Circular
City
Challenge

The Circular City Challenge is back for its second year and is seeking innovative Circular Economy solutions that enable urban transformation towards climate neutrality or even climate positivity within the city, district, or neighborhood.

The transition to a circular economy is key in helping cities reach their climate targets and ensures a sustainable future. It offers a new alternative to build more resilient, inclusive and local communities.

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

DISCOVER THE MOST PROMISING
SOLUTIONS

THE ROLE OF CITIES

More and more cities are committing to climate neutrality in the next 10-20 years. The ecosystem of cities defines what our future lives will look like. With 50% of global waste production and as much as 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, cities are currently the largest producers of waste. Yet they are centers of creativity and innovation where radical new ideas can be explored and applied.

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.

The Circular City Challenge serves as a catalyst, enabling the creation of ideal conditions for substantial CO₂ reductions. Often, the solutions required to achieve this goal are already available; what remains is advancing their implementation at the local level. In pursuit of this objective, we are actively seeking local partnerships during the initial phase.

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

THE PARTNER CITIES

Berlin

MUNICH

STUTTGART

VIENNA

ASSOCIATED CITY PARTNERS

hAMBURG

LEIPZIG

THE PARTNER MUNICIPALITIES

ZEUTHEN

KREIS LIPPE

RINGSHEIM

THE CHALLENGE AREAS

Your solutions must respond to at least one of the challenge areas. Discover below what solutions we're looking for in our second Circular City Challenge.

Built Environment

Leveraging local resources, accessing secondary raw materials, and engaging circular building experts, while optimizing construction waste management and monitoring materials based on economic and emission values throughout the building life cycle, and finding innovative solutions for existing materials during redesign and renovation.
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CHALLENGES

Circular aspects need to be considered when redesign and renovating existing buildings to make the current stock circular without massive cost and waste. What are the solutions for circular renovation processes that take into account the handling of existing materials and adhesion processes?
Locally available materials and resources should be used or reused. Municipalities need transparency about locally available secondary resources, access to experts and innovative components. Materials used for(re)construction, such as gravel, tiles and other waste, should be used as locally as possible. What solutions are available in the quality determination and, if necessary, certification of these materials?
An overview of the components of a building and the raw materials and materials used in it over the entire life cycle should be created and updated in order to make economic values and emissions contained visible at all times. Which solutions can help?

Logistic and Mobility

Integrating circular solutions and expanding the existing range of services are necessary for germinating logistics and mobility hubs in cities and neighborhoods, which act as infrastructure offerings that bundle various services.
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challenges

What other circular solutions can be integrated into these hubs to meaningfully supplement and expand the existing offering?

energy

Increasing citizens' awareness of CO₂ reduction through circular economy concepts, while offering various incentives and solutions to promote sustainable energy production and conservation measures.
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challenges

Which solutions promote the implementation of renewable power generation, greening of facades and roofs, and motivate individuals to adopt greening practices, including PV systems in their own households, encompassing vertical surfaces or open space systems in rural areas?

nutrition and food

Raising awareness for regional food to reduce long transport distances, developing sufficient local and regional food supply, and focusing on reducing food waste in canteens.
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challenges

What solutions exist to raise awareness of buying locally produced food while ensuring an adequate supply of local and regional food to minimise long transportation distances?
What solutions are there to reduce food waste in canteens, support staff, and promote healthy eating particularly in schools, involving students in cooking?

industry and commerce

Developing collaborations and local solutions to achieve synergies and reduce waste in industrial areas, neighborhoods, and shopping streets, enabling an efficient exchange of local resources and emphasizing support for local, sustainable producers.
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challenges

Businesses in industrial areas, neighborhoods or shopping streets should identify and exploit synergies in the circular economy, minimize waste in the supply chain and find symbioses. What solutions promote and facilitate these collaborations?
Municipalities promote the reduction of vacancies and land sealing and better use of existing capacities: What circular solutions exist by consistently including vertical space and facilitating efficient exchange of vacant capacity, residuals, and resources locally?
Municipalities want to promote local sustainable production and make small vendors in neighborhoods more attractive to customers. In doing so, the advantages of local production should be clearly presented, including local knowledge as well as the reduction of externalized costs. What solutions are there?

