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Dossier

Dossier

Circular economy

It still sounds like a utopian dream: that we manage our economy in such a way that no waste is created and resources are reused. In Europe, this scenario is now becoming more realistic thanks to the European Promotional Banks Initiative (JICE), which has joined forces to support companies and municipalities' contributions to the circular economy. The initiative aims to invest 16 billion euros in circular economy projects by the end of 2025. Furthermore, the German Federal Government adopted the National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS) in December 2024. It follows the guiding principle of preserving the value of raw materials and products for as long as possible, using materials sparingly, and keeping them in the cycle for as long as possible. KfW supports these projects with low-interest financing from the KfW Environmental Programme. Our dossier introduces the European Circular Economy Initiative and presents projects that pursue the principle of the circular economy.

Image-Reference

On our website, pictures taken, among others, by the following photographers/photo agencies are used:

Agentur photothek.net, Deutsche Messe Hannover, Andreas Arnold, Jörg Böthling, Dominik Butzmann, Carsten Costard, Susanne Esche, Charlie Fawell, Rendel Freude, Torsten George, Gaby Gerster, David Greedy, Peter Himsel, Barbara Högner, Frank Homann, Fred Hoogervorst, Steffen Jagenburg (BRANSCH EUROPE), Thomas Klewar, Studio Kohlmeier , Florian Kopp, Georg Lopata, Jürgen Lösel, Kirsten Milhahn, Rüdiger Nehmzow, Rolf Obertreis, Rubén Arnaldo Farina Ortiz, Holger Peters, Joachim Röttgers, Mika Schmidt, Bernhard Schurian, Jens Steingässer, Pietro Sutera, Uwe Tölle, Jan Zappner.

Fotolia.com: amandare, Yuri Arcurs, Kitch Bain, Ingo Bartussek, Sergio Donà, drizzd, Dmitry Ersler, eyewave, Zoltán Futó, Eric Gevaert, Fotolia XXV, Friedberg, goodluz, Dirk Hoffmann, imageteam, Christian Jung, Abdelhamid Kalai, Sergej Khakimullin, Vladimir Kolobov, krizz7, Kzenon, lumen-digital, marog-pixcells, Mindwalker, Miredi, mirpic, Nebuto, Tino Neitz, Christian Pedant, Franz Pfluegl, prognone, Gina Sanders, Henry Schmitt, spree berlin, SVLuma, Kheng Guan Toh, tom, Torbz, typomaniac, VRD, Joachim Wendler, Sreedhar Yedlapati.

To the animated film
Graphic with texts saying, among other things, population growth and disposable production.

How to protect resources

A circular economy is considered as the solution to the global waste problem, it helps reduce resource consumption and carbon emissions. But what exactly is circular economy, and how can it be achieved? Our film gives some answers.

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To the article
Agricultural waste laid out on a table

A start-up comes of age

The Hamburg-based start-up Traceless Materials has declared war on global plastic pollution.

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Patrick Lipke and his team from Resourcify

Going round in circles

The centre of Hamburg is home to the future of waste management. The digital platform of the start-up Resourcify helps companies generate real value from waste.

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Read article about start-up LuxChemtech
Wolfram Palitzsch and Dr. Ingo Röver (from left), founders of LuxChemtech, pose with a silicon block and a solar panel

High-tech recycling

The manufacture of photovoltaic modules requires pure silicon. But it is scarce and costly. LuxChemtech has developed technologies to recycle silicon and other semiconductor materials and return them to the manufacturing cycle.

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Read article about start-up Wildplastic
Plastic granulate

A bag tidies up

Around five billion tonnes of plastic are in the environment – especially in countries without adequate recycling systems. Wildplastic collects this waste and uses it to produce rubbish bags. For its environmental and social idea, the company received the Special Social Entrepreneurship award in KfW’s business competition.

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Laptop and smartphone with Rebuy website open

"We are always on the lookout for goods"

Rebuy Managing Director Philipp Gattner talks about carefully tested mobile phones, the great importance of sustainability and the needs of customers.

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A man and a woman stand smiling at the banisters

Clean business

The Stuttgart-based start-up Concular is recycling old building materials and revolutionising the industry in the process. For this, the company was awarded the KfW Entrepreneurs Award.

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Portrait of the three founders wearing hoodies with Circunomics logo

What to do with electric vehicle batteries?

Circunomics has developed a system that can put the batteries from electric vehicles back in circulation. The Mainz based start-up was crowned the federal winner 2021 of KfW Entrepreneurs’ Award for its concept.

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Bracelets in different colors, made from old fishing nets

Protecting oceans with jewellery

Madeleine von Hohenthal and Benjamin Wenke salvage abandoned fishing nets and then use them to manufacture bracelets and other products. Their company, Bracenet, was honoured with the special Social Entrepreneurship prize as part of the KfW Entrepreneurs' Award.

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Infographic on circular economy

Circular economy holds the key

In order to stem global resource loss and climate change, there is a need to catch up on issues such as recycling-friendly product design or material efficiency. KfW expert Anke Brüggemann sums up how the transition to a circular economy can be achieved.

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To the interview
portrait of Denzer-Speck and Kiehl

A waste-free economy

If we want to live in a future where the environment remains intact, we will need to drastically reduce the amount of waste we produce. This is why KfW and other partners are now investing billions in a European circular economy.

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Bio-Lutions plate

Disposable tableware without plastic

A company is tackling the plastic waste challenge: Bio-Lutions buys unused crop waste from Indian farmers. The German start-up uses the raw material and produces disposable tableware and packaging, which are fully compostable.

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