Nordic cities are often held up as circular frontrunners – but what does the transition actually look like on the ground, and what can research and practice across the Nordics teach us about the opportunities and barriers ahead?

This WCEF2026 Accelerator Session brings together new research and real-world experience from across the Nordics and Europe. 

Three threads will anchor the discussion:

• Business models and the sharing economy in dense urban areas: RISE Research Institutes of Sweden presents findings from a three-year, 3 000-respondent study across Sweden, the Netherlands and Slovenia on demand for shared residential and functional space, and what customers are willing to pay for.
• Circular city concepts across the Nordics: regional circular hubs, urban resource mapping, industrial symbiosis and circular marketplaces - building on dialogues from the Nordic Circular Summit in Helsinki.
• From ambition to reality: which circular-city claims hold up when tested against evidence, markets and governance realities - and where Nordic cities still fall short.

This event will take place online at 14:00–16:00 (GMT+2) on 18 September.

Register and see the programme.