At this conference, various topics related to circular economy policy, the economy, materials, but also social aspects of the circular economy were discussed. Both scientific and practical partners were present and discussed various perspectives on the challenges and current developments of the circular economy in Europe. Most of the representatives were scientists from Europe, but people from Australia and India also attended this conference.

This presentation discussed the need for a social perspective on circularity, using the example of four hubs4Circularity in the context of a large European project (EU project IS2H4C). This project is taking place in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Turkey and has the following main objectives: stakeholder engagement, technology implementation and the development of better indicators for economic, ecological and social impacts. The Social Research Centre plays an important role in this project, particularly with regard to participatory research and stakeholder engagement.

So far, stakeholder engagement has played a subordinate role in the scientific debate on the circular economy. However, several presentations at the conference emphasised the role of stakeholders and the social aspects of the circular economy. Practitioners are referring to the frequent lack of acceptance by citizens of new facilities for recycling materials or transporting/storing hydrogen.

The project IS2H4C has received funding from the European Union’s HORIZON EUROPE Research and Innovation Actions programme under grant agreement number 101138473.

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