Waste and littering around Berlin’s infamous Kottbusser Tor are often treated as isolated incidents or enforcement issues. In reality, they are symptoms of a much deeper system: fragmented responsibilities, overloaded infrastructure, social routines, cultural narratives, and conflicting uses of public space. Previous measures focused on visibility—more cleaning, more rules—without addressing root causes. This led to frustration on all sides: residents felt unheard, businesses overwhelmed, visitors disengaged, and administration stuck between short-term reactions and long-term complexity. The challenge was not necessary a lack of ideas, but a lack of shared understanding and coordinated action.

We designed and facilitated a multi-stakeholder process that made the system visible before jumping to solutions. Starting with a focus group, we used the Iceberg Model to distinguish symptoms, patterns, structures, and underlying mindsets. These insights were consolidated into a comprehensive Systems Map, creating a shared language between administration, local actors, and civil society.

In a subsequent ideas lab, participants worked on identified leverage points—shifting from analysis to actionable measures. The outcome was an action plan combining infrastructure, communication, governance, and social norms, with clear roles, priorities, and timelines.

“Kotti räumt auf” changed the conversation from blame to collaboration. Stakeholders reported increased mutual understanding, clearer responsibilities, and higher willingness to contribute. The project resulted in 12 prioritized leverage points and three integrated action packages—from visible spatial interventions to long-term governance structures.

Most importantly, the roadmap allows the district to act strategically: aligning short-term measures with long-term systemic change, avoiding contradictory actions, and creating a foundation that can be scaled to other neighborhoods. The project demonstrated how participatory, system-oriented work can turn complexity into coordinated action.

Waste and littering around Berlin’s infamous Kottbusser Tor are often treated as isolated incidents or enforcement issues. In reality, they are symptoms of a much deeper system: fragmented responsibilities, overloaded infrastructure, social routines, cultural narratives, and conflicting uses of public space. Previous measures focused on visibility—more cleaning, more rules—without addressing root causes. This led to frustration on all sides: residents felt unheard, businesses overwhelmed, visitors disengaged, and administration stuck between short-term reactions and long-term complexity. The challenge was not necessary a lack of ideas, but a lack of shared understanding and coordinated action.

We designed and facilitated a multi-stakeholder process that made the system visible before jumping to solutions. Starting with a focus group, we used the Iceberg Model to distinguish symptoms, patterns, structures, and underlying mindsets. These insights were consolidated into a comprehensive Systems Map, creating a shared language between administration, local actors, and civil society.

In a subsequent ideas lab, participants worked on identified leverage points—shifting from analysis to actionable measures. The outcome was an action plan combining infrastructure, communication, governance, and social norms, with clear roles, priorities, and timelines.

“Kotti räumt auf” changed the conversation from blame to collaboration. Stakeholders reported increased mutual understanding, clearer responsibilities, and higher willingness to contribute. The project resulted in 12 prioritized leverage points and three integrated action packages—from visible spatial interventions to long-term governance structures.

Most importantly, the roadmap allows the district to act strategically: aligning short-term measures with long-term systemic change, avoiding contradictory actions, and creating a foundation that can be scaled to other neighborhoods. The project demonstrated how participatory, system-oriented work can turn complexity into coordinated action.

Waste management is still designed for removal, not reuse. In offices and shared spaces, valuable materials disappear into residual waste—out of sight, out of mind. Existing systems externalize responsibility, rely on centralized logistics, and leave users disconnected from the consequences of their behavior. Even well-intentioned people struggle to separate waste correctly, not because they don’t care, but because the system gives them no feedback, no visibility, and no agency. A better trash bin alone cannot fix a system built around disposal.

Instead of designing a single product, we designed a system. Starting from the idea of an intelligent trash bin, we developed a speculative yet feasible model for decentralized resource management in office environments. The concept combines spatial design, digital interfaces, data logic, and on-site processing to keep materials in use locally. Waste becomes a visible, measurable flow—sorted, stored, redistributed, and reintegrated instead of exported and forgotten.

The system is modular and scalable, designed to work with existing technologies rather than replacing them. It shifts the role of users from passive disposers to active participants—and reframes waste as a material with value, not a problem to hide.

