Fire chats at the Salzburg University of Applied Science

Circular WEconomy - Impulses from practice and research in the food and textile sector

As part of the European Week for Waste Reduction, fireside chats with two experts of the field were held at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences on 21 November 2024. The title “Circular WEconomy - Impulses from practice and research in the food and textile sector” already emphasized the inevitable cooperation to establish circular processes in companies and our everyday lives, which was also put into the center of attention by the two speakers.

Ms. Diana Reuter, the founder of rundumblick e.U. and the Head of Sustainability & Innovation Management at Woerle GmbH, provided valuable insights into the food sector, elaborating on many facets of the food value chain, from the production of raw materials to packaging and the distribution of the final products to the consumers.

The next speaker was Ms. Nadine Schratzberger, the founder of MONTREET, a sport fashion company. She shared her first-hand knowledge about sustainability and waste prevention strategies in the textile sector. Ms Schratzberger highlighted many challenges that an European start -up focused on sustainable production is faced with.

The subsequent lively discussion between speakers and students about the strategies for overcoming the remaining challenges made one thing clear: The long path to a fully closed circular economic system will become easier if it is done together! At the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences and the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, the circular economy is being researched as part of the EU-co-funded CEFoodCycle, FOODIS and TEX-DAN projects.