The INSET Consortium successfully gathered in Yecla for a two-day in-person workshop to review achievements, consolidate results, and launch new actions after nearly two years of collaborative work. The event, held on 30 September and 1 October 2025, combined presentations, technical sessions and stakeholder engagement activities that highlighted the project’s growing impact in advancing Industrial Symbiosis and the Circular Economy in Europe.
After 23 months of work, the Consortium meeting represented a decisive moment for INSET. Partners from different European regions came together to reflect on the progress achieved so far and to align their efforts for the upcoming stages of the project. The workshop was designed not only as a coordination meeting but also as an open space for exchange with external stakeholders, ensuring that the project’s outcomes remain practical, relevant, and aligned with real-world needs.
One of the main objectives of the meeting was to finalize the work carried out under Work Package 3, dedicated to the development and validation of the INSET Toolkit. This resource offers practical guidance and capacity-building materials to support companies, policymakers and innovative actors in implementing Industrial Symbiosis. The positive external validation done during the summer period confirmed their value as a reference for fostering collaboration between industries, identifying opportunities for resource efficiency, and promoting new business models aligned with circularity.
The workshop also marked the official launch of Work Package 4, which will focus on the creation of the Industrial Symbiosis Online Observatory. This digital platform is envisioned as a European hub for mapping, categorizing, and sharing best practices, tools, policy frameworks, and opportunities in the field of Industrial Symbiosis. Partners agreed on the initial design features, governance structure, and validation methodology of the Observatory, setting a clear roadmap for its implementation over the next months. The platform aims to become a European reference point for researchers, industry stakeholders, and policymakers seeking to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
A highlight of the two-days meeting was the stakeholder workshop, where local clusters and academic institutions were invited to share their views on the relevance and applicability of the INSET outputs. Representatives from AMUEBLA (the Furniture Cluster of Murcia) and the University of Valencia participated actively, providing constructive feedback to improve both the Toolkit and the Observatory design. This collaborative exchange underlined the importance of ensuring that INSET tools are not only scientifically robust but also adaptable to the real challenges faced by businesses and institutions at regional, national, and European levels.
Hence, this in-person workshop marked an important turning point for the INSET Project. With the successful completion of Work Package 3 and the launch of Work Package 4, the consortium is now well positioned to deliver on its final objectives and to contribute decisively to Europe’s transition towards a circular and resource-efficient economy.