From local innovation to European impact: DECISO workshop charts the future of circular economy replication

Cities and regions across Europe are actively building a more sustainable future, a key theme from the DECISO project’s workshop, “Scaling Up Circular Economy Solutions: From Pilots to Replication” held on 25 June 2025. The event gathered project partners and regional innovators to reflect on lessons learned from the four DECISO pilot projects and explore strategies for replicating their success across the EU.  

At the heart of the DECISO project are four regional pilots that tested scalable, locally embedded circular economy solutions and presented some aspects of it during the workshop: 

• Hamburg: the city implemented a Pop-Up Circular Hub, a physical space promoting citizen engagement, repair culture, and small-scale local manufacturing through open-source tools and maker labs. The model emphasized the importance of stakeholder co-creation and political support. Though initially publicly funded, its replicability hinges on long-term business models such as circular public-private partnerships or service-based revenue streams. 

• Alentejo: as rural and agriculture-focused region, Alentejo emphasized mapping its existing circular ecosystem and designing targeted funding schemes for agri-food SMEs. The key replicable component is the ecosystem mapping methodology — identifying stakeholders, funding channels, and sector gaps — which other regions can adapt to their local contexts. Scalability is supported by integrating rural-specific funding mechanisms and low-barrier access to support tools. 

• Northwest Germany: the region tested a digital water reuse system using rainwater and greywater loops. Its scalability lies in its modular architecture, allowing adaptation to different urban contexts and infrastructure maturity levels. It demonstrated that data-driven solutions — especially those addressing climate resilience — can be standardized and reused. 

• Western Macedonia: the region focused on converting waste to energy, specifically agricultural biomass for district heating. As the region moves away from lignite combustion, the pilot’s key success factor lies in the development of a flexible financing framework and workforce upskilling programs — both crucial for replication in economically transitioning areas. The emphasis on job creation and reskilling makes this model attractive for regions undergoing green transition pressure. 

Beyond showcasing the pilots, the workshop focused on how to replicate and scale these models. It emphasized that the success of replication depends not only on copying technologies, but on adapting governance, funding, and stakeholder engagement strategies. DECISO is developing a common framework to assess business models across pilots, based on governance capacity, stakeholder skills, technology readiness, risk sharing, and community involvement. 

Presentations made during the workshop are available on the event’s page.