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cdf1704c-4fcc-4821-a744-b50daba372fe CIRCULÉIRE MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: BEAN AROUND WEBSITE: BEANAROUND.IE SECTOR : COSMETICS PUBLISHED: 2 ND MARCH 2026 TAGS: WASTE TO VALUE, UPCYCLED INGREDIENTS, COFFEE WASTE VALORISATION, CIRCULAR COSMETICS, BIO BASED SOLUTIONS, MATERIAL EFFICIENCY, LOCAL CLOSED LOOPS, RESOURCE RECOVERY, SUSTAINABLE BEAUTY, EMISSIONS REDUCTION The Problem Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and ranks among the most traded commodities ( FAO, 2025 ). In 2023, an estimated 11 billion kilograms of raw coffee were produced, requiring around 12 million hectares of land ( FAO, n.d.), or nearly twice the area of Ireland 1 . During brewing, only 18–22% of coffee’s mass is extracted by water, leaving behind spent coffee grounds (SCGs) as waste ( Corrochano et al, 2025 ). These residues still contain valuable compounds such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, phenolics and caffeine ( Sidło and Latosińska, 2024 ). These components provide useful functional properties, including antioxidant activity, dietary fibre, stimulation of collagen production in the skin, and protection against UV radiation ( Sidło and Latosińska, 2024 ). Despite this, coffee grounds are a burden for cafes, workplaces and homes across the country. If sent to landfill, every tonne of coffee grounds would produce 525 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions ( Schmidt Rivera et al., 2025 ). Coffee grounds are a food waste, and therefore, Irish businesses are required under the Waste Management (Food Waste)(Amendment) Regulations 2024 to segregate coffee grounds from other waste streams. This waste is typically composted or anaerobically digested ( EPA, n.d. ). Composting one tonne of spent coffee grounds produces approximately 30.7 kg of CO₂ emissions, whereas processing the same amount through anaerobic digestion can avoid about 6.2 kg of CO₂ by capturing gases that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere and by substituting fossil-derived gas. ( Schmidt Rivera et al., 2025 ). However, both of these solutions still treat the material as waste. Under the 10 R-strategies framework for the circular economy , which sets out different ways to reduce waste and keep materials in use for longer, using spent coffee grounds for new products is considered a more circular option than simply treating them as waste. This is because it extends the life of the material, reduces the need for virgin resources, and can lower greenhouse gas emissions compared with disposal. Coffee grounds are segregated at source, providing a clean and consistent feedstock that can be redirected into new value chains. Spent grounds have been used to produce reusable coffee cups , insulation for buildings , stronger concrete , and even alcohol . Moreover, individual components such as caffeine, coffee oil, chlorogenic acid, and phenolics can be extracted for use in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels ( Sidło and Latosińska, 2024 ). Despite these efforts, spent coffee grounds remain an underutilised resource with significant potential for higher value uses. Unlocking this potential calls for solutions that transform this abundant “waste” into circular products. The Circular Solution Bean Around produces exfoliating soap made from used coffee grounds collected from local cafés and workplaces. It was founded by sisters Sadhbh and Aisling Wood, after Sadhbh used their father’s home psoriasis remedy of used coffee grounds to remove fake tan ( Bean Around, n.d. ). They have since expanded nationwide, demonstrating how everyday waste can be transformed into value-added consumer products. Coffee grounds serve as a natural exfoliant, replacing synthetic or resource-intensive materials such as plastic microbeads ( which were banned in 2019 ), sugar, or salt. By incorporating this by-product into skincare formulations, Bean Around valorises a waste material while reducing the need for virgin ingredients. Many of their soaps are sold in the same cafés that supply the grounds, creating a local closed loop ( SustainabilityOnline, 2025 ). The packaging is made from recycled and recyclable materials, further enhancing the company’s circular model. To secure a supply of coffee grounds, Bean Around partners with both large corporate clients, including Google Ireland, KPMG, and EY, and independent coffee shops in Dún Laoghaire and nearby areas. This localised collection network minimises transport emissions and ensures access to fresh coffee grounds. Bringing a cosmetic product to market requires a Cosmetic Product Safety Assessment . This involves strict checks to prevent contamination and bacterial growth. Several laboratories refused to even test Bean Around’s products because they contained waste-derived ingredients. Eventually, they found a suitable testing partner, and the products passed all safety standards. This shows a wider problem. Products made from recycled or waste materials often face additional soft barriers (non-regulatory obstacles), even when they meet all required safety standards. Through collaborations with national retailers such as Lidl, SuperValu, and Java Republic, Bean Around achieved a 300% increase in sales in 2024 ( Business Post, 2025 ). This success reflects growing consumer demand for clean and sustainable beauty products, particularly among young people ( Statistica, 2025 ). While Bean Around demonstrates how circular innovation can succeed, the use of waste-derived materials in cosmetics also faces regulatory and practical hurdles. Addressing these challenges will be essential for scaling such models across the wider beauty industry. Bean Around's founders featured on RTÉ News, discussing their sustainable, coffee-ground skincare business. Climate Impact To date, Bean Around has repurposed more than 1,000 kilograms of spent coffee grounds into high-value skincare products. By valorising this material rather than sending it to compost or landfill, the company transforms a common waste into a source of economic and environmental value. If the same quantity were landfilled, it would generate over 525 kilograms of CO₂ equivalent emission ( Schmidt Rivera et al., 2025 ). That is comparable to driving 4,600 kilometres², or driving from Cork to Belfast and back five times³. Replicability UpCircle is a circular skincare company that makes face and body scrubs from upcycled coffee grounds, as well as other upcycled ingredients from the food industry. Frank Body is an Australian company that produces coffee-based exfoliating scrubs, although they don’t claim to be made from used coffee. Ecobean produces a range of chemicals extracted from spent coffee, including coffee oil, antioxidants, and protein additives for industrial and consumer applications Kaffe Bueno is a Danish biotech company that extracts products from spent coffee grounds for human nutrition, personal care, and agrochemical industries. See the CIRCULÉIRE case study on Kaffe Bueno here . Footnotes The land area of the Republic of Ireland is 6.9 million hectares. 12 million hectares is 1.77 times the area of Ireland. Based on 0.114 kg CO2e emissions per kilometre ( SEAI, n.d. ) Based on the return trip from Cork to Belfast being equal to 830km. ALL CASE STUDIES

Case Studies Filter by Category ADVANCED-MATERIALS AGRICULTURE AQUACULTURE AUTOMOTIVE BUILT ENVIRONMENT CLEAN-TECHNOLOGY CONSTRUCTION ELECTRONICS ENERGY ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES FOOD & BEVERAGE MEDTECH PACKAGING PHARMACEUTICALS PLASTICS TEXTILES WASTE

35baa048-ee0d-45bc-8725-03cc682c3bb5 CIRCULÉIRE MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: HIBRA DESIGN WEBSITE: HIBRA.IE SECTOR : AUTOMOTIVE PUBLISHED: 12 FEBRUARY 2026 TAGS: ELECTRIC VEHICLE RETROFITS, CIRCULAR TRANSPORT, FLEET DECARBONISATION, AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING, EMISSIONS REDUCTION, COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION, LOW‑CARBON LOGISTICS, RESOURCE EFFICIENCY The Problem Transport is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in Europe and has made little progress in decarbonising over the past few decades ( EEA, 2025 ). Despite advances in electrification and biofuels, transport emissions in 2024 were still higher than in 2012 ( EEA, 2025 ). In Ireland, transport has experienced the most significant increase in emissions of any sector since 1990 – up 129% ( EPA, n.d. ). In recent years, however, there has been some improvement. In 2024, Ireland’s transport emissions were approximately 5% lower than pre-COVID levels, largely due to growing electric vehicle (EV) adoption ( EPA, 2025 ). That year, 25% of new vehicle registrations were battery electric or hybrid electric vehicles, bringing the national EV fleet to 148,900, which exceeded the Climate Action Plan’s target ( EPA, 2025 ). Yet even if every passenger car were an EV, 51% of vehicle emissions would be unchanged because of the trucks, buses and vans on our roads ( EPA, 2025 ). Commercial vehicles typically have long service lives, which influences how companies account for both their costs and emissions. In Ireland, more than half of the national bus fleet is over five years old ( NTA, 2021 ), while half of the heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are over eleven years old ( Climate Change Advisory Council, 2024 ). Replacing these vehicles early, while they're still good and usable, with EVs can cut operational emissions and fuel costs. For example, driving 10,000 km in an EV car costs approximately €145, compared with around €1,350 in a petrol-powered car ( Cupra, n.d. ). But they require high upfront investment and generate new manufacturing emissions. Retaining the existing fossil fuel-powered vehicles avoids these manufacturing impacts but perpetuates higher operational emissions. A more circular approach is to retrofit diesel vehicles with electric batteries and motors. This requires less capital investment; research indicates that new medium-duty electric trucks and buses typically have payback periods of 7.5 and 8.3 years, respectively. Retrofitted equivalents, however, can achieve payback in 4.7 and 4.5 years ( Primus Partners, 2024 ). This shorter payback window makes investing in retrofit solutions more attractive to fleet operators. However, the optimal pathway for fleet operators between these options depends on vehicle condition, age, mileage, electricity mix, and available capital, requiring a case-by-case assessment. The Circular Solution Hibra Design is an Irish automotive engineering company that takes existing diesel-powered commercial vehicles and retrofits them with battery electric powertrains (Powertrain refers to the system that delivers power to the wheels; in a diesel vehicle, this includes the engine, gearbox, drive shaft, etc.). This enables Hibra Design to extend the lifespan of existing vehicles, reduce operational costs, and significantly cut emissions. The company’s engineering approach allows for customised vehicle redesign and prototype development tailored to meet the performance and reliability needs of the client. Each retrofit involves detailed analysis of thermodynamics, electrical systems, and ergonomics, while maintaining compliance with safety and regulatory standards. As well as reducing fuel emissions, Hibra Design’s approach retains the embedded carbon already invested in the original vehicle structure, avoiding the emissions associated with manufacturing a new one. This supports both decarbonisation and circular economy objectives by extending vehicle life and maximising material value. The company has also developed its internal Hibra Design System, which analyses real-world operational data from its clients, such as fuel use, distance travelled, and operating hours. This enables three key outcomes: Technical feasibility assessment of vehicle electrification based on operational patterns. Economic analysis of cost and return on investment for fleet operators. Engineering and implementation of customised zero-emission solutions. Through this data-driven methodology, Hibra Design helps clients identify viable decarbonisation pathways and transition towards circular, low-carbon fleet operations, with significant cost savings. Video of Ireland's first electric tractor built in Cork by Hibra Design Climate Impact Retrofitting internal combustion vehicles to electric powertrains delivers emission savings. An independent life cycle assessment of a converted Smart ForTwo found a 45% reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions compared to a new EV. This was driven by the reuse of the existing structure and the lower fuel emissions ( Innocenti et al., 2024 ). In India, where the electricity grid is more carbon-intensive, retrofitted buses and trucks achieved operational emission savings of 26 and 36 tonnes of CO₂ per year, respectively ( Primus Partners, 2024 ). In Ireland, Hibra Design demonstrated the potential impact of this approach through a feasibility study for Iarnród Éireann at Rosslare Europort. The study showed that 98% of terminal tractor operations could be powered by battery-electric technology, eliminating tailpipe emissions and saving approximately €200,000 per year in operational costs. Replicability New Electric is a Dutch company that has been converting a wide range of commercial vehicles, including everything from Hilux trucks to asphalt rollers to tugboats, to fully electric since 2008. ABB retrofits large-scale mining trucks. In one example, a 30-year-old 147-tonne mining truck was converted to a fully electric drivetrain, saving around 100,000 litres of fuel per year. Electric Classic Cars is the world’s largest converter of classic cars to electric drivetrains, giving old cars new technology. ALL CASE STUDIES

