Cir4Fun drives circular transition in the furniture sector through digital innovation and community engagement
The Cir4Fun project has recently concluded its participation at the DTSummit in Madeira, where the team joined the conversation on how European industry can navigate the shift toward green and digital innovation.
With new EU regulations on the horizon, manufacturing sectors are looking for practical ways to prove their environmental credentials. Throughout the summit, Cir4Fun shared insights into how the Digital Product Passport (DPP) and Data Spaces can act as the essential infrastructure for a more resilient and circular economy.
The project’s work at the summit included a workshop titled “The Digital Product Passport: Traceability in Action,” organised by F6S. Arnab Sinha from project partner CEA represented Cir4Fun during the session, which was held alongside the CIRPASS-2, PSS-Pass, and DATA4CIRC projects. The discussion focused on moving from theory to practice, demonstrating how a “digital thread” allows products to be tracked from their raw material origins through recovery and recycling.
Cir4Fun’s presence was also felt during the session “From Data Interoperability to Data Sovereignty for a transition of Manufacturing Industry.” This workshop was chaired by the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) and by José Ferreira from UNINOVA, who was also one of the event organisers. Also present were project partners João Gião (UNINOVA), Enno Müller (Fraunhofer IPK), Arnab Sinha (CEA), María José Núñez and Fernando Gigante (AIDIMME), and Alexandros Nizamis (CERTH).
The session explored how the Data Economy and Circular Economy can work together to support the transition of the European manufacturing industry. On one hand, the Data Economy focuses on the valorisation of data to enable collaboration and AI applications; on the other, the Circular Economy targets sustainability through “9R” circles like repair, remanufacturing, and recycling. During this session, the project was also represented by the paper “Enabling Interoperability and Data Sovereignty in the Furniture Sector through a Common Data Space,” developed by Jorge Calado from UNINOVA and María José Núñez and Fernando Gigante Valencia from AIDIMME, the project coordinator.
Engaging the community: “How bulky are we?”
Beyond the technical discussions in Madeira, Cir4Fun is working to drive systemic change through direct engagement with the industry and the public. On Monday 20th April, project partner OpenDot hosted “Quanto siamo ingombranti?” (How bulky are we?), an open discussion focused on the furniture industry and the challenges of circularity.
In a circular lounge setting, without the formality of podiums or presentations, companies, designers, institutions, and research centres engaged in a dialogue to reflect on the sector’s impact, from raw materials to end-of-life. This event was a collaborative effort between the European projects Cir4Fun, R-evolve, and FRANCESCA, all of which are working on complementary ways to make the supply chain more circular and measurable.
A call for public input
As part of this ongoing work, OpenDot is inviting everyone to take part in a short survey to explore behaviours, habits, and perceptions around bulky items and furniture. Developed alongside Politecnico di Milano and the Università degli Studi di Firenze (partners of R-evolve), the questionnaire aims to better understand end-user habits.
The insights collected will help the project partners define future activities and interventions that have a tangible impact across the sector. Your perspective matters: by sharing your experience, you can help shape more sustainable solutions and policies for the future of furniture.
The questionnaire can be found here.
