other procurement approaches.

The finalists

Hempstatic

The project aims at creating new industrial symbioses that enable the production of circular insulating materials and high-quality renewable raw materials by sparing CO₂. Underlying is a circularity model that establishes new regional bio-based value chains and advances resource efficiency in cities and municipalities. The intra- and intersectoral model is based on the cultivation of industrial hemp, one of the fastest-growing and most versatile crops.

www.hempstatic.at

Labor Tempelhof

We provide an answer to the climate and resource crisis in the Labor Tempelhof. Clean energy, phosphor toilets, fresh food, circular packaging or new mobility: we are already showing technologies today for the world of tomorrow. Innovative, scalable, circular.

FLORIS Catering

With the FLORIS composting machine, cities and municipalities take a big step towards sustainability and climate friendliness. The goal of reducing food waste by half by 2030 (currently 90 kg per person per year) could be achieved in this way. The composting system could become a beacon project for other cities and municipalities.

www.floris-catering.de/composting

Faircup

FairCup GmbH is a young and innovative company in the field of reusable cup systems, which offers a wide product portfolio, from cups to bowls to menu boxes, and lid combinations where you can find a product for every application for package reusable options.

www.fair-cup.de

WeitergebenOrg

The open network WeiterGebenOrg connects the participating sectors (furniture manufacturers, dealers, SecondHand, logistics, repair and disposal) to a furniture circular system. Weitergeben offers an efficient system to bring used furniture into further use, which means less waste furniture being incinerated.

www.weitergeben.org

Concular urban Hubs

Concular meets cities, municipalities & counties. Through Concular Urban Hubs, regional material cycles are created with local partners in individual, adapted models. In different locations, a local infrastructure for circular construction is built up, consisting of companies, politics, storage & logistics and suitable digital software by Concular. Through this, circular material cycles can be implemented locally.

www.concular.de

Sleepify

Sleepify is an award-winning startup in Vienna creating a circular economy mattress solution for hotels which improves their environmental footprint in an accessible, effortless way whilst putting an end to mattress waste. Sleepify’s circular economy solution eliminates the burden of mattress waste disposal for cities, whilst enabling the hotel sector to become more sustainable, benefitting local cities with transitioning hotels and the wider business community to circular economy approaches.

www.sleepify.at

FarmNow

Farming-as-a-Service Platform makes growing and harvesting sustainable Food in Citiesavailable on-demand, as easy as eating, and affordable for all. Providing an Ecosystem of Shared Vertical Impact Farms that fit in/on any urban building type b2b/c users enjoy the benefits of sustainable farming within 1km of where they live, learn or work. Reducing all Space, Effort, Knowledge, and Capital Barriers all Urbanites can engage 365 days a year in edible climate Action - anywhere at any time.

www.farmnow.eu

timeline

Call for
partners

Until 31.01.2022

Building strong partnerships in cities and organisations fostering innovation for local needs in the circular economy.

Call for
submissions

01.02.22 - 01.04.22

Open call for innovative solutions addressed at city challenges for circular transformation.

Information event

22.02.22

Join the informational event explaining the challenge specifics.

Announcement for shortlisted candidates

18.04.22

Pitch session
for short-listed candidates

28.04.22

Finalists selected!

16.05.22

Who is behind the Circular City Challenge?

The circular city challenge is initiated by Circular Berlin (www.circular.berlin) and developed together with local partners Circular Munich, Materialkreislauf, and Circonnact. The partners (jury) that have already secured their participation are coming from Berlin, Stuttgart, Munich and Vienna.

Who can participate?

We encourage all circular economy related initiatives independently from the legal entity status. This can be businesses, non profit organisations, and project consortiums. The only exception is individuals. The most important thing is that your solutions’ approaches correspond to at least one of the topic areas, and are already at the stage of an implementation concept.

How can I participate

Please click the button “apply now”to proceed with the online form that you must fill in. As soon as you click “submit” on the form you are done! However, make sure that you fill it in completely and elaborate on your project as much as possible. As this is what the preselection will depend on.

Should I apply for only 1 city with my solution?

It doesn’t matter which location you are applying for. E.g. If you are applying from Berlin your solution might still be interesting for partners in other cities. You can also apply independently if you are not based in one of the 4 cities.

What will I get as a participant in case my solution is selected amongst the finalists?

The key benefits are:
- You will be connected directly to the partners from the city and district municipalities, as well as the urban
- related projects, progressing on closer work with them towards implementation;
- The finalists will have a chance to join the Circular Together and WISTA program, as the top 20 of applicants to join the incubator program (pre-final stage).
- Possible financial support;
- Extensive visibility through the promotional partners’ network.
- Provision of a trainer at a workshop for the selected finalists.
- Suitable coaching sessions from our coaching offer according to request and availability

Who will be on the Jury?

The jury consists of the representatives of Districts, urban projects and city partners. You can find the full list of organisations who will select the participants below.

Can I submit my application in another language?

Yes, we accept applications in English and German.

Can I submit more than one solution?

Yes, you can. Just be consistent and make sure you answer all questions, even if you have to do it twice and it is doubled.

Are there any financial costs associated with submitting an application?

No.

If I enter the challenge with a prototype, are my intellectual property rights safe?

This will be a subject addressed with further development.