CIRCULÉIRE is Ireland’s first circular innovation network and the National Platform for Circular Innovation, supporting industry and manufacturing to derisk, develop, and deliver circular business models. Led by IMR with national strategic partners, we have grown from 25 founding members to a 50+ strong Innovation Network driving Ireland’s circular economy transition. CIRCULÉIRE The National Platform for Circular Innovation Get Involved €1.5m Invested in 10 Circular Innovation Pilot Demonstrations €130k Invested in supporting 26 Circular New Ventures to date 50+ Active Members 19 Circularity Action Plans and Assessments Delivered 10 Thematic Working Groups delivered for Collaborative Knowledge Sharing CIRCULÉIRE is Ireland's First Circular Innovation Network. Our mission is to demystify, derisk, and deliver circular business model innovation by unlocking the value that resides in an Irish circular economy. CIRCULÉIRE, the National Platform for Circular Innovation, is a multi-million euro cross-sectoral, industry-led public-private partnership that provides Industry with the necessary supports and expertise to drive their systems-level circular innovation. Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) (Secretariat) in conjunction with three public sector Strategic Partners (Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC); the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and EIT Climate-KIC ), and 25 Founding Industry Members (MNCs and SMEs alike) soft-launched the programme in January 202O as a pilot initiative. Building on the impacts achieved by the pilot initiative from 2020 to 2022, the Department of Environment, Climate, and Communications became the primary public funder of CIRCULÉIRE in 2023. This support enables the continued scaling of industry-led circular innovation while leveraging existing expertise and activities within the national circular innovation ecosystem. We work across multiple Industry sectors and are stewarding over 50 organisations and their supply-chains on a journey from linear to circular business models. CIRCULAR BUSINESS SUPPORTS We accelerate organisations’ Circular Transformation to meet ESG and net-zero goals LEARN MORE KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE & POLICY ENGAGEMENTS We facilitate learning and capacity building and demystify policy and regulation to drive circular innovation LEARN MORE ECOSYSTEM COLLABORATION We are a dynamic Cross-Sectoral Industry Network committed to scaling circularity LEARN MORE Featured Case Studies Featured News Call for Proposals – Pharmaceutical Sector Expert to Co-author a Best Practice Guide on the Circular Economy Do you have deep technical expertise in the Irish and EU pharmaceutical sector, with a strong understanding of areas like green chemistry, solvent management, and GxP? Can you translate this knowledge into practical, actionable insights for a business audience? If you are a skilled technical writer passionate about advancing the circular economy, IMR the secretariat and coordinator of CIRCULÉIRE wants to hear from you. IMR is requesting applications from a suitably qualifi Feb 18 2 min read IMR’s Director of Circular Economy Innovation, Dr. Geraldine Brennan, guest speaker at HPBA’s inaugural Net Zero Construction Symposium Xavier Dubuisson, CEO of Retrokit, and Dave Garforth, Program Director at Responsible Plastics Management (RPM), and Dr. Geraldine Brennan (Director of Circular Economy Innovation at IMR/CIRCULÉIRE). On 21 st January, Director of Circular Economy Innovation, Dr Geraldine Brennan, represented IMR and CIRCULÉIRE in the Circularity in Construction Panel at HPBA’s Net Zero Construction Symposium, alongside Xavier Dubuisson, CEO of Retrokit and Dave Garforth, Program Director at Jan 27 3 min read Celebrating Circularity: Highlights from the All-Island Circular Venture Awards 2025 Youtube Video: All-Island Circular Venture Awards 2025 Highlights, 27th November 2025. For our closing round-up of the 2025 All-Island Circular Venture Awards, we present our highlights video showcasing all the elements of a successful event - speeches from Minister of State with responsibility for Circular Economy, Alan Dillon TD and Micheal Cassidy IMR CTO; all the shortlisted companies, expert judges, ESB’s fantastic venue, circular award fabrication, the audience, award Dec 15, 2025 2 min read IMR’s Director of Circular Economy Innovation, Dr. Geraldine Brennan, guest speaker at HPBA’s inaugural Net Zero Construction Symposium Jan 27 3 min read Celebrating Circularity: Highlights from the All-Island Circular Venture Awards 2025 Dec 15, 2025 2 min read Driving Circular Economy Through Collaboration and Innovation Dec 5, 2025 2 min read CircularShift: Ireland Joins Forces to Accelerate Circular Procurement Across Northwest Europe Dec 3, 2025 4 min read Upcoming Events Members Only | Q1 Network Meeting CIRCULÉIRE & ARYZTA Thu, 26 Mar ARYZTA Food Solutions Ireland More info Details

The CIRCULÉIRE Network is your gateway to a thriving community of experts and innovators. Join us today! MEMBERSHIP TESTIMONIALS OUR MEMBERS BECOME A MEMBER The future of business is circular. By adopting a circular economy model, you can unlock a wealth of benefits, including: Reducing waste and driving innovation. Improving efficiency and profitability. Prioritizing resource efficiency and responsible practices, to create a more transparent value chain, fostering trust with investors, regulators, and customers. Understanding policy developments and meeting regulatory requirements. Working together we aim to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in Ireland and to close the circular innovation gap through cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration between Industry, government & public bodies and research organisations. Membership Opportunities The CIRCULÉIRE Network is your gateway to a thriving community of experts and innovators. Join us and Contribute to unlocking the value that resides in an Irish circular economy. Gain a competitive edge. Benefit from first-mover advantage in resource efficiency and innovative revenue models. Expand your knowledge and network. Connect with experts and peers, broadening your perspective on circularity. Simplify ESG and CSRD reporting. CIRCULÉIRE helps you communicate your emissions reduction efforts transparently. Benefit from a range of funded business supports CIRCULÉIRE Member Services 01 Baseline Estimation INCLUDED WITH MEMBERSHIP Establish a baseline hotspot estimation for your overall emissions –Scope 1 to Scope 3 Yearly estimation & impact analysis Starting point on your journey to a full GHG assessment Government subsidized – market value of 10k - 20k+ ESRS E1 Climate Change 02 Circular Maturity Assessment INCLUDED WITH MEMBERSHIP Annual self-assessment Stimulate internal dialogue around circularity and your business Understand circular capabilities Establish baseline and benchmark circular performance Gain recommendations to improve Circular Performance Government subsidized – market value of approx. 5k CSRD Relevance ESRS E5 Resource use & Circular Economy 03 Circularity Action Planning ADDITIONAL COST Understand circular capabilities Visualise how resources are used in your value chain(s) Identify where structural waste is occurring Identify circular oriented innovation opportunities to reduce costs, improve supply-chain resilience and create new value propositions ESRS E5 Resource use & Circular Economy Best Practice and Insights Resources: Insight into National and European circular innovation funding opportunities. Policy & regulation updates to help you understand and prepare for regulations that will impact your operations. Access to our Circular Economy Knowledge Library containing a range of support resources and thought leadership such as policy documents, case studies, webinars and much more. Access to CIRCULÉIRE’s Good Practice Sectoral Guides highlight the best Circular Economy practices in a variety of sectors. Networking and Collaboration: Invites to a yearly calendar of interactive networking events. Share and gain knowledge with over 50 innovative companies working on their circular transition and business model innovation across multiple sectors. Meet Circularity Experts through participating in CIRCULÉIRE Thematic Working Group Sessions, and expert lead information webinars. Opportunities to host quarterly network meetings at your site. Regular communications and check ins to support your circular transition and innovation ambitions. By joining CIRCULÉIRE your organisation is signaling commitment to circular economy transition and knowledge sharing within and outside the network. We encourage members to make a voluntary commitment to contribute towards a collective goal of Co2 and waste reduction. Fees are based on company size and number of employees in your organisation. Next Steps Please submit your Member Participation enquiry through the form below with detail on where you are on your circular transition journey and your specific needs. Our member engagement team will set up a 30 minute introductory call to give you an overview of CIRCULÉIRE and our fee structure according to your company size. We will refer you to the relevant team leads to and start the onboarding process and determine your circular transition pathway. You will be added to the network communications list and will be contacted in relation to our calendar of events and have full access to the Members Only Knowledge Library. Our Engagement Lead will schedule regular check ins to ensure that you are maximising your membership. 2024 CIRCULÉIRE Circular Venture Accelerator Cohort IMR Circular Economy Team - 2024 CIRCULÉIRE Conference 2024 CIRCULÉIRE Circular Venture Accelerator Cohort 1/12 Testimonials "The participation with CIRCULÉIRE helped the organization start the journey of understand the principles of Circular economy and the importance of the transition from linear to circular model." Camila Batista, Sustainability Leader. Masonite Our Members AGRI FOOD & DRINK AUTOMOTIVE BIO PHARMA CHEM BUILT ENVIRONMENT CONSUMER GOODS FINANCIAL SERVICES GOVERNMENT ICT/WEEE MEDICAL DEVICES PLASTICS SECOND LIFE ENABLERS TEXTILES & FASHION Contact Us to Discuss Membership

Our Members Bank of Ireland 2 College Green, Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland NA NA https://www.bankofireland.com/ Financial Services Well Spent Grain Greenhills Road, Greenhills, Dublin 12, Ireland +353 '(0)86 171 4815 NA https://well-spent-grain.com/ Agri-Food Know Carbon 12 Clarinda Park East, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, Co. Dublin, A96 PP78, Ireland +353 (0)86 851 4503 eamonn.galvin@knowcarbon.com https://knowcarbon.com/ ICT/EEE Wyeth Nutrition Askeaton, County Limerick, Ireland +353 (0)61 601 200 askeaton.security@wyethnutrition.com https://www.wyethnutrition.com/ Agri-Food & Drink Arcology Service Fern Road, Sandyford, Dublin, Ireland +353 (0)87 065 7450 info@arcologyint.com http://www.arcologysystem.com/ Built Environment Masonite Derryoughter, County Leitrim, N41 CC94, Ireland +353 (0)71 965 9500 NA https://www.masonite.com/ Built Environment Farrell Furntiture John Street, Ardee, County Louth, Ireland +353 (0)41 685 3418 info@farrell-furniture.com https://farrell-furniture.com/ Consumer Goods Decotek Automotive Mullingar Road, Collinstown, County Westmeath, Ireland +353 (0)44 966 6600 info@decotek.com https://decotek.com/ Automotive Wisetek Ballincolly, Cork, T23 RX03, Ireland +353 21 455 6920 enquiries@wisetek.net https://wisetek.net/ ICT/EEE IFF Plastics Ltd Cloonwhite North, County Clare, Ireland +353 (0)65 9050773 info@iff.ie https://iff.ie/ Second-Life Enablers

Explore CIRCULÉIRE’s business supports, including hotspot baseline assessments, circular maturity tools, action plans, funding supports, entrepreneurship and policy innovation. CIRCULAR BUSINESS SUPPORTS KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE & POLICY ENGAGEMENTS ECOSYSTEM COLLABORATION HOTSPOT BASELINE ASSESSMENTS CIRCULAR MATURITY MODEL CIRCULAR ACTION PLAN CIRCULAR ECONOMY ENTREPRENEURSHIP FUNDING SUPPORTS POLICY INNOVATION GHG (Hotspot) Baseline CIRCULÉIRE is raising awareness and capacity building with our member participants to explore and report not only Scope 1 & 2 emissions, but also Scope 3 emissions on an annual basis. The CIRCULÉIRE baseline assessment provides you with a Hotspot Baseline for your estimated emissions across scope 1, 2 and 3 which provide an indicator of how your organisation is performing over time. Completing a baseline assessment annually will help your organisation to: Inform carbon reduction target setting Establish internal data collection and data management practices Enable transparent communication about your emissions reduction efforts – as part of ESG and CSRD reporting requirements. GHG (Hotpost) Baseline Steps Circular Maturity Model Transitioning from the current linear economy of ‘Take, Make and Waste’ to a circular economy where ‘waste’ is designed out of the system is not something that is done overnight. Nor is it something that is done by one or two people within in an organisation. It requires a broader conversation across the entire organisation to make that shift from a linear to a circular mindset. CIRCULÉIRE’s Circular Maturity Model (CMM) is an online self-assessment toolkit designed to facilitate that conversation. Key benefits of the CMM tool are: Stimulate a dialogue around what circularity means for your business Understand your circular economy capabilities Establish (Annual) Circular Maturity Baseline & Benchmark Circularity Performance Gain recommendations to improve Circular Economy Performance Visual Reporting Tool - representing your current and targeted circularity levels Easy-to-Use Online Tool - functionality for both individual and multi-user assessments Circular Action Plan For those organisation's interested in finding ways to save money and add value to your business operations, we offer a comprehensive assessment and customised action plan. Over the course of 12 to 16 weeks, our team will work closely with you through on-site visits, workshops, and interviews to: Understand the current environmental impacts of your production processes and supply chain, focusing on materials, water, and energy usage. Identify areas where circular economy strategies are already in practice. Analyze how resources are utilized throughout your value chain and pinpoint where inefficiencies occur. Brainstorm innovative ideas for reducing costs, enhancing supply chain resilience, and create new value opportunities through circular strategies. Develop a customized action plan outlining short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals for implementing circular economy practices, allowing for ongoing monitoring and performance tracking. Circular Ventures Accelerator From 2020 to 2023, CIRCULÉIRE in collaboration with Tangent, Trinity’s Idea Workspace delivered Ireland’s first accelerator dedicated to scaling circular ventures. This programme is a combination of non-equity funding and expert mentoring that supports mid-level start-ups to expand their innovative business models and impact Ireland’s Net-Zero Carbon ambitions. The programme empowers Ireland’s circular economy entrepreneurs to scale their circular solutions and find markets. CIRCULÉIRE's Circular Venture Accelerator aims to support late-stage circular economy ventures to scale by introducing innovators to System Thinking for circularity, helping them refine their customers profiling, improving their ability to leverage multiple funding opportunities, getting them familiar with tools to measure circular performance and master their storytelling. We are committed to give circular economy innovators, who wish to avail of highly specialized circularity mentorship and business acceleration support, access to a diverse pool of mentors, coaches and subject experts. 