From Berlin with impact: Empowering households for a circular future

How VERBRAUCHER INITIATIVE inspires households to embrace circular living

A key challenge for CARE is not just to recruit, but to retain at least 100 real-life households across five European CCRI sites who are willing to participate in the pilot studies over 12 to 18 months. Aware of how scarce free time can be for many people, VERBRAUCHER INITIATIVE e.V. strives to make participation in Berlin as accessible and rewarding as possible, offering close support and creating opportunities for exchange and co-creation.

The team continuously gathers feedback and encourages participants to contribute their own ideas. Inspired by citizen science, the organisation empowers participants to be co-creators, not just subjects of research. Long-term engagement is essential for data quality, so the team is committed to keeping motivation high, always considering the specific local context. In Berlin, this means navigating the city’s diverse population and its socioeconomically and politically distinct districts. The local team tackles this complexity with enthusiasm, creativity, and heart.

40 years of empowering consumers

The Berlin-based consumer organisation VERBRAUCHER INITIATIVE e.V. has been active in ecological, health and social consumer advocacy since 1985. What started as a grassroots movement with just a few people in a living room has grown into a nationwide association supported by thousands and reaching millions with its campaigns.

For nearly 40 years, the organisation has addressed a wide range of topics, from sustainable consumption and climate action to food, health, and animal welfare. Throughout this time, it has always focused on empowering consumers to make informed, impactful choices. With this long-standing experience, VERBRAUCHER INITIATIVE e.V. ensures that the consumer perspective lies at the heart of CARE’s actions. Its vast network further enhances its ability to mobilise households and drive meaningful change.

Connecting with households where they live

At CARE, VERBRAUCHER INITIATIVE e.V. is responsible for engaging households in the area of Berlin, Germany, and for implementing the two pilot studies locally. This includes, for example, recruiting households via various channels, from member mailings and live events to social media, as well as planning and delivering local advisory services, interventions, workshops, and content for the project’s community platform. The association also supports public outreach activities and works closely with other local and academic partners.

Next steps

Both German pilot studies, one focusing on food waste and the other on circular clothing, kicked off with live events at the end of July. In August, participating households will complete initial surveys and undergo household audits. Based on the insights gained from these, the local project team will offer the households tailored advisory services throughout September and October. To bring circular practices into everyday life, a series of hands-on workshops will follow in October and November – including a live cooking event demonstrating how delicious and resourceful circular living can be.

We want to show that circular living isn’t abstract – it starts with simple actions in our kitchens, closets, and daily routines. – Miriam Bätzing, project lead at VERBRAUCHER INITIATIVE e.V.

Discover all CARE partners

Our project partners work hand in hand to explore what circular living means in practice – and how it can be scaled through collaboration, knowledge and action. Discover how each organisation contributes to a more circular future here.

Together with CARE, we transform our world for the better.

Header image: Copyright VERBRAUCHER INITIATIVE e.V.