The future is circular,
just like our awards.

What is crQlr?

crQlr (“circular”) is a global consortium that connects and empowers diverse players who are striving towards a circular economy.

The world’s transition from a linear to a circular economy is being shaped by societal changes, government policies, fluctuating global and local markets, and the undeniable effects of climate change. Recognizing that sustainability cannot be achieved solely from a top-down approach, crQlr, powered by FabCafe—a global creative community hub—and Loftwork—an Asian creative company—has engaged with a wide range of experts including designers, local governments, the private sector, educational institutions, artists, and other experts worldwide to foster various forms of creative innovation.

The crQlr Awards aim to explore a vital question: How can we transform our current economic system into a circular one? By harnessing the power of a global community, crQlr promotes open collaboration and interdisciplinary initiatives, believing in the potential of creativity to drive new innovations and shape the future of the circular economy.

Our values

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.

What are we looking for?

Material
New bio-materials, upcycled materials and processing technologies that disrupt the linear economy. Thoughtful products and services that make use of innovative materials. 

Products & Services
Products, apps, experience design, DX, and services that provide new value for a circular economy. Designs which make us think, “This should have been here all along!”

Art
Creative expressions that inspire hope, evoke emotional responses, and provoke important questions about the circular economy, society, education, and manufacturing industries.

System
Positively disruptive systems, supply chain management interventions, business strategies, modular systems, and other inspiring system-focused projects.

Education
Educational initiatives that apply circular economy principles, promoting sustainable practices and resource efficiency within learning environments.

City
City and citizen-led initiatives that champion sustainability and foster interconnected urban ecosystems. Inspiring projects grounded in a city’s ESG frameworks, which drive both measurable and intangible impacts.

Judges

The crQlr Awards 2024 jury panel is composed of 10 expert judges from diverse fields.

Criteria and Prizes

Individual Judge Prizes

Each of the judges will award a personalized prize name and an individual comment to up to 5 entries.
Last year's award-winning entries can be viewed here.

Criteria for Judge Prizes

The aim of the crQlr Awards is not to award the “best” projects, but to discover and support creative, unique, and promising projects that give a new perspective to society and individuals aiming for a circular economy. The following points, as well as the jury's individual points of view and areas of interest, are used as the basis for evaluating the Jury Prizes:

• Is the work creative? Does it show an insightful understanding of circular economy or novel collaborative relationships? for People
• Does it have an overall positive and measurable impact on the environment? for Planet
• Does the work provide solutions to the challenges faced by society and business for activating a circular economy? for Profit

Special Prize under the theme, “Towards a Circular Bioeconomy”

In addition to the Jury Prizes, each year, the Special Prize puts a spotlight on three outstanding projects under a unique theme. For the crQlr Awards 2024, we aim to spotlight projects that lead us 'Towards a Circular Bioeconomy,' where nature is empowered to create new, regenerative loops for the circular economy.

This award highlights a shift towards leveraging biological processes as sustainable solutions for resource recovery, innovation green technologies and environmental management. This theme underscores a growing recognition that even a microorganism can have a leading role in contributing to a circular economy, where waste is minimized, and natural processes are harnessed for ecological and practical benefits.

The winners of the Special Prize will be invited to Tokyo, Japan to be exhibited and presented at the crQlr Exhibition in March, 2025 as part of our ongoing efforts to promote and celebrate these innovative endeavors.

Merits

• ​​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.
• 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, 2024.

Schedule

• Open Call Period ... Tuesday, Sep 17th, 2024 - Friday, October 18th, 2024, 12:00 JST
• Evaluation Period ... November, 2024
• Winners Announced ... Jan, 2025
• crQlr Exhibition & Summit ... March, 2025

How to apply

For detailed application requirements, please click the “Application outline” button below.

*About the application language
Since the judging will be conducted in English, please submit your entry in both your own language and English. For English translations, please use a translation service or translation tool.

*Warning about unsaved entry forms
For security reasons, if you leave the entry form open for more than 2 hours, you will be automatically logged out and your entry will not be saved, even if you are still in the middle of filling out the form. We recommend that you please save the form in a backup document.

crQlr Awards 2023 Winning Projects

Visit the official crQlr website to view the winning projects from previous editions of the award alongside the personal comments offered by each judge.