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 Arcology Systems Arcology System is a revolutionary smart and data-driven interior construction system that offers modularity and adaptability. This system unlocks circular economy value in the way commercial fitouts are financed, procured, built and managed for REIT’s, developers and end-users. Ériu Ériu is reviving the lost legacy of Irish Wool. Ériu yarn is made from the softest Irish wool, hand selected, processed and designed entirely in Ireland. They are proud to be the first Irish knitwear brand whose products are exclusively Irish sourced and made through our ‘Farm to Yarn’ sustainable initiative and sourced from a trusted network of farmers around Ireland, as well as Ériu’s own farm in Wicklow. THE FACTORY The FACTORY is on a mission to reinvent the traditionally wasteful and plastic-reliant signage industry by utilising wood, cardboard and other more Earth-friendly materials. The company uses green energy for production, and is reimagining their signage systems with so reuse is at its core. Tympany Medical Tympany Medical are designing endoscopes at the leading edge of design, electronics, photonics, and engineering. Tympany deliver first in class endoscopes to the ENT market and beyond to allow surgeons to maximise visualisation in minimally invasive surgery. UsedFULLY UsedFULLY is creating science-based solutions for unwanted clothing and textiles. Their vision is to circularise textile resources and measure impacts to reduce waste and emissions. The company seeks to Implement new technologies and circular business models at scale to ensure the full value of textile resources are maximised thereby reducing the environmental impacts of clothing and textiles. Well Spent Grain Well Spent Grain are committed to reducing the impact of food waste in the supply chain by upcycling brewer’s spent grain (which is underutilized and wasted in the food supply chain), into healthy sustainable snacks that are available for sale in retail stores. Harley & Marley Harley & Marley launched “Planet Loving Pets” a super-premium range of fish-based pet treats made from sustainable and nutritious ingredients in Ireland. The company’s range is made by Origin Green Gold Members Atlantis Seafood of Kilmore Quay, Wexford and the first range features four products. Their treats are made of locally caught fish, under Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM)’s Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP), meaning it is all sustainably fished and traceable. IFF Plastics IFF Plastics turns waste plastic (farm, industrial and ocean plastic) into top quality fence posts using a closed loop recycling service. They partner with farmers, business, and customers to deliver a circular plastics business model. Niskus Biotec Niskus Biotec is focused on the provision of innovative products and services to the agri-food and biotech sectors in fungal large-scale solid-state fermentation. The company works with customers to select the most suitable fungal strains for their process and growing media and to develop and scale-up new fungal derived high-value products such as proteins, enzymes, and intermediates. Sensi Sensi is a cleantech company that has developed the world’s first Smart RVM (Reverse Vending Machine) using Visual Artificial Intelligence. Their products incorporate advanced visual recognition technology and digital rewards, enabling deposit return schemes for several recyclable materials and reusable products to ensure the collection of uncontaminated streams of material. Verifact Verifact are a cloud-based sustainability platform that enables supply chain information to be captured and stored securely. This data is then used to validate the supply chain claims including circular economy related claims. Avoca Seafood Avoca Seafood is an aquaculture company dedicated to raising Atlantic salmon in a responsible and eco-friendly way. Utilizing a state-of-the-art Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS), Avoca raises fish entirely on land within a controlled environment. Allowing for continuous production while maintaining optimal conditions for the fish and minimizing environmental impact. Biowave Biowave technology is the sustainable solution for converting waste streams to bioavailable resources. Bio wave take difficult to treat organic wastes and convert them to a form that is ready for downstream biological processing. Digital Array Control Systems (DACS) DACS has developed a battery management system to extend the useful lifespan of lithium battery packs. This unit costs 8-12% of the basic array but doubles lifespan and prevents capacity loss. I am not a Virgin A high-quality clothing and shoe company, specializing in 100% recycled or biodegradable a high-quality clothing and shoe company, developing 3D printed footwear from secondary raw materials. ZeroNet The world’s first cloud-based technology platform designed explicitly around the logistical requirements of the Circular Economy. The ZeroNet app launched in Brighton & Hove in 2020 in partnership with Tech-Takeback. It will launch in Ireland in 2024. The service is designed to radically streamline the domestic recovery of unwanted small electrical and electronic devices. Electric Avenue Bikes Electric Avenue are a bike-share provider that is exploring the modularity of their bikes and batteries, which creates the potential to remanufacturer them at the end of each lifecycle. Applying this method, they double the life span of a lithium-ion battery pack and keep bikes on the road and out of landfills for longer. Jiminy Eco Toys Jiminy Eco Toys is an eco-specialist toy company, retailing and distributing the earth-kindest toys across Ireland & the UK that address the problem of toys that are wrapped in plastic packaging. Founder Sharon Keilthy set up Jiminy to give eco-minded customers more options. KnowCarbon KnowCarbon are a digital and traceability venture that provides transparent, actionable data to companies and consumers on carbon. ReFunk ReFunk is a female-owned, one-stop eCommerce platform that promotes the circular economy by buying, selling and commissioning pre-loved and upcycled furniture through their marketplace. Returnr Returnr is eliminating single-use food and beverage packaging in cafes and independent retailers through a B2C deposit return scheme for reusable food and beverage packaging. Blade Bridge BladeBridge repurposes retired wind turbine blades into sustainable infrastructure such as bridges and e-bike charging hubs. Wind blades are made from a composite material which is incredibly strong and durable and can be used to substitute raw materials such as steel and concrete for lower carbon & lower maintenance products Finline Furniture Revive by Finline Furniture is an initiative that not only promotes circularity but also supports social causes and customer loyalty. This take back scheme gives old furniture a second life. We restore and resell it, reducing waste and promoting sustainability thereby making a positive impact on the environment and society as a whole. HaPPE Earth HaPPE Earth have created bio-digestible (compostable) Personal Protective Equipment, such as single use splash aprons, using sustainably sourced bio-resin. The PPE is used as before but this time, the value is recovered by using our HaPPE onsite medical bio-digester creating a pathogen safe, nutrient rich fertiliser, resin recapture or biofuel potential. Rezero Rezero eliminates waste by preventing millions of unused cigarettes from being incinerated annually, addressing a global issue. By isolating cellulose acetate from the cigarette filters, Rezero manufactures sustainable products like buttons and eyewear frames, reducing reliance on virgin materials and supporting the circular economy in the fashion industry and beyond. Shareclub Shareclub offers innovative circular packaging solutions for events, workplaces, and takeaway services, designed to cut costs and minimise waste. Utilising QR-enabled reusables, shareclub tracks usage and impact, providing event hosts and corporate partners with quantifiable insights on their reduction of disposable items and CO2 emissions, enhancing sustainability reporting. Circular Food Co. Circular Food Co. enables the circular economy by transforming food manufacturing waste into high-value ingredients. We help producers reduce disposal, cut carbon, and create new revenue streams—keeping food in the system longer and replacing resource-intensive ingredients with upcycled, sustainable alternatives. EcoRoots Ecoroots is a biotechnology company creating high-performance, compostable packaging from mycelium, the root network of fungi, grown on agricultural and industrial waste. By combining advanced biology with digital optimisation, we deliver circular solutions that cut emissions, reduce energy use, and eliminate waste by upcycling local by-products into truly sustainable, closed-loop packaging. Bean Around Bean Around is a coffee repurposing business focused on transforming used coffee grounds into revitalising exfoliating bars, body scrubs and other high value-added products. We are challenging the prevailing linear, single use, throw away business model that is contributing significantly to current global environmental issues. Our philosophy is: rethink the problem, reimagine the solution, and redesign the product. Our goal is to shift the way people view waste, turning what was once discarded into high value-added, eco-friendly, sustainable products. Mesh Bioplastics Mesh Bioplastics develops sustainable plant-based alternatives to single use medical plastics. By designing products compatible with existing clinical waste and industrial composting processes, we enable healthcare providers to reduce reliance on fossil-derived plastics and move toward circular end-of-life solutions—minimising environmental impact without disrupting established workflows. Kinset Kinset is driving circularity in fashion through its Digital Product Passport platform. By enabling supply chain transparency, promoting repair and reuse, and guiding end-of-life recycling, Kinset empowers brands and consumers to extend product lifecycles, reduce waste, and meet EU sustainability regulations, transforming compliance into action for a more circular economy. Reloop Reloop supports CIRCULÉIRE’s mission by embedding circular practices in households, promoting access over ownership, enabling textile and e-waste recirculation, and engaging diverse stakeholders. Our data-driven, service-based model reduces waste, retains materials, and fosters systemic change, accelerating Ireland’s transition to a circular economy with measurable environmental benefits. Anaula Anaula builds technology that transforms distillery wastewater into algae-based fertiliser and feed. By using algae to recover nutrients from waste, we convert pollution into a regenerative input—replacing synthetic fertilisers and unsustainable fish feed—demonstrating a closed-loop, nature-based circular economy model. Hibra Design Hibra Design develops bespoke vehicles and vehicle systems with a focus on clean technology powertrains. A core part of our offering is to reengineer fossil-fuel powered vehicles with battery-electric powertrains. This allows companies to significantly reduce operational costs; meet ESG and CSR responsibilities; create healthier working environments and increase production efficiency. Circular Ventures Accelerator From 2020 to 2023, CIRCULÉIRE in collaboration with Tangent, Trinity’s Idea Workspace delivered Ireland’s first accelerator dedicated to scaling circular ventures. This programme is a combination of non-equity funding and expert mentoring that supports mid-level start-ups to expand their innovative business models and impact Ireland’s Net-Zero Carbon ambitions. The programme empowers Ireland’s circular economy entrepreneurs to scale their circular solutions and find markets. CIRCULÉIRE's Circular Venture Accelerator aims to support late-stage circular economy ventures to scale by introducing innovators to System Thinking for circularity, helping them refine their customers profiling, improving their ability to leverage multiple funding opportunities, getting them familiar with tools to measure circular performance and master their storytelling. We are committed to give circular economy innovators, who wish to avail of highly specialized circularity mentorship and business acceleration support, access to a diverse pool of mentors, coaches and subject experts. 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 Arcology Systems Arcology System is a revolutionary smart and data-driven interior construction system that offers modularity and adaptability. This system unlocks circular economy value in the way commercial fitouts are financed, procured, built and managed for REIT’s, developers and end-users. Ériu Ériu is reviving the lost legacy of Irish Wool. Ériu yarn is made from the softest Irish wool, hand selected, processed and designed entirely in Ireland. They are proud to be the first Irish knitwear brand whose products are exclusively Irish sourced and made through our ‘Farm to Yarn’ sustainable initiative and sourced from a trusted network of farmers around Ireland, as well as Ériu’s own farm in Wicklow. THE FACTORY The FACTORY is on a mission to reinvent the traditionally wasteful and plastic-reliant signage industry by utilising wood, cardboard and other more Earth-friendly materials. The company uses green energy for production, and is reimagining their signage systems with so reuse is at its core. Tympany Medical Tympany Medical are designing endoscopes at the leading edge of design, electronics, photonics, and engineering. Tympany deliver first in class endoscopes to the ENT market and beyond to allow surgeons to maximise visualisation in minimally invasive surgery. UsedFULLY UsedFULLY is creating science-based solutions for unwanted clothing and textiles. Their vision is to circularise textile resources and measure impacts to reduce waste and emissions. The company seeks to Implement new technologies and circular business models at scale to ensure the full value of textile resources are maximised thereby reducing the environmental impacts of clothing and textiles. Well Spent Grain Well Spent Grain are committed to reducing the impact of food waste in the supply chain by upcycling brewer’s spent grain (which is underutilized and wasted in the food supply chain), into healthy sustainable snacks that are available for sale in retail stores. Harley & Marley Harley & Marley launched “Planet Loving Pets” a super-premium range of fish-based pet treats made from sustainable and nutritious ingredients in Ireland. The company’s range is made by Origin Green Gold Members Atlantis Seafood of Kilmore Quay, Wexford and the first range features four products. Their treats are made of locally caught fish, under Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM)’s Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP), meaning it is all sustainably fished and traceable. IFF Plastics IFF Plastics turns waste plastic (farm, industrial and ocean plastic) into top quality fence posts using a closed loop recycling service. They partner with farmers, business, and customers to deliver a circular plastics business model. Niskus Biotec Niskus Biotec is focused on the provision of innovative products and services to the agri-food and biotech sectors in fungal large-scale solid-state fermentation. The company works with customers to select the most suitable fungal strains for their process and growing media and to develop and scale-up new fungal derived high-value products such as proteins, enzymes, and intermediates. Sensi Sensi is a cleantech company that has developed the world’s first Smart RVM (Reverse Vending Machine) using Visual Artificial Intelligence. Their products incorporate advanced visual recognition technology and digital rewards, enabling deposit return schemes for several recyclable materials and reusable products to ensure the collection of uncontaminated streams of material. Verifact Verifact are a cloud-based sustainability platform that enables supply chain information to be captured and stored securely. This data is then used to validate the supply chain claims