Education for a circular economy - Future Perfect at the NNZ Symposium 2025

Last Friday, Lucerne hosted the NNZ Symposium 2025 took place in Lucerne last Friday - an important meeting place for stakeholders from business, science, politics and society who are working together on solutions for a more sustainable future. Future Perfect led the Impact Café in the area of education & circular economy.

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Education as the key to the circular economy

In an interactive World Café format, we discussed the role of education in the transformation to a circular economy with committed education stakeholders from Central Switzerland. Together with representatives from the Lucerne University of Teacher Education, HSLU and the University of Lucerne, we identified key challenges and possible solutions.

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Some of the most important findings from the discussion:

• Holistic approach: The circular economy should not only be dealt with in individual subjects, but should be established as an overarching educational concept.
• Imparting skills instead of pure knowledge: Learners and students need practical experience to be able to actively apply circular principles.
• Teaching ESD at an early age: Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) should be anchored in education from an early age.
• Strengthen cooperation: Networking between educational institutions, companies and the public sector is essential in order to develop innovative educational models.

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A stage stop on the Circular Tour de Suisse‍

A particular highlight of the NNZ Symposium was its role as the second stop on the Circular Tour de Suisse (CTDS) - an initiative that makes the circular economy visible throughout Switzerland. Following its premiere at the WEF in Davos, Lucerne was another important stop on the tour.

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Thanks to the collaboration with Björn Ischi (mymyio), François Gerber (Circular Economy Switzerland), Chris Häuselmann (SHIFT Switzerland) and Chris Gfeller (Swiss Post), the symposium became a hub for innovative solutions and interdisciplinary exchange on the circular economy.

The highlights of the CTSD stopover in Lucerne:

• C Lounge: Upcycling by Design - Curated by Björn Ischi, this area presented creative approaches to recycling materials through design.‍
• Circular economy in vocational training: Future Perfect showed how circular principles can be integrated into training in a practical way.

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