Finnova promotes circular coffee economy at EU Green Week 2026
· Finnova will host the hybrid event “From Coffee Waste to Agricultural Resource: The ECOFFEE Circular Model” in Brussels on Thursday, 11 June
· The session will bring together institutional representatives, experts and innovative projects to discuss bioeconomy, territorial cooperation and waste valorisation
· Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of Finnova, will present policy recommendations derived from the European ECOFFEE project
Brussels, Thursday 21 May. Finnova Foundation will host the official EU Green Week 2026 partner event “From Coffee Waste to Agricultural Resource: The ECOFFEE Circular Model” on Thursday, 11 June, from 14:30 to 16:00 CEST, in hybrid format from the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) in Brussels. The session will bring together representatives of European institutions, agricultural organisations, bioeconomy experts and managers of European projects to discuss how circular economy solutions can transform coffee waste into valuable resources for the primary sector through innovative reverse logistics systems, digital traceability tools and industrial valorisation models. The event will showcase the progress achieved by the European project ECOFFEE, developed by AZTI, Euskovazza, FUMIHOGAR and Finnova Foundation, while also presenting policy recommendations aimed at strengthening sustainability, territorial innovation and bioeconomy across Europe.
Finnova and EU Green Week: innovation and European policies
Through this event, Finnova reinforces its commitment to promoting innovative solutions aligned with the objectives of the European Green Deal. EU Green Week brings together policymakers, businesses, researchers and civil society organisations every year to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the green transition.
Within this framework, Finnova will lead a dialogue platform focused on circular bioeconomy and waste valorisation. The event will demonstrate how European innovation projects can contribute to sustainable territorial development while creating new economic opportunities for strategic sectors such as agriculture, food production and resource management.
Institutional opening and European circular economy priorities
The event will begin with institutional opening remarks addressing the role of regions and local authorities in the circular transition. Afterwards, representatives of the European Commission, subject to confirmation, will present European priorities related to circular economy, bioeconomy and industrial sustainability within the framework of the European Green Deal.
Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of Finnova, will then present policy recommendations developed from the results of the ECOFFEE project. His intervention will highlight the importance of territorial cooperation, applied innovation and public-private partnerships in accelerating the transition towards more sustainable production models.
ECOFFEE: giving coffee waste a new life
The event will showcase ECOFFEE, a European initiative focused on transforming spent coffee grounds generated by the HORECA and vending sectors into high value-added products for the primary sector.
Representatives from AZTI and Carlos Ramos, Operations Manager at FUMIHOGAR, will present the project's technical developments. ECOFFEE combines reverse logistics systems, digital traceability tools and valorisation processes to develop ingredients for animal feed and natural biocidal products. This model transforms a widely generated urban waste stream into a valuable raw material for new agricultural and industrial applications.
Europe–Latin America cooperation for circular bioeconomy
The second part of the event will feature the roundtable discussion “Replication, Sustainability and Synergies in Europe and LATAM”, moderated by Finnova. The debate will explore opportunities to replicate these solutions across European and Latin American territories.
The panel will include representatives of agricultural organisations — subject to confirmation — representatives of European institutions working on EU-LATAM relations, Carlos Ramos, Operations Manager at FUMIHOGAR and representative of the LIFE NextFUMIGREEN project, and representatives of the Sustainable Coffee / AL-INVEST Verde initiative. Participants will discuss regulatory barriers, financial sustainability, international cooperation opportunities and synergies between European projects supporting the green transition.
The event will conclude with an open dialogue session designed to encourage collaboration around circular innovation and bioeconomy solutions for the primary sector.
The ECOFFEE project has a budget of €256,451.25 and is co-funded by the European Union through the Horizon Europe programme under the CIRCULOOS initiative (Grant Agreement No. 101092295). The consortium is composed of AZTI, Euskovazza, FUMIHOGAR and Finnova Foundation, which work together to develop innovative solutions for coffee waste valorisation through circular economy, bioeconomy and digital traceability models.
More information: https://ecoffeeproject.eu/
More information about EU Green Week: https://green-week.event.europa.eu/