including circular economy related claims. Avoca Seafood Avoca Seafood is an aquaculture company dedicated to raising Atlantic salmon in a responsible and eco-friendly way. Utilizing a state-of-the-art Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS), Avoca raises fish entirely on land within a controlled environment. Allowing for continuous production while maintaining optimal conditions for the fish and minimizing environmental impact. Biowave Biowave technology is the sustainable solution for converting waste streams to bioavailable resources. Bio wave take difficult to treat organic wastes and convert them to a form that is ready for downstream biological processing. Digital Array Control Systems (DACS) DACS has developed a battery management system to extend the useful lifespan of lithium battery packs. This unit costs 8-12% of the basic array but doubles lifespan and prevents capacity loss. I am not a Virgin A high-quality clothing and shoe company, specializing in 100% recycled or biodegradable a high-quality clothing and shoe company, developing 3D printed footwear from secondary raw materials. ZeroNet The world’s first cloud-based technology platform designed explicitly around the logistical requirements of the Circular Economy. The ZeroNet app launched in Brighton & Hove in 2020 in partnership with Tech-Takeback. It will launch in Ireland in 2024. The service is designed to radically streamline the domestic recovery of unwanted small electrical and electronic devices. Electric Avenue Bikes Electric Avenue are a bike-share provider that is exploring the modularity of their bikes and batteries, which creates the potential to remanufacturer them at the end of each lifecycle. Applying this method, they double the life span of a lithium-ion battery pack and keep bikes on the road and out of landfills for longer. Jiminy Eco Toys Jiminy Eco Toys is an eco-specialist toy company, retailing and distributing the earth-kindest toys across Ireland & the UK that address the problem of toys that are wrapped in plastic packaging. Founder Sharon Keilthy set up Jiminy to give eco-minded customers more options. KnowCarbon KnowCarbon are a digital and traceability venture that provides transparent, actionable data to companies and consumers on carbon. ReFunk ReFunk is a female-owned, one-stop eCommerce platform that promotes the circular economy by buying, selling and commissioning pre-loved and upcycled furniture through their marketplace. Returnr Returnr is eliminating single-use food and beverage packaging in cafes and independent retailers through a B2C deposit return scheme for reusable food and beverage packaging. Blade Bridge BladeBridge repurposes retired wind turbine blades into sustainable infrastructure such as bridges and e-bike charging hubs. Wind blades are made from a composite material which is incredibly strong and durable and can be used to substitute raw materials such as steel and concrete for lower carbon & lower maintenance products Finline Furniture Revive by Finline Furniture is an initiative that not only promotes circularity but also supports social causes and customer loyalty. This take back scheme gives old furniture a second life. We restore and resell it, reducing waste and promoting sustainability thereby making a positive impact on the environment and society as a whole. HaPPE Earth HaPPE Earth have created bio-digestible (compostable) Personal Protective Equipment, such as single use splash aprons, using sustainably sourced bio-resin. The PPE is used as before but this time, the value is recovered by using our HaPPE onsite medical bio-digester creating a pathogen safe, nutrient rich fertiliser, resin recapture or biofuel potential. Rezero Rezero eliminates waste by preventing millions of unused cigarettes from being incinerated annually, addressing a global issue. By isolating cellulose acetate from the cigarette filters, Rezero manufactures sustainable products like buttons and eyewear frames, reducing reliance on virgin materials and supporting the circular economy in the fashion industry and beyond. Shareclub Shareclub offers innovative circular packaging solutions for events, workplaces, and takeaway services, designed to cut costs and minimise waste. Utilising QR-enabled reusables, shareclub tracks usage and impact, providing event hosts and corporate partners with quantifiable insights on their reduction of disposable items and CO2 emissions, enhancing sustainability reporting. Circular Food Co. Circular Food Co. enables the circular economy by transforming food manufacturing waste into high-value ingredients. We help producers reduce disposal, cut carbon, and create new revenue streams—keeping food in the system longer and replacing resource-intensive ingredients with upcycled, sustainable alternatives. EcoRoots Ecoroots is a biotechnology company creating high-performance, compostable packaging from mycelium, the root network of fungi, grown on agricultural and industrial waste. By combining advanced biology with digital optimisation, we deliver circular solutions that cut emissions, reduce energy use, and eliminate waste by upcycling local by-products into truly sustainable, closed-loop packaging. Bean Around Bean Around is a coffee repurposing business focused on transforming used coffee grounds into revitalising exfoliating bars, body scrubs and other high value-added products. We are challenging the prevailing linear, single use, throw away business model that is contributing significantly to current global environmental issues. Our philosophy is: rethink the problem, reimagine the solution, and redesign the product. Our goal is to shift the way people view waste, turning what was once discarded into high value-added, eco-friendly, sustainable products. Mesh Bioplastics Mesh Bioplastics develops sustainable plant-based alternatives to single use medical plastics. By designing products compatible with existing clinical waste and industrial composting processes, we enable healthcare providers to reduce reliance on fossil-derived plastics and move toward circular end-of-life solutions—minimising environmental impact without disrupting established workflows. Kinset Kinset is driving circularity in fashion through its Digital Product Passport platform. By enabling supply chain transparency, promoting repair and reuse, and guiding end-of-life recycling, Kinset empowers brands and consumers to extend product lifecycles, reduce waste, and meet EU sustainability regulations, transforming compliance into action for a more circular economy. Reloop Reloop supports CIRCULÉIRE’s mission by embedding circular practices in households, promoting access over ownership, enabling textile and e-waste recirculation, and engaging diverse stakeholders. Our data-driven, service-based model reduces waste, retains materials, and fosters systemic change, accelerating Ireland’s transition to a circular economy with measurable environmental benefits. Anaula Anaula builds technology that transforms distillery wastewater into algae-based fertiliser and feed. By using algae to recover nutrients from waste, we convert pollution into a regenerative input—replacing synthetic fertilisers and unsustainable fish feed—demonstrating a closed-loop, nature-based circular economy model. Hibra Design Hibra Design develops bespoke vehicles and vehicle systems with a focus on clean technology powertrains. A core part of our offering is to reengineer fossil-fuel powered vehicles with battery-electric powertrains. This allows companies to significantly reduce operational costs; meet ESG and CSR responsibilities; create healthier working environments and increase production efficiency. European Level Funding Supports Horizon LIFE Programme Innovation Fund Circular Bio-based Europe Just Transition Fund Horizon Europe Horizon Europe is European Union’s primary funding program for research and innovation. The programme funds large scale international research projects on a variety of topics including the circular economy and sustainability. Objectives: Improving European competitiveness through innovation. Target Audience(s): Research organisations, SMEs, multinationals. For most call proposals you must apply as a team of at least three partner organization from three different EU or associated countries, at least one being from an EU country. Total Funding: Budget of EUR 95.5 billion for the period of 2021-2027. Availability: Funding opportunities all year around, deadlines dependent on specific calls. LEARN MORE Innovation Fund The Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest funding programmes for the demonstration of innovative low carbon technologies, especially with an emphasis on energy and industry. It focuses on projects with European added value that can bring significant emission and greenhouse gas reductions. Objectives: Support and foster innovation in low-carbon technologies and processes across Europe. Target Audience(s): Research organisations, SMEs, multinationals. Total Funding: The Innovation Fund’s total budget is dependent on the carbon price and it is estimated to be c.€40 billion over 2020 to 2030. Availability: Regular calls throughout the year. LEARN MORE EU LIFE Programme LIFE funding is the European fund for Environment Nature Conservation and Climate Action. LIFE funds close-to market projects providing up to 55% co-funding of project costs. Objectives: Support the transition towards a resource efficient society. Target Audience(s): Research organisations, SMEs, multinationals. Total Funding: Ranging from €1 million up to €5m per project. Availability: April-September (Opens 18th April 2024) LEARN MORE Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking The Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBIJU) is a €2 billion partnership between the EU and the Bio-based Industries Consortium which builds on the success of its’ predecessor, the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) . Objectives: Develop new technologies to transform renewable natural resources into bio-based products. Target audience(s): Research organisations, SMEs, multinationals. Total Funding: For 2024 the call budget is €213 million. Availability: Calls opened 24th April 2024 and close on 18th September 2024. LEARN MORE EU Just Transition Fund The EU Just Transition Fund (EUJTF) is Pillar 1 of the European Union Just Transition Mechanism. Its purpose is to assist the most affected territories in transitioning to a climate-neutral economy. In Ireland, the EUJTF supports the economic transition of the Midlands region and focuses on upskilling and employment projects in green enterprise. Target Audience(s): Private, public, and community and voluntary organisations. Total Funding: Budget of €169 million from 2021-2027. Availability: July LEARN MORE National and All-Island Funding Supports Green Transition Fund DCEE CEIGS EPA Research Call Intertrade Ireland Enterprise Ireland Green Transition Fund The Green Transition Fund supports companies across each of the different aspects of their decarbonisation journey – from initial planning and capability building to investment, research, and innovation. The fund is comprised of two separate streams: The Climate Planning Fund for Business includes the following opportunities: Climate Action Voucher: €1,800 for advisory support to develop an initial sustainability/decarbonization/circular economy strategy and action plan Green Start: Up to €5,000 to fund consultancy to introduce environmental best practice systems. Green Plus: up to €50,000 support for training project to improve environmental management capability. Strategic Consultancy: Up to €35,000 support to assist large energy user to develop carbon reduction roadmap. Audience: High-potential start-ups, SME and large enterprise can apply to all the above, except from GreenPlus which is available only for SME and large enterprise. Availability: any time. The Enterprise Emissions Reduction Investment Fund include the following opportunities: Capital investment for Energy Monitoring & Tracking Systems: Up to €50,000 for companies to put in place systems to monitor energy usage. Capital Investment for Decarbonisation processes: Up to €1m to support companies to decarbonise their manufacturing combustion processes. Innovation and R&D Grants: From €5,000 innovation vouchers to large scale R&D projects in the areas of sustainability and decarbonisation. Audience: Manufacturing, SMEs and large enterprises. Availability: any time. LEARN MORE EPA Research Call 2024 The call aims to support innovative research projects to support policy-and decision-making addressing environmental, climate change and sustainability challenges. Applicant may apply under a range of broad thematic areas including facilitating a circular economy. Objectives: Enhance Ireland’s competitiveness and resilience and inform policy innovation. Target Audience(s): Research organisations, SMEs, multinationals. Total Funding: €14.3m awarded in 2023 Availability: April Green Enterprise Funding: Innovation for a Circular Economy The Green Enterprise funding aims to support innovators in Ireland to develop, demonstrate and implement circular economy approaches in their business models. It is managed through the EPA-led Circular Economy Programme and is co-funded by EPA Research. Objective: Support innovation projects for the implementation of circular economy approaches in business models. Target Audience(s): Research organisations, SMEs, multinationals. Total Funding: Up to €100,000 (this is information of 2022) Availability: 2024 Call is closed - Updates to come on 2025 Call LEARN MORE Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme (CEIGS) The Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme (CEIGS) is a Government of Ireland initiative led by DCEE. The purpose of this grants scheme is to provide support to projects which work in the Circular Economy space, with the aim of advancing the Circular Economy in Ireland and raising awareness of its need. Objective: support Irish businesses develop circular solutions in product and service design, production. Target Audience(s): social enterprises, voluntary and community organisations and small/medium businesses (defined here as less than 50 employees). Total Funding: c.€500,000 per call with indicative grant €50,000 for 1-year projects. Availability: The 2024 call opened on 19th June 2024 and closes on 19th July 2024 LEARN MORE Intertrade Ireland Innovation Boost The Innovation Boost aims to support cross-border business on the island of Ireland through developing and embedding innovation through facilitating and funding an academic partner to help industry overcome an innovation or technology gap. Objective: Support innovation projects for the implementation of circular economy business models. Target Audience(s): Indigenous SME on manufacturing or tradeable services Total Funding: c. €50,000 Availability: All year round. Innovation Boost B2B The Innovation Boost B2B aims to support innovative cross-border partnerships and promote business collaborate to solve problems. Objective: Support innovation projects for the implementation of circular economy business models. Target Audience(s): Indigenous SME on manufacturing or tradeable services Total Funding: Provides up to €50,000 per partner. Availability: All year round. LEARN MORE LEARN MORE Policy Innovation CIRCULÉIRE's involvement in policy advisory groups and legislative discussions exemplifies our collective commitment to advancing the circular economy agenda in Ireland. Through strategic collaborations, expert representation, and thought leadership, we actively contribute to the formulation of policies that drive sustainable practices, innovation, and economic growth. As we engage with policymakers and industry stakeholders, our aim is to create an environment where circular principles thrive and pave the way for a more resilient and prosperous Ireland. At CIRCULÉIRE, we actively engage with key policy initiatives and decision-making processes that affect our Industry members to support the adoption of their circular transition in Ireland. CIRCULÉIRE team members play an active roles in advisory groups led by government and state agencies, such as the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE), the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) , the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI). We contribute on behalf of Industry members with insights, knowledge, and industry experience to inform the policy decision making process DCEE Construction Advisory Group DCEE Textiles Advisory Group DCEE Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy Advisory Group DAFM Irish Bioeconomy Forum EPA Food Waste Action Group EPA National Reuse and Repair Network NSAI National Committee on Circular Economy - NSAI/TC066

