Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE NiCE project pilot action blogpost 1. – Researchers’ Night 2024

Is it possible to live sustainably in the city?

Implementation of the pilot action "Co-creation for more circular cities at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics" related to the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE NiCE project of the BME Department of Environmental Economics and Sustainability, Part 1

We can make conscious consumer decisions in many areas. How do we get started? How do cities help us? Energy use, transport, food consumption, clothing, durable goods – what to look out for?

Since May 2023, the BME Department of Environmental Economics and Sustainability has been participating in an Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE project involving eight countries, led by the German Environment Agency (UBA), which examines and evaluates the role of cities in the service of sustainable lifestyles (more information about the project in English: https://www.interreg-central.eu/projects/nice/?tab=outputs). In addition to research and exchange of experiences, pilot projects related to the dissemination of sustainable consumption and circular lifestyles will be implemented in pilot settlements including Budapest (Hungary), Bologna (Italy), Brzeg Dolny (Poland), Graz (Austria), Jihlava (Czech Republic), Košice (Slovakia), Ptuj (Slovenia) and Würzburg (Germany). The aim of the BME pilot project called “Co-creation for more circular cities at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics” is to raise awareness of novel forms of sustainable consumption, to support knowledge sharing and to strengthen competences related to sustainable business modelling through various lectures, workshops and a university course to be announced in the second semester of 2024/2025.

In the framework of the workshop "Is it possible to live sustainably in the city?" as part of the Researchers' Night 2024 program series, participants were able to listen to three thought-provoking, yet interactive presentations related to circular lifestyles:

• Dr. Mariann Szabó, assistant professor has presented various research results in her presentation on how we can reduce our personal or household-level carbon footprint, what areas we should pay attention to, and what urban solutions exist.
• PhD student Fruzsina Bozsoki's presentation has explored whether Újbuda (11^th District of Budapest) is a good place to access circular offers.
• Dorottya Vincze, a bachelor student in environmental engineering and university research fellow (in Hungarian EKÖP), has presented her empirical research on packaging-free shops in Budapest Metropolitan Area.

Altogether 34 participants attended the evening including citizens, university students. Besides the presentations, different games, interactive sessions made the workshop a colourful and vibrant event. Dr. Mariann Szabó previously asked the participants to wear either preloved or long-lasting vintage clothes and participants had the opportunity to talk about the outfits. Fruzsina Bozsoki has encouraged participants to download the Beeco mobile application where one can find circular offers and initiatives nearby. Dorottya Vincze has led a game where participants had to decide which product is eco-conscious and which is not. The participants were highly open to discuss the meaning of circular economy in their everyday life, and to join the interactive games.

Participants were active in raising questions about their Carbon Footprint, pros and cons related to sustainable lifestyles in the field of travelling and food. In 2020, the average carbon footprint in Hungary was 5 tons per capita of CO2e, meanwhile the same data stood at 7,7 in Germany and at 14.24 in the USA. During the workshop, Big Points for Sustainable Consumption and Circular Lifestyles developed by UBA has been introduced to the audience, which is a list of concrete activities where significant savings can be reached to decrease the personal carbon footprint, more about the Big Points, here: https://nachhaltigerkonsum.info/service/bigpoints