Post by CIRCULAR REPUBLIC

How do we get startups and corporates to move together? That was one of the questions at the heart of our lunch break session yesterday at the #SZNachhaltigkeitsgipfel. Our co-founder Matthias Ballweg and Dirk Von Gehlen, SZ Institut presented findings from our Circular Economy Startup Landscape 2026. Growing fast — and with a clear signal on where Europe stands. What's missing isn't always money. It's the right moment where a corporate need meets a startup that can solve it. What we explored together: ✅ Europe is home to 2,800+ circular economy startups — a global hotspot ✅ In 2024, more than 55% of all circular economy venture capital worldwide flowed into Europe ✅ That's remarkable: in most sectors — think AI — Europe trails the US and China significantly in funding ✅ Corporates do know what they're looking for — they find their strategic fit when they see it At UnternehmerTUM, we can be that connector — pairing startups with corporates before either side has framed the ask. The Süddeutsche Zeitung Nachhaltigkeitsgipfel had more than our lunch session on the agenda. 🤝 In a session with our partner BMW Group, the focus was clear: sustainability commitments need to translate into measurable action — not just strategy papers. The new iX3 makes that tangible: more than 700 kg of the vehicle mass — over a third — already comes from secondary raw materials. And manufacturing emissions in the supply chain have been reduced by 42% compared to the previous model. 🏙️ And Dominik Krause, Lord Mayor of Munich, outlined what a city-level sustainability agenda actually looks like in practice — from urban infrastructure to the role Munich wants to play as a model for sustainable transformation. Both conversations reinforced the same point: ambition at the corporate and city level is still very much alive. The question is how to move from intention to implementation — faster. ♻️ At our booth, we introduced the #CircularityCatalyst — and had plenty of conversations that went well beyond it. 👉 Were you at the SZ Nachhaltigkeitsgipfel? Share your takeaways in the comments — we're curious what resonated most. #CircularEconomy #CircularStartups #Munich #Sustainability (c) 📸 Jens Hartmann I SZ Gipfel