A key feature of CIRCULÉIRE is our €1.5m ring-fenced innovation fund (2020-2022) which seeks to support industry-led circular economy innovation demonstration projects which will accelerate the transition towards a circular economy in Ireland. Following international peer review, we are delighted to announce the circular innovation demonstration projects which have been awarded funding in CIRCULÉIRE’s 2020 Call for Proposals are both led by Founding Member WEEE Ireland. Below Elizabeth O’Reilly, Compliance & Membership Manager, WEEE Ireland describes the innovation demonstrations that have been awarded funding: “WEEE Ireland are very excited to be kicking off two circular economy innovation demonstration projects in collaboration with the White Goods Association, Fast-Track into IT (FIT), KMK Metals Recycling and Wisetek, funded by the CIRCULÉIRE 2020 Innovation Fund in 2021. These innovation demonstrators will help the transformation of our successful recycling scheme to a more circular one, supporting our 1100+ Irish electrical and battery industry Members on their own circular economy journeys. These innovation projects are in completely different areas – the first one supports the White Goods Sector to develop training programmes and engage more repair engineers in life extension of appliances and therefore waste prevention with a circular economy and e-waste management ethos. The second tackles the challenge posed by waste long life lithium batteries (LLLB), such as those used in electric vehicles in Ireland, and will explore opportunities to manage these in a more circular and sustainable way, including repurposing and reuse of LLLBs in other industrial settings. We have just finished our first year of membership of the CIRCULÉIRE platform and as Founding Industry Members we have found it an invaluable resource us as we face the positive challenges ahead for our Scheme and the electrical and battery industry under new Circular Economy, Green Deal and Sustainability developments in Ireland. We look forward to what 2021 will bring and continuing to collaborate with other industry members in this innovative cross-sectoral network” Congratulations to WEEE Ireland, White Goods Association, Fast-Track into IT (FIT), KMK Metals Recycling and Wisetek and CIRCULÉIRE look forward to opening the 2021 call for innovation projects in the new year!

CIRCULÉIRE are delighted to report that our 2020 call for Irish circular new ventures that are revenue generating and scaling to join our innovation network was a resounding success! We received many high-quality applicants to CIRCULÉIRE’s New Venture & Innovation Program (co-created in collaboration with Tangent ) and had the challenging task of only choosing 5 young businesses to welcome into network. It is our pleasure to announce that the new ventures joining CIRCULÉIRE as part of the 2020 cohort are: Ashleigh Environmental who have developed novel solution to transform and derive value from underused anaerobic digestion feedstock materials; Avoca Seafood Ltd who are improving salmon farming practices through industrial symbiosis; DACS (Digital Array Control Systems Ltd) who have developed a battery management system to extend the useful lifespan of lithium battery packs; IANAV (I Am Not A Virgin) who are developing 3D printed footwear from secondary raw materials. The ZeroNet who have developed a reverse logistics solution to enable product life extension. Congratulations to these ventures and a very warm welcome to the CIRCULÉIRE network!

CIRCULÉIRE are delighted to be contributing to multiple of the “Pathways to the Circular Economy” Webinars organised by UpThink Innovation Agency in collaboration with Dublin City Council and Ireland’s Waste Regions in January and February 2021. The purpose of this webinar series is to increase awareness of the circular economy and will explore opportunities, challenges, and the benefits of circularity over the following sessions: 1. What is the Circular Economy? Wednesday 20th January, from 4pm to 5pm. Speakers include Dr Geraldine Brennan (IMR), Peter Corcoran (MBio), and Patrick Barrett (DAFM) 2. The Future of Food and Bio-Based Systems Wednesday 27th January from 4pm to 5pm Speakers include Cliodhna Dowling (Nutramara), Teresa Patton (Green Generation), Deirdre de Bhailís (The Dingle Hub), and Dermot Hanley (Roundtable Partners) 3. Financing the Circular Transition Wednesday 3rd February from 4pm to 5pm Speakers include Dr Geraldine Brennan (IMR), Dr Conor Hanley (Fire 1 Foundry) and Filippo Giancarlo Martinelli (IBF) 4. Re-thinking Packaging in the Circular Economy Wednesday 10th February from 4pm to 5pm Speakers include Romain Couture (IMR), Russel Walshe (VivaGreen), Garrett Walshe (VivaGreen) and Sinead Murphy (WRAP). Learn more