Explore CIRCULÉIRE’s knowledge sharing resources, including circular economy policy insights, thought leadership, case studies, and much more in our Knowledge Hub. CIRCULAR BUSINESS SUPPORTS KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE & POLICY ENGAGEMENTS ECOSYSTEM COLLABORATION CIRCULAR ECONOMY POLICY THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CASE STUDIES KNOWLEDGE HUB European Circular Economy Policy EU Green Deal (EGD, 12/2019) The EU Green Deal is Europe’s roadmap for making the EU’s economy sustainable – tackling climate and environmental-related challenges through a new growth strategy. It outlines the European Commissions’ commitment to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The Green Deal defines key actions, investments, and support mechanisms to support people, businesses, and regions transition to a circular economy, restoring biodiversity and cutting pollution. European Industrial Strategy (2020) The EU’s Industrial Strategy seeks to transform industry making Europe’s businesses future-fit by becoming greener, more circular (the Green Transition) and more digital (the Digital Transition) while remaining globally competitive. It emphasises the importance of leveraging the impact of the EU Single Market to drive innovation and set global standards and outlines a new SME Strategy to encourage innovation, cut red tape and provide better access to finance. EU Circular Economy Action Plan (2020) The EU Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP 2.0) is part of the European Green Deal. It outlines a range of measures to enable sustainable products to become the EU norm starting with the following key value chains: Electronics and ICT; Batteries and Vehicles; Packaging; Plastics; Textiles; Construction, Food, Water and Nutrients. The CEAP 2.0 in conjunction with other policy frameworks aims to ensure a joined-up approach to circularity in Europe. EU Waste Framework Directive (2018) The EU Waste Framework Directive was adopted in 2008 to regulate and reduce the quantity of waste being produced in Europe. It has undergone several amendments, the latest in 2018. It defined the waste management hierarchy; explains when waste becomes a secondary raw material; encourages the reuse of products and design of products with recycled content and outlines targets for the recycling of key materials. In 2023, the EU Commission proposed a targeted amendment of the Directive, with a focus on textiles and food waste. The proposal aims to bring a more circular and sustainable management of textile waste as well as introducing EPR schemes for textiles in all EU Member States. In June 2024 the Council adopted its general approach on the Revision proposed which allows the new EU presidency to continue the process for the final text under the new legislative cycle. EU Farm to Fork Strategy (2020) The Farm to Fork Strategy is a key part of the European Green Deal and outlines how food production systems in Europe can be reshaped to ensure healthy, environmentally- friendly and fair food for all citizens. It seeks to deploy circularity in bio-based value chains, and focuses on carbon intensity, protection of soil, air, water, and reversing biodiversity loss. The strategy also seeks to ensure that fair economic returns for producers and affordable prices for end-customers. Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (2023) The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) entered into force on the 5th of January 2023. It modernizes and strengthens the non-financial reporting rules concerning social and environmental information companies must report. It also broadens the set of companies that must report to include listed SMEs and non-EU companies that generate over 150 million EUR on the EU market. Companies subject to CSRD will have to report according to the ESRS standards, and the first companies will have to apply the new rules when reporting in 2025. Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (2024) The new Ecodesign for Sustainable Regulation (ESPR) entered into force on the 18th of July 2024. It builds on the Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC) and aims to promote more environmentally sustainable and circular products. The ESPR establishes a framework to set eco-design requirements for specific product groups to improve their circularity, energy performance, and other environmental sustainability aspects. The ESPR also introduces the Digital Product Passport (DPP) (art.9), a tool to provide comprehensive digital information about a product’s sustainability throughout its entire lifecycle. Right to Repair Directive (2024) The Right to Repair Directive adopted by the European Council on the 30th of May of 2024 aims to ensure that consumers are able to seek repair instead of replacement when a product is broken or defective. Some of its main elements are: incentives for producers to prolong life cycles of products, a right for consumers to request that manufacturers repair products that are technically repairable under EU law, a free-of-charge EU repair information form, and online repair platform to connect consumers with repairs and the extension by 12 months of the seller’s liability period after the repair of a product. National Circular Economy Policy Climate Action Plan (2019) Ireland’s first Climate Action Plan was published in 2019, to address the impacts of climate disruption. It includes a chapter on Waste and the Circular Economy. This is the first time an Irish policy recognized the need to adopt circular economy principles and mandated the development of a Circular Economy Policy and Action Plan for Ireland, inspired by the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan. Climate Action & Low Carbon Development Act (2021) The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act turn climate commitment into a law and set out a specific target for Ireland of net-zero emissions no later than 2050 and to a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030, doubling the ambition of the 2019 Action Plan. The Climate Action Plan 2021 set out a detailed sectoral roadmap to achieve Ireland’s net-zero targets. This Plan is revised and updated yearly. Waste Action Plan for Circular Economy (2020) The Waste Action Plan for Circular Economy is Ireland's strategic waste planning and management roadmap. This plan aims to move away from a waste disposal focus and promote a circular economy, preserving resources for longer. The plan outlines the sector's role in achieving the CAP 2019 and includes measures and targets for various waste areas. Additionally, the plan promises to publish a Whole-Government Circular Economy Strategy Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy (2022-23) The Whole Government Circular Economy Strategy published in December 2021 is Ireland's first national strategy which establishes a policy framework to guide the transition towards a circular economy in all sectors and encourages public sector leadership in embracing circularity. In the strategy, the concept of a circular economy is explained, along with the reasons why Ireland must achieve it, and how national policy will be developed to support this objective. The next Whole of Government CE Strategy is anticipated to undergo public consultation and go before government before the end of 2024. Circular Economy & Miscellaneous Provisions Act (2022) The Circular Economy Act 2022 is a landmark legislation in Ireland that defines the Circular Economy for the first time in Irish domestic law. It establishes comprehensive regulations and economic measures to help Ireland transition into circularity. The Act places the Circular Economy Strategy on a statutory footing, making the ongoing development of circular economy policy a legal requirement of the Government. It also re-designates the existing Environment Fund as a Circular Economy Fund to support environmental and circular economy projects. National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap (2023-2025) The National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap sets out actions to achieve a reduction of 50% in Ireland's food waste by 2030. The development of this roadmap was one of the commitments in Ireland's Waste Action Plan for Circular Economy (2020). The Food Waste Prevention Roadmap sets out priority actions to focus on food waste prevention across key sectors in the food supply chain. It also looks at the role of the public sector in tackling food waste by improving procurement practices. National Bioeconomy Action Plan (2023) In 2018, as part of Project Ireland 2040, the government published the first National Policy Statement on the Bioeconomy which set out a vision, common principles, strategic objectives, and an implementation framework to develop the bioeconomy across relevant sectors. It established a Bioeconomy Implementation Group (BIG), co-chaired by DECC and DAFM. The subsequent National Bioeconomy Action Plan 2023-2025 has a strong focus on bringing sustainable scientific practices, technologies, and biobased innovation into use on farms and by biobased industries in Ireland – including leveraging circularity principles. National Waste Management Plan for Circular Economy (2024-30) The National Waste Management Plan for Circular Economy, published in March 2024, sets out the framework for the prevention and management of waste in Ireland from 2024 to 2030. The Plan outlines specific targets, policies, and actions to accelerate the transition toward a circular economy. It includes circular economy targets such as reuse, repair, and resource consumption. Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027 (2024) The Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan for the period 2024-207 was published in Ireland on the 4th of April of 2024. It aims to enhance sustainable procurement practices within the public sector, leveraging its substantial purchasing power to drive environmental and circular objectives. This plan replaces the “Green Tenders” policy and aligns with broader national circular and climate strategies. Key components include setting sector-specific targets, implementing comprehensive monitoring and reporting mechanism, providing training and awareness program and fostering market engagement and innovation. Sectoral Guides Sectoral Guides are resources that provide information, guidance, and best practice examples in a particular industry or sector. Our Good Practice Sectoral Guides series aim to educate and highlight the best Circular Economy practices in a variety of sectors. They are essential reading for both industry and policy stakeholders who are invested in the progression of a Circular Economy in Ireland. 2025 Industrial Power-to-Heat: Enabling Circularity in Energy Systems This guide supports industry leaders, policymakers, and energy stakeholders in understanding how Power-to-Heat technologies can drive Ireland’s transition toward a circular and low‑carbon energy model. It examines the systemic inefficiencies in current renewable electricity use—such as curtailment and grid constraints—and highlights how converting surplus power into usable heat can unlock new value streams for industry. By exploring technological pathways, enabling conditions, and policy levers, the report illustrates how Power‑to‑Heat can strengthen energy resilience, decarbonise industrial heat demand, and accelerate Ireland’s journey toward a more integrated, resource‑efficient energy system. 2024 Unpacking the Circular Innovation Opportunities for Ireland's MedTech Sector This guide provides MedTech stakeholders with an understanding of the Circular Economy (CE), its necessity, and the opportunities it presents for value creation. It explores the drivers, enablers, and barriers to CE adoption in Europe and Ireland, offering strategies to transition effectively. Policymakers gain insights into key enablers and industry challenges, fostering collaboration to accelerate CE implementation in the MedTech sector. 2023 Towards a Circular Economy of Water This guide equips industry leaders with practical Circular Economy of Water (CEW) strategies, empowering them to drive sustainability and resource efficiency. Policymakers, gain insights and industry perspectives to accelerate CEW implementation through collaborative action. 2022 Circular Road and Rail Good Practice Sectoral Guide We explore global innovations in circular road & rail, sparking inspiration for Ireland's future. Industry leaders, discover practical strategies to optimise resource use and minimise waste. Policymakers, gain insights into international circular economy success stories shaping the future of mobility. 2022 Circular ICT /EEE Good Practice Sectoral Guide This guide empowers you to navigate the circular ICT & EEE shift and to discover best practices, funding opportunities, and educational resources to fuel your transition. We identify key barriers and learn from Irish companies leading the way. Policymakers will find insights to design supportive regulations and incentives. 2022 Circular Aviation Good Practice Sectoral Guide This guide showcases global innovations that are transforming the aviation industry towards circularity. Irish stakeholders will discover how to adopt these circular practices to optimise resource use and reduce waste. Policymakers will gain insights into international policies that are driving positive change in aviation sustainability. 2022 Circular Maritime & Shipping Good Practice Sectoral Guide Discover global innovations transforming the Irish shipping industry towards circularity. Explore practical strategies to optimise resource use and reduce waste. For broader industries relying on Ireland's sea links, learn more about the potential to minimize your Scope 3 emissions. 