Circular Economy Living Lab (CELL)
The Circular Economy Living Lab (CELL) is an open innovation platform coordinated by the University of La Laguna within the STARS EU Alliance. It brings together academia, public authorities, industry and civil society to co-create, test and scale circular economy solutions for island and peripheral regions. Through collaboration, real-life experimentation and knowledge exchange, the Living Lab supports the development of innovative, sustainable and transferable solutions that strengthen regional resilience and contribute to Europe’s green transition. CELL focuses on three strategic sectors with significant potential to drive the circular transition: tourism, construction and agriculture.
Context and Challenge
Islands and peripheral regions face distinctive sustainability challenges, including high dependence on external resources, climate vulnerability and the need to transform key economic sectors towards more circular and resource-efficient models. Tourism is the region's key economic driver, with construction and agriculture also playing important roles in regional development. Together, these sectors present significant opportunities for innovation. The Circular Economy Living Lab provides an open innovation ecosystem where stakeholders collaborate to design, test and validate circular solutions adapted to these sectors and to the specific conditions of peripheral territories.
Mission
The mission of the Circular Economy Living Lab is to accelerate the transition towards circular and sustainable economic models by fostering collaboration between academia, industry, public institutions and society. Through co-creation, experimentation and knowledge transfer, CELL promotes innovative solutions that improve resource efficiency, reduce environmental impacts and increase the resilience and competitiveness of the tourism, construction and agricultural sectors.
What We Do
The Living Lab develops collaborative innovation activities focused on three thematic areas:
Circular tourism and sustainable visitor economy, promoting innovative approaches that enhance sustainability, resource efficiency and local value creation.
Circular construction and sustainable built environments, supporting new materials, circular design strategies and innovative construction practices.
Circular agriculture and bioeconomy, fostering sustainable production systems, efficient use of natural resources and nature-based solutions.
Each thematic area combines research, stakeholder engagement and real-life experimentation to generate practical solutions with regional impact.
Activities and Impact
CELL promotes innovation through collaborative methodologies that connect research, education and regional development.
Co-creation workshopsMulti-stakeholder workshops identify regional challenges and jointly design innovative circular economy solutions.
Innovation pilotsDevelopment and testing of demonstrators and pilot initiatives in sustainable tourism, circular construction and agriculture, validating innovative approaches under real operating conditions.
Knowledge transferCollaboration between university research groups, companies and public organisations to accelerate the adoption of research-based solutions.
Education and student engagementDevelopment of innovative training initiatives designed to tackle real-world challenges, such as the Blended Intensive Programmes, and other work-based learning opportunities, enabling students to address real-world sustainability challenges alongside stakeholders from the EU STARS regions.
Policy dialogueCollaboration with regional and local authorities to support evidence-based policies that foster the transition towards more circular and sustainable economic sectors.
Partners and Ecosystem
The Circular Economy Living Lab is coordinated by the Universidad de La Laguna and developed in collaboration with regional and international partners.The Living Lab connects:
Regional public authorities. Companies and industry representatives. SMEs and innovation organisations. Research groups and higher education institutions. Environmental organisations and civil society. Students and citizens. CELL also collaborates with the STARS EU Thematic Interest Groups (TIGs), the Regional Transition Accelerator and other Living Labs across the Alliance, promoting interregional collaboration, knowledge exchange and the development of joint innovation initiatives.
Expected Outcomes
The Circular Economy Living Lab aims to:
Strengthen the regional circular economy innovation ecosystem. Develop collaborative pilot projects in tourism, construction and agriculture. Foster challenge-based innovation involving students, researchers and stakeholders. Reinforce university–industry–government collaboration. Support regional sustainability and circular economy strategies. Promote knowledge exchange across STARS EU partner regions. Develop scalable circular solutions adapted to island and peripheral territories.
Contact
The Living Lab is based at the University of La Laguna, providing facilities for collaborative work, stakeholder engagement and innovation activities while strengthening links with regional institutions and the wider STARS EU ecosystem.
Coordinator:
Universidad de La Laguna STARS EU Office: officer@ull.edu.es