Panel discussion on the circular economy: Wishful thinking or the future of value creation?

Panel discussion:
Circular economy: Wishful thinking or the future of value creation? 

Digital product passports, new business models, and modular designs are considered key building blocks of a functioning circular economy. Nevertheless, current debates show that around 90% of attention continues to be focused on recycling—an approach that reduces losses but creates little real added value. Why has it not yet been possible to design and use products in such a way that reparability, longer life cycles, and data-based services become the norm? How can regional circularity be strengthened in order to reduce imports and promote local value chains? And what role do political framework conditions play when, at the same time, industries such as the automotive industry and smartphone manufacturers are increasingly abandoning modularity for performance reasons?
At the public panel discussion, experts will discuss the structural barriers that are slowing down a sustainable transformation toward recyclable products and the impetus that digital technologies offer for new value creation models.
  Following the discussion among the panel participants, questions from the audience will be answered. All listeners are invited to join in the discussion. 

moderation: Martin Besinger, SWR

Discussing the topic: 

• Dr. Michael Dieterle, Development Engineer for Circularity & Product Sustainability, SEW-Eurodrive GmbH & Co KG 
• Philipp Krohn, Business Editor, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
• Prof. Dr. Sven Matthiesen, co-spokesperson for the Collaborative Research Center "Circular Factory for the Eternally Innovative Product" and member of the management team at the Institute for Product Development (IPEK), KIT 
• Anna Reiners, co-founder and managing director of Circular Black Forest gGmbH

The Spring Academy for Sustainability at KIT will focus on the topic of circular economy from March 23 to 26, 2026. 
The project week is organized by the Studium Generale. Forum Science and Society (FORUM) in cooperation with the interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 1574 "Circular Factory for the Eternally Innovative Product" at KIT. In addition, the Spring Academy is a 10th anniversary event for the Eucor EGTCA public keynote speech, the Sustainability Forum with discussions in a relaxed trade fair atmosphere, a variety of parallel workshops and excursions, and a concluding panel discussion give students the opportunity to learn about and actively participate in current issues.