On the 9th of April, we had the honor to host our first community meet-up. It was an extraordinary event meeting so many enthusiasts, organizations and experts in this field under one roof. The event was jointly organized with other Berlin active projects and organizations, pushing the topic Circular Economy and Zero-Waste, such as Circular Economy Tours (CET), Berlin Weg zum Zero Waste – BUND, CRCLR, Upnovation, and Zero Waste e.V.
All together we teamed up to define what are the future plans in Berlin around the topic and what else is missing in the common agenda.
The organizations shared their views, work and plan with the topic of circular economy and zero waste in Berlin. It was very exciting to see how much work is already done to bring circular economy steps in Berlin. However, we all know it is still not enough and we all have a long way to go!
CRCLR will push a lot of exchange on the understanding of circular society and circular future. We need this discussion not only to understand what circular economy is, but also it helps to find the role of the person in the circular systems. The question is what systemic change we need in our society in order to make the circular economy a mainstream?
Another hot topic was around circular construction and the circular city. Construction is a big issue in Berlin, not only because it is one of the most booming industries, but also because it is one of the biggest waste producers. There is still a lot to explore what circular construction means and how it transforms our cities. Circular Berlin and CRCLR will address it through a series of events and discussions. Also here the question is how to create more social equity, making spaces more inclusive.
Upcycling and fashion were picked by the colleagues from the project Upnovation. We also hope to achieve further collaboration on this side, as Berlin textile and fashion remains one of the main priorities for Circular Berlin to work on. BUND will push further political discussion around the circular economy in Berlin, and already in May there will be an event for Berlin Abfallwirtschaftskonzept 2020-2030. The focus of the work will be to support Berlin reuse and repair community, and together with Zero Waste e.V. push further educational work. The zero-waste community in Berlin is an important part of waste prevention movement that addresses the problem as well from the consumer view promotes conscious consumption.
The full presentation you can see here, or through our slideshare:
An interesting approach to learn about the circular economy was presented by Circular Economy Tours, where it is possible not only to collect the experiences from the organizations by visiting them but also learn about districts and practitioners. The most addressed topics are circular food and food waste, urban gardening, and Berlin circular fashion and design. This exploration and visits help to understand the real practices in Berlin for circular business models. We are happy to invite you to it, where you will learn from Berlin practitioners and see what is real motivations for all big circular economy community to work towards circular change.
Check the join plan we created! See what is going to happen over the year, and most importantly, reach out to us or other organization to contribute and co-create circular agenda further in Berlin!
We also want to thank everyone who joined us on this evening! And we will see you next time in May!