2021 Circular Food & Drinks Good Practice Sectoral Guide We explore cutting-edge innovations revolutionising the food & drinks industry. Discover Irish and global best practices to minimise waste, optimise resources, and embrace circularity. Unleash new opportunities for your business while protecting our planet. 2021 Circular Construction & Built Environment Good Practice Sectoral Guide We explore innovative solutions transforming construction globally, from recycled materials to modular design. Irish stakeholders, discover practical ways to optimise resources and minimise waste in your projects. 2021 Circular Fashion & Textiles Good Practice Sectoral Guide Explore innovative solutions reshaping fashion globally, from recycled materials to upcycling trends. Irish stakeholders, unlock opportunities to close the loop and minimise textile waste. 2021 Circular Agriculture & Biobased Industries Sectoral Good Practice Guide Discover global pioneers driving the circular shift in agriculture and biobased industries. Irish stakeholders, unleash your potential to reduce waste, optimise resources, and unlock new business models. Embrace a more sustainable future for Ireland's agricultural & biobased landscape. Thematic Working Groups Each year CIRUCLÉIRE designs and deliver Thematic Working Group interactive sessions based on topics chosen by our network participants to support their transition to the circular economy. The aim of Thematic Working Groups is to: Demystify the circular economy, raising awareness of relevant policy and industry best practices to equip businesses to make informed decisions Unlock the opportunities and barriers to scaling up circular innovation in Ireland Co-develop actionable outputs and recommendations to support the transition of Irish Industry towards circularity Foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and networking amongst the CIRCULÉIRE network and key stakeholders in Ireland’s circular economy ecosystem Share a pipeline of circular opportunities to inspire circular innovation in Irish industry Our Thematic Working Groups are delivered by the CIRCULÉIRE team within Irish Manufacturing Research, in collaboration with select expert facilitators or guest speakers. A multi-sectoral panel including industry representatives, policy makers, regulators, and academics are guided through a collaborative peer learning and knowledge-sharing process to obtain a detailed understanding of the selected topic. 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 Circular Economy, Product Lifecycle Thinking & Sustainable Product Regulation Designing products and services with a circular economy mindset, considering the entire lifecycle of products from design to disposal, and creating value through sustainable and innovative business practices. Contributors: Aisling McCarthy Dept Enterprise, Trade, and Employment Vojtech Vosecky Circle Economy Digitalisation & Digital Product Passport Using latest digital technologies to optimise the use of resources, reduce waste, and increase efficiency in the supply chain. Importance of data-driven decision-making and how digitisation can support transparency and traceability in the supply chain, as well as ensuring your business is ready to adapt to future EU regulatory changes such as Digital Product Passports. Contributors: Amba Concheso DSS+ Dr Rembrant Kopplaar EcoWise Measuring Circularity Exploring the main measurement approaches and tools for measuring circularity, such as life cycle assessment, material flow analysis, and circularity indicators. Outlining the process of measuring progress in the circular economy, and whether and how impact is highly dependent on the goals, reach, and target audiences of circular economy practitioners. Contributors: Shane Colgan EEA Dr John Gallagher TCD Circular Packaging Packaging waste is a key priority highlighted in both the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and the Irish Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy . The plans identify packaging as a prime target for the Extended Producer Responsibility model, placing the onus on producers to minimize waste. In 2021, packaging waste generated in the EU was estimated at 18.7kg per inhabitant with significant variations between countries. Irish inhabitants are amongst the top generators of packaging waste across Europe producing 1.2 million tonnes. The Circular Packaging Thematic Working Group, co-designed and delivered by CIRCULÉIRE and Mabbett & Associates Ltd guided participants through a series of meetings, ideation workshops and webinars. These sessions aimed at identifying circular innovation opportunities where Irish industry can reduce or replace their primary, secondary and tertiary packaging waste with more re-usable, re-fillable or recyclable packaging systems. Expert Co- Facilitators: Mabbett & Associates Ltd Circular Plastics While plastics offer advantages like affordability, durability, and versatility, their single-use nature and low recycling rates create significant challenges. These challenges include lost material value, harm to wildlife, and negative impacts on our environment and health. Out of 30 million tonnes of plastic waste collected annually in Europe, only 5 million are recycled into new products. The remaining plastic is incinerated, landfilled, or exported. To meet the ambitious European Green Deal objectives, much more plastic waste needs to be recycled and more sustainable, non-toxic and viable material substitutes also need to be found. The chemical industry plays a crucial role in this transition by advancing all forms of plastic recycling – mechanical, chemical, and organic. Similarly, emerging innovations in green chemistry are leading the way for industry to substitute fossil-fuel derived plastics with non-toxic, bio-based alternatives from renewable sources. The Circular Plastics Thematic Working Group, delivered by CIRCULÉIRE in collaboration with TUS’s Material Research Institute, guided participants through a series of meetings, ideation workshops and webinars aimed at identifying industry-led innovation opportunities to circularise Ireland’s plastics economy. Expert Co- Facilitators: TUS’s Material Research Institute Circular Design Circular design, a core principle of the circular economy, is a key priority in both the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and Ireland's Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy. Crucial for developing sustainable products and services, circular design focuses on repairability, recyclability, and readily available spare parts. This allows existing products to be redesigned for a circular economy, minimizing waste throughout the value chain. design for repair and recycling; including availability of spare parts, and removing barriers to reuse and repair, so that current products and services can be redesigned with circularity at their core. Furthermore, circular design plays an important role in enabling producers to design out waste and pollution. It also features prominently in the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) measures contained in the Government of Ireland’s Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, which recognises the importance of eco and smart design. The Circular Design Thematic Working Group, designed and delivered by CIRUCLÉIRE in collaboration with Dr Simon O’Rafferty of M-CO guided participants through a series of meetings, ideation workshops and webinars that shared circular innovation opportunities, highlighting major barriers that hold back circular design in Ireland and what’s needed to overcome them. Moreover, it provided an incentive to producers to design products that contribute to waste prevention and facilitate recycling by considering their durability, reparability, reusability, recyclability and the presence of hazardous substances. Expert Co- Facilitators: Dr Simon O’Rafferty M-CO End-of-Waste, By-Products & Waste Licensing Pathfinder End-of-waste and by-product notifications play a key role in fostering circular economy in Ireland. They establish a marketplace for diverse secondary raw materials, improve resource management, encourage symbiotic industrial practices, and divert resources from landfills. By keeping valuable materials circulating within the economy, successful end-of-waste and by-product applications can significantly reduce the environmental burden of waste disposal. However, a lack of understanding around policy regulation of end-of-waste and by-products is a barrier to engagement and successful applications in Irish Industries. To address this, CIRCULÉIRE and expert facilitator Karl Hylands of Re-Mine Limited, guided participants through a series of meetings, including two ideation workshops, a policy roundtable and a webinar. These sessions aimed to unlock the potential of using end-of-waste and by-products & waste licensing to advance circular economy in Ireland. Expert Co-Facilitators: Karl Hylands Re-Mine Ltd Financing the Circular Economy The transition to a circular economy hinges on increased access to circular finance and funding. Yet for both industry and the financial sectors significant hurdles still exist. Current regulations, markets, and financing practices are geared towards linear economic models. Risk assessments fail to account for the positive externalities of circular business models, often perceiving them as risky and not bankable, hindering access to funding. While an increasing number of circular finance instruments are coming on stream, there is a need to take a holistic, pipeline approach to developing the funding and financial landscape that caters to the diverse needs of circular businesses. Additionally, developing financial instruments and risk assessment tools specifically designed for circular innovations is essential to raise awareness and educate the financial sector is essential for transition to occur. In this Thematic Working Group, CIRCULÉIRE in collaboration with expert facilitators Elizabeth Gavin and Kate Van Der Merwe, brought together key stakeholders together from industry and the financial, funding and enterprise support ecosystem to jointly explore what opportunities there are to optimise the circular finance & funding landscape, so that it best supports Irish industry’s transition to a circular economy. Expert Co- Facilitators: Elizabeth Gavin NuaFund (previously known as Eur Digital Village)/Kilpatrick Innovation Kate Van Der Merwe Circular Bioeconomy The terms "bioeconomy" and "circular economy" have become hot topics in recent years, offering promising solutions to environmental challenges like climate change and pollution, while fostering economic and regional development. The European Bioeconomy Strategy defines it as "the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into food, feed, bio-based products, and bioenergy" (2012). This encompasses a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, forestry, and even parts of the chemical and energy industries. Ireland has abundant bioresources that presents immense opportunities for the development of a circular bioeconomy. To explore these opportunities, the CIRCULÉIRE Circular Bioeconomy Thematic Working Group collaborated with the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation to guide participants through a series of meetings, ideation workshops and webinars to explore the opportunities available in Ireland and the broader EU. Expert Co- Facilitators: Irish Bioeconomy Foundation Industrial Symbiosis Industrial Symbiosis – one company or sector using the underutilised resources from another to keep the resources in productive use for longer – can boost economic, environmental, and social benefits, while accelerating the transition to a circular economy. To promote the uptake of industrial symbiosis in Ireland, CIRCULÉIRE in collaboration with Internation Synergies, introduced participants to the concept and implementation of industrial symbiosis in Ireland. This was done through guided meetings, ideation workshops, and webinars that included examples of industry best practice and an exploration of innovative opportunities. Expert Co- Facilitators: International Synergies Circular Procurement Circular procurement goes beyond simply buying products and services. It's a strategic process where organisations source works, goods, or services that contribute to closed-loop supply chains. Minimising negative environmental impacts and waste throughout the entire life cycle, from acquisition to disposal. While the public sector has embraced procurement as policy tool to drive sustainability, many private sector organisations are unknowingly implementing circular procurement in their purchasing practices. Market collaboration, life-cycle assessments, total cost of ownership (TCO) and total costs of usership (TCU) models, green and circular criteria in specifications, and end-of-life product management are all examples of circular procurement in action. In this Thematic Working Group, CIRCULÉIRE and expert facilitators, IDDEA, guided participants through a series of meetings, ideation workshops and webinars that shared circular innovation opportunities and understanding the current and future circular procurement opportunities in Ireland. Expert Co- Facilitators: IDDEA Remanufacturing & Recirculation Strategies The theme for this conversation was “Remanufacturing” and the Recirculation Strategies,” and it focused on innovative approaches to extend the lifecycle of products and materials through the Recirculation Strategies. This TWG offered foundational knowledge on Remanufacturing, highlighted industry-specific opportunities and potential challenges, while showcasing best practices and case studies, and discussed regulatory frameworks and policy recommendations. Contributors: Prof.Winifred Ijomah Scottish Institute for Remanufacturing, University of Strathclyde Dr David Peck TU Delft Dr Damian Coughlan University of Limerick David Fitzsimons European Remanufacturing Council Case Studies Our collection of case studies present inspirational examples of how our members in Ireland, and businesses from all over the world, are leading the charge in transforming our economy to one that minimises environmental damage while maximising economic value. Our case studies cover some of the actions taken by organisations who are only beginning their journey to circularity, right the way up to global leaders well advanced on the path. Wherever you are on your own journey, there is inspiration here for everyone. AUTOMOTIVE BUILT ENVIRONMENT FOOD & BEVERAGE ELECTRONICS PLASTICS TEXTILES MEDTECH WASTE CLEAN TECHNOLOGY PACKAGING Knowledge Library CIRCULÉIRE's open-access knowledge library is the central hosting spot for a wide range of circular economy resources, including: Case Studies Best Practice Guides Key Design Guides Circular Economy Policy Documents National & EU Circular Economy Action Plans and Strategies And much more… Whether you are a captain of industry, an entrepreneur with a great idea, or a policy maker signposting the way, there is something useful here for you. Go to Library