On Friday 29th January from 11am to 1pm the findings from @CIRCULEIRE’s Thematic Working Group “ CircularBioeconomy2020” exploring the circular bioeconomy opportunities that can deliver significant CO2 and waste reductions in Ireland will be shared. “ CircularBioeconomy2020” was delivered in partnership with @Irish Bioeconomy Foundation and ran over the summer and autumn of 2020. The focus of this thematic working group was to understand the Irish circular bioeconomy opportunity landscape and as such it is the first of its kind in Ireland. “ CircularBioeconomy2020” builds on the insights from a wide range stakeholders from across the Irish innovation ecosystem ranging from industry, government agencies, academia and third sector who participated in this working group. You are warmly invited to join us for this free public webinar. Places will be allocated on a first come first serve basis! Register Here

On Friday 26th February from 11am to 12.30pm, this webinar will share the findings from CIRCULÉIRE’s Thematic Working Group “ Industrial Symbiosis 2020” exploring the opportunities that can deliver significant CO2 and waste reductions in Ireland. “ Industrial Symbiosis 2020” was delivered in partnership with International Synergies and ran over the summer and autumn of 2020. The focus of this thematic working group was to understand the current and future industrial symbiosis opportunities in Ireland. “ Industrial Symbiosis 2020” builds on the insights from a wide range of stakeholders from across the Irish innovation ecosystem ranging from industry, government agencies, academia and third sector who participated in this working group. You are warmly invited to join us for this free public webinar. Places will be allocated on a first come first serve basis! Register here

Irish Manufacturing Research is seeking quotes from suitably qualified and experienced consultants in the delivery of one or all of its three Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) for its CIRCULÉIRE industry network in the 2021 period on the following topics:  Circular Design and Redesign Circular Packaging and Resuables Circular Plastics Context CIRCULÉIRE is the first cross-sectoral industry-led innovation network dedicated to accelerating the net-zero carbon circular economy in Ireland. CIRCULÉIRE is a €4.5m public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (Secretariat), and three Strategic Partners; the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and EIT Climate-KIC and 25 Founding Industry Members.  CIRCULÉIRE’s overarching objective between 2020-2022 is to source, test, finance, and scale, circular manufacturing systems, supply chains and circular business models to deliver significant reductions in both CO2 emissions and waste across our Industry Membership over the programmes’ lifespan.   The TWGs support this strategic objective by providing CIRCULÉIRE’s industry partners with:  Expert knowledge, guidance, and support to ensure members are familiar with strategically important topics related to the Circular Economy and its implications for industry – outlined below. ( Past Thematic Working Groups in 2020 focused on topics including Circular Bioeconomy; Industrial Symbiosis; and the Circular Procurement );   Delivering well-designed, interactive online (or in-person COVID-19 permitting) meetings, workshops and webinars (including 2-3 Sprint/Ideation sessions to help industry members prepare and pitch innovation 5-10 project ideas which can be funded through CIRCULÉIRE’s ring-fenced network innovation fund dedicated to funding large scale systems-level innovation);  Thought leadership and high-quality, engaging content based around the following key outputs:  State-of-the-Art Review (SoAR) which incorporates a landscape review of relevant national and EU policy, industry best practice, key barriers and key enablers to scaling circular economy strategy or practice in Ireland (e.g 10-15 pages)  (interim deliverable to inform / set the context for the ideation process) Synthesis Report which incorporates insights of SoAR and outputs of Ideation Process (max 50 pages including appendices)  (final deliverable) High-Level Summary Report (max 15 pages)  (final deliverable) 1 page infographic or factsheet  (final deliverable) 2x Webinars (Network only & Public)  (final deliverable) Background information, Deadline for Proposals + Contact Details  Further information about the Expert Facilitators can be found in the attached document available here . Questions on this specification should come in writing (please complete and submit a financial assumptions template to aide evaluation). We will collect questions until 5pm, 8th March 2021. Please note we require individual quotation templates for each thematic working group however, invited organisation/individuals are welcome to submit quotations for all three of the thematic working groups. The application form to be returned to IMR is available h ere .   Key dates on the Call for Proposal: Q&As from IMR to submitting parties by  5pm Monday 8th March 2021  Deadline for RFP submission to  circuleire@imr.ie  midnight  Monday, 15th March 2021 Communication of winning proposal(s):  Friday, 26th March 2021 Kick-Off Meeting with to Agree Timeline:  Monday, 29th March 2021 Invitation for Panel Participants Go Live:  Thursday, 1st April 2021 IMR Contact Person: Sophie Reynolds, Senior Researcher – Circular Economy  E:  sophie.reynolds@imr.ie

