Move circular products, secondary raw materials and waste more easily across Europe.
WELCOME14:30–14:45LED BY DR ASIA GUERRESCHI
COOPERATIVES EUROPE · 29 SEPTEMBER 2026Welcome to the Cooperative Circularity Pathway
Today we will explore what a distinctly cooperative circular economy could look like, and what needs to happen now to make it possible. Dr Asia Guerreschi will introduce the workshop and guide us from our starting perceptions to shared priorities and commitments.
FIRST, TAKE THE OPENING PULSE
Complete the opening Mentimeter
Select Join Mentimeter directly to open the participant response page. If it says Waiting for presenter, Dr Asia will start the questions shortly. You can also use the QR code or participation code shown in the room. We will return to Mentimeter at the end to see how our thinking has developed.
Join Mentimeter directly ↗The direct link needs no Mentimeter code. The workshop code CIRCULAR29 is for this platform.
THE JOURNEY AHEAD
From first impressions to collective action
- Share our starting points.
- Explore EU policy, circular models and cooperative cases.
- Imagine a cooperative future and build the pathway towards it.
- Choose priorities, make commitments and reflect together.
TIME14:45–14:55
WHAT WE ARE DOINGSurface existing understandings and assumptions.
WHY IT MATTERSWe should not assume everyone means the same thing by circular economy.
WHAT THIS CREATESA shared baseline and first cooperative opportunity map.
STAGE 1UNDERSTANDLIVE
What does circular economy mean to us?
PARTICIPANT PERSPECTIVESWhat the room is saying0
LIVE WORD CLOUD
0online
0ideas
0comments
LEARNING BRIDGE 1EU POLICY10 MINUTES · 14:55–15:05
EU Circular Economy Policy
Why the EU is acting, what the forthcoming Circular Economy Act is expected to contain, what is already changing, and what cooperatives should look for.
THE CIRCULARITY GAP
Europe is using more secondary materials, but not nearly fast enough
12.2%2024 circular material use→24%EU ambition by 2030
Status · September 2026
The Circular Economy Act has not yet been adopted. The Commission has signalled a stronger Single Market for secondary raw materials, end-of-waste rules, EPR simplification, procurement demand, critical-material recovery and recycled or bio-based feedstocks.
What the Commission has already signalled
Harmonise criteria for when waste becomes a usable secondary material.
Simplify and digitalise Extended Producer Responsibility systems.
Use public purchasing to strengthen demand for circular solutions.
Increase recovery from e-waste, scrap and other secondary streams.
Increase recycled and bio-based alternatives to virgin fossil materials.
The Act is not starting from zero
The cooperative diagnostic lens
Can cooperatives access waste, used products and secondary materials fairly?
Who owns collection, repair, logistics, data and recovery systems?
Are cooperatives represented and able to participate on fair terms?
Will Digital Product Passports enable repair and reuse or create barriers?
Can public demand support cooperative circular services?
How can coops scale while retaining democratic ownership and local value?
TAKE INTO DIAGNOSEWhat cooperative strengths already match EU priorities, where are the barriers, and what specifically cooperative contribution could make transition fairer and more democratic?
TIME15:05–15:20
WHAT WE ARE DOINGIdentify strengths, opportunities, barriers and examples.
WHY IT MATTERSA pathway needs a concrete diagnosis of the present.
WHAT THIS CREATESA Cooperative Circularity Canvas.
STAGE 2DIAGNOSE
Cooperative Circularity Canvas
COLLECTIVE DIAGNOSISStrengths, opportunities and barriers0
LEARNING BRIDGE 2MODELS8 MINUTES · 15:20–15:28
Models of Circular Transition
Six complementary lenses. The aim is not to pick a winner, but to see what each makes visible and what cooperatives add.
FEATURED MODEL · REFLOW
Regenerative economy as systemic regeneration of resource flows
REFLOW treats cities as living systems of material, energy, information and production flows. Regeneration means reconfiguring the system so resources are repeatedly recovered, redirected, recombined and put back into productive use through connected social, technical and economic systems.
