The Circular Hotspot Events

The Circular Hotspot Event is a global, annual gathering that brings circular innovation into action. It is a living demonstration where local context shapes global impact, and where governments, industries, and communities come together to accelerate the circular transition. It is not a conference but an international stage to accelerate long-term circular transition. It showcases and scales local circular practices, initiatives, and policies, while fostering cross-border collaboration, knowledge exchange, and new business and policy partnerships. Together, Circular Hotspot events create momentum, turning ambition into action and local leadership into global progress. 

The Circular Hotspot event series started in 2016 in the Netherlands. Since then, events have taken place in various countries/regions/cities around the world. So far, there have been 17 editions across five continents. 

What happens at a Circular Hotspot Event

The event typically spans two to three days, consisting of programmes such as panel sessions, business showcases, matchmaking, networking, site visits, pitches, special local initiatives, local elements, etc. The key themes are tailored to market sectors where there is strong local momentum.

 

The Role of Holland Circular Hotspot

Holland Circular Hotspot (HCH) is a private entity with a public-private mission: to build thriving circular ecosystems globally and seize circular business opportunities worldwide. HCH has been spearheading the initiative, bringing Circular Hotspot to the international stage and expanding its reach and impact.  

The Circular Hotspot events are hosted locally, but the overall framework, selection process, and international coordination are led by HCH. HCH ensures the consistency, quality, and positioning of the Circular Hotspot series worldwide by knowledge sharing, event guidance and marketing & visibility support. 

The Stakeholders

Circular Hotspot events bring together a diverse group of stakeholders across the circular economy ecosystem. Companies participate to gain visibility, explore business matchmaking opportunities, showcase innovations, and initiate pilot projects in real-world contexts. Governments use the Hotspot as a platform for policy exchange, international positioning, and engaging public and private actors around shared circular ambitions. NGOs and academic institutions contribute through networking, knowledge exchange, showcasing research and initiatives, and developing new research or cross-sector collaborations.