From Circularity to Regeneration
SHAPE towards 2030: What do we need to solve next?. With the extension of SHAPE towards 2030, we are entering a new phase of our journey. Building on what we have learned and achieved so far, the focus now shifts towards the next challenges, opportunities and questions we need to solve together.
In this blog series, SHAPE’s Work Pack Leaders share their perspectives on what comes next, what they see as the most important challenges to address, where new collaboration is needed and what they hope to achieve in the years ahead.
As SHAPE continues its journey towards 2030, we are expanding our perspective. Circularity remains an important foundation, but we are increasingly exploring what it means to move beyond reducing harm and towards creating positive impact. This is where regenerative thinking becomes relevant.
"Circularity helps us use resources more efficiently and reduce waste. Regeneration challenges us to go one step further: to actively strengthen the natural and social systems that industrial value chains depend on”, says Petra Härmälä, technology manager.
Looking Beyond Circularity
For many years, circular economy initiatives have focused on keeping materials, products and resources in use for as long as possible. These remain critical goals. However, circularity alone does not necessarily address the condition of the ecosystems and communities that support industrial activity.
Regenerative thinking invites us to take a broader view. It encourages us to recognise that businesses operate within interconnected ecological, social and economic systems. Our long-term success depends on the health and resilience of those systems.
A regenerative value chain therefore aims not only to reduce negative impacts, but also to contribute positively. This could mean restoring water quality, supporting biodiversity, strengthening local communities, improving resource resilience, or developing business models that create lasting shared value.
Building Regenerative Industrial Value Chains
Within SHAPE, this ambition is reflected in Work Package 7: Regenerative Industrial Value Chains. The objective is to explore how manufacturing ecosystems can evolve from resource efficiency towards regenerative performance. A key starting point is developing a shared understanding of what regeneration means in an industrial context. From there, the work focuses on questions such as:
How can industrial value chains help restore natural systems rather than simply reduce their impact?
How can circular business models contribute to both ecological and societal value creation?
What new metrics are needed to understand progress towards regenerative outcomes?
How can collaboration across industries accelerate learning and implementation?
The answers will emerge through pilots, experimentation and collaboration. Rather than searching for one universal solution, we need to explore what regeneration looks like in different industrial contexts and value chains.
Why This Matters
Industrial systems depend on healthy ecosystems, resilient infrastructure and thriving communities. Clean water, stable climates, functioning ecosystems and skilled people are not external factors. They are the foundations upon which business activities are built. When these foundations weaken, risks increase. Resource scarcity, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and social challenges can all affect long-term competitiveness and resilience.
Regenerative approaches offer an opportunity to rethink industrial success. Instead of measuring progress solely through efficiency and growth, we can also consider how our activities contribute to restoring and strengthening the systems that support life and business.
A Learning Journey
Regeneration is not a destination with a fixed blueprint. It is a learning journey that requires curiosity, collaboration and a willingness to test new ideas.
As SHAPE moves towards 2030, we invite companies, researchers and ecosystem partners to join the conversation. Together, we can explore what regenerative industrial value chains could look like in practice and how positive impact can become an integrated part of industrial development.
The challenge is no longer only how to do less harm, but how to contribute more good. That is the opportunity ahead.
Petra Härmälä
Technology Manager & Workpack Leader for WP 1 Boosting Circularity and WP 7 Regenerative Industrial Value Chains