How the models differ
| Model | Primary focus | Main question | Cooperative opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closed-loop | Products + materials | How do we retain value? | Own and govern high-value inner loops |
| Regenerative / REFLOW | Resource systems | How do flows regenerate systemically? | Coordinate flows and shared infrastructure |
| Doughnut | Social + ecological boundaries | What is a safe and just economy? | Distribute value and voice through democratic ownership |
| Sharing + access | Utilisation | How can assets be used more intensively? | Member-owned access without extractive intermediaries |
| Industrial symbiosis | Networks + exchanges | How can residual flows become inputs? | Make exchanges reciprocal and durable |
| Cooperative circular economy | Ownership + power | Who owns, governs and benefits? | Make cooperation part of transition architecture |
A cooperative synthesis
Keep products and resources in productive use.
Recover and reconnect flows across productive systems.
Keep value circulating among members and communities.
Circulate skills, knowledge, work and opportunity.
Circulate voice and decision-making power.
Build ecosystems rather than isolated enterprises.
TAKE INTO IMAGINEWhat if a cooperative circular economy closed loops not only of materials, but also of resources, value, knowledge, participation and power?
TIME15:28–15:40
WHAT WE ARE DOINGDescribe the cooperative circular economy of 2050.
WHY IT MATTERSA vivid destination lets us work backwards.
WHAT THIS CREATESA shared portfolio of future system features.
STAGE 3IMAGINEHORIZON 3
It is 2050. What is now normal?
Provocation: Who owns the circular economy of 2050?
HORIZON 3Collective future0
LEARNING BRIDGE 3COOPERATIVE CASES8 MINUTES · 15:40–15:48
Cooperative Circularity in Practice
Look for the mechanism, not just the example: what circulates, why cooperative organisation matters, and what would make the practice scalable.
RICE HUSK → MATERIAL
Spain · AgricultureMontsià · ORYZITE
Agricultural by-product becomes a bio-based material. Mechanism: cooperative resource ownership.
BY-PRODUCTS → VALUE
Italy · AgricultureCaviro
Wine and agri-food residues feed energy, fertiliser and industrial outputs. Mechanism: system integration.
TEXTILES → TEXTILES
Sweden · TextilesSödra · OnceMore®
Mixed textiles and member-grown wood become new textile feedstock. Mechanism: patient industrial capital.
TEXTILES + INCLUSION
Italy · TextilesVesti Solidale
Reuse and recovery combined with employment and inclusion. Mechanism: social circularity.
BUILD + GOVERN
Denmark · ConstructionLOGIK & CO
Sustainable construction combined with worker ownership. Mechanism: worker governance.
REPAIR + PARTNER
Spain · Electrical goodsSare Teknika + partners
Discarded appliances are repaired and returned to use. Mechanism: inter-cooperation.
Six recurring enabling mechanisms
Control or fair access to the material flow.
Multiple outputs connected into one resource system.
Long-term ownership makes difficult R&D investable.
Environmental value and employment/inclusion reinforce each other.
Environmental choices are embedded in how work is governed.
Shared infrastructure no single actor could build alone.
From case study to transition insight
| Case | Resource flow | Cooperative mechanism | Transition lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montsià | Rice husks → bio-material | Shared resource base | Resource ownership can support material substitution |
| Caviro | Agri-food by-products → multiple outputs | Integrated supply chain | Circularity can become a whole-system model |
| Södra | Textiles + wood → textile pulp | Patient industrial capital | Scale requires long-term capability + collaboration |
| Vesti Solidale | Used textiles → reuse + recovery | Social cooperative | Material and social value can reinforce each other |
| LOGIK & CO | Buildings + renovation | Worker governance | Transition can redesign work as well as materials |
| Sare Teknika | Appliances → repair + resale | Inter-cooperation | Shared infrastructure can span organisations |
TAKE INTO TRANSITIONWhich seeds belong in the 2050 future, what prevents them becoming normal, and what capability, finance, cooperation, infrastructure or policy would scale them?
