The Innovation Capital organisation sited in a place known as ‘Las Naves’, held a participative workshop aiming to address Circular Economy Systemic Solutions within CircSyst project Demo.

Aiming to agree with stakeholders the route towards the demos circularity as well as they view on the potential of systemic replicability, the event gathered over 40 industry representatives, regional local administrations, researchers from university and research centres, and sustainability advocates. Discussions focused on overcoming common challenges for SMEs and fostering collaboration in sustainable water, packaging and biowaste.

This event gathered a multi-stakeholder group composed of policymakers, enterprises and associations, interested in the implementation of circular economy initiatives, related to the CCRI initiative. The aim of the workshop was to directly influence in the creation of standards and legislation through the implementation of the workshop results in the corresponding deliverables.

The methodological focus established the workflow to:

• Co-create a shared vision for the future of the region
• Identify the necessary steps to reach this vision
• Assess the role of each demonstrator (DEM) and its adoption potential
• To directly contribute to the policy recommendations of Work Package 6 (WP&) of the project and reinforce the CCRI network.

Additionally, the event search for the validation of the technologies of three of its demonstrators, sited in the Valencian Community, related to the reuse of industrial water waste -Demo 1-, the valorisation of beer Bagasse (BGS) – demo 6- and the mechanical recycling of multilayer PET – demo 7.

The workshop was structured in three dynamic blocks, each of which was designed to foster co-creation and obtain essential information through participative techniques.

• Block 1 – Vision. Focused on the building of future scenarios for a circular Valencian Community. Participants imagine how the region will be in 10-15 years, exploring success and unsuccessful circular initiatives and the factors driving to it.
• Block 2 – Backcasting. Identification of the barriers and necessary actions to overcome them. Legal, behavioural and capacity factors hindering circular transition were analysed while specific strategies to overcome them were set, mapping socio-technical systems.
• Block 3 – Uptake. The analysis of the demonstrators was performed, its perceived utility, its replication or adoption potential, the required improvements and the existing barriers looking towards a higher impact.

The workshop was a unique opportunity to directly influence the roadmap and legislation related to water, biowaste and packaging sectors. Through the active participation and co-creation, the participants contribute to the socio-technical systems mapping and the development of policy recommendations that enable the scale up of Circular Systemic Solutions. The employed methodology, based on the Dynamic of ideas and group debate, ensured a rich interaction and the generation of valuable ideas for the circular transformation of the region.

The multi-stakeholder workshop highlighted a strong technical basis for applying circular economy principles in the water sector. Participants agreed that while water efficiency and reuse are already important, they will be crucial in the near future. Importantly, both key drivers and main barriers — including economic, social, and environmental factors — were clearly identified, providing a solid foundation for ongoing collaboration and progress among all stakeholders.

Great challenges are expected in the Valencian Community within the biowaste sector in10-15 years. Nevertheless, some barriers were detected such as the lack of experimentation spaces, the lack of industrial land and legislation and regulation constraints. Just in the Valencian Community, Valencia SandBox allows for the enterprises’ experimentation, jointly to universities and institutions, addressed to the companies and civil society, thus enabling a real transfer to the enterprises. Regarding the demonstrator, it is highly likely to replicate itself and in other sectors, while it could be constrained by certification requirements being addressed to the pharmaceutical and food industry.

On regard the packaging sector, it was noted that in a such a sector which is in the viewpoint, the creation of a coherent and uniform law, supported by a multi-stakeholder collaboration, and by all worldwide regions, would be key for the successful implementation of circular economy principles. This would consider technical issues, such as the use of monomaterials within the packaging sector or eco-design for disassembly, price regulation (i.e. the price of recyclates, which are higher than virgin materials), but also awareness campaigns and educational programs. Also, a potential shift from product ownership to service models would be advisable encouraging longer service life for plastic products.