Once per year the Big Buyers Working Together (BBWT) brings together all 10 of its Communities of Practice (CoPs) in a special in-person event. In 2025, this annual event will be organised by ICLEI Europe and take place in Helsinki, Finland, on 24 and 25 March, with the first day exclusively reserved for CoP members.

The event will focus on how public buyers can drive a more sustainable, social and innovative Europe, befitting the broader aims of the project. BBWT seeks to strengthen the collaboration between public buyers with strong purchasing power, and promote the wider use of strategic public procurement for innovative and sustainable solutions.

During panel discussions and interactive sessions, the event will bring CoP members and other relevant stakeholders together to reflect on BBWT’s progress in the past year, and discuss the future of strategic public procurement in Europe. It will do so by facilitating collaboration and interactions between members from different thematic CoPs, and other stakeholders. Participants will also get the opportunity to find out some great examples of how host city Helsinki has implemented public procurement in practice.

More details about the programme can be found here.

Registration for the BBWT annual event is now closed.

The Circular Investment Readiness Network (CIRN) is organising a series of sessions to support circular economy projects in overcoming development and financial challenges. The next session will take place on 27 March (09:30 - 10:30 CET) and will be hosted by Vojtech Vosecki, one of Europe's leading circular economy voices.

CIRN seeks to create meaningful connections and foster knowledge exchange between circular start-ups, circular experts, and investors across the EU. Its upcoming networking session is designed to help participants connect with the right people and have productive conversations that can spark new opportunities and partnerships.

The networking session will take place on the Conversation Starter platform, where participants should indicate both their expertise and the areas where they seek support. Based on this information, they can schedule three separate 12-minute one-on-one meetings with experts or be automatically matched based on their interests through the platform’s smart pairing system.

To register, click here

The Circular Investment Readiness Network is a joint initiative of CircularInvest and DEFINITE-CCRI. Both projects are funded under the Horizon Europe Programme to assist the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative in advancing the circular economy in Europe. Through Project Development Assistance (PDA) and guidance, CircularInvest and DEFINITE-CCRI aim to support circular economy projects in securing vital investments. More information can be found here.