Announcing the crQlr Awards 2024: A Global Award for Designing a Circular Economy

TOKYO, JAPAN – Loftwork Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya, Tokyo; President and CEO: Mitsuhiro Suwa), a leading Asian creative company, together with the global creative community hub FabCafe Global, is excited to announce the launch of the 2024 edition of the crQlr (“Circular”) Awards. These awards seek innovative projects and ideas that promote circular economy design. Applications will be accepted from Tuesday, September 17, 2024, through Friday, October 18, 2024.

First launched in 2021 as Japan’s pioneering awards for circular design, the crQlr Awards are a key initiative of the crQlr Consortium, which promotes four main activities—awards, events, exhibitions, and projects—to advance circular economy thinking. Since its inception, the awards have grown into an international competition, attracting 474 submissions from 43 countries, and providing a lasting platform for innovation and collaboration.

This year, the crQlr Awards will continue to uphold its three core guiding principles: “Circular, not linear,” “Action, not prestige,” and “Learning from global perspectives.” We invite projects from around the world—whether large-scale initiatives, conceptual ideas, ongoing activities, or artistic creations—that contribute to realizing a circular economy to apply.

Additionally, this year’s Special Prize will spotlight projects that demonstrate practical applications or the integration of biological processes under the theme “Towards a Circular Bioeconomy.” The jury panel will consist of 10 judges, including seven experts from diverse fields and three members from FabCafe Global. The panel will recognize and support companies and individuals committed to advancing a circular economy.

Award-winning projects and ideas will receive unique prize titles, along with personalized feedback from one or more judges. Select winners will also gain further opportunities, such as showcasing their work at the “crQlr Awards Exhibition – Towards a Circular Bioeconomy” and speaking at the “crQlr Summit Tokyo,” both scheduled for March 2025.

*About circular design: Circular design involves creating products and services with the goal of fostering a circular economy. This approach extends beyond product and service design, encompassing material development, educational programs, supply chain systems that encourage circularity, and even artistic expressions that embody circular principles.

Winning projects from the 2023 crQlr Awards have actively brought their innovations to the global stage, introducing fresh approaches to advancing the circular economy. The section below highlights some of their key activities and achievements, showcasing their contributions to sustainable development and international collaboration.

The crQlr Awards Exhibition took place in three Japanese cities—Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nagoya—focusing on the Special Award-winning projects. Each exhibition showcased a range of circular design innovations from the respective locations, drawing a substantial number of visitors and highlighting the diverse approaches to advancing the circular economy.

At the crQlr Summit 2024 TOKYO, international judges and award winners participated in cross-talks, roundtable discussions, and panel sessions. The event served as a bridge between Japan and the global community, facilitating the exchange of diverse perspectives and ideas to advance the pursuit of a sustainable future.

Through collaboration with media partners and judges, select winning projects gained coverage across major Japanese media platforms. This exposure highlighted the significance of circular design and sparked important discussions about the future, capturing attention both in Japan and internationally.

Read the event report here

The 2024 jury panel features a diverse group of professionals with expertise in innovation, design, AI, art, mobility, architecture, community, technology, and biology. Among the judges are David Benjamin, Principal of The Living and Assistant Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, returning for the second time since 2021, and Gregory Constantine, founder and CEO of Air Company and a Forbes’ “30 Under 30” honoree in 2017.

Judges List 

First line, from left to right:
David Benjamin (Founding Principal of The Living and Associate Professor at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation), Cecilia Tham (Co-founder and CEO at Futurity Systems), Gregory Constantine (Co-founder and CEO of Air Company), Anni Korkman (Programme Director of Luovi Productions, Helsinki Design Week), Renaud Haerlingen (Architect, former Principal at Rotor and Co-founder of Rotor Deconstruction).

Second line, from left to right:
Sachiko Hirosue (Osaka Namari-Suzu Seirensho Co., Ltd. President and CEO), Maël Hénaff (Course Leader at MA Material Futures, Central Saint Martins London), Kalaya Kovidvisith (Co-founder FabCafe Bangkok), Gwyneth Jong (Co-founder of FabCafe Kuala Lumpur), Nami Urano (Marketing Leader at FabCafe Kyoto, SPCS Community Manager).

1. Circular, not linear

Most design awards are linear. Entries are solicited and evaluated, winners are decided, and prizes are awarded at a final gathering. The crQlr Awards are different. More than a simple awards ceremony, they include networking opportunities open to all applicants, where ideas are developed and catalyzed through exchange.

2. Action, not prestige

The crQlr Awards exist to turn ideas into action—whether they are large-scale projects, concepts in the planning stages, ideas that have lost momentum, or those still being nurtured in research labs. The goal is not to simply reward achievement, but to support the realization of ideas through feedback, mentoring, and public support from our international panel of judges.

3. Gain from global perspectives

The crQlr Exhibition and Summit will take place at FabCafe Tokyo in March, 2025. The crQlr Summit aims to create a dynamic forum for learning, open feedback, and meaningful discussion. By bringing together an interdisciplinary panel of judges and winners, the summit will foster international collaboration and provide diverse global perspectives.

For the crQlr Awards 2024, we aim to spotlight projects that guide us “Towards a Circular Bioeconomy,” where nature is empowered to create new regenerative loops for the circular economy. 

*All entries will automatically be considered for the Special Prize.

Full details here

• ​​Special Prize Winners will have their projects displayed in Tokyo, Japan as part of the crQlr Summit and Exhibition, scheduled for March, 2025. 
• Special Prize Winners will be given financial support for round-trip airfare as well as a 3-night stay in Tokyo (up to one person per winning project) to join the crQlr Exhibition & Summit.
• All Winners will receive individual prize names and comments from crQlr Judges. These prize names and comments will be posted on Loftwork and FabCafe media channels. The comments will be considered as Creative Commons and winners are permitted to use them freely.
• All Winners will receive the “crQlr Awards Winner” logo kit to promote their award-winning project (See below).
• All Winners will receive media coverage on all FabCafe, Loftwork, crQlr websites, and social media.
• All Winners will receive media coverage on media sponsor communication channels including IDEAS FOR GOOD, Zenbird, and Circular Economy Hub.
• All Winners will be invited to join the crQlr Exhibition & Summit scheduled for March, 2025.

Example of the crQlr Awards logo kit

The official logo can be utilized as part of crQlr Awards winners’ PR activities.

Open Call Period: Tuesday, September 17th, 2024 – Friday, October 18th, 2024, 12:00 JST
Evaluation Period: November, 2024
Winners Announced: January, 2025
crQlr Exhibition & Summit: March, 2025

The crQlr Awards connects and empowers diverse players around the world who are striving toward a more desirable, circular society. The Awards gather projects in varying stages of development across wide-ranging fields, including material innovation, product and service, art, education, system design, and city planning. The goal of the crQlr Awards is to challenge social and business norms through cross-industrial collaboration to realize a more resilient, equitable and even regenerative future.

In 2023, the award saw participation from a record 43 countries, with 28 projects selected from 140 submissions. Winning projects received “crQlr Certification” kits to support and promote their circular economy initiatives.