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As a speculative project, the impact lies in changing perspective. The concept introduces a new mental model for waste: local, transparent, and actionable. It demonstrates how decentralized systems could reduce material loss, enable better data for sustainability reporting, and strengthen a sense of responsibility and ownership in everyday environments. The project has since been used as a discussion and thought-leadership piece—showing how circular economy principles can translate into spatial systems and real-world infrastructure.

Faircado’s core idea is strong: make secondhand shopping as simple and seamless as buying new. By aggregating listings from the most popular secondhand platforms across markets, Faircado helps users find better results—both faster and easier. But to grow beyond a sustainability-savvy niche and reach a wider audience, Faircado needed more than a good idea. It required a scalable design system and a professional brand presence—built strategically, without losing the startup’s bold and resourceful spirit.

We created a young, minimalistic design system designed to reach Gen Z early—before fast fashion habits fully set in. The goal was a look that feels more lifestyle than eco-niche: confident, current, and easy to connect with. In application, the system brings Faircado’s brand essence to life: secondhand shopping should feel easy and effortless. Every touchpoint is designed to be light, intuitive, and relatable. To deepen that emotional connection, we built the launch campaign around a core contrast: the real-life struggles of our audience versus the simplicity of using Faircado. This framing grounds the brand in everyday reality—with empathy, authenticity, and a wink.

Faircado’s new brand makes secondhand feel like the smarter, easier choice—not just the greener one. The app now ranks among the top 10 in app stores and counts over 300,000 users. The app now counts 300,000+ users, ranks among the Top 10 in app stores, and has attracted over €4M in investment. By shifting the narrative from niche activism to everyday lifestyle, Faircado gained relevance with new audiences, partners, and investors. A clear, consistent system now enables rapid growth—without losing the brand’s original purpose.

The cultural and creative industries play a key role in shaping products, services, and narratives—but circular economy concepts often remain abstract or disconnected from everyday practice. Many creatives and SMEs lacked concrete tools, methods, and spaces to translate circular ambition into viable business models. At the same time, public funding programs needed formats that went beyond inspiration and actually enabled implementation, collaboration, and learning-by-doing.

We co-designed Creative Lab #7 as a hands-on innovation journey focused on circular economy. The program combined expert inputs, workshops, mentoring, and peer learning—structured around real challenges from the creative industries. Participants worked in interdisciplinary teams, exploring circular materials, business models, and services, while testing their ideas against economic and practical realities. Our role covered program design, facilitation, content development, and strategic framing, ensuring that circularity became actionable, not theoretical.

Creative Lab #7 enabled participants to move from ideas to concrete concepts: circular products, services, and business models ready for further development. Beyond individual projects, the lab strengthened cross-sector exchange between creatives, industry, and public institutions. The program demonstrated how the creative industries can act as translators and accelerators of circular economy—making complex transformation tangible, collaborative, and scalable..

Every year, millions of garments are thrown away—often because repair feels complicated, expensive, or old-fashioned. In fashion communication, “new” still dominates, while repair remains invisible. The challenge: how to make circular behavior desirable, accessible, and as intuitive as buying something new?

We designed and branded REPAIR DEAL as a tangible, city-wide invitation to rethink consumption. The project gave Berliners a 50% discount on jeans repairs at local tailors. Users registered online, received a digital voucher, and dropped their jeans off nearby. The campaign’s tone was fun, urban, and a bit salty—avoiding eco clichés.

We developed the name, brand identity, visual system, and communication strategy, and led all rollout activities: OOH, in public transport, social media, and point-of-sale materials. The REPAIR DAYS activated press and influencers by combining workshops, live repairs, and community engagement.

The REPAIR DEAL pilot is about to prove that circular fashion can scale through accessibility and design. Berlin is one of four European pilot regions under SOLSTICE, making the Repair Deal model a testbed for replication in other cities. The project will be evaluated and disseminated for EU Policymakers and media outlets by the end of 2026.

Cleanliness, waste separation, and illegal dumping are persistent challenges in many urban neighborhoods. In Reinickendorf, residents showed a high willingness to act sustainably—but lacked clear information, visible offers, and accessible points of engagement. Existing initiatives were fragmented, often poorly communicated, and rarely connected to people’s everyday routines. The district needed a unifying narrative and platform that could make zero waste visible, relatable, and locally relevant—without adding complexity or blame .

