CIRCO | International

Let Formas de Pedra's circular journey inspire you! The Portuguese marble company ventured into circular design by joining a CIRCO Track at the CIRCO Hub in Portugal. 💡 The challenge: Only about 30% of quarried marble is usable, while the remaining 70% becomes rubble. Of this, only a small proportion is reused as crushed stone for construction. Therefore, a lot of marble is wasted. 🌏 The journey: During a CIRCO Track, Formas de Pedra developed and explored different possibilities. They developed a business model using the CIRCO methodology and received support from the CIRCO Hub in Portugal. ✅ The result: The SMARBLE bathtub is crafted from small waste marble blocks collected from quarries, which are carefully assembled, glued and machined. The product is now available on the market, and the innovative process can be applied to other products as well. Curious about Formas de Pedra’s shift to circular design? Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/diQMmguH #circulareconomy #sustainability #circulardesign #circularity #design #innovation

After Pieter van Os (Program Manager CIRCO International) and Bas Roelofs (CIRCO trainer) visited Melbourne to help launch a new Hub, Australia now has a team of freshly certified CIRCO trainers! And they’re not wasting any time: the first workshops are already scheduled for October and November. 🚀 “For us, it was invaluable to see the delivery process and what is involved. We have a lot to take in and process to apply to the next locally delivered Track!” - Nicole T Garofano, PhD, AAIP, Head of Circular Economy Development at Planet Ark, reflecting on the Train the Trainers program. 🎉 Wishing the CIRCO trainers in Australia the best of luck! #circulardesign #circulareconomy #circularbusiness #circo #innovation #sustainability

🇻🇳 Vietnam's CIRCO Hub, which launched earlier this year, didn't just receive excellent feedback from participating companies for their first Tracks—they also certified 11 local candidates as CIRCO trainers! In August, the new hub held an Alumni event in Ho Chi Minh City, where many guests had just wrapped up their CIRCO Track. Alumni events like this are more than just reunions; they’re opportunities to reconnect, exchange insights, and spark new collaborations. It's also a chance to celebrate achievements, share best practices, and discuss future initiatives for promoting circular business models. 🌍💡 Well done, CIRCO Hub Vietnam! 🎉 #circulardesign #circulareconomy #circularbusiness #circo #innovation #sustainability

Flanders, Belgium, now hosts its own CIRCO Hub! 🎉 With Flanders DC onboard, the global network of CIRCO Hubs has grown to 30. 🌍 🤝 CIRCO Hubs are innovation clusters where businesses come together to explore circular solutions through CIRCO Tracks. With Flanders DC as a Hub, businesses in the region now have a go-to place for their circular goals. This milestone for Flanders was the perfect opportunity to ask Pieter van Os, co-founder of CIRCO and Program Manager at CIRCO | International, a few important questions. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐛 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭? 💬 "The most logical Hubs are those where there's significant economic traffic between companies. We’re excited to welcome Flanders DC as a new Hub! There’s already a strong partnership between the south of the Netherlands and Flanders in sustainability and circularity. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤?💬 "Circularity not only helps you use materials more efficiently and tackle raw material shortages, but it also improves your profitability. For example, by fostering longer-lasting customer relationships. Plus, there's a lot of new regulation coming that companies need to comply with." 🌱💡Read the full (Dutch) article below. #circulardesign #circulareconomy #circularbusiness #circo #innovation

Circular economy doesn’t stop at the border. That’s what the cross-border collaboration between Germany and the Netherlands demonstrates. 🇳🇱🇩🇪 With the new CIRCO Two4C Track, businesses are collaborating to transition to a circular economy in the Dutch-German border region. 🔄 Production chains often cross borders, making projects like Two4C incredibly important. This Interreg Deutschland-Nederland VI project encourages companies to adopt circular practices and work with partners across the border. 🚀 We're excited to see the circular collaborations that will emerge from this initiative! More about the Track: https://lnkd.in/enQfrzgM #circulardesign #circulareconomy #circularbusiness #circo #innovation #sustainability

Exciting news from Down Under: The CIRCO-methodology is making its debut in Australia 🇦🇺 We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Planet Ark's Australian Circular Economy Hub (ACE Hub) to bring CIRCO's methodology to Australia. Starting September 3, entrepreneurs, businesses, and designers can participate in a CIRCO Track at Sustainability Victoria’s offices in Melbourne. This launch represents a major milestone in strengthening the collaboration between the Netherlands and Australia, as we work together to drive sustainable practices and circular economy principles forward. 🌍 Pieter van Os, CIRCO International Program Manager: “We are excited to bring the CIRCO design methodology to Australia. It has facilitated 3.000 companies in Europe and Asia to create business opportunities and reduce their footprint by becoming more efficient with materials and energy, so we have high hopes that the methodology can accelerate circular innovation in Australia, too.” Want to join this Track? Register here. 👇 #circulardesign #circulareconomy #circularbusiness #circo #innovation #sustainability

𝗖𝗜𝗥𝗖𝗢 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗴𝗼𝘀: 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 🇳🇬 Recently, Lilian Van Hove participated on behalf of CIRCO at the Lagos Circular Economy Strategy Week, initiated by Holland Circular Hotspot in collaboration with Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO), the Consulate General in Lagos and the Embassy in Abuja. We spoke to Lilian after her return about her experiences: 💼 90 companies, designers and local partners participated in a Circular Entrepreneurship workshop that Lilian provided. And they responded with great enthusiasm. 🤝 Through group sessions and individual conversations, she gauged interest in collaboration within a newly established CIRCO Hub in Lagos. ☝ 4 organizations have indicated their interest in forming a CIRCO Hub together. The next step is to further guide these organizations in setting up the Hub, with the ultimate goal of training local trainers who will support companies in their first or next circular steps. Curious about Lilian's story? You can read the article on the CIRCO website ➡ https://lnkd.in/gYBiRjkj #CircularEconomy #Lagos #Nigeria Freek van Eijk Daan Sillen

𝗕𝗲𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗸𝗲, 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗸 𝗕𝗶𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲: “𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆” 🚲 The bicycle is recognised as the most eco-friendly mode of transportation. However, it took the bike industry a comparatively long time to understand its own responsibility for sustainable design and production. The good news is that more and more companies are taking measures in the right direction. One such bicycle manufacturer, Trek Bicycle, has made notable progress lately. Read their inspiring story here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e3eGrWu8 ✍ Werner Müller-Schell 🤝 In cooperation with Shift Cycling Culture 👏 Ben Lassanske

The first 6 companies and 10 candidate trainers had been trained on circular economy by CIRCO in Hanoi last week. Hear from participants about their experience, through the video below 👇

Meanwhile in Vietnam 🇻🇳....a brand-new team of candidate trainers has been prepared by Thai trainer Nattinee Dora Sae Ho and Pieter van Os to use the CIRCO method to train companies wanting to start circular entrepreneurship in Vietnam as well. Made possible by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. 🙏