To inaugurate H18–Beaulieu Circulaire, Impact Hub Lausanne organized a week full of events. The new space is not just their “nouvelle maison d’Impact Hub Lausanne”, but also the first innovation space dedicated to Circular Economy and Inclusion in Switzerland. A fascinating location in the beautiful town of Lausanne.
We attended the first day packed with pitches of the 23 startups from the Circular Economy Transition Incubator cohort 2023 followed by the official opening ceremony.
The range of the pitches was extremely broad. From “simple” solutions that share unused materials in your cellar (Circular Lugano) or the reuse of children’s toys (Circle Toys) to optimizing the recycling process of car wrecks (Grensol) or a cement floor replacement made out of wood and soil (rematter). Just lay back and watch the pitches... Any personal favorite? Hard to say but producing Vodka (Ampuja) or Ice Cream from food waste (Glace Löööv) is hard to refuse – isn’t it?
The second part of the day was dedicated to welcoming notes including Rebecca Ruiz (member of the council of state in the canton of Vaud), Raphael Conz (Head of Economic Promotion and Innovation in the canton of Vaud), Pierre-Antoine Hildbrand (city councilor of Lausanne) and Nicolas Gasztonyi (Managing Director Beaulieu SA).
In addition, two round tables were held. One was about the challenges to transition towards a circular and sustainable economy and the second was about new participatory models to accelerate the transition including Kickstart Innovation.
One takeaway from the panels was the closing wish of Julien Bucher: Find ways to include Swiss SMEs on this journey. Only in the canton de Vaud, there is a roughly estimated number of about 30’000 SMEs. Fifteen of which (!) participate in this years Environmental Action program. Way to go!
Thank you ImpactHub for organizing such a day and such a space!
