Anett Hauser on the circular economy

What is the circular economy? How can CIRCONOMY^® Hubs contribute to it? What is next for the initiative? And what added value does the work being done in CIRCONOMY^® Hubs bring? In “Four questions to...”, we regularly interview participants in the CIRCONOMY^® initiative. This time with Dr. Anett Hauser, Head of central office Fraunhofer Group for Energy Technologies and Climate Protection.

(1) What does the circular economy mean to you?

The circular economy is indispensable to achieving economy activity that is less closely coupled to planetary boundaries and the availability of raw materials. We need to recover a degree of sovereignty in our economic, political and social actions. Conceiving and designing circular products also allows us to avoid waste.

(2) CIRCONOMY^® Hubs are a new infrastructure for the circular economy. How can you and your institute contribute to this?

The CIRCONOMY^® Hubs are a response to the realization that transitioning towards the circular economy cannot be achieved by market participants acting alone. The solutions required can only be developed and then implemented through acting in concert. To support this, the purpose of the hubs is to provide central open platforms, establish networks between stakeholders and support joint developments. The Fraunhofer Strategic Research Field of Resource Efficiency and Climate Technologies is aligned with the principles of cross-institute cooperation as practiced by CIRCONOMY^®. We contribute by putting researchers in contact with representatives from politics, society and business, and by coordinating processes.

(3) The CIRCONOMY^® Hubs are set to be implemented in 2022: What are your hopes for the future?

We will continue to maintain an open and cooperative relationship with each other in the future. The hubs will develop individual profiles and yet be supported by the overarching idea of transitioning towards the circular economy. The cooperative culture that has developed in the preliminary projects will be further developed. In this respect, institutional support would greatly help facilitate the creation of the hubs and promote the cooperation of interested partners in pilot projects.

(4) What added value can the Fraunhofer partners who participate in CIRCONOMY^® Hubs expect?

The structure of the individual CIRCONOMY^® Hubs, which address the needs and structures of individual sectors in a targeted way, enables stakeholders to establish networks beyond the life cycle of materials, products and services in order to develop ecologically and economically sustainable solutions for the circular economy. The interdisciplinary nature of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft forms the basis of independent consulting for business enterprises and social institutions, while also providing circular solutions with a systematic approach. This means the advantages of traditional research projects are combined with those of agile development projects.