Regulatory sandboxes – creating space for circular innovation in ports

A regulatory sandbox in Circular Ports is defined as “a controlled, time-bound environment that allows public authorities, businesses, and researchers to test innovative circular solutions under temporarily relaxed regulatory conditions”. It creates a safe space to identify risks, opportunities and benefits, while strengthening collaboration between stakeholders. Its purpose is to accelerate circular innovation, inform policy development and support the transition towards a resource-efficient economy.

The approach follows the logic of the OECD regulatory sandbox model, based on experimentation in real-life settings, stakeholder involvement and learning through testing.

Each project pilot develops its own local regulatory sandbox within a shared strategic framework. The set-up follows five main steps:

1. Planning and design of the local regulatory frame, resources, stakeholders, risks and safety.
2. Development of a test plan.
3. Implementation of the pilot test.
4. Evaluation of the local sandbox, including scalability and knowledge sharing.
5. Evaluation of the overall sandbox framework.

Regulatory sandboxes are applied in six pilots across the Baltic Sea Region, addressing themes such as construction materials, battery recycling, ship waste utilisation and new recycling streams. Each sandbox is tailored to local regulatory and operational conditions.

Through regulatory sandboxes, Circular Ports moves from theory to practice by creating structured testing environments where authorities, businesses and researchers collaborate. They help identify regulatory barriers, explore needed flexibility and show how regulation can better support circular solutions in port environments.

Photo: AI generated example of elements in the port environments

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