On Wednesday10th March from 4pm to 5pm, this webinar will share the findings from CIRCULÉIRE’s Thematic Working Group "Circular Procurement 2020” exploring some opportunities that can deliver significant CO2 and waste reductions in Ireland. “ Circular Procurement 2020” was delivered in partnership with IDDEA and ran over the summer and autumn of 2020. The focus of this thematic working group was to understand the current and future circular procurement opportunities in Ireland. “ Circular Procurement 2020” builds on the insights from a wide range of stakeholders from across the Irish innovation ecosystem ranging from industry, government agencies, academia and third sector who participated in this working group. You are warmly invited to join us for this free public webinar. Places will be allocated on a first come first serve basis! Register Here

CIRCULÉIRE is seeking quotes from suitably qualified and experienced consultants in the delivery of one or all of its three Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) for its CIRCULÉIRE industry network in the 2021 period on the following topics:  Circular Design and Redesign Circular Packaging and Resuables Circular Plastics Context CIRCULÉIRE is the first cross-sectoral industry-led innovation network dedicated to accelerating the net-zero carbon circular economy in Ireland. CIRCULÉIRE is a €4.5m public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (Secretariat), and three Strategic Partners; the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and EIT Climate-KIC and 25 Founding Industry Members.  CIRCULÉIRE’s overarching objective between 2020-2022 is to source, test, finance, and scale, circular manufacturing systems, supply chains and circular business models to deliver significant reductions in both CO2 emissions and waste across our Industry Membership over the programmes’ lifespan.   The TWGs support this strategic objective by providing CIRCULÉIRE’s industry partners with:  Expert knowledge, guidance, and support to ensure members are familiar with strategically important topics related to the Circular Economy and its implications for industry – outlined below. ( Past Thematic Working Groups in 2020 focused on topics including Circular Bioeconomy; Industrial Symbiosis; and the Circular Procurement );   Delivering well-designed, interactive online (or in-person COVID-19 permitting) meetings, workshops and webinars (including 2-3 Sprint/Ideation sessions to help industry members prepare and pitch innovation 5-10 project ideas which can be funded through CIRCULÉIRE’s ring-fenced network innovation fund dedicated to funding large scale systems-level innovation);  Thought leadership and high-quality, engaging content based around the following key outputs:  State-of-the-Art Review (SoAR) which incorporates a landscape review of relevant national and EU policy, industry best practice, key barriers and key enablers to scaling circular economy strategy or practice in Ireland (e.g 10-15 pages)  (interim deliverable to inform / set the context for the ideation process) Synthesis Report which incorporates insights of SoAR and outputs of Ideation Process (max 50 pages including appendices)  (final deliverable) High-Level Summary Report (max 15 pages)  (final deliverable) 1 page infographic or factsheet  (final deliverable) 2x Webinars (Network only & Public)  (final deliverable) Background information, Deadline for Proposals + Contact Details  Further information about the Expert Facilitators can be found in the attached document available here . Questions on this specification should come in writing (please complete and submit a financial assumptions template to aide evaluation). We will collect questions until 5pm, 25th March 2021.The application form to be returned to IMR is available h ere .   Key dates on the Call for Proposal: Q&As from IMR to submitting parties by  5pm Thursday 25th March 2021  Deadline for RFP submission to  circuleire@imr.ie 12am, Wednesday, 31st March 2021 Communication of winning proposal(s): Thursday, 1st of April 2021 Kick-Off Meeting with to Agree Timeline:  W/C 6th of April Invitation for Panel Participants Go Live:   Thursday, 1st April 2021 IMR Contact Person: Sophie Reynolds, Technologist – Circular Economy  E:  sophie.reynolds@imr.ie