Explore CIRCULÉIRE’s successful circular economy pilot projects and discover upcoming funding calls and opportunities. CIRCULAR BUSINESS SUPPORTS KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE & POLICY ENGAGEMENTS ECOSYSTEM COLLABORATION Innovation Pilots From 2020 to 2022, CIRCULÉIRE actively supported the development of a circular economy in Ireland through a dedicated €1.5 million Innovation Pilot Project Fund. This initiative, backed by our strategic partners DCEE, EPA, and EIT Climate-KIC, funded 10 large-scale, system-wide innovation projects within the CIRCULÉIRE network. The Innovation Pilot Project Fund aimed to identify, test, and scale innovative circular solutions, with a focus on circular manufacturing systems, supply chains, and circular business models. Over the lifespan of this pilot, nine network participants were awarded funding to explore circularity within their sectors and collaborated with fellow CIRCULÉIRE participants and actors from the external circular ecosystem to bring their projects to life. To learn more about upcoming calls for proposals, application processes, and deadlines, keep an eye on CIRCULÉIRE's Latest News section (Inc link to news) and social media channels. See below for an overview of the successful circular economy demonstration projects funded by CIRCULÉIRE's Innovation Pilot Project Fund. 2022 2021 2020 Circular by Design Project Lead: Design & Crafts Council of Ireland Project Partner: National College of Art and Design The global textiles and apparel industry is the joint third highest emitter of greenhouse gases globally and operates in an almost completely linear ‘take-make-waste’ system. To address this challenge, The Design and Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI), the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and the Creative Futures Academy (CFA) came together to design and launch ‘Circular By Design’; a first-of-a-kind training programme that supports textile and fashion designers, brands and manufacturers to make the transition to circular practices in every step of their design practice, value chain and business model. In its pilot year, Circular By Design equipped Irish businesses with the necessary knowledge and skills to create materials, products, and entire business models built on circularity principles. Participants gained a foundational understanding of the circular economy and redesign their value propositions, materials, products, services, and business models for a more sustainable future. READ CASE STUDY Circularising Single Use Plastics (C-SUP) Project Lead: Novelplast Project Partners: Irish Green Labs | Technical University of the Shannon | CÚRAM University of Galway | Connacht-Ulster Waste Regional Waste Office | Eventec | Climate 23 Irish laboratories rely heavily on large quantities of high-quality, carbon-intensive, single-use plastics. Most of this plastic, often polypropylene pipette tips, comes from Germany, the UK, or the US, and is incinerated in Ireland after just one use. A national audit carried out by University of Galway and Irish Manufacturing Research identified these pipette tips as the most common plastic lab waste. The C-SUP demonstration project tackled this challenge by turning these single-use polypropylene plastics into a valuable feedstock for Irish recyclers. Creating a circular system where lab waste becomes a resource, empowering researchers to minimize their environmental impact. Through dissemination via the Irish Green Labs network, the project aims to make purchasing recycled polypropylene labware the standard practice across thousands of Irish laboratories. READ CASE STUDY Do More with Less Project Lead: Farrell Furniture Project Partners: Atlantic Technological University Connemara | Office of Public Works This collaborative furniture take-back and remanufacturing project is an innovative shift towards green procurement by the Irish Government. Through a collaborative effort, Do More with Less, aims to develop and implement circularity within the public sector. There are two streams within this project. Stream One – Remanufacturing for Continued Use : Obsolete office furniture that was created by Farrell Furniture in the mid 2000’s is retrieved from the OPW. It is then repaired, remanufactured, and redistributed through the public sector. Stream Two – Preserving Design Heritage: The Crannac Chair, a classic chair design that is no longer produced will be studied and reverse-engineered by ATU Connemara. Allowing their future repair and reuse and keeping a classic piece of Irish Design in use for many years to come. READ 'DO MORE WITH LESS' CASE STUDY READ 'CRANNAC CHAIR' CASE STUDY Medical Devices a New Life (MEDAL) Project Lead: Offerre Project Partners: FPD Recycling | University of Limerick The healthcare sector is a significant contributor to environmental pollution, responsible for roughly 4.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants. An increased reliance on single-use medical devices, particularly in high-income countries, has had a large impact on this. The collection high-cost and low-volume of these devices has left traditional take-back schemes are often abandoned by producers. MEDAL offers a cost-efficient reprocessing system that extends the lifespan of medical devices without compromising on product integrity or strict reprocessing protocols. Designed with key stakeholders and regulations in mind, the system prioritises high performance, user convenience, producer engagement, and overall system integrity. The Pilot assesses automation solutions for cleaning and de-manufacturing and supports the circular design of products and packaging. The system also provides a cloud-based platform allowing device consumers to interact with the producers. READ CASE STUDY Upcycled Insulation Project Lead: Cirtex Ltd Project Partners: Tipperary County Council | Clothes Pod (https://www.clothespod.ie/ ) | Interior Creations Every year, tens of thousands of tonnes of mattresses, furniture, bedding, and industrial offcuts are sent to waste in Ireland. Currently, Ireland has no answer to upcycling this end-of life material. Cirtex is a new Irish company that is seeking to turn this soft padding material into insulation and other useful products that can be further upcycled when they reach their “end of life”. The Upcycled Insulation project, in collaboration with Tipperary County Council, Clothes POD, and Interior Creations, demonstrates how to effectively collect these materials from the public in a clean and efficient manner and convert it into high-quality insulation for housing and padding for furniture and bedding companies. This solution not only diverts massive amounts of waste from landfill, but also provides the construction, furniture, and bedding industries with a sustainable alternative for their production needs. READ CASE STUDY Circular Economy & The Power of Many Project Lead: Freefoam Building Products Project Partners: Glenveagh | Mulligan Guttering | Shabra Recycling In 2021, the EU generated an estimated 188.7 kg of packaging waste per inhabitant, with construction packaging waste playing a significant role. READ MORE The CE Power of Many initiative aims to implement a take-back scheme for unused roofline building products and packaging delivered to construction sites to prevent waste ending up in landfills. Freefoam, CE Power of Many Project Lead, are implementing this take-back scheme for the left-over products and packaging associated with their products. Furthermore, they are reviewing existing packaging to optimise its recovery and reuse. This project has also led Freefoam to partner with Shabra Plastics to develop a closed loop system from Freefoam’s production plant in Cork to Shabra’s plant in Monaghan, for all PE-LD and cardboard that flows into Freefoam. READ CASE STUDY RoboCRM | Advanced Robotics To Capture Critical Raw Materials In WEEE Recycling For A Circular Economy Project Lead: FPD Recycling Project Partners: University of Limerick | Robotics & Drives In the Electronics and Electric Equipment (EEE) sector, great strides are already being made towards circularity through the increased growth of WEEE recycling. Current methods however, struggle to recover all valuable Critical Raw Materials (CRM) from electronic devices. Modern appliances often have integrated batteries which cannot be easily accessed or removed. During WEEE recycling the process to harvest appliance batteries and their CRMs can be dangerous and inefficient for humans to carry out. RoboCRM uses non-destructive, AI powered detection methods and pattern recognition to identify and sort batteries and electronics containing batteries from the main WEEE stream. Allowing for safer and more efficient processing, and a higher recovery rate of CRMs in the recycling process, closing the loop on battery recycling in the WEEE system. READ CASE STUDY SUCCESS Sustainable Use of Carbon Contributes to Environmentally Sustainable Systems Project Lead: Dawn Meats Project Partners: BHSL Waste Solutions | University of Limerick Dawn Meats, one of Europe’s largest food processing companies, produces over 430,000 tonnes of added value meat products annually. Through their SUCCESS Pilot Project, they aim to transform Ireland's meat processing sector into a circular economy model by maximising renewable energy from by-products and residues. Partnering with BHSL, a proven technology provider in the poultry sector, and researchers from the University of Limerick, SUCCESS has identified the potential to transform animal by-products and sludge into green energy through BHSL's small-scale, energy conversion technology. SUCCESS seeks to deliver Ireland’s first circular meat processing demonstration plant extracting maximum renewable energy from processing side-streams and residues while creating a high-value end product to service the growing biofertilizer sector. READ CASE STUDY CESI Circular Economy Skills Initiative Project Lead: WEEE Ireland Project Partners: Fasttrack into IT | White Goods Association Repair to extend a product’s lifecycle is a core element of functional circular economy. For repair to be a viable option in White Goods WEEE however, there needs to be skilled workforce capable of carrying out maintenance on appliances, a service that is lacking in Ireland. The Circular Economy Skills Initiative (CESI) project addresses the skills and training bottleneck that exists by developing the first QQI-accredited appliance repair qualification course in Ireland, upskilling and training much needed repair and reuse specialists. CESI was developed with support and input from the White Goods Association ensuring that the training and modules would address industry requirements and provide the most value to participants and consumers alike. READ CASE STUDY Lithium Long Life Battery (LLLB) Project Lead: WEEE Ireland Project Partners: Wisetek | KMK Metals Long-Life Lithium Batteries (LLLBs) from electric vehicles (EVs), IT equipment, and energy storage systems offer a valuable resource for a more circular Irish economy. After reaching their first life (typically 7-10 years in EVs), these batteries still hold significant potential. The LLLB-CE project aims to unlock this potential by establishing a comprehensive LLLB management system in Ireland, allowing for the safe removal, collection, sorting, and discharging of these batteries. Developing this process and training more people in the environmental management of LLLB will create employment opportunities across the sector. Encouraging new training pathways for circular economy upskilling of current operatives in the material sorting and recycling sector in Ireland. READ CASE STUDY

CIRCULÉIRE is Ireland’s circular economy network led by Irish Manufacturing Research, uniting industry, government, and innovators to accelerate circular transition. Our Network Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) is the Secretariat of CIRCULÉIRE, funded by the Government of Ireland’s Department of Climate, Energy and Environment (DCEE). CIRCULÉIRE is a multi-million euro cross-sectoral industry-led, public-private partnership that was co-created by IMR, and three Strategic Partners; the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment (DCEE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and EIT Climate-KIC and 25 Founding Industry Members. Starting with 25 founding members, we have grown to a vibrant network of over 50 engaged members who are committed to circular economy transition, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. CIRCULÉIRE is actively engaging and collaborating with all stakeholders from the wider Irish Circular innovation ecosystem - government departments and agencies, academia, third sector and solution providers and provides regular opportunities to for the network to engage and collaborate within this wider ecosystem. What We Do Support the delivery of reduction in waste across our network members through product redesign; business model innovation; industrial symbiosis; materials substitution and other circularity strategies Raise awareness and increase understanding of circularity within and for Irish Industry and the wider ecosystem. Identify barriers to implementation and advise on strategies to overcome them Develop frameworks, toolkits + deep demonstrations to de-risk & prove the value of Circular Economy Inform Irish Circular Economy policy innovation. Strategic Partners The Department of Climate, Energy and Environment (DCEE) are leading the delivery the Government of Ireland’s National Climate Action Plan (2019) and the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy (2020-2025). In November 2022, DECC announced €1.5m continutation funding for CIRCULÉIRE in 2023. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lead the National Waste Prevention Programme (NWPP), a Government of Ireland initiative, which supports national-level, strategic programmes to prevent waste and drive the circular economy in Ireland. EIT Climate-KIC is the largest public-private partnership in the EU dedicated to accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon, climate-resilient society, supported by the European Institute for Innovation & Technology (EIT). Governance As a public-private partnership, CIRCULÉIRE’s governance structure includes a steering group with IMR as secretary, along with permanent representation from its three strategic partners DCEE, EPA and EIT Climate-KIC, as well as representatives from industry members who rotate annually. In 2024, the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) joined the Steering Group. Network members are invited to put themselves forward for election or nominate a peer each year. Industry representatives play a crucial feedback role between CIRCULÉIRE’s cross-sectoral Industry Members (who range from MNCs to SMEs to micro-enterprise) and the Strategic Partners – bringing industry’s perspectives to the table. 2025 Colette Van Jaarsveld Managing Director Mark O’Sullivan Global Business Development Director Donough McGrath Director of Engineering Technology Development Rory O'Dwyer Environmental Coordinator 2024 Colette Van Jaarsveld Managing Director Conor Magee Head of Manufacturing Paul Farrell Joint Chief Executive Officer Rory O'Dwyer Environmental Coordinator 2023 Lisa O'Donoghue Chief Executive Officer Mark O'Sullivan Global Business Development Director Kevin Sheridan Managing Director Paul Farrell Joint Chief Executive Officer 2022 Fergus O'Sullivan Plant Manager Kevin Cronin Chief Operating Officer Maria Couchman Senior Craft & Education Manager Neil Skeffington Chief Executive Officer 2021 Austin Geraghty Global Director, Health, Safety & Sustainability Elizabeth O'Reilly Head of Environmental Compliance & Membership Ian Ryan Energy & Utilities Manager 2020 David Callanan Senior Engineering Executive Declan O'Riordan Sustainability Manager Mark Coyne Global Sustainability Lead Contact Us Irish Manufacturing Research Unit A, Aerodrome Business Park, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin D24 WC04 08.30 – 17.00 Monday – Friday +353 (0) 1 567 5000 circuleire@imr.ie Irish Manufacturing Research, National Science Park, Dublin Rd, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath N91 TX80 08.30 – 17.00 Monday – Friday +353 (0) 1 567 5000 circuleire@imr.ie

