How can the concept of a circular economy be transformed into concrete business opportunities? The answer was provided at workshops hosted by the Faculty of Organization and Informatics (FOI) on April 14th and the social enterprise Humana Nova on April 28th, as part of the international DECIDE project.
The workshops were co-organized by FOI, Humana Nova, and the Technology Innovation Centre Međimurje (TICM), the Croatian partners in the European DECIDE project. This is a key project of the Interreg program for the Danube Region. Over the last two years, project partners have been developing digital tools and support methods to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and regional development institutions transition to circular business models.
Local entrepreneurs, representatives from business support institutions, and others interested in sustainable business models and innovative approaches participated in the workshops. Participants learned about the concept of a circular economy, how it is different from the traditional linear "take-make-waste" model and how a circular approach contributes to sustainability in business, environment, and society.
They were presented with the aforementioned digital tools and methods developed within the DECIDE project. They also discussed how they could apply these tools in their own organizations and business processes. Through examples of good practice, they saw what circular business looks like in practice and discussed how to apply it in different industries.
At the workshop in Čakovec, the Humana Nova team took participants on a tour of their production facility and presented their sustainable business model. After the tour, participants mapped out all parts of Humana’s business in a simple, visual way using the Business Model Canvas (BMC). The purpose of this exercise was to help them understand the key elements of building a sustainable business.
In addition to learning about the circular economy, they got the chance to network, exchange ideas, and talk about the challenges and benefits of incorporating sustainable solutions into daily work.