TIME15:48–16:03
WHAT WE ARE DOINGWork backwards from H3.
WHY IT MATTERSTransition needs decline of old systems and construction of new capacity.
WHAT THIS CREATESA collective H1 → H2 → H3 pathway.
HORIZON 1WHAT MUST CHANGE?
What must decline, stop or be redesigned?
HORIZON 2WHAT MUST WE BUILD?
What transition innovation or capability is needed?
LEARNING BRIDGE 4POLICY LEVERS7 MINUTES · 16:03–16:10
From Cooperative Practice to Enabling Policy
Start from existing cooperative asks, identify the missing layer, then distinguish movement action from policy enabling conditions.
CECOP's existing policy baseline
Recognise cooperatives as strategic circular-economy actors and ensure access to circular systems.
Support reuse, recycling, innovation and shared circular infrastructure.
Build technical, managerial and workforce capabilities for transition.
Use social and environmental criteria rather than price alone.
EU POLICY FOOTHOLD
The Proximity and Social Economy Transition Pathway already calls for greener circular value chains, supportive finance and regulation, Local Green Deals and skills. EU procurement rules are also being revised in 2026.
Where CoopsEU could go further
Who owns circular assets and infrastructure?
Who shapes transition decisions?
Where do the economic returns flow?
How are circular ecosystems coordinated?
Can coops access data and demonstrate impact?
Who finances shared, long-lived assets?
WE CAN BUILD THIS OURSELVES
- Inter-cooperative resource networks
- Shared repair, reuse, logistics and data infrastructure
- Common evidence and metrics
- Skills and peer learning
- Cooperative finance
POLICY MUST ENABLE THIS
- Fair access to resource streams
- Recognition in EPR and circular governance
- Long-term circular investment
- Strategic procurement
- Open, interoperable product/material data
Quick policy pulse
Which enabling lever feels most urgent?
Choose one. This quick bridge pulse is local to your browser; final prioritisation happens in Act.
Policy design check
| Lever | Weak version | Stronger cooperative version |
|---|---|---|
| Recognition | Mention cooperatives | Guarantee meaningful access, representation and eligibility |
| Finance | More grants | Patient capital and guarantees for shared circular assets |
| Skills | Offer training | Build technical, managerial and democratic capability |
| Procurement | Encourage green purchasing | Reward circular, social, labour and resilience value |
| Data | Improve traceability | Accessible interoperable data for repairers and smaller actors |
| Ownership | Support local projects | Enable cooperative and community ownership of infrastructure |
TAKE INTO ACTWhich priorities can cooperatives deliver themselves, which require national or EU policy, and which three to five asks make a distinctive CoopsEU contribution?
TIME16:10–16:15
WHAT WE ARE DOINGPrioritise, assign responsibility and commit.
WHY IT MATTERSFinish with choices, not an undifferentiated list.
WHAT THIS CREATESA ranked agenda, responsibility map and commitments.
STAGE 5ACT5 VOTES EACH
Choose the priorities that matter most
12-MONTH COMMITMENT
What could your organisation do next?
LIVE COMMITMENTSWhat participants will do next0
CONCLUSION16:15–16:30LED BY DR ASIA GUERRESCHI
RETURN TO THE QUESTION WE STARTED WITHKeep the Discussion Going and Next Steps
Dr Asia Guerreschi brings the workshop to a close, invites a final reflection, and opens the next phase of collective discussion and action.
NOW, TAKE THE FINAL PULSE
Complete Mentimeter again
Select Join Mentimeter directly to return to the participant response page. If it says Waiting for presenter, Dr Asia will start the closing questions shortly. Reflect on what has shifted since the opening pulse.
Join Mentimeter directly ↗The direct link needs no Mentimeter code. Your opening and closing responses are collected in Mentimeter, separately from this workshop platform.
CONTINUE TOGETHER
A space for ideas and next steps
Our discussion continues beyond today. Share new ideas, respond to one another and work through practical next steps over the coming months.
Keep the discussion going →Open through 31 March 2027. No account required.