How do we turn strategies, roadmaps and commitments into real action and lasting impact? What does it take to make the green transition happen – across institutions, economies, cities and regions?

These questions were at the heart of the Financing the Green Transition conference, organised by the Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF) in Celje, Slovenia, on 7–8 October 2026. The event brought together representatives from the Western Balkans and across Europe, including Spain, Luxembourg, Austria and Slovenia, to explore practical pathways towards the green transition.
 

The gap is not ambition. The gap is system capacity for implementation and delivery.

From Vision to Delivery: Circular change at the CEF conference in Celje

Circular Change contributed through Ladeja Godina Košir's participation in the panel discussion Governing Climate Action: Coordination, Institutional Mandates, Public Trust, Just Transition, EU Alignment and a keynote by Lucija Marovt, Enabling and Ensuring Green Transformation – From Vision to Systemic Delivery.

Moving from vision to delivery requires stronger capacities, more agile public administrations, effective governance and cross-sector collaboration. Public administrations play a key role not only in implementing policies, but also in shaping markets and creating demand for circular solutions. Cities and regions are where these ambitions translate into real change.

From Shared Visions to Collective Action and Impact

Circular Change illustrated these challenges and opportunities through practical examples and lessons learned from circular economy roadmaps, just transition, bioeconomy and green and circular public procurement.

The BIOEAST Initiative demonstrates the journey from foresight to national action planning and the establishment of bioeconomy HUBs across BIOEAST countries. Through BOOST4BIOEAST, these HUBs have been established as important national platforms for stakeholder engagement, capacity building and cross-sector collaboration, creating opportunities for new circular bioeconomy business models and laying the foundations for continued development through BIOEASTWIDE.

The GPP2ADRION partnership provides a foundation, practical tools and a model for strengthening green and circular public procurement, while establishing a transnational network for knowledge exchange, capacity building and cooperation among public administrations across the Adriatic-Ionian region.

These experiences reflect Circular Change's broader role in connecting policies with practice, building capacities and bridging initiatives, countries and regions - including the Western Balkans and the wider European community.

Real transformation is enabled when we put people at the centre, connect knowledge and opportunities, and turn shared ambitions into collective action.
 

Key Messages - From Vision to Delivery

• Public administrations are market shapers, not only policy implementers. Public procurement and investment can create demand for sustainable and circular solutions.
• The gap is not ambition - it is system capacity for delivery. More agile institutions, new skills, coherent policies and collaboration are essential.
• Cities and regions are where transformation becomes real. This is where policies, investments and communities come together to create lasting value.
• Networks, HUBs and transition brokers connect the dots. They build trust, strengthen cooperation and turn shared direction into collective action.
• Transformation requires redesigning systems, not simply adapting to them. From individual initiatives to lasting, systemic impact.