Circle 17 Impacthon - Together for a better future

From 20 to 22 May, around 130 students and start-ups worked on solutions to the most pressing sustainability challenges and built partnerships at the Impacthon in Vienna, Graz and Innsbruck. circle17 entered its third round! Since 2019, the two corporate networks respACT and AustrianStartups have been bringing established companies and start-ups together with the circle17 programme to promote innovative business models in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and create strong partnerships.

"How do we create circularity of materials in hospitals and medical laboratories?", "How can we make cash available in rural areas to promote a regionalised cash cycle?" or "How can Vienna Airport develop projects together with its stakeholders to introduce a circular economy for the airport and its surroundings?" These were just three of the questions posed by eight companies to young entrepreneurs and students at this year's Impacthon: A1 Telekom Austria, AirportCity Development, CellCube HQ, Coca-Cola HBC Austria, Greiner Innoventures, Mazars, Next-Incubator & OenPAY. The challenges that these companies presented this year and that had to be solved at the Impacthon from 20 to 22 May can be found here: circle17.at/leadthechange.

International experts from the fields of sustainability and business supported the interdisciplinary teams with their specialist knowledge, including Andreas Ellenberger and Stefan Blachfellner from the Circular Economy Forum Austria, who also had the honour of being on the jury of the final competition to award the winning projects.

circle17, an initiative of AustrianStartups and respACT, explores the opportunities that arise from cooperation between companies (= challenge leads) and start-ups and individuals in the area of the Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on the circular economy. A pool of talent (university graduates, young people interested in working in the field of sustainability, etc.) is presented to companies. The Impacthon is seen as an opportunity to recruit future employees and develop sustainable business models together. In addition, during the matchmaking event, companies are brought together with start-ups from the sustainability sector to create potential collaborations.