Events and gastronomy

Focusing on the events with circular (zero waste) options as well as establishing a uniform reusable strategy in gastronomy for easy coordination in city/district.
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challenges

Urban events often generate a lot of waste. What solutions are there to make these events circular (disposable and waste-free) or to offer suitable tools for this?
Municipalities want to facilitate the use of reusable food service. What solutions exist to make it easier for restaurateurs and users while allowing for easy coordination as a city or district.

waste management

Optimizing the use and processing of organic waste with the involvement of citizens and developing and introducing sustainable alternative packaging to avoid single-use plastic across the board.
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challenges

Municipalities want to improve the use/processing of organic waste from homes and businesses. What solutions exist to better use and process this waste and involve citizens?
What solutions are there to avoid single-use packaging at the municipal level, to establish sustainable alternative packaging and to introduce it across the board?

Consumption and use

Promotion of circular procurement with tools and solutions for municipalities, more use of repair services and creation of spaces and logistics for exchange points, shared consumption with less effort for citizens.
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challenges

Municipalities need governance for sustainable procurement to select circular products and sustainable suppliers. Which tools, guidelines and uncomplicated circular offers support the procurement of paper, work clothes, office supplies, school equipment, community catering, among others?
Improving public awareness towards the value of repair services, which ultimately leads to increased repairs. Which solutions ensure accessibility and professional organization?
Municipalities want to create spaces and logistics for exchange places, sharing and extended use, and reduce the effort for citizens to pass on? What solutions are there?

THE most promising solutions

concular

The digital ecosystem for circular construction prioritizes the reuse of high-quality building materials, aiming to significantly reduce waste and CO2 emissions.

www.concular.de

buildsystems

Evaluate recycling and reusing scenarios, along with incorporating secondary raw materials using smart sustainability roadmaps. Operate the "Circular Component Creator," a web-based open-source tool for selecting, creating, analyzing, and comparing components and building systems early in the building planning phase.

www.buildsystems.de

re:unit

Transforming construction into a resource- and climate-friendly practice, Re:unit delivers reusable building products through a meticulous harvesting process and a materials licensing system.

www.re-unit.com

fraunhofer ipk: argos

The Automated Feedback of Building Models from Optical Scan Data (ARGOS) automatically generates building models, documenting construction status in an automated and processable manner.

www.ipk.fraunhofer.de

The Ocean Package

Reusable packaging for online retail, with a focus on minimizing single-use packaging, reducing CO2 emissions during shipping, and fostering a circular economy in the packaging industry.

www.theoceanpackage.com

hey circle

A reusable shipping solution for e-commerce that circulates up to 50 times between online retailers and consumers, reducing waste from disposable cardboard, lowering CO₂ emissions, and conserving resources.

www.heycircle.de

panely

Facilitating decentralized and sustainable energy provision through photovoltaics, empowering tenants to actively contribute to a socially responsible energy transition.

www.panely.de

preflet

Aiding building managers in cutting energy expenses through a web platform. All your building requires is a smart meter and an internet connection.

www.preflet.com

everyone energy

Promoting the adoption of renewable electricity generation. Our automated energy guidance informs end-users and produces an individual exposé, encompassing all essentials for installing a PV system, battery, or wallbox.

www.everyone-energy.de

plattenbaum

Mini-Biosphere is a transportable greenhouse designed for public space that collects rainwater for irrigation, harvests solar energy for energy and water circulation, and uses compost for nutrients and heating.

www.plattenbaum.de

the surpluss

A B2B digital solution streamlining industrial symbiosis at hyperlocal, local, and regional levels, converting surplus into inclusive access. Empowering communities and reshaping the future of business, one synergy at a time.

www.thesurpluss.com

locaboo

Facilitating digital resource management, Locaboo automates processes to boost revenue and optimize utilization of existing resources like sports facilities, event spaces, and community centers.

www.locaboo.com

kooky

Establishing a comprehensive return infrastructure to facilitate the shift to a circular economy in the 2Go and takeaway market, we provide reusable containers through a deposit fee and manage returns via our network of return boxes.

www.kooky2go.com

quelle der nachhaltigkeit

Utilizing water fountains with Impact-Screen and Impact-Measurement as sources for water and information on the circular economy, sustainability, and awareness.

