9th Cradle to Cradle Congress shows many solutions for circular economy

All pictures of this article by Jan Kulke

The program was dense and thematically broad, the guests were movers and shakers from the field, and all under the motto “Circle instead of crisis”: those who attended the ninth Cradle to Cradle Congress in Berlin received input, inspiration and best practice. And from all the good examples of those shaping the transformation, courage, entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm also spilled over to the guests. “Positive” was once again the most important word during the two days at TU Berlin.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY IS AN OPPORTUNITY, NOT BULLYING

The many panel discussions, panels and keynote speeches alone showed that the topic of the circular economy has now arrived in many areas of the economy, even if it is not yet widespread. Be it agriculture, the chemical industry, construction, municipal action or opportunities for start-ups – there is best practice everywhere, people everywhere who want to do better than they are doing now. Many of the participants at the two days of the congress saw the transformation towards a circular society and economy not as a constraint, but as an opportunity. This is undoubtedly the reason for the positive mood that has characterized the congress since the very beginning – and which also underpins the Cradle to Cradle concept. We want to leave a positive footprint, not a less bad one.

REGULATION AS A HELP TO GET OUT OF THE NICHES

Our decades of work are finally bearing fruit in politics too: people at the congress were delighted with the Green Deal, the EU’s bold transformation concept, for example. Unfortunately, the new crises in the world are currently putting it under enormous pressure. And while bureaucracy is being railed against everywhere, the C2C pioneers are hoping for a regulatory framework for a major breakthrough in many areas so that their work can finally emerge from its niche.

It was all about the small details: Dr. Gitta Neufang from Beierstorf, for example, made it clear how sensitively customers react when the composition of a cosmetic cream is changed. And about the big picture: TV presenter and doctor Eckart von Hirschhausen, for example, said that an important question for correct action is: “Who do I want to have been one day?” The debates and discussions at the congress covered this range. The importance of culture and media in the transformation was a particularly exciting question in a panel that I chaired.

TURNING BACK IS NOT AN OPTION

I am proud of the Cradle to Cradle NGO for organizing this so smoothly and I thank all the supporters for helping to make this program possible. I am already looking forward to the next C2C Congress on September 17 and 18, 2026.

I am sure there will be a lot of progress in the circular economy. Even if the global situation is difficult, we are on our way and turning back is not an option.