The All‑Island Circular Venture Awards spotlight innovative start-ups across Ireland that are advancing the circular economy through impactful circular value propositions. The awards recognise late‑stage ventures driving new solutions for how materials, components, and products are used, reused, remanufactured, and regenerated—celebrating high‑potential innovators shaping a more sustainable future. 27th Nov, 2025 All-Island Circular Venture Awards 2025 Celebrating Innovation. Accelerating Circular Impact. ABOUT THE AWARDS WINNER & FINALISTS PRIZES JUDGES AGENDA VENUE, DATE, TIME ABOUT THE AWARDS The AlI-Island Circular Venture Awards will spotlight start-ups and ventures across the island of Ireland who are pioneering the emergence of the circular economy sector by enabling or demonstrating a circular value proposition. The awards are a great opportunity for late-stage start-ups driving innovation in the circular economy, and a platform to shine a light on high-potential ventures reshaping how materials, components and products are used, reused, remanufactured and regenerated. CIRCULÉIRE is delighted to announce its inaugural All-Island Circular Venture Awards, a prestigious new initiative designed and led by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and funded by the Department of Climate, Energy & the Environment (DCEE). READ THE AWARDS GUIDELINES & CRITERIA 2025 WINNER HaPPE Earth, the WINNER of the inaugural All-Island Circular Venture Awards embodies circular innovation, circular excellence, execution strength, commercial viability and system level impact with the persevering and pioneering vision of never giving up. Lisa O'Riordan Chief Operating Officer, HaPPE Earth 1st Finalist Gemell Technology, the 1st finalist is a venture that is pioneering digital technologies to leverage advanced tech to make it easy for actors and supply chains to reduce waste. It is imminently scalable not only in Ireland but further afield. Co-Founder & CEO, Gemell Technology Limited Adam Hankin 2nd Finalist Ecoroots, the second finalist is a venture with a holistic circularity story and significant IP potential which can enable scalability. They are not only figuring out how to do this in their own right, but also enabling other actors in their value and supply chain to valorise production residues. Ecoroots fundamentally exemplifies the systemic level of change required to bring the circular economy to life. Founder & CEO, Ecoroots Lavanya Bhandari CIRCULAR TROPHY FABRICATION GALLERY PRIZES €5.000 + Coaching Session + CIRCULÉIRE Case Study €3.000 + Coaching Session + CIRCULÉIRE Case Study €2.000 + Coaching Session + CIRCULÉIRE Case Study SHORTLISTED VENTURES The ten shortlisted ventures pitching to an audience of investors, industry, policy makers, and media at the first All-Island Circular Venture Awards will include Arcology System, Biographene Innovations Ireland, BladeBridge, Circular Food Co, Ecoroots, HaPPE Earth, Gemell Technology Limited, Harp Renewable, Integrated Materials Solutions and Kinset Limited. The selected ventures represent an extremely broad range of sectors including commercial fitout infrastructure, construction waste management, compostable PPE, biobased production and packaging solutions; repurposed wind energy infrastructure; digital enablement of circular processes; aerobic digestion; additional manufacturing for textiles; and upcycling of food residuals. READ ON FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE COMPANIES: Arcology System enables adaptive, circular, and waste-free interiors through a modular, sensor-enabled construction system. BladeBridge repurposes retired wind turbine blades into durable infrastructure. Ecoroots transforms agricultural waste into compostable mycelium packaging powered by a data-driven platform for scalable, zero-waste biomanufacturing. HaPPE Earth makes single-use PPE into a circular solution, replacing plastics with compostable materials, converting waste into fertiliser, and delivering ESG insights cutting costs, carbon, and complexity. Integrated Materials Solutions (IMS) accepts C&D wastes and processes them into certified low carbon secondary aggregates for reuse in the construction industry. Bio Graphene Innovations Ireland transforms agricultural waste into bio-graphene materials that decarbonise concrete, enabling seawater use, and establishing a scalable circular manufacturing model for Europe. Circular Food Co recovers food waste to turn into high value ingredients. Gemell Technology Limited reduces unnecessary textile waste through data-driven 3D visualisation and analytics. Harp Renewables supplies advanced, fully circular food waste solutions for all industries. Kinset connects supply chain, material, and lifecycle data in one trusted system, making it simple for brands to demonstrate transparency, enable reuse and recycling, and engage consumers through interactive digital experiences. REPRESENTATIVES: VIEW BIO Arcology System develops modular, sensor-enabled interior construction systems for circular, adaptive interiors. Backed by EU innovation grants and live UNECE pilots, it replaces fixed fitouts with reconfigurable components that retain material and financial value, unlocking new revenue and waste-free operation for landlords and developers. Colette van Jaarsveld Co-Founder & CEO, Arcology System VIEW BIO BladeBridge repurposes decommissioned wind-turbine blades into durable, low-carbon infrastructure such as pedestrian bridges, shelters, and street furniture. By repurposing composite waste into certified products for public spaces, BladeBridge diverts tonnes of material from landfill, reduces embodied carbon, and demonstrates circular innovation in Ireland’s renewable energy and construction sectors. CEO, BladeBridge Dr Angie Nagle VIEW BIO Ecoroots is a deep-tech circular venture that turns local waste streams into high-performance mycelium packaging. A proprietary digital platform ensures consistency, accelerates growth, and enables scalable, modular production. By combining biotechnology with real-time data and AI, Ecoroots deliver fully compostable materials with traceability, quality control, and global licensing potential. Founder & CEO, Ecoroots Lavanya Bhandari VIEW BIO HaPPE Earth is reimagining the future of single-use PPE with the world’s first fully compostable, circular system for PPE. Through proprietary bio-based materials, on-site bio-digestion, and smart ESG data tools, we help hospitals, food, and pharma sectors eliminate plastic waste and emissions while building cleaner, more sustainable operations that protect people and the planet. Co-Founder & CEO, HaPPE Earth Dr Mary O'Riordan VIEW BIO Bio Graphene Innovations Ireland (BGII) is an Irish clean-tech venture developing Biocene, a bio-graphene produced from agricultural waste. In partnership with MEP World Group (USA), BGII’s first product, SeaMix, strengthens concrete, reduces cement dependency, and allows seawater use –driving Ireland’s transition to low-carbon, circular construction and advanced manufacturing. Co-Founder, Bio Graphene Innovations Ireland Ltd Barry O’Flanagan VIEW BIO Circular Food Co (CFCO) applies circular economy principles —reuse, regenerative design, and system innovation— to transform food waste into high-value products. The company collects surplus produce from manufacturers and farms, converting it into nutritious upcycled foods through closed-loop processing. Unlike traditional “take-make-dispose” models, CFCO integrates waste valorisation and local resource cycling across all operations. Co-Founder & Head of Operations, Circular Food Co (CFCO) Niamh Dooley VIEW BIO Gemell is transforming textile manufacturing with software that generates photorealistic digital twins of fiber, yarns & fabrics, entirely from data. No samples, no scanning, no waste. The solution helps mills cut unnecessary sample waste by 70%, accelerate design workflows & approvals, and deliver lifelike digital fabrics directly into designers’ hands. Co-Founder & CEO, Gemell Technology Limited Adam Hankin VIEW BIO With over 20 years of global waste management expertise, Harp Renewables designs, develops, and manufactures fully circular solutions for organic waste treatment, providing a cleaner alternative to traditional disposal. Combining innovative technologies and a commitment to reshape waste management, we deliver cost-reducing, eco-friendly, and custom-tailored products for businesses of all sizes. Senior Sales Manager, Harp Renewables Gerry Mc Donnell VIEW BIO Integrated Materials Solutions (IMS) is an environmental company based in north Co. Dublin working at the forefront of sustainable C&D waste management since 2017. To date IMS have diverted over 500,000 tonnes of waste concrete and soils from landfill by producing high quality aggregates and sands through start of the art processing. Trucks arrive containing waste and leave full of secondary aggregates, closing the loop on Ireland’s construction materials. Managing Director, Integrated Materials Solutions (IMS) Cian O’Hora VIEW BIO Kinset is a Dublin-based green-tech platform enabling circularity across the consumer goods sector. By digitising product data and creating Digital Product Passports, Kinset connects supply chain, material, and lifecycle information, making it simple for businesses to measure impact, meet regulations, and engage consumers through trusted product transparency. CEO & Co-Founder, Kinset Limited Katelyn O’Riordan JUDGES VIEW BIO Geraldine is a strategic circular economy expert, systems thinker and senior sustainability leader with +15 years multi-sectoral experience working horizontally and laterally in industry applied research, consulting, advertising, and communications. She has a track record of building collaborative public-private partnerships to deliver the circular economy’s transformation potential. Geraldine holds a PhD in Strategic Management & Sustainable Development and MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and is a nationally and internationally recognized thought leader on scaling industry-oriented circular innovation. Geraldine Brennan Director of Circular Economy Innovation - IMR/ CIRCULÉIRE VIEW BIO Jamie is a Partner at Regeneration.VC, leading early-stage circular and regenerative technology investments globally. He has completed 50+ climate investments across the UK and US, co-founded two tech startups including Tropic Biosciences, and previously worked with Founders Forum, Sky, and B Capital. UCLA Anderson graduate; former global PE lawyer. Partner - Regeneration.VC Jamie Rowles VIEW BIO Mark is a prominent industrialist with a career in international business development for leading manufacturers in Northern Ireland. Today he is Joint Chief Executive of Makers Alliance, an industry-led body guiding the strategic vision for advanced manufacturing in Northern Ireland. Mark is a former President of the NI Chamber of Commerce, served 8 years on the board of Invest NI, and was recognised in 2015 with the award of an OBE for services to the economy. Joint Chief Executive Officer - Makers Alliance Mark Nodder VIEW BIO Founder & General Partner of WakeUp Capital, Faye backs visionary European founders tackling climate and social challenges. A former social entrepreneur and angel investor, she champions inclusive innovation, impact investing, and diversity. She serves on multiple boards and leads philanthropic initiatives. Based in Dublin, she holds a BA and MBA. Founder & Managing Partner - WakeUp Capital Faye Walsh Drouillard MEDIA & NEWS Media - Click to share the message Loop motif generated with the support of AI. News All-Island Circular Venture Awards to support circular economy in Ireland READ MORE IRISH TECH NEWS, 27 OCT 2025 Meet the Judges: All-Island Circular Venture Awards 2025 READ MORE CIRCULÉIRE NEWS, 22 OCT 2025 New start-up award aims to boost Ireland’s circular innovation READ MORE INDUSTRIAL PC, 20 OCT 2025 New start-up award aims to boost Ireland’s circular innovation READ MORE SILICON REPUBLIC, 20 OCT 2025 Apply for the first All-Island Circular Venture Awards READ MORE NIBUSINESSINFO.CO.UK, 17 OCT 2025 STRATEGIC PARTNERS & SUPPORTER Partners Supporter What All-Island Circular Venture Awards 2025 When 27th Nov 2025, 2:00 PM - 6:30 PM Where ESB Head Office (F27), Event Space, 27 Fitzwilliam Street Lower, Dublin, D02 KT92

This page outlines the eligibility criteria for ventures seeking to apply to initiatives jointly offered by CIRCULÉIRE and Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR). It provides guidance on the types of ventures that qualify, the requirements applicants must meet, and the standards used to assess suitability. The information supports prospective applicants in determining whether their venture aligns with the objectives of CIRCULÉIRE and IMR before beginning the application process. 27th Nov, 2025 All-Island Circular Venture Awards 2025 Celebrating Innovation. Accelerating Circular Impact. AWARDS GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA CIRCULÉIRE and Irish Manufacturing Research welcome applications from ventures that meet the following eligibility criteria:  Geographic Scope  Incorporated and operating on the island of Ireland (Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland).  Demonstrable operational presence or strategic engagement in the region.  Stage of Development   Late-stage start-ups (2+ years in operation desirable) that have moved beyond the ideation and prototype phases. Business model or product/service in market or ready to launch, with evidence of traction (e.g. revenue, partnerships, pilots, customer base).  Circular Economy Focus  Clear circular value proposition reshaping how materials, components, and products are designed, used, reused, remanufactured, or regenerated. (Think - Design for Circularity, Product-as-a-Service, Remanufacturing, Repair, Circular Supply Chains, Reverse Logistics, Industrial Symbiosis, etc.). Impact Potential  Potential to scale across sectors or regions.  Measurable environmental or economic impact (e.g. innovation in materials, processes, technology, products, business models and systems).  Alignment with Ireland’s circular economy transition goals.  Team & Capacity Dedicated team with relevant expertise. Availability of at least one team member to pitch on 27th November 2025 in person. Availability to record a short promotional video w/c 10th November (optional). Legal & Ethical Standing   Compliant with relevant regulations.   Free from ongoing legal disputes or ethical violations.  APPLY HERE Return to All-Island Circular Venture Awards Page