The Confederation of Citizen Enterprises of Tunisia  (CONECT) recently organized a highly informative workshop titled "From Vulnerability to Opportunities: The Potential of Circular Economy in Transforming Businesses." The workshop was held under the  ENI CBC MED European project Cluster4Green and aimed to sensitize businesses to the potential benefits of adopting circular economy practices.

CONECT presented a range of tools and training materials from the Cluster4Green project to help businesses transition to a circular business model. The workshop was an excellent opportunity for enterprises to gain valuable insights and practical knowledge to transform their businesses and create a more sustainable future

The circular economy is a closed-loop system that prioritizes sustainability, waste reduction, and renewable resources. It is a significant opportunity for businesses looking to reduce their impact on the environment and transition to more sustainable operations. The workshop showcased best practices and examples of successful circular economy initiatives, presented economic models that can be implemented, and introduced the Embrace Toolkit and BOOST program that will provide support to MSMEs.

The BOOST program will assist businesses in defining circular challenges and opportunities, mapping their production cycle, input sources, and waste outputs, imagining and generating solutions, designing a circular business model, and capitalizing on progress.

The circular economy is based on the principle of closed material cycles and utilizing resources to their fullest potential, instead of the traditional extract-use-dispose model. There are several types of circular business models that can be implemented, such as servitization, diversification/integration, circular procurement, creation of new market niches/segments, cascading value monetization, extending product lifecycles, mediation/re-mediation, fostering virtuous closed cycles, and promoting sustainability.

In conclusion, the workshop hosted by CONECT was a valuable opportunity for MSMEs to learn about the principles of the circular economy, best practices and examples of successful initiatives, and access training and resources to help them transition to a circular business model.