On 11 and 12 September 2025 at Tallinn, Estonia, ALDA attended the Tallinn Business Incubator’s “Circular Economy & Built Environments: From Vision to Implementation” conference, organised in partnership with Circular Design Alliance (CiD) project. Held at the Club of Different Rooms, at the Telliskivi Creative District, the event gathered architects, entrepreneurs, researchers, and policymakers to explore how circular economy principles can reshape architecture, urban planning, and design.
The conference aimed to transform circular economy concepts into practical strategies, addressing the pressing reality that the built environment and related industries account for nearly 40% of global CO₂ emissions
The first day of the event was dedicated to CiD Accelerator (Demo Day) activities, in which students from the continuous education programme of the project pitched their projects to a jury of experts, showcasing entrepreneurial approaches to circular design, as part of the project development. This particular activity was part of the Accelerator Programme of the project, in which the jury awarded prizes to the winning teams – Rinova (IAAC), Second Matter (IAAC), and Semina (UniGe) –, and praised them for their entrepreneurial spirit.
Following that, the second day was marked by keynote presentations on the topics of the conference, highlighting relevant practices and underscoring concrete examples of circular innovation such as the presentation of the Hundipea project, the Myceen start-up and the 3cycle system.
As part of the CiD project, ALDA showcased its ongoing work to advance circularity, highlighting the pivotal role of Observatories in the CiD activities. These Observatories are central to CiD’s mission of fostering evidence-based approaches to circular design. ALDA also presented the CCRI Knowledge Hub, which supports cities and regions in their transition towards circular practices, facilitating collaboration, and providing practical guidance. Together, these initiatives demonstrate ALDA’s Environment and Climate Hub commitment to turning data and knowledge into concrete actions that drive the shift towards a more circular and sustainable future.
