To scope the actual problems regarding climatic changes and the corresponding regulations, sustainable strategies and actions become increasingly important for companies, especially in production. The industry is facing a deficit in well-trained professionals that meet these criteria.

This paper attempts to determine the relevant skills and the associated training needs for: pupils, teachers, students, and professionals. For this purpose, a literature and job offer analysis on required skills and on existing regional trainings were first carried out. The results were discussed and revised at workshops with interested stakeholders.

It was found that there is still a big need in trainings for basic sustainability topics, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, topics like digitalization, life cycle assessment, legislation, reporting and sustainable management systems are particularly important. To implement these topics in training courses, it became clear that practical approaches are to be preferred. Soft skills, like communication skills, should be taught alongside.

Circular Economy (CE) has become a widely discussed and promising concept for improving resource efficiency across industries. By minimizing raw material exploitation, it therefore serves as a key driver towards sustainability.

However, the level of CE implementation varies across regions and industries depending on various factors such as regulatory frameworks, economic structures, or sector-specific challenges. In this context, the extent to which CE is implemented in South Tyrol remains insufficiently explored.

Therefore, this explorative study provides an overview of CE implementation in the region and identifies best practice examples. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining a structured survey with semi-structured interviews conducted with 17 companies across the woodworking, automotive, and construction sectors.

The findings reveal significant variations in the adoption and prioritization of the different 9R strategies. Key barriers include technological and financial constraints, while collaboration and innovation emerge as key enablers. These findings serve as a foundation for regional companies and policymakers to better understand and address the practical realities of transitioning toward a more sustainable industrial landscape.

This paper presents an educational framework developed by the Interreg SIAT H2GreenFuture and Interreg ITAT EDU-CIRC projects to promote sustainable technologies and address competency gaps.

The Competence Development Framework (CDF) focuses on sustainability, decarbonization, hydrogen, and fuel cell technology across basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. Utilizing the ADDIE model, the training emphasizes remote and problem-based learning with practical applications in learning factories and laboratories.

Innovative teaching methods like experiential learning and simulations enhance engagement. Pilot modules at the bachelor's level highlight education's critical role in the energy transition.

Enhancing the circular economy (CE) using digitalization and green strategies is increasingly considered a crucial way to mitigate the impact of industrial operations on climate change while making compromises between economic, social, and environmental priorities.

While digital and sustainable solutions reinforce each other in theory, sometimes they clash in practice. Higher-level management of interactions in twin digital and green transition can create performance synergy in the implementation phase and mitigate the impacts of upcoming actions.

This study proposes an approach to advance CE decision-making in the presence of inevitable interconnectedness among involved systems in the manufacturing era, by incorporating system dynamics and model-based systems engineering to transition from traditional systems engineering to circular systems engineering.

Model-based systems engineering tools, by providing connectivity and traceability throughout the entire system life cycle, enable systems designers to not only consider the impact of interdisciplinary interactions in system dynamics modeling but also think beyond systems and include the external influential criteria.

This paper presents an integrated framework for creating a holistic digital model to facilitate the optimization of the CE problem, spanning from system design to policy assessment. By connecting system dynamics, standards, and system functionalities across both operational and enterprise levels, the proposed framework enhances the ability to make resilient and purposeful decisions when encountering a complex network of systems in a CE problem.

This paper provides a conceptual foundation to link the drivers of a circular economy with a set of process relationships. It identifies the elements to be considered in defining a top-down ontology supporting a reference architecture to guide bottom-up initiatives.

A set of functional areas comprising a system of systems view is established, including Political, Economic, Social, Information, and Infrastructural dimensions. Project management is integrated with the systems engineering process to ground practical considerations for the "art" of implementation.

Risk Analysis is discussed in terms of a transdisciplinary problem to glean insights into how reference architecture may be established that is valued and used. Decision processes are briefly addressed in a construct addressing the concepts of "bounded irrationality" and "bounded rationality".

Additional challenges and areas for future research are identified that foster the coalescence of initiatives across policy making, business processes, and other areas.