IFAT Munich 2026

What is the economic potential of circularity?

The Federal Association of the German Industries (BDI) asked Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to answer that for German industry. The report's authors, Claas Oehlmann of the BDI's Circular Economy Initiative and Alexander Meyer zum Felde of BCG, walk through the findings, with Nadine Braun of E.ON bringing the view from a company perspective.

What you'll hear in this episode: • What the report found: in five sectors covering most of German industry, circular business models could double annual value creation, from 60 to 125 billion euros, by 2045. • Whether that number survives cannibalisation. If a car gets refurbished, that's one new car not sold, so does the potential still hold once you subtract the lost sales? • What companies can do today, without waiting for new regulation, and what still holds them back.

Besides exploring the macroeconomic impact of the circular economy, the episode also looks at where circularity pays off for a company.

This is the second episode of the IFAT Munich 2026 series, recorded live at the fair.

People Claas Oehlmann, Managing Director of the Circular Economy Initiative, Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-claas-oehlmann-83355853/

Nadine Braun, Head of Circularity and Environment, E.ON https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadine-braun-eon/

Alexander Meyer zum Felde, Global Director of Circular Economy, Boston Consulting Group https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-meyer-zum-felde-b10703164/

Patrick Hypscher, Circular Business Strategist, PaaS Expert https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/

Chapters 0:00 Intro: the BDI and BCG study 1:57 Claas Oehlmann (BDI): doubling value to 125 billion 3:40 The policy gap: EU vs national 9:43 Alexander Meyer zum Felde (BCG): the economic case 13:54 The five sectors, and who leads 15:54 Levers companies can use now 24:55 What is holding companies back 27:50 Nadine Braun (E.ON): the energy sector 33:26 Wait for regulation, or start now? 36:12 Outro

About IFAT is the world’s leading trade fair network for environmental technologies. It focuses on water, wastewater, waste, recycling and circularity, bringing together companies, innovators and industry professionals to present solutions for resource efficiency and sustainable infrastructure.

IFAT Munich is the flagship event of that network and the most important meeting place for the sector. It takes place every two years in Munich and showcases technologies and services for water, wastewater, waste and raw materials management, with the 2026 edition featuring around 3,400 exhibitors from about 60 countries.

Further Links Link to the study “Wachstum, Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Resilienz” from BDI and BCG: https://bdi.eu/de/specials/industry-spotlight-circular-economy-studie IFAT: https://ifat.de/en/

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