We created RE:DORF as a new umbrella brand—connecting Reinickendorf with zero-waste principles in a clear, modern, and low-threshold way. From naming and corporate design to campaign logic, all measures were tied together under one recognizable system.

The rollout combined OOH, digital screens, social media, printed materials, pop-up actions, and neighborhood events. Core themes were broken down into everyday “RE:” modules—RE:USE, RE:PAIR, RE:CYCLE—and communicated through authentic stories featuring real Reinickendorf residents. Alongside communication, we facilitated network meetings with housing companies, neighborhood management, and local initiatives to align offers and feed insights directly back into campaign content.

RE:DORF successfully established itself as a recognizable local brand for zero waste. The campaign generated 2.3 million public-space impressions, strong engagement through video-based storytelling, and continuous community growth on Instagram.

Beyond reach, the project delivered strategic learning: formats rooted in real neighborhoods and real people proved most effective, while pure presence without context showed limited impact. RE:DORF now serves as a scalable communication platform—connecting information, local offers, and civic engagement—and lays the foundation for long-term behavioral change through integrated, neighborhood-based approaches.

Conal Metallbau, a classic German SME and aluminum specialist, faced growing pressure from clients and regulators. Despite using recycled aluminum and local supply chains, the company lacked a structured sustainability a. Without measurable goals or a clear strategy, Conal risked losing its biggest clients and missing new market opportunities. The challenge: how to evolve from a reliable supplier into a driver of circular innovation.

Our shared mission: make Conal future-ready—economically, ecologically, and organizationally. Together with management and production teams, we developed a company-wide sustainability strategy that treats circularity not as an add-on, but as a steering principle. It connects climate action, resource efficiency, and business growth through circular thinking. Thanks to NRW state funding, 80% of the first project phase was financed, enabling deep analyses and workshops to prepare implementation.

With a clear circularity roadmap and its first sustainability report, Conal is now equipped to fulfill its clients’ demands. Conal’s journey proves that even SMEs can turn regulation into innovation—and sustainability into competitive advantage. The initial analysis led to an in-depth investigation of aluminium as future-fit raw material and the identification of potential new business areas.

Decathlon recognized early that both customers and regulators would demand more sustainable business models. The challenge: services like repair or buyback only succeed if they’re as convenient and attractive as buying new. Without the right strategy and storytelling, circular services risked remaining side offers—missing the chance to unlock new revenue streams and customer loyalty.

We built an integrated Circular Services strategy and guided the rollout across all touchpoints. Together with Decathlon Germany, we optimized the customer journey, adapted internal processes, and crafted a strong narrative to communicate the benefits of circular services. Online, services were made visible alongside new products; in-store, they were staged emotionally and promoted through targeted communication. Workshops, mapping, and testing ensured that the services felt simple, accessible, and part of the everyday shopping experience.

The Circular Services quickly proved to be a growth engine. 120,000+ repairs were completed in the first phase, revenue increased by 4.7%, and loyalty doubled: customers who used circular services came back twice as often and spent twice as much. Beyond financials, Decathlon strengthened its image as an innovative and responsible brand. With new workshops across Germany—even repairing third-party products—the company is positioning itself to become the market leader for circular sport services.

Despite using 100% recycled materials and hydropower, Brixlegg’s sustainability edge was invisible to the market. Buyers saw “just copper”—but more expensive than mined alternatives. At the same time, fluctuating metal prices and energy costs made the business model fragile. Without clear differentiation and a strong circular positioning, the company risked being stuck with low margins and an outdated reputation.

We co-developed a long-term strategy to position Brixlegg as the leader in circular copper. This included a robust sustainability strategy, materiality analysis, product carbon footprinting, and a Circular Roadmap with practical measures like a buy-back system. The new claim “Championing Circularity” became the foundation of an integrated communication strategy—spanning rebranding, sustainability reports, employer branding, B2B messaging, LinkedIn strategy, and internal capacity building. We also sharpened the sales strategy to establish premium pricing in international markets.

The shift paid off. Montanwerke Brixlegg secured new premium customers in the US and Japan and was able to establish circular copper as a differentiated product on the global market. With 85% less CO₂ emissions than the global industry average, Montanwerke Brixlegg now has a tangible competitive advantage. Internally, employees rallied around the new vision, boosting employer reputation and reducing turnover. The company transformed from a traditional smelter into a recognized pioneer of circular value creation.