One pitch, one voucher—and now the next step toward a circular furniture system in Hamburg. At the Hamburg Sustainability Week , we won the sustainability workshop on Rathausmarkt with our pitch for the “Hamburg Circular Furniture System.” The prize: a one-on-one conversation with a judge— Prof. Dr. Tobias Wollermann from the Otto Group.
We’ve now redeemed this voucher—and we were met by Prof. Dr. Tobias Wollermann and Li Chirikan Richter gave us a very warm welcome at the OTTO Group. Thank you very much for the open, appreciative, and above all supportive atmosphere!
We started by looking at what has happened since July 1:
♻️ Discussions with numerous participants from the workshop network
♻️ Exchange with the Department of Environment, Climate, Energy, and Agriculture (BUKEA) regarding sustainable procurement by government agencies
♻️ our Circular Talk “Circular Instead of Fast Furniture” with representatives of circular business models from the furniture industry, retail, and recycling
♻️ the review and elaboration of funding opportunities
♻️ the preparation of a potential collaboration with Career Center @TUHH as part of the #FishingForExperience
♻️ and above all: The idea of a Circular Furniture Infrastructure Hamburg is becoming increasingly concrete.
Our vision: A digital, neutral infrastructure that makes furniture flows visible and connects the various building blocks of a circular economy—from digital furniture inventory and furniture passports to AI-supported condition assessment and matching, all the way to logistics, refurbishment, reuse, and circular procurement.
Now we want to take the next step—and we’re very excited about the prospect of bringing on the OTTO Group, among others, as a practical and application partner for further development.
Because that’s exactly what it’s all about: not developing a single “perfect” solution from behind a desk, but designing and testing a real-world circular economy together with strong partners from business, research, technology, and circular practice.
For us, interdisciplinary co-creation is the way to turn ideas into concrete, sustainable change. We would like to thank the Hamburg Sustainability Week and, in particular, Prof. Dr. Tobias Wollermann for the inspiration that turned a pitch into a meaningful conversation and perhaps the next important step for the project.
And to everyone considering hosting a sustainability workshop at the next Sustainability Week, we can only say: Apply! It’s worth it—not just because of the format, but above all because of the people and connections that can result from it.
Stay tuned. ♻️