www.quelledernachhaltigkeit.de

goldeimer

Specializing in producing humus fertilizer from biodegradable diaper inserts, Goldeimer aims to reduce diaper waste in residual waste streams.

www.goldeimer.de

sykell

Sykell introduces EINFACH MEHRWEG, a reusable packaging solution, manufacturing and distributing self-developed beverage cups and food containers.

www.einfach-mehrweg.com

faircup

FairCup offers a reusable deposit system, encompassing product development, manufacturing, digital deposit processing, logistics for washing, and return machines.

www.fair-cup.de

fixfirst

We're developing an operating system for circular services and products – an AI-powered software solution that enhances repair efficiency by up to 70%, delivers a 10x better customer experience, and extends the lifespan of every product.

www.fixfirst.io

looplook

An online B2C marketplace, LoopLook offers citizens free access to classic and creative repair, modification, and upcycling services in their city.

www.thelooplook.com

Global Goals Directory

Utilizing AI-based actor mapping of local impact ecosystems, we empower cities with data to comprehend and boost their ecosystem.

www.globalgoals.directory

Universität der Künste Berlin

A modular exchange location designed for neighborhoods, the Universität der Künste Berlin solution is easily adjustable, weatherproof, vandal-proof, and serves as an eye-catching addition to public spaces.

www.tausch-orte.de

recycle hero

Providing customers with a free, convenient pickup service for their recyclables, Recycle Hero allows them to stay at home rather than walking to the container.

www.recyclehero.de

city circle

City Circle is building infrastructure across the city, both permanent and pop-up, offline and virtual, to make sharing and recirculating not only possible but also convenient and attractive.

DISCOVER THE
FINALISTS OF 2022

timeline

Partner onboarding

31.05.2023

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

Announcement of City Challenges

20.07.2023

Call for submissions

01.08.23 - 01.10.23

Open Call for innovative solutions to address Circular Economy challenges in cities.

Information event

14.09.2023

Join this event to find out more about submitting your solution! For more information and to sign up click here.

Matchmaking

23.11.23

Monitoring of the implementation

01.12.23 - 30.04.24

Voices from the circular city challenge 2022

"Circular economy is a critical component for us in city government when it comes to effectively advancing climate action. It helps us tackle the emissions that are generated outside our narrow city limits for life in this city. Networking with other cities and sharing ideas with each other, as well as working together to find innovative solutions, has been very valuable to us. So valuable, in fact, that we are supporting the new edition with money from the Stuttgart Climate Innovation Fund."
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- Jan Kohlmeyer, Head of the Climate Protection Unit of the State Capital Stuttgart

"Our participation in the Circular City Challenge 22 not only gave us feedback on our ideas but also provided further internal stimulus on the topic of circular economy. We are particularly pleased that our idea has even resulted in a follow-up project with the City of Stuttgart's Climate Innovation Fund."
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– Juliane Eckstein, HANSA Armaturen (Semi-finalist)

Who is behind the Circular City Challenge?

The Circular City Challenge is run by Circular Berlin, Circular Munich, Circonnact, Materialkreislauf and Circular Black Forest. We would like to collaborate with several cities in the DACH region that use circular economy approaches to achieve their city's climate goals.

Who can participate?

We welcome participation from all initiatives related to the circular economy, regardless of their legal entity status. This includes businesses, non-profit organizations, and project consortiums. The only exception is individuals. The key requirement is that your solution's approach aligns with at least one of the topic areas and is 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.

How can I find out some more specific information before applying?

Register for the information event: ‘Circular City Challenge: Bring your solutions to the cities’ to find out everything you need to know about the Circular City Challenge. We will answer your questions about the application process and present some examples of the possible solutions we are aiming for.For more information and to sign up, please go here.

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 can increase your visibility and reach through our network of multipliers.
- You will be directly connected with city and community partners to continue working with them on the implementation of the solution.
- You will be promoted in diverse incubator and accelerator programs to ensure your visibility and a simpler application process for you.

Who will be on the Jury?

The jury consists of the representatives of City and Districts municipalities as well as municipal companies. You can find the full list of organizations 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.