The BioBoosters hackathon model has brought together innovators who have come up with workable solutions for a wide range of challenges in the bioeconomy sector. The programme is coming to an end, and this report sets out how the project connected regional innovation systems across the Baltic Sea Region to a joint open innovation platform tackling business-driven circular transition challenges.

It explores the relevance, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the hackathon model and the inter-regional cooperation dimension.

The analysis is based on data and feedback from 18 challenge provider companies, nearly 100 mentored teams and over 500 connected industry and research specialists. It looks at what makes this hackathon model impactful and the added value of an international network.

Drawing on cross-sector case studies from construction and food to finance and retail, this white paper illustrates how circularity is being translated into business models, procurement systems and design strategies.

It looks at systems thinking, industrial ecology, design innovation, business models, enabling mechanisms and behavioural change – all of which are key to understanding and implementing circularity across business and policy contexts.

The paper finds that organisational culture, leadership and behavioural change are as critical as technical solutions; EU policy momentum is accelerating uptake through regulation, finance and public procurement; and businesses that embed circularity across functions and align it with broader sustainability goals are best positioned for the future.

In a changing political landscape, the implementation of circular economy strategies presents significant potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, decreasing fossil fuel use and altering trade dynamics. Circular economy strategies related to material reduction, reuse and recovery complement industrial decarbonisation measures and have the potential to double GHG savings by 2050.

Through a multi-method analysis, this study shows that an ambitious circular economy scenario can yield substantial annual GHG savings across selected energy-intensive sectors and decrease EU imports, reducing trade dependency and increasing the trade balance by over EUR 30 billion compared to the decarbonised baseline.