Another priority of our Project is the establishment of a Circular Economy Sustainability Competence Center at the University of Pannonia, which provides effective assistance for the integration of the requirements of the circular economy into future research and development, innovation and educational activities. The most important trends that raise the possibility and usefulness of the transition to a circular economy are, on the one hand, that economic growth in the European Union seems to be stalling; the competitive advantage of the region is not visible in the global space. Thus, even globally, unique innovations carry the potential for significant economic growth. The possibility of instability is exacerbated by the fact that raw materials are increasingly available in limited quantities, leading to higher commodity prices. Technological development has reached a new level: measurability is / can become a part of the daily operation of companies thanks to sensors and new types of telecommunication networks (5G, IoT, narrow-band IoT). It is also possible to interpret large amounts of data thanks to the significant development of Big Data and the “system thinking” discipline. As part of regulatory change, the European Union is helping to move towards sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions through sanctions and incentives. These changes pose a serious challenge to governments and the private sector. The ‘green theme’ could be the new break line in the European political space. The circular economy is a potential opportunity to approach the concept of sustainability, which sometimes seems abstract, in a way that can be translated into economic impact in a way that is tangible for both individuals and companies. Consumer-voter expectations are changing significantly, and companies and governments are under significant pressure from the consumer-voter side to address the issue. At the corporate level, sustainability can be a unique competitive advantage in operations, product and service development. The transition to a circular economy not only provides stakeholders with an emotional benefit from protecting the environment but can also have a significant economic stimulus effect.

According to a study by McKinsey, “Delivering the Circular Economy - A Toolkit for Policy Makers, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015,” a successfully implemented circular economy strategy would increase household disposable income by 11% by 2030; which is equivalent to 7 percentage points of GDP growth. In addition, global remanufacturing and European recycling processes alone would create 1 million new jobs. In a circular economy, instead of basically consumption, after which the resource is ‘depleted’, we will be users who can create value from raw materials over and over again. This can be examined both along the production value chain (horizontal, e.g. the operation of the construction industry from the production of building components through construction and operation, even through output to erosion and demolition of the building) and production phases (vertical, e.g. manufacturing or waste management). With the help of this economic model, economic development and growth can ultimately be separated from the use of finite resources. However, the transition from a traditional, linear model to a circular one requires innovation in both design and manufacturing as well as business models. The positive effects of the circular economic model also appear at global, European and national economic levels and, by their nature, have an economic stimulus effect.