New Horizon Europe project CIRCULANDIA advances circular food systems, regenerative agriculture and reusable packaging

With a total budget of €9.6 million, CIRCULANDIA aims to build and scale circular urban and regional food solutions that combine regenerative agriculture, local food production and distribution, and reusable packaging ecosystems. The project will run from 2026 to 2030.

CLIC Innovation coordinates the project consortium, which consists of 35 organisations from 12 European countries.

Building circular and regenerative food systems

CIRCULANDIA addresses the urgent need to move away from linear production–consumption–waste models and towards circular approaches that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve soil health and biodiversity, shorten food supply chains, and decrease packaging waste.

“As the coordinator of CIRCULANDIA, I am very pleased to launch this ambitious European collaboration, which uniquely brings together regenerative agriculture, local food systems, and reusable packaging into a truly integrated approach. Our goal is not to optimise individual solutions, but to transform the way the entire food ecosystem operates towards a genuinely circular and climate-neutral model,” says Anna Tenhunen-Lunkka, Head of Circular Economy at CLIC Innovation.

A key feature of the project is its three-level replication model. Solutions will first be demonstrated in pilot cities, then adapted and implemented by replicator cities, and further scaled through multiplier regions preparing for future uptake across Europe.

The project activities include scaling remote monitoring systems for carbon sequestration verification, supporting regenerative farming practices on municipality-owned fields, sourcing and valorising local underused biostreams, demonstrating urban farming models, and establishing local reusable packaging ecosystems.

CIRCULANDIA also aims to strengthen citizen and consumer engagement in reusable takeaway packaging systems and create scalable models that contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal and the European Commission’s Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI).

Broad European collaboration

The consortium includes cities, regions, businesses, industry organisations, research institutes and civil society organisations from across Europe. The project’s target groups include cities and public authorities, SMEs, the Horeca sector, farmers, civil society organisations, industry and technology providers, and financial institutions.

Read the full press release here (in Finnish).

Read more about the project on the CIRCULANDIA project page.

The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101291131.

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