This year’s EU Green Week highlighted the Circular Economy as a cornerstone of sustainability, resilience, and innovation. The week featured the main EU conference and a key session co-organised by the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) and the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI).
Over three intense days, leading voices from EU institutions, civil society, academia, and industry came together to explore the future of circularity in Europe and beyond. Discussions focused on how to scale systemic solutions through increased financial support, international knowledge exchange, and better integration with the bioeconomy, water resilience, and regional innovation.
Circular Solutions in Action: The ISE Mission at the Forefront
The ISE Mission played a key role in the Stakeholder Event: Circular Solutions in Action, held on Thursday 5 June.
The high-level opening plenary stressed that circularity must move beyond theory and become a localised, incentive-based economic model to foster resilience and competitiveness. John Bell, Director for a Healthy Planet at DG Research & Innovation (European Commission), underscored that in a post-Draghi EU, sustainable economic transformation must be accelerated through place-based innovation and strategic tools like the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
He pointed to initiatives under CCRI—such as biofertilisers, industrial symbiosis, and community-led solutions—as restoring public trust in science and governance. “Anxiety is not a policy. Circularity is,” he asserted, calling for bold, EU-wide action.
Emmanuelle Maire, Head of the Circular Economy, Sustainable Production and Consumption Unit at DG Environment (EC), positioned the updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy within the broader Competitiveness Compass, emphasising that ecological transition can also drive industrial leadership.
However, Peter Schmidt, President of the Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Section at the EESC, warned that circularity risks becoming empty rhetoric unless Europe addresses social justice, inclusivity, and bans non-sustainable imports outright—as Rwanda has done. He advocated for a shift from linear, profit-driven models to those focused on sustainable prosperity.
Sirpa Pietikäinen (European Parliament) stressed that without clear regulations, target indicators, and verified green procurement criteria, implementation gaps will persist. Calls for reforming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes and shifting taxation to reward sustainability were prominent throughout the plenary session, “From Policy to Practice”. The message was clear: local ecosystems must be empowered to lead the transition.
Bioeconomy in Action: From Innovation to Implementation
Sergio Ponsá, Director of BETA Technological Centre (UVIC-UCC) and ISE Mission Project Coordinator, spoke at the session “Bioeconomy in Action: Success Stories, Challenges, and the Road Ahead”. He highlighted real-world challenges in translating innovation into practice:
- Technology alone is not enough — creating or adapting value chains and ensuring end-user acceptance is critical.
- Regulatory complexity — many regulations affect biotechnology deployment, making local context crucial.
- Flexibility matters — technologies must adapt to diverse, unpredictable boundary conditions.
- Integration of old and new — innovative solutions often need to be combined with conventional technologies.
He concluded by urging policymakers to focus on the quality and lifecycle of bioproducts rather than their origin. Feedback for the New Bioeconomy Strategy on the Have Your Say Portal can be found here.
Citizen Engagement: Nudging Towards Circular Action
Eudokia Balamou, European Projects coordinator at ANETEL and coordinator of the ISE Mission thematic projects NUDGES & REVIVE , participated in the parallel session Engage for change: Exploring ways to engage citizens towards circular actions. She introduced the Nudging concept and presented two pilot actions involving families in Spain and Bosnia and Herzegovina. A dynamic World Café followed, exploring creative approaches to behavioural change, including: University waste bin redesign to reduce collection costs (by Kai Miethig); Meatless Fridays and food placement strategies in canteens (by Karin Huber); Gamified shower gadgets that “die” when too much water is used; Circularity-themed games and competitions for youth engagement; among others. Overall participants agreed that fun and creativity are essential drivers of real change.
Behavioural Change Takes Centre Stage at ISE Mission Partner Event
On 18 June, more than 60 practitioners, experts, and researchers joined the online session “Breaking Barriers: Behavioural Change Strategies for Circular Economy Implementation”, hosted by ACR+ as part of the ISE Mission and EU Green Week 2025.
The session built on insights from the 3rd ISE Community of Practice held in Sarajevo, where 14 thematic projects identified common behavioural obstacles—such as lack of awareness, financial limitations, and resistance to change—across the marine resources, agri-food, industrial transition, and resource valorisation sectors.
Alessandra Sensi, Head of Sector – Environment, Green and Blue Economy at Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), highlighted the importance of the Greener Med Agenda and regional cooperation. She stressed that consumers are “underexplored yet essential agents of change”.“We are part of a society that could be seen as a single consumer and education and raise awareness is crucial to move towards sustainable consumption, lifestyles and behaviour. She concluded her intervention emphasising that the context is changing very rapidly in the Mediterranean and there is the strong need for future positively advice.
Sensi reminded that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela.
Maria Calderó, from BETA TC (UVIC-UCC), positioned the ISE Mission as a platform for stakeholders to capitalise on Euro-MED project outputs through the quadruple helix approach and cross-border cooperation, promoting “localised big ideas” and collaboration over competition.Three ISE Mission projects showcased successful behavioural interventions: REPper Promoting repair culture through local hubs; VERDEinMED using storytelling and Living Labs to influence textile consumption habits; and ProcuraMED supporting public administrations in adopting green and innovative procurement practices.
Check out VERDEinMED Behaviour Card
Check out REPper Behaviour Card
Check out ProcuraMED Behaviour Card
Expert inputs from Rosa Strube Head of Sustainable Lifestyles at the Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) and Hernán Ruiz, Research Manager at Circular Economy Research Center (CERC), reinforced the idea that effective behavioural change requires moving from information to emotion, leveraging local accelerators and context-specific strategies in local languages.The webinar highlighted the need for evidence-based approaches that combine EU-wide strategies with context-specific interventions, emphasizing collaboration, knowledge sharing, and long-term governance to amplify circular solutions across the Mediterranean region.
Final Reflections: From Circular Water to Cleaner Industry
The event concluded with a strong call to build a nature-positive circular bioeconomy. Initiatives like Cities4Forests, a global alliance of cities acting to conserve and manage forests sustainably, were cited as models of urban environmental leadership.
The importance of monitoring industrial emissions to prevent and reduce pollution was also emphasised. Finally, participants were reminded that making the water cycle circular again must remain a priority. With the launch of the EU Water Resilience Strategy, it was noted that Europe has much to learn from countries that have long dealt with water scarcity.
