Thinking Circular

What Thinking Circular does

Thinking Circular is a German sustainability think tank and consultancy founded in 2017 by Eveline Lemke, a former Minister for Economy, Climate Protection, Energy and State Planning in Rhineland-Palatinate. The firm operates as a sole proprietorship from its headquarters at Im Schülert 13 in Niederzissen, co-located with FZ-Recycling GmbH & Co. KG at the Circular.Hotspot.de circular economy hub facility, which includes 99.9 kWp of on-site solar generation.

The company delivers four core revenue streams: tailored consulting engagements for sustainability strategy, ESRS/CSRD reporting, circular economy transformation, and climate resilience (partially funded via EU ESF Plus/BAFA programmes, capped at EUR 8,750 per SME over 2.5 years); fee-based seminars, workshops, and the Thinking Circular Academy e-learning platform hosted on Spreadmind; co-working subscriptions at the Niederzissen facility; and meeting/event room hire. Its services target German SMEs (primary), public sector organisations, large corporates requiring CSRD/CSDDD/EU Taxonomy compliance support, and circular economy start-ups.

Thinking Circular positions itself as an intermediary between science, politics, and business, with notable partnerships including the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the NATURGY Foundation, BIGL at HWR Berlin (supervisory board training from March 2025), and contributor status in REN21's Renewables Global Status Report. The firm's 'Thinking Circular®' brand is registered as an EU trademark at EUIPO. GTM is sales-led, supported by thought leadership through a bilingual website, podcast (over 120 episodes), newsletter, and an annual scientific conference at Remagen University of Applied Sciences on Ahr Valley flood recovery.

Name

Thinking Circular

Legal name

Thinking Circular (Eveline Lemke)

Website

https://thinking-circular.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Thinking Circular is a German sustainability think tank and consultancy founded in 2017 by former minister Eveline Lemke, providing CSRD/ESRS reporting, circular economy strategy, training, and co-working services to SMEs, public sector clients, and corporates in the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability and Circular Economy Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Circularity Consulting & Program Management (EPR, Design-for-Circularity, LCA) (EUAIANAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK), Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency (BPADALAM)

Keywords

• Sustainability consulting
• Circular economy advisory
• ESRS sustainability reporting
• Climate resilience consulting
• Green transformation strategy

Headquarters

HQ city

Niederzissen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Individual consulting engagements for sustainability strategy, sustainability reporting (ESRS/CSRD), circular economy transformation, and climate resilience. Each engagement begins with a tailored offer prepared by Thinking Circular, accepted via written order confirmation.
2. Training and Seminars: Fee-based seminars, workshops, and after-work events. Training offer includes the Thinking Circular Academy hosted on the Spreadmind e-learning platform. Participants receive an invoice and must pay prior to the event.
3. Co-working Space Rental: Fee-based provision of workspaces at Im Schülert 13, Niederzissen. Full-time co-working tickets are valid for 30 days from the 1st or 15th of each month, with monthly billing. The co-working space also hosts events.
4. Meeting and Event Room Hire: Meeting rooms and event spaces hired out with booking confirmation. Additional equipment (digital projectors, Metaplan boards, flipcharts) available for hire at extra charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Thinking Circular is a sustainability and circular economy consultancy that helps companies, public sector bodies and SMEs develop sustainability strategies, produce ESRS/CSRD-compliant sustainability reports, and implement circular economy and climate resilience transformation. Beyond advisory work, the firm runs the Thinking Circular Academy e-learning platform on Spreadmind, hosts paid seminars and workshops, and rents out co-working, meeting and event space at its Niederzissen headquarters inside the Circular.Hotspot.de facility.

Product overview

Thinking Circular is a consulting company that offers sustainability and circular economy consulting services. The company supports clients with sustainability reports and strategic orientation to make companies climate-resilient and achieve competitive advantages through circular economy mechanisms. Services include consulting, training seminars, workshops, and co-working space provision. The Thinking Circular Academy, running on the Spreadmind platform, provides sustainability education and training programs. The company also organizes events and conferences related to sustainability topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Thinking Circular Academy: E-learning platform for sustainability and circular economy education, hosted on the Spreadmind platform.

