Rethinking value chains for a nature-positive circular economykey takeaways from the CSSBoost event
Link Copied!Article written by Carla Buonamisis, EURADA
On 25 June 2026, CSSBoost sister project organised the event “Rethinking value chains for European nature-positive economy”, bringing together stakeholders working on circular economy implementation across Europe. As part of the CIRCNET Cluster, CircSyst participated together with other sister projects such as SMILE City and FicFighters, contributing to the exchange on how to move from circular ambition to real implementation.
The discussions highlighted that the circular economy progress in Europe is still driven by waste management rather than prevention and systemic change. Many circular business models are still quite isolated, focused on internal optimisation, which limits their wider impact.
Across the sessions, a recurring message appeared: scaling circularity only becomes possible when the surrounding ecosystem is aligned. Even the most innovative solutions struggle to expand if governance, markets and stakeholders are not coordinated. Within this context, the importance of real demand was also evident, as several examples showed that solutions rarely move beyond pilot phase without market interest and alignment with consumer needs.
From a more technical perspective, benchmarking circular business models was also highlighted as a key element for scaling. The discussion stressed that projects need to demonstrate not only environmental impact, but also operational feasibility and financial logic to support their adoption. In this context, public procurement, de-risking instruments and stronger coordination across the value chain were mentioned as crucial to make circular solutions more “bankable” and easier to replicate.
Finally, regional insights from Wallonia and Alentejo reinforced the idea that circular economy implementation is highly place-based. While many regions have already built strong innovation ecosystems, a key challenge is still how to scale what already exists and make ongoing initiatives more visible and better connected.
Overall, the event reinforced a common understanding: circular transition is not just about individual projects but about creating the conditions that allow them to actually grow, connect, and survive beyond the pilot stage.
Looking ahead, the CIRCNET Cluster represented by CircSyst, CSSBoost, FIC-Fighters and SMILE will launch a new mini web series dedicated to the projects’ key value chains. The series will consist of four episodes, showcasing practical experiences, lessons learned and collaborative approaches to advancing circular economy implementation across Europe. More information will be shared in the coming months, with the initiative set to kick off in autumn 2026.
