Coffee!UP has adopted a unique cascade recycling system for used coffee grounds which is in line with the zero waste concept. In this way, they support the circular economy and thus mitigate the impact on climate change.

Through this system, Coffee!UP obtains high-quality ingredients by gradually removing the valuable parts of coffee grounds. These are then used in the cosmetics industry and serve as an input material for making plastic products.

UtilDeco Group SRL has become Romania’s flagship work-integration social enterprise. 

In 2023, it linked its textiles and coffee operations in a circular-economy pilot scheme: fabric off-cuts from uniform production and empty jute coffee sacks were upcycled into OPYA Fashion, a limited-edition collection of jackets, totes and accessories. 

The enterprise is now scaling circularity through two major projects, one on digital product passports in textile products and the other on hiring workwear.

The PROMOFER project aims to use low value feedstock (straw, industrial wastewater and starch, mostly) to manufacture valuable biobased compounds. Specifically, it will improve the fermentation processes and downstream purification, solve bottlenecks upstream and downstream, and produce high-value applications.

Tuta, a German-based quantum-safe encrypted email and calendar provider, runs its operations with an eye to resource efficiency. It compresses user data for efficient storage and avoids replacing hardware unless actually necessary.

CirkArena is an R&D centre for the circular economy. Focusing on waste, it aims to help transform the local ecosystem and answer people's questions on the plastics value chain.

Carbon Expert is a consultancy firm that helps companies prove that their business model is sustainable and meets certification criteria. The companies can then generate funding via Voluntary Carbon Certificates.

HÅVA produces shrimp without wrecking the planet.

It has organised its operations in line with the principles of circular economy and industrial symbiosis in order to minimise inputs and waste while ensuring that the final product is tasty and healthy.

Companies can use IMERO's food compliance label service to ensure that their products are labelled properly. This means that consumers know what to do with recylable packaging and recyclers know how to deal with it. The end result, of course, is less waste. 

Developing sustainable materials and utilizing recycled feedstock in material manufacturing requires a multitude of laboratory testing to ensure that the new material meets functionality and safety standards. Measurlabs performs these tests! 

PSLifestyle is a free app that empowers individuals to better understand their environmental impact and supports them in adopting more sustainable and circular lifestyles. By providing personalized insights into users’ carbon footprints, it encourages changes in everyday consumption patterns that align with the principles of the circular economy.