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CIRCULÉIRE – The National Platform for Circular Manufacturing is the first national, cross-sectoral industry-led innovation network dedicated to accelerating the net-zero carbon circular economy in Ireland. IMR, CIRCULEIRE’s secretariat, would like to extend an invitation to interested organisations to join our 2020 Thematic Working Groups related to: Circular Bioeconomy, Industrial Symbiosis / Closed Loop Production, and Circular Procurement. Please note that the call for participation in CIRCULÉIRE’s 2020 Thematic Working Groups is now closed. Learn More

In this CIRCULÉIRE Policy Summary gain insights into: the evolution of the EU Circular Economy strategy from 2015-2020 and centrality to Europe’s COVID-19 recovery roadmap; the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP 2.0) – new measures which seek to, by 2030, reduce the EU consumption footprint, double the EU’s circular material use rate while boosting economic growth; and the implications of CEAP 2.0 and circular opportunities for Ireland’s COVID-19 recovery. Learn More

The theme for Earth Day 2020 is climate action, the single biggest challenge facing humanity. The last four years were the four hottest on record, glaciers and ice sheets in polar and mountain regions are already melting faster than ever. We are hitting up against planetary boundaries and the urgency to scale up action has never been greater. We have a narrowing window of just over a decade (by 2030) to implement radical reductions (45-50%) in global greenhouse gas emissions to stay below 1.5°C. We only have one Planet Earth – so how can we take positive steps towards reconfiguring our economies and scale solutions for sustainable production and consumption? The European Commission’s European Green Deal and recently launched Circular Economy Action Plan are causes for optimism. Irish Manufacturing Research is hosting an information sharing webinar and a Quiz on Wednesday 22nd April from 10:00 to 10:45 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. The webinar will give an overview of the current state of the environment and provide information on sustainable development goals (SDGs), changing climate, air quality, water quality, biodiversity, soil health, and the Circular Economy. Learn More

The National Standard Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is currently working with the ISO Technical Committee 323 to develop an international standard to implement circularity. Standardization in the field of Circular Economy seeks to develop frameworks, guidance, supporting tools and requirements for the implementation of activities of all involved organizations, to maximize the contribution of circularity to Sustainable Development. David McCormack IMR’s Director of Sustainable Manufacturing and Programme Director of CIRCULÉIRE has been appointed as the Chair of NSAI’s National Mirror Committee of the ISO Technical Committee 323 as of the 13th April 2020. Taking a leadership role in this NSAI / ISO process enables, IMR, as the secretariat of CIRCULÉIRE, to ensure that Irish industry can feed in both the challenges and opportunities they face as they seek to embed circularity in their business models. Learn More

The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) supports Irish industry to grow their exports to world markets. As part of their online webinar series on Green Supply Chains, Romain Couture, Circular Economy Researcher at IMR, discussed the importance of engaging in circular business models and capitalising on the opportunities that circularity represents for Ireland’s exporting businesses. Learn More

Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) announced CIRCULÉIRE – The National Platform for Circular Manufacturing at the 2020 National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition at Citywest Convention Centre, Dublin which showcases cutting-edge industrial research and development and related technologies and solutions. IMR gave two key notes on the circular economy opportunity for Ireland: “Closing the Circular Innovation Gap in Ireland” on the Manufacturing Mainstage on 29/01/2010 , delivered Dr Geraldine Brennan, and on “The Circular Economy: Turning a manufacturing challenge into an opportunity” at the Sustainability Summit on 30/01/2020 delivered by Romain Couture. Learn More

Primary School from County Westmeath will visit IMR’s Lab in Mullingar and learn about Circular Economy Check the raffle recording: Congratulations to St. Oliver’s Plunkett BNS for winning the competition. Next week we will welcome Sinead White’s class into #IMRScienceWeek2022. The 5th-class students will learn about the circular economy and interact with cutting-edge technology being used in IMR’s Lab in Mullingar, like 3D printing, collaborative robots and virtual reality. Great news! As a thank you to all participants who entered this competition, IMR’s Outreach Team will run an online engineering challenge workshop on 17th of November called “Ship the Biscuit”. Teachers, check your inbox for more information. About CIRCULÉIRE CIRCULÉIRE is a public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and three strategic partners: the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) , the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EIT Climate-KIC . Together with industry partners, CIRCULÉIRE aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models. Read more about CIRCULÉIRE here .

