Revisiting Key Moments from 2024 as Circular Valley Forum 2025 Approaches As we prepare for the Circular Valley Forum upcoming in November, 2025, which will once again bring together over 1,200 leaders from business, politics, academia, and civil society under the theme “Cooperations to establish a Circular Economy,” it’s the perfect moment to reflect on highlights from last year’s event. A key milestone in 2024 was the deepening cooperation between North Rhine-Westphalia and Flanders. Bart Brosius, General Delegate of Flanders in Germany, highlighted the partnership that was formalized at the Circular Valley Forum 2023 and is now driving real progress in chemicals, battery technology, and construction materials. He also introduced Flanders Circular, a collaborative initiative leveraging seven strategic levers including policy, procurement, finance, jobs, and innovation. Other standout insights included: • Ann Dierckx (Essenscia) on the need to regionalize supply chains and bridge the gap between research and commercialization in Europe’s chemical sector • Dr. Carsten Gerhardt on battery recycling as a key strategy to reduce import dependency and support the energy transition • Dr. Georg Bäuml on Germany’s existing building stock as an untapped “raw material bank” hindered by regulatory barriers • Dr. Kathrin Berner on advancing vehicle recycling technologies to keep valuable raw materials within Europe • Dr. Günter Poppen on water purification as a circular economy issue requiring digital and cross-border solutions The session concluded with Wolfram Diener (Messe Düsseldorf) announcing the first Circular Valley Convention. As the countdown to the Circular Valley Forum 2025 begins, last year’s Forum reminds us: meaningful change happens when ideas turn into action, and collaboration drives progress. Let’s build on the momentum. Let’s make 2025 a landmark year for circular innovation. For more information, head to: circular-valley.org #CircularEconomy #CircularValleyForum #SustainabilityLeadership #CollaborationForImpact #GreenInnovation #PolicyToPractice #ClimateResilience #CircularTransformation
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What strikes me is how often circularity is framed as a technical challenge, when it’s really more of a governance and incentive challenge. The breakthroughs may come less from labs and more from aligning policy with real-world market behaviors.
What I find powerful about these reflections is how they show circularity moving from theory to infrastructure. Partnerships across borders and industries are messy to build, but they create the resilience that isolated pilots never achieve.
Collaboration can truly spark positive change, and I’m excited to see what unfolds next.
The progress from last year is impressive. Building on that momentum will push circular innovation even further.
Collaboration is often spoken about as a soft value, but in the circular economy it’s a hard requirement. No single company controls a full material lifecycle, which means the business model only works if cooperation is designed in from the start.
It’s interesting how often circular economy discussions focus on new technologies, when the bigger unlock might actually be cultural shifts in consumption. Innovation matters, but without behavioral change even the best systems can stall.
Reflecting on these key moments underscores the power of collaboration in driving sustainable change. Looking forward to new insights at the 2025 Forum.
Excited for Circular Valley Forum 2025 and impactful innovations ahead! Circular Valley
Using Germany’s building stock as a raw material bank is brilliant. Collaborative solutions like this make circular economy ideas tangible.