Products and services

• Sustainability and Circular Economy Consulting Individual consulting engagements covering sustainability strategy, ESRS/CSRD-compliant sustainability reporting, circular economy transformation, climate resilience planning, EU Taxonomy alignment, and ISO norm integration. Sold via individualised offers and written order confirmations, primarily to German SMEs, public sector bodies and larger corporates. Eligible SME engagements can access EU ESF Plus/BAFA subsidies covering up to 50% of costs (EUR 1,750 per consultancy day, up to EUR 8,750 over 2.5 years).
• Thinking Circular Academy (E-Learning)

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to EUR 8,750 in EU ESF Plus/BAFA subsidies available per SME for green transformation consulting over 2.5 years

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NATURGY FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Thinking Circular served as an intermediary in the accompaniment process with the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The NATURGY Foundation supported the research collaboration, which entered its next phase with foundation backing. The collaboration focuses on bringing together actors from science, politics, and business to advance circular economy processes.
• Polytechnic University of ValenciacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration in circular economy with the Polytechnic University of Valencia, facilitated by Thinking Circular as an intermediary between actors from science, politics, and business. The collaboration entered its next phase with the support of the NATURGY Foundation.
• BIGL (Berlin Institute for Governance & Leadership)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThinking Circular partnered with BIGL at the Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin to deliver the 'Deep Dive Kreislaufwirtschaft' workshop as part of BIGL's comprehensive training programme on sustainability competence for supervisory board members (Good Sustainable Corporate Governance), starting March 2025.
• REN21 (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThinking Circular contributed to REN21's Renewables Global Status Report (GSR), which tracks annual renewable energy developments and draws on an international network of over 1,500 authors, contributors and reviewers from over 155 countries.
• FZ-Recycling GmbH & Co. KGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-located at the Circular.Hotspot.de facility in the Niederzissen industrial area. FZ-Recycling and Thinking Circular share the same headquarters building. FZ-Recycling started in Kottenheim before relocating to join the circular economy ecosystem.
• p21 (Agency for Branding & Design)minorOthersBrand development partner for the creation of the Thinking Circular® brand. Yvonne Kamp's agency p21 in Grafschaft collaborated with Eveline Lemke to develop the complex brand identity for the green multiverse Thinking Circular®.
• Winning Solutions (Webdesign & App-Entwicklung)minorOthersWebsite maintenance and support provider. Responsible for the technical operation and development of the thinking-circular.com website.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• South Pole Group: Major global climate solutions and sustainability consultancy offering carbon credits, ESG advisory, and net-zero strategy. Overlaps with Thinking Circular on corporate sustainability and climate advisory but operates at a much larger scale globally.
• Carbon Trust: Established sustainability consultancy advising businesses and governments on carbon reduction, ESG strategy, and compliance. Comparable on sustainability advisory but much broader in scale and geographic reach than Thinking Circular.
• EcoAct (an ENGIE Impact company): France-based climate consultancy and advisory firm offering carbon strategy, CSRD reporting, and net-zero advisory. Direct overlap on EU sustainability compliance work but operates at larger scale as part of ENGIE.

Emerging players

• accilium: Frankfurt-based sustainability and ESG advisory firm serving corporates and financial institutions with reporting, strategy, and climate risk services. Comparable German-based boutique serving mid-market clients on CSRD-related work.

Direct peers

• Systemiq: Systems-change consultancy focused on circular economy, climate, and nature transitions across Europe. Comparable mission and clientele (corporates, governments, EU institutions) with deep circular economy expertise.
• Metabolic: Netherlands-based consultancy advising companies, governments, and NGOs on circular economy transitions, sustainability strategy, and systems change. Comparable in its European focus, sustainability consulting depth, and mission-driven positioning.
• Wuppertal Institut: German research institute and consultancy specializing in sustainability, circular economy, and climate policy. Comparable on circular economy expertise, German base, and policy-science-business interface work.
• Circle Economy: Amsterdam-based social enterprise and consultancy specializing in circular economy strategy, metrics (Circularity Gap Report), and implementation for businesses and governments. Highly comparable as a European circular economy advisory firm serving SMEs, corporates, and public sector clients.

Others

• Ecopreneur.eu: European network of sustainable business and circular economy advisors/entrepreneurs. Comparable as an ecosystem/platform connecting circular economy actors in Europe, though structured as a network rather than a consulting firm.

Regional players

• denkstatt: Austria-based sustainability consultancy offering CSR/ESG reporting, circular economy, and resource efficiency advisory to companies and public bodies. Comparable boutique scale and DACH region focus on similar services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@thinking-circular

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Thinking Circular