Circular Living Labs: Inspiration for Circular Entrepreneurship

1. Practical Innovative Solutions for Bottlenecks

In 29 living labs, companies, research institutions and governments developed more than 25 tools and 63 new products, ranging from digital product passports to circular construction materials. These innovations emerged from 137 real‑life experiments — all designed to be immediately deployable in sectors such as construction, textiles, wood, packaging and manufacturing.

Tip: Start with concrete circular actions

The living labs show that circular innovation doesn’t have to be abstract. Think of material reuseReuse designates all operations by which substances, materials or products that are not waste are used again in an identical way to their originally intended purpose., smart design, digital traceabilityTraceability is the capacity to follow a product throughout the chain, from the supply of raw materials through manufacture and consumption to scrapping, in order to clarify when, where and by whom the product was made. or sector‑specific tools. All of these solutions are already available today and can be applied immediately.

2. Collaboration as an Accelerator for Circular Progress

The strength of these living labs? Bringing together partners who otherwise might not easily connect. Through intensive collaboration, strong ecosystems were created with long‑lasting added value, even after the projects ended. In total, more than 8,000 people and 158 companies participated in lab activities, highlighting both the widespread interest and growing support for circular innovation.

Tip: Look for partners within your value chain

Collaboration reduces risks and accelerates innovation. The labs show that shared knowledge, trust and co‑creation lead to breakthroughs that individual companies would never have achieved on their own.

3. Measurable Environmental Impact and Potential

The labs have already achieved direct CO₂ reductions and show that scaling up within Flanders could lead to additional savings of millions of tonnes per year. For SMEs, this means that small steps in circular innovation are not only feasible, but also immediately valuable.

Tip: Test, experiment and scale up

Circular entrepreneurship doesn’t require perfection. It starts with small tests, learning from mistakes and gradually scaling up — exactly the approach that led to success in the living labs.

Want to discover which circular solutions could support your SMESmall and medium-sized enterprises?
Check our toolbox for an overview of the support available, or get inspired by concrete cases, tools and success stories from VLAIO’s impact study (Dutch only).