Multidisciplinary Research Projects
PlasticsCircularity project funded by Business Finland focuses on plastics recycling, reuse, eco-efficiency, and recyclability to support the circular plastic value chain grwoth. Key industry partners, including Borealis Polymers Oy, Fortum, Wipak, Serres, Sulapac, and Woodly, cover parts of the value chain, with VTT, SYKE, LUT, and UEF leading research efforts. The project will analyze value chain stakeholders, material flows, and value flows to identify enablers and barriers for new business opportunities while also assessing the regulatory landscape to help companies make informed decisions. A key goal is to enable the recycling of lower-quality plastics to meet Europe’s ambitious future recycling targets.
(1.7.2024 – 30.6.2026)
The ESF/JTF project aims at developing circular economy expertise together with companies in the North Savo and North Karelia regions and creating micro-credentials that meet the needs of companies and lifelong learners. The specific objective of the project is a regional transition of the phasing out of peat. The project is implemented by the Business School and the Centre for Continuous Learning at the University of Eastern Finland.
(01.04.2024 – 31.05.2027)
Leading Regenerative Circular Economy (LeadSus) project strengthens sustainability leadership. LeadSus will discover and develop sustainability leadership practices together with sustainability leaders, use appreciative development methods as sustainability leadership tools to develop solution-oriented leadership, and create practices for leading stakeholder engagement in sustainability change.
(01.01.2024 – 31.12.2026)
Multi-level governance of critical materials for future electric mobility (GOVERMAT) is a research project funded by Academy of Finland combining environmental policy, innovation management, urban studies and several branches of materials science for enabling a systemic transition towards a circular economy of critical raw materials for future electric mobility. The project concentrates on the role of regional-level stakeholders in critical raw material flows: it aims to identify the means and actions by which city regions can influence, promote and boost the sustainable supply of raw materials essential for electric vehicles.
(01.01.2022 – 31.12.2025)
Making Circular Economy Socially Inclusive through Entrepreneurship (MILESTONE) is a research project funded by the Academy of Finland. It will generate knowledge on how sustainability-oriented enterprises and social enterprise organizations connect circular economy and human development through inclusion and meaningful participation of society.
(1.9.2022 – 31.8.2025)
Past projects
Circular Economy Solutions for Microplastics: Indo-Finnish Scientific Collaboration for Innovation (UEF CESMI) is a joint initiative which purpose is to build a large-scale research and innovation cooperation and network between Finnish university partners and IITs in India to study the problem of microplastics and how to address it with scientific techniques and circular economy approaches from both Finland and India. At this moment, the project has a research cooperation between UEF, TAU and Kuopio Water Cluster from Finland, and IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati and IIT Dharwad from India.
(01.01.2022 – 31.12.2024)
The joint project of Finnish Universities, Circular Economy Catalysts: From Innovation to Business Ecosystems (CICAT2025) aims to facilitate the transition from linear to circular economy. The project supports Finland’s strategic goal to become a global leader in the circular economy by 2025. The project will work to identify measures hampering and supporting the circular economy and search solutions for companies and regulators to support the transition to a circular economy.
(1.11.2018 – 31.12.2023)