IÉSEG Insights » Resource Center » CSR, Sustainability & Diversity » IÉSEG joins Access Hubs, a European project co-funded by Interreg North-West Europe

IÉSEG joins Access Hubs, a European project co-funded by Interreg North-West Europe

07/02/2026

1 min

What if borrowing a power drill, renting a refrigerator, or sharing sports equipment became as easy as using a bike-sharing service? That is the ambition behind Access Hubs, a European project co-funded by the Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) program. IÉSEG School of Management is one of twelve partners from six European countries working together to make this vision a reality.

Access Hubs aims to develop a new generation of access-based services for everyday goods, making borrowing, renting, and sharing simple, reliable, and attractive alternatives to ownership. By promoting access over ownership, the project will help accelerate the transition towards a more circular economy.

“The