CIRCULÉIRE is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced individuals or organisations for its three industry-led Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) in the 2021 period on the following topics: * Includes summer break for August About CIRCULÉIRE’s Thematic Working Groups CIRCULÉIRE is the first cross-sectoral industry-led innovation network dedicated to accelerating the net-zero carbon circular economy in Ireland. CIRCULÉIRE is a €4.5m public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (Secretariat), and three Strategic Partners; the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and EIT Climate-KIC and 25 Founding Industry Members. CIRCULÉIRE’s overarching objective between 2020-2022 is to source, test, finance, and scale, circular manufacturing systems, supply chains and circular business models to deliver significant reductions in both CO2 emissions and waste across our Industry Membership over the programmes’ lifespan. The Thematic Working Groups, which will be co-delivered by IMR and its appointed Expert Facilitators, support this strategic objective by providing CIRCULÉIRE’s network members with: Expert knowledge, guidance, and support to ensure network and panel members are familiar with strategically important topics related to the Circular Economy and its implications for Irish industry. Thought leadership and high-quality content aimed at informing the ideation process – and supporting industry’s transition towards circularity (e.g. by delivering a State-of-the-Art Review (SoAR) i.e. a landscape review of relevant national and EU policy, industry best practice, key barriers and key enablers to scaling circular economy strategies or practices related to the thematic area or topic in Ireland) Ideation sessions to help industry members prepare and pitch 5-10 innovation project ideas which can be funded through CIRCULÉIRE’s ring-fenced network innovation fund dedicated to funding large scale systems-level innovation; About the Panel Member / Associate Member role This is a voluntary role equivalent to a 3-day commitment in total (approximately 1 day / month) split across the Thematic Working Group activities, where via interactive discussions and online workshops, you will network and collaborate with a diverse range of stakeholders to identify concrete industry-led circular economy innovation opportunities for the Irish context. As well as accessing cutting-edge thought leadership on key circular economy thematic areas / topics, and having opportunities to network and exchange with CIRCULÉIRE’s industry members and others, Panel Members will play an important role in ensuring that the key findings and innovation opportunities generated via CIRCULÉIRE’s Thematic Working Group process integrate the insights and expertise of a good cross-section of Ireland’s innovation ecosystem (including academia, government, third sector, solution providers etc.). The main tasks the Panel Member will be responsible for is to inform the scope of the State-of-the-Art Review developed by IMR and its appointed Expert Facilitators, to assist with peer reviewing 2x short draft reports produced by IMR/ the Expert Facilitator, and finally, to attend circa 8 virtual 2-hour meetings, workshops and webinars led by IMR / the Expert Facilitator over a 12 – 16-week period between April and September as outlined below: Meeting 1: TWG Kick-Off Meeting to agree on scope & framing of State-of-the-Art-Review (SoAR) to clarify objectives and inform the scope of the Working Group’s ideation process Meeting 2: Panel Meeting to Discuss Peer Review Feedback on the SoAR interim report Ideation Workshops: Attendance at, and contributing to 2-3 TWG Ideation/Sprint workshops (spread over 1 week) which aim to generate 5-10 circular system innovation project ideas tailored to the Irish context Meeting 6: Panel Meeting to Discuss Peer Review Feedback on Synthesis Paper (a short report which will summarise the policy context and the opportunities for innovation projects identified through the Ideation/Sprint workshops) Webinars : Invitation to join 2x webinars for CIRCULÈIRE Founding Members and public audience, where the overall findings of the TWGs will be presented Thematic Working Group Panel Member Expressions of Interest IMR, on behalf of CIRCULÉIRE, invites expressions of interest for the 2021 Thematic Working Groups up until midnight, May 11th . You will find more details about the Panel Members’ role and CIRCULÉIRE’s industry-oriented Thematic Working in t his background document. Please use the links below to submit your expressions of interest: Click here to apply to join the Circular Plastics TWG Click here to apply to join the Circular Design & Redesign TWG IMR Contact Person: Sophie Reynolds, Technologist – Circular Economy E: sophie.reynolds@imr .ie

On June 1st, CIRCULÉIRE collaborated with Holland Circular Hotspot and the Netherlands Embassy in Dublin to organise a webinar on circular opportunities for the Irish Construction & Demolition Sector. We want to thank our great line-up of speakers from great organisations that agreed to participate in this webinar namely: · Wytze Kuijper, Cirkelstad · Otto Friebel, BRBS · Ton van der Giessen, Van Werven - Infra & Recycling · Micheál Keohane, BAM Ireland · Brian Kennedy, Vision-Built · Patrick Barry, Irish Green Building Council The recording of the webinar is now available on youtube at this link . Stay tuned on our events page for more information on future webinars and conferences!

CIRCULÉIRE would like to extend a huge congrats to one of our industry member, Novelplast Teoranta , on successfully being awarded a €1.89M DTIF grant for the #PerPETual Recycling project. This project will develop a novel energy efficient chemical recycling technology capable of infinitely recycling all types of PET including multilayer food trays, polyester clothing, carpets and fibers and other types of difficult to recycle PET materials, creating a truly circular world for PET. Other project partners include Athlone Institute of Technology, University College Cork, and Avoncourt Packaging in Cork. This is an exciting development in circularising Ireland's plastics economy!

CIRCULÉIRE’s Dr Geraldine Brennan was invited onto RTE’s Drivetime to talk about the business case for a circular economy, reverse logistics and buy-back schemes in light of IKEA’s launch of their buy-back scheme in Ireland on the 30th June 2021 . CIRCULÉIRE’s new venture “The ZeroNet” came up in the conversation given how their technology can solve the “last mile” challenge for companies like IKEA interested in implementing tack-back schemes which enable them to conveniently get their products back. The ZeroNet is the world's first cloud-based technology platform designed explicitly around the logistical requirements of the Circular Economy (CE) and it consists of a user app and driver app linked together by an operational portal which enables end-users to simply register a collection request from their own home. Listen Here