On 15 April 2026, the online launch event for the new edition of the CIRCULAR INSIDER AUSTRIA 5|26 took place. Under this year's guiding theme „Resources as leverage“ are not only focussing on resources as a material issue, but also as a strategic starting point for competitiveness, innovation and resilient value creation. The webinar provided insights into current perspectives, good practices and strategic levers for implementing the circular economy with contributions from the categories of Austria, framework conditions, international and education and training.
The CIRCULAR INSIDER AUSTRIA is the Circular Economy Forum Austria's trade magazine for the circular economy and bioeconomy. The new issue once again brings together numerous perspectives from practice, business, law, research and transformation. The 2026 magazine is published as 1,000 print copies to the highest Cradle2Cradle standard, 70 pages, 48 expert contributions, 11 selected company examples. The editorial team consists of Valerie-Sophie Schönberg, Karin Huber-Heim, Christine Schäffer and Thomas Höpler. Insights into the framework of this year's magazine on page 1
Eva Eidinger-Simacek showed how the circular economy can be strategically anchored at Group level. The focus was on the approach „REset Resources“, with which Lidl Austria is taking the step from a pure packaging strategy to a more comprehensive circular economy strategy within the Schwarz Group. It became clear that the circular economy is not understood as an individual measure, but rather as a company-wide organisational framework that combines topics such as packaging, products, construction, food waste, recyclables management and recycling processes and is also embedded in the overarching CSR strategy.
More on: https://issuu.com/bcsss_vienna/docs/circular_insider_no.5_2026/17
Hans Lang focussed on the question of how agricultural and industrial residues can become the raw material basis for new value creation. His contribution highlighted the potential of organic side streams if they are not regarded as waste but as the starting point for innovative applications and business models. This made a central theme of this year's magazine tangible: Utilising resources intelligently also means tapping into new economic and ecological potential.
More on: https://issuu.com/bcsss_vienna/docs/circular_insider_no.5_2026/13
In the contribution from the framework conditions section, it became clear that the regulatory framework has long since become a key lever for the circular economy. Among other things, a raw materials policy with clear objectives, circular legislation as a market project, industrial policy and state aid legislation as levers and resilient supply chains as a corporate duty were emphasised. The contribution argued in favour of a change of perspective: away from the idea of complete self-sufficiency and towards a strategically understood resource sovereignty.
More on: https://issuu.com/bcsss_vienna/docs/circular_insider_no.5_2026/30
Tamara Vobruba provided international insights into application-orientated research and innovation at the interface of the circular economy, bioeconomy and nature-based solutions. Among other things, approaches to decentralised wastewater treatment and reuse, to closing water and nutrient cycles and to developing and prioritising circular recycling paths were presented. The case study from Pongau, in which scenarios for the local utilisation of sewage sludge were examined, including drying, phosphorus recovery, humification and pyrolysis, was particularly illustrative. This was supplemented by a methodical look at multi-criteria analyses and digital tools for transparent, well-founded decisions.
More on: https://issuu.com/bcsss_vienna/docs/circular_insider_no.5_2026/48
Karin Huber-Heim presented the new Austrian Innovation Award for pioneering companies in the circular economy. The award is intended to make pioneering companies visible, recognise innovations and strengthen the competitiveness of resource-efficient solutions. At the same time, it was emphasised that awards also send an important signal for the transformation of the business location. Entries can be submitted in several categories - including Circular Industry Innovation, Circular Business Model Innovation, Circular Startup of the Year, Technological Circularity Breakthrough and Circular Collaboration Award.
More on: https://circulareconomyforum.at/en/ciaa/
The full video of the launch webinar can be viewed here. The presentation is also available for download here. Further information on the CIRCULAR INSIDER AUSTRIA 5|26 can be found on the magazine page of the Circular Economy Forum Austria at: https://circulareconomyforum.at/magazin/
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