The Annual SEEDS Conference 2026, hosted by the University of Ferrara in conjunction with the Horizon Europe BioFairNet project, will take place on 2–4 December 2026. The conference will explore how Circular Economy and Bioeconomy approaches can contribute to tackling climate change and the EU’s transition.
We welcome contributions from senior scholars, PhD students, and early-career researchers, across all qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies and disciplines. The conference contains several moments of participation.
The main contents of the conference will be related to the socioeconomic disciplines on topics of circular economy and the associated bioeconomy transition and how such transition can practically tackle climate change related impacts.
Climate change is a widely recognised challenge in the contemporary world. Despite the role of the Circular economy within the challenge has already been tackled by the literature, its multifaceted nature and potential still leave consistent space for new considerations and research ideas. The increasing efficiency in the use of materials, the substitution of non-renewable materials and energy sources with renewable alternatives, the sharing economy, the symbiosis between different economic actors and increasing the durability of goods are just some of the actions that improve circularity within the economic system and can be expected to reduce green-house gases generation within it. This conference aims to analyse these and other related niches of research to better understand and boost their potential in scholarly and practical terms.
We welcome contributions related to the following themes:
- Renewable energy generation and their impacts on climate change
- Waste management practices, materials waste prevention, reuse, recycling, energy recovery, disposal and their climate related impacts
- The bioeconomy and the substitution of non-renewable materials with renewable ones, and its potential within the climate change discourse
- Promoting efficiency and cooperation within production chains, associated to climate change mitigations
- Promoting sharing and durability of goods, associated to climate change mitigation
The conference is open to any methodological approaches, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed.
Please note that the regular conference is hosted on December 3-4, 2026. December 2 will host the pre-conference networking aperitif and two afternoon simultaneous workshops decided to 1) emerging scholars; 2) engineering design in AI and circular economy!
Join the Emerging Scholars Workshop | December 2
This workshop welcomes early-career researchers including PhD candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and young academics working on sustainability, environmental economics, and circular economy. The aim is to receive feedback from peers and senior researchers, and foster interdisciplinary dialogue on emerging topics related to the green transition, sustainable innovation, and environmental policy.
The deadline for both the workshop and the regular conference is June 25, register and/or submit your abstract at the link provided below.
To register as attending without presentations or submitting for abstract for either the main conference or the emerging scholars workshop, use this link!
Main dates:
- June 25, 2026: Register to attend or submit your abstract for the main conference and the emerging scholar workshop
- July 21, 2026: Confirmation of attendance
- December 2: Networking Aperitif
- December 2: Emerging Scholar Workshop
- December 3-4, 2026: Main Conference
This year’s SEEDS Annual Conference is co-organised with the EU Horizon Project BioFairNet:
BioFairNet is a Horizon Europe project that supports fair and inclusive transitions towards the circular economy and bioeconomy in the agricultural and mining sectors. By combining stakeholder engagement, data-driven approaches, and digital solutions, the project aims to develop a collaborative platform that helps actors better access, integrate, and use sustainability data. BioFairNet brings together stakeholders from research, industry, policy, and civil society to co-create tools and strategies that address real needs and enable more effective and equitable sustainability transitions.