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CIRCULAR CITY LABS -TIRANA Testing Reusable Packaging Systems in Cities
May 9 @ 8:00 am - June 5 @ 5:00 pm UTC+1
Circular City Labs (CCL) is a project aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by preventing waste through the promotion of economically sustainable reusable packaging systems in cities. It also aims to strengthen women’s participation in local circular economies. The partner cities selected for this challenge are Tirana (Albania), Tbilisi (Georgia), and Medellín (Colombia). The project is conducted by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ Germany). It is funded through BMZ’s Climate and Environmental Protection Initiative (IKU) for a period from January 2023 to December 2025.
About Circular City Labs – Tirana
To accelerate Albania’s transformation into an innovative, circular, and knowledge-based economy, the Municipality of Tirana is exploring and testing reusable packaging systems in the city. Driven by the shared goal of supporting Tirana in this endeavor, the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development have joined forces with the municipality through three projects: (1) Circular City Labs Project, (2) EU for Circular Economy and Sustainable Urban Development, and (3) EU for Innovation. Circular City Labs – Tirana is implemented by a consortium of three local entities: Destil Creative Hub, Co-PLAN (Institute for Habitat Development), and POLIS University, in collaboration with international experts CrazyTown Finland, who support the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship in Albania. All involved partners have mobilized their respective resources to create a supportive scheme that includes raising awareness and providing technical support through the Accelerator program, networking, and funding for pilot projects.
Who is it for?
Circular City Labs-Tirana is a program for local businesses in sectors such as HORECA (Hotels, Restaurants, Catering), retail and food, e-commerce and IT, logistics, event management, etc., that are interested in integrating reusable packaging into their business models; startups/entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for reusable packaging systems in the city; city administration, academia and researchers, as well as civil society. Circular City Labs – Tirana will be implemented with consideration for a feminist development policy. The program focuses on supporting female founders and women-led businesses.
How to join?
How to join?
CCL Tirana will select a maximum of 20 teams to participate in the Hackathon, based on your application.
End of June
CCL Tirana Hackathon: 33 hours of intensive development with partners, stakeholders, and international mentors, to propose and develop innovative ideas tailored to business models. The jury will select the teams that qualify for the accelerator phase.
July – November 2024
Accelerator: A 4-month intensive development and mentoring program consisting of training on the circular economy, reusable packaging systems, leadership, the role of women in the circular economy, etc.
December 2024 – May 2025
Pilot Implementation and Monitoring: Selected teams will undertake the practical implementation and testing of the proposed reusable packaging systems in Tirana.
Specific Objective
Represents a multi-dimensional approach to sustainability that includes:
– Identifying, prototyping, linking, and piloting packaging solutions with materials that can be reused multiple times instead of being discarded after a single use. The testing aspect implies a thorough assessment of the economic sustainability, effectiveness, durability, and practicality of these reusable packaging systems.
– Strengthening and empowering women’s participation in local circular economies. Women are responsible for 70-80% of household purchases and rely on legacy practices of reuse and circularity in Albania (minimizing waste and maximizing resource use). Strengthening women’s participation includes creating employment opportunities, entrepreneurship, or leadership roles within circular economy initiatives.
– Contributing to the environmental goals of the Municipality of Tirana through an innovative response to waste prevention (in line with the broader waste management plan and policy in force) and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Tirana for better and more inclusive urban living (while also contributing to the commitments of the Government of Albania (GoA) included in Albania’s Fourth National Communication on Climate Change).
Challenges Being Addressed
Cities are generating increasing amounts of waste due to high population density, restaurants, businesses, and industry. Reusable packaging systems are an important part of the circular economy. Reusable packaging is designed to be used multiple times for the same purpose for which it was conceived. They address the root of the problem by ensuring that less packaging is used and consequently contributing to the reduction of waste. Solving the reusable packaging challenge is a global market worth over 100 billion euros, a value that grows year after year.
If you have an idea/product for developing reusable packaging solutions while empowering women in circular economies, we invite you to be part of this journey.
CCL-TIRANA OPEN CALL
The Circular City Lab – Tirana project challenge runs from March 2024 to September 2025, encompassing four main phases:
1. Preparatory Phase
2. Open Call for Hackathon Participation:May 9 – June 5, 2024
3. Accelerator
4. Piloting the Innovative Idea on Implementing Reusable Packaging Systems in Business Models
What do you gain?
For those teams that advance to the accelerator phase:
– A 4-month acceleration program from July to November 2024 tailored to your needs.
– One-on-one mentoring sessions and training provided by local and international experts.
– Community support and membership at Destil Creative Hub coworking space in Tirana.
– Access to Innovation Factory equipment at POLIS University.
– Piloting opportunities with the Municipality of Tirana and other CCL platforms.
– Financial support and grants to develop prototypes and pilot your solution.
– Networking opportunities and access to startup tools, innovative methodologies, and development tools.
– Marketing and PR support to enhance your startup’s communication and visibility in the market.
– Visibility and access to networks such as the Tirana Startup Ecosystem, academia, national and international corporations.