Check out the details of our "Demonstrating Irish Circular Economy Innovation" conference held on 23/Nov/2022 Check the links below if you missed or want more information about our 2022 CIRCULÉIRE Virtual Conference: Demonstrating Irish Circular Economy Innovation. The event, held on 23rd November 2022, presented a line-up of speakers that showcased the impacts, insights and learnings from the cross-sectoral Innovation Pilots funded by CIRCULÉIRE in the construction, furniture, and medical devices, plastics, and textiles sectors. See the content available in our Circular Economy Knowledge Library: Introduction & Opening Address (Recording) +  Opening Remarks Slides Panel#1: Plastics - Built Environment & Labs (Recording) CE Power of Many Slides C-SUP Slides Panel#2: Furniture (Recording) +  Do More With Less Slides Panel#3: Agri-Food (Recording) +  SUCCESS Slides Panel#4: Medical Devices & WEEE (Recording) MEDAL Slides RoboCRM Slides Panel#5: CIRCULÉIRE Strategic Partner Reflections (Recording) Closing Remarks (Recording) Remember the speaker line-up: Neil Skeffington , CEO, Novelplast presenting on Circularising Single-Use Plastic (C-SUP), a circular lab plastics pilot. Kevin Cronin , COO, Freefoam Plastics presenting on Circular Economy & The Power of Many, a construction supply-chain pilot. Carl McAteer , Designer, Farrell Furniture presenting on Do More With Less, a B2B furniture tack-back scheme pilot. Richard Clinton , Group Commercial Director, Dawn Meats presenting on Sustainable Use of Carbon Contributes to Environmentally Sustainable Systems (SUCCESS). John Carr , Managing Director, Offerre presenting on MED Devices a New Life (MEDAL), a B2C medical devices take-back pilot. Paudy O’Brien , CEO, FPD Recycling presenting on RoboCRM - advanced robotics to capture critical raw materials in WEEE recycling. Les Carberry , Principle Officer, Circular Economy Unit, Department of Environment, Climate & Communications . Warren Phelan , Circular Economy Programme Manager, EPA . Dr Andy Kerr , Chief Strategy Officer, EIT Climate-KIC . Read more about the projects here. Minister Smyth's announcement On the occasion of our conference, on 23rd November 2022, Minister Smyth, who has responsibility for the Circular Economy and Communications, granted CIRCULÉIRE funding of €1.5million to continue its activities in 2023 to “foster and enhance circular economy knowledge, capacity building and implementation by Irish Industry”. Read more about the announcement here. About CIRCULÉIRE CIRCULÉIRE is a public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and three strategic partners: the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) , the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EIT Climate-KIC . Together with industry partners, CIRCULÉIRE aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models. Read more about CIRCULÉIRE here .

The event is taking place via Zoom on 26/Jan. Click and register! 💻🔴🔗Click here to check the recording of this webinar The year has officially begun, and we are excited about all the activities and plans for the year ahead. First on our list is the Remanufacturing Intro Webinar, a partnership between CIRCULÉIRE, I-FORM and TU DELF. The event is taking place virtually, from 11 am to 12:30 pm, on Thursday, 26th of January 2023. Join us to learn about: Drivers of Remanufacturing Business Models Addressing product design considerations for remanufacturing Cross-sectoral remanufacturing case studies Breakout Session: “Is remanufacturing suitable for my business? One of the key approaches to the circular economy is remanufacturing. This involves the rebuilding of a product to the specifications of the original manufactured product, using a combination of reused, repaired and new parts. End users should obtain the same or better performance, from the remanufactured product. The approach offers a range of potential benefits to the manufacturer, including the revenue generated through the sale of lower-priced remanufactured products, lower exposure to raw material/component supply problems, in addition to enhanced brand value through environmental performance. This introductory webinar will highlight as to how remanufacturing, which is already widely applied within the automotive and aerospace sectors, can be used to help to minimise waste and improve productivity. The webinar will include examples of companies who have successfully established remanufactured product lines, which in many cases have higher earning margins, compared with that obtained from existing product lines. This interactive 90min webinar targeting the Irish industry will be delivered as part of a European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) – Manufacturing sponsored project called Lean Remanufacturing in collaboration with CIRCULÉIRE – Ireland’s National Platform for Circular Manufacturing and I-FORM , the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. Lean Remanufacturing is a TU Delft led project focused on informing companies about the potential benefits of remanufacturing, as well as assisting them in adopting this approach. This webinar is on our event page. Click here to check CIRCULÉIRE's calendar and get information about other relevant events happening in the following weeks and months. About CIRCULÉIRE CIRCULÉIRE is a public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and three strategic partners: the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) , the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EIT Climate-KIC . Together with industry partners, CIRCULÉIRE aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models. Read more about CIRCULÉIRE here .

Sustainable Circular Economy Systems Expert, Dr Ilka Weissbrod, is joining CIRCULÉIRE on secondment from Indeed Innovation to develop CIRCULÉIRE’s 2022 Strategic Roadmap. We’re very excited to announce that Dr Ilka Weissbrod will be spinning into the CIRCULÉIRE team as Sustainable Circular Economy Systems Expert to assist in developing the strategic roadmap for a National Centre of Excellence for Circular Innovation. As part of the Department for the Environment, Climate & Communications commitment to the development of circular economy in Ireland, they have commissioned Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) to develop a strategic roadmap for a National Centre of Excellence to explore what the next stage of CIRCULÉIRE would look like. As Ireland’s National Platform for Circular Economy, CIRCULÉIRE aims to continue scaling industry-led circular innovation while leveraging existing expertise and activity within the national circular innovation ecosystem. Ilka is the Director of Sustainable Circularity with Indeed Innovation , the innovation firm for a Circular Economy and seconding into IMR to take part in the CIRCULÉIRE roadmap development project as a Sustainable Circular Economy Systems Expert. In addition to her Director of Sustainable Circularity role with Indeed Innovation, Ilka is a Strategic Research Partner with TU Dresden and her research focus is on innovation processes in business with a view to operationalizing corporate sustainability with the goal of a Circular Economy. “It is so rare to be able to take a content deep-dive at the intersection of circular innovation theory and practice – I am truly thrilled to learn and work with the CIRCULÉIRE team on this strategic project .” Dr Ilka Weissbrod, Director Sustainable Circularity, Indeed Innovation. Dr Geraldine Brennan Head of Circular Economy, and Sophie Reynolds Policy & Innovation Lead at the EU Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference In February this year, CIRCULÉIRE team members Dr Geraldine Brennan, Sophie Reynolds and Dr Ilka Weissbrod (on secondment from Indeed Innovation) attended the 2023 EU Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform Conference. This was not only an excellent opportunity to keep our fingers on the pulse of circular innovation across Europe, but also provided an unmissable opportunity for the first in-person meeting of the leading members of the roadmap development team. "We are really excited to have Ilka spinning into the CIRCULÉIRE team and to be able to leverage her insights from decades of working in sustainable and circular innovation AND developing cutting-edge research in systems thinking and experimentation" Dr Geraldine Brennan, Head of CE, IMR & CIRCULÉIRE Lead To inform the development of the roadmap, CIRCULÉIRE will be doing nationwide multi-sectoral stakeholder events over April and May 2023 to hear from actors across the circular economy innovation ecosystem. To stay up-to-date with these events keep an eye on our CIRCULÉIRE events page , our LinkedIn and Twitter pages, and our industry newsletter. About CIRCULÉIRE CIRCULÉIRE is a public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and three strategic partners: the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) , the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EIT Climate-KIC . Together with industry partners, CIRCULÉIRE aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models. Read more about CIRCULÉIRE here .

Join us for our upcoming Stakeholder Engagement sessions where we will be engaging with Irish Industry, business representatives, and key stakeholders from research and academia in a series of workshops to gather insights on how a future Centre of Excellence for Circular Innovation can accelerate Ireland's circular transition. This work is being supported by the Department for the Environment, Climate and Communications, who in 2023 commissioned Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) to develop a strategic roadmap for a Centre of Excellence for Circular Innovation. Industry Stakeholder Consultation Workshops, April - May 2023 Throughout April and May, Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and CIRCULÉIRE are running a series of day-long consultation workshops in different regional locations including Belfast, Limerick, and Dublin, aimed at industry operators in high-impact sectors and value chains. During these interactive consultation workshops, business and policy representatives will be invited to share their perspectives on what’s needed to accelerate their wider sectors’ circular transition between now and 2030, and how a Centre of Excellence can best support their needs. We are calling for key representatives across all sectors to join us at one of our stakeholder workshops to have your say in shaping Irelands circular transformation by 2030. Specific aims of the workshops include: Creating a platform for industry and multi-sectoral stakeholders to reflect and communicate on the key needs, challenges, opportunities, and action planning needed for their sector to transition to a net-zero carbon economy by 2030. Identifying opportunities for strategic collaboration for industry around circular economy priority actions and explore future areas for government-industry-research partnerships and supports to achieve shared circularity goals. Networking and knowledge exchange with value chain partners who are embarking on circularising their businesses and value chain. Industry Workshop 1: Belfast Workshop - 25th April - Crowne Plaza Belfast Date and Time : 9.45am (Registration) 10.30am - 5.30pm (Workshop), Tuesday 25th April 2023 Location : Crowne Plaza Belfast, 117 Milltown Rd, Belfast BT8 7XP, United Kingdom Speakers Include: Sophie Reynolds and Dr Geraldine Brennan (IMR/CIRCULÉIRE) Catherine Higgins, Department for Environment, Climate and Communications Circular ICT and EEE industry representative: Ben Craig , Acting Director, International Synergies (Northern Ireland) Limited Circular Textiles expert: Gwen Cunningham, Sustainability and Circular Economy Lead, NCAD (IE)/Circle Economy (NL) Target audience: Textiles and Fashion, and EEE and ICE businesses, industry representatives, and policymakers Register for Belfast Industry Workshop 2: Limerick Workshop - 10th May - Raddison Blu Hotel & Spa Limerick Date and Time : 9.30am (Registration) 10am - 5.30pm (Workshop), Wednesday 10th May 2023 Location : Raddison Blu Hotel & Spa Limerick, Ennis Road, Limerick, V94 YA2R Speakers Include: Sophie Reynolds and Dr Geraldine Brennan (IMR/CIRCULÉIRE) Leslie Carberry, Department for Environment, Climate and Communications Food & Drinks Sustainability Expert : Martin Hofler, Sustainable Partnership & Development Manager, Origin Green (Bord Bia) Circular ICT and EEE industry representative: Elizabeth O’Reilly Head of Environmental Compliance & Membership (WEEE Ireland) Construction & Built Environment : Janet Lynch, Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency Lead (Arup Europe) Register for Limerick Dublin Workshop - 23rd May - RDS Industries Hall Date and Time : 9.30am (Registration) 10am - 5.30pm (Workshop), Tuesday 23rd May 2023 Location : RDS Industries Hall (Dodders A & B), Anglesea Rd, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, D04 AK83 Speakers Include: Sophie Reynolds and Dr Geraldine Brennan (IMR/CIRCULÉIRE) Leslie Carberry, Department for Environment, Climate and Communications Register for Dublin Academia/Research Virtual Workshop - June 7th Are you an Irish-based researcher with an interest in circular economy? On June 7th, we will be running a virtual workshop with key stakeholders representing Irish HEIs, Universities and RPOs to explore models of collaboration between a future Centre of Excellence for Circular Innovation around Industry-Government-Research priority action areas. More details to be announced. Register for Academics Workshop About CIRCULÉIRE CIRCULÉIRE is a public-private partnership co-created by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and three strategic partners: the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) , the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EIT Climate-KIC . Together with industry partners, CIRCULÉIRE aims to assist manufacturers and their supply chains to switch from linear to circular business models. In November 2022, DECC announced €1.5m continuation funding for CIRCULÉIRE in 2023. Read more about CIRCULÉIRE here .

Apply by 5pm 9th June 2023 - Funding targets late-stage circular economy ventures and provides €5K in equity-free grant among other benefits. Now in its 4th edition, CIRCULÉIRE’s Circular New Venture Innovation & Mentoring Programme is the first of its’ kind in Ireland targeting late-stage circular ventures seeking to scale. CIRCULÉIRE’s is looking for start-ups and businesses that are revenue-generating and scaling circular solutions. The ventures must be enabling or demonstrating circular economy business models and have a high technology readiness level between 6 and 8. Through the programme, CIRCULÉIRE helps entrepreneurs to impact Ireland’s consumer behaviour, the economy, and accelerate the national transition to a net-zero carbon circular economy. The short application process includes reviewing the “2023 Call for Late-Stage Circular Ventures” call for applicants document and filling a short (maximum 6 page) form with general information, venture description, and references, for example. Applicants must submit their completed application by 5pm on Friday, 9th June via circuleire@imr.ie . Unsure if this is for you ? Register here for our Information Webinar on Thursday 18th May at 11am 2023-Application-Form- Download 2023-Call-Document- Download Important Call Dates to Note: Timeline Contact : Lucy.Campbell@imr.ie or GOSSB@tcd.ie CIRCULÉIRE is Ireland’s first cross-sectoral industry-led innovation network dedicated to accelerating the net-zero carbon circular economy. Past Alumni of the Circular Accelerator include Ashleigh Environmental; ReFunk, Avoca Seafood; DACS; IANAV; The ZeroNet; Harley & Marley; IFF Plastics; Niskus Biotec; Sensi and Verifact ( https://circuleire.ie/circuleires-venture-innovation-mentoring-programme-2022-cohort-kicks-off/ ) About CIRCULÉIRE Read more about CIRCULÉIRE here .