Presenting Circular Ecosystems: Cir4Fun at the ICE Conference 

Project partners AIDIMME and UNINOVA travelled to Porto, Portugal, this week to participate in the International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE). Held from 22 to 25 June, this flagship event brings together global researchers, engineers, and policymakers to discuss how digital tools can reshape organisations and drive sustainable industrial solutions.  

The conference provided an ideal platform to demonstrate how digital tools can accelerate the transition to a circular economy within the furniture sector. 

María José Núñez Ariño from AIDIMME represented the project during two key sessions. At the 3D Circular – EU Summit session, she delivered a comprehensive presentation on the overall Cir4Fun framework. She then joined the high-level plenary panel titled “Digital Transformation for Competitiveness and Sustainable Innovation”. During the debate, she shared practical insights on the digital transformation of industrial companies, highlighting how digital furniture product passports and data spaces enable secure data exchange across the value chain. 

Representing the technical engineering side of the project, José Ferreira from UNINOVA presented a scientific paper titled “Digital Tools for Circular Furniture Ecosystems: The CIR4FUN Approach” during the Digital Circular Economy session. The presentation focused on current supply chain challenges and explained how the project’s innovative digital ecosystem operationalises circular strategies in real-world scenarios. 

By bridging the gap between technological advancement and sustainable management, these sessions highlighted practical, scalable pathways for a greener furniture industry.