Category: EU funded projects

Innovative method of circular economy in public and private procurement

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The aim of the project was to develop and pilot the methodologies of circular public procurement and purchases according to circulating criteria. Within the project, the following intellectual outputs were processed:

  • Methodology for participants in circulating public procurement course and private contracts with application of circulating criteria
  • Methodology for lecturers of circulative public procurement course and private contracts with application of circulating criteria

The circular economy is an effective way for us to reduce the amount of waste, to reuse the material already used, to reduce waste of raw materials and thus ensure sustainable development for future generations. And it is public procurement that is the ideal area where the application of the principles of the circular economy have a significant positive impact.

The project consortium consisted of 3 partner organizations (BIC Brno, INCIEN SK, BIOAZUL) from 3 different European countries (CzechIa, Slovakia and Spain). All partner organizations have been active in the field of the circular economy for a long time and are leading the field in their countries.
Three expert actions were organized to serve as a platform for the validation of processed outputs. Each of the partners holded one such meeting in their country.

Partners: BIC Brno (Czech Republic), Bioazul (Spain), INCIEN CZ (Czech Republic)

Circular regions: Cross-border capacity building for developing circular regions

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Despite the fact that several activities have been carried out in Slovakia and Hungary since the adoption of the EU Strategy and Circular Economy Action Plan in 2015, both countries still significantly lag behind the circular economy and eco-innovation leaders as well as the EU-27 average. In 2018, Slovakia and Hungary ranked 23rd and 22nd in the Eco-Innovation Index, being among the poorest performers in EU-27. Both countries deliver poor results in terms of material efficiency, municipal waste management, scientific research and innovation activity of small and medium-sized enterprises.

In order to accelerate the transmission of circular economy principles to the business sector, the partner organizations arranged multiple activities to deal with the shortcomings. Partners conducted a mapping of the cross border regions and collected sector-specific insights and information about the main barriers in closing the loops on the side of companies. Further to that, they prepared training materials on topics related to circular economy and about the ways to assess a circularity level of an organization. As there is a constant lack of circular economy experts and their concentration is mainly in the capitals, the partners organized training workshops with selected professionals from the field. These also served partner organizations to extend their portfolio of services and advise the organizations on how they can improve their circularity level. Based on specific meetings with SMEs and stakeholders, the partners identified concrete measures, which were integrated into reports with best practices that can serve the public. On top of that, partners strengthened the network of stakeholders with potential to apply principles of circular economy. For that purpose, they also developed a concept of the circularity service, which brought these principles closer to the regions.

Partners: Slovak Business Agency, Institute for circular Economy, Magyarországi Üzleti Tanács a Fenntartható Fejlődésért, IFKA Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft

Vedúci partner

Slovak Business Agency (SK)

Projektový partner

Inštitút cirkulárnej ekonomiky (SK)

Projektový partner

Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (HU)

Projektový partner

IFKA Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft (HU)

CR Trends driving circular economy
Circular economy basics & why go circular
Working with the Circularity Check
Supporting the CR consulting process

Circular schools

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http://circularschools.eu/en/

The project was implemented within the framework of the Cooperation Programme Interreg V-A Slovak Republic – Hungary and was financed from the ERDF and the state budget of the Slovak Republic. The project started in September 2017 and was completed in October 2019. The aim of this project was to present the essence of the circular economy in schools in Slovakia and Hungary.

The role of the project “Circle of Circular Economy” was to bring principles of CE to schools – to familiarize a new generation and show them how practical solutions work in everyday life. The objective was to show this system change to students not only in theoretical form, but to apply in practice and everyday life of school, students, and teachers as many principles of circular economy as possible. The essential and visible step was the decrease of mixed municipal waste by introducing separated waste collection and composting at school. The project also included the cooperation of students from the Slovak Republic and Hungary. The result was so-called “Circular Schools”.

The project involved 40 secondary and primary schools. 20 schools from Slovakia (Region of Bratislava, Trnava, Nitra) and 20 schools from Hungary.

Educational activities included lectures, workshops on topics of: Circular Economy – Waste as Source, Biodegradable Waste Management – Composting, Renewable Energy Resources, Water Management, Transportation, Clothing Industry, Green Buildings – Sustainable Buildings. The project also included tours to the facilities.

Partners: The Regional Development Agency Komárno, Institute for Circular Economy, The European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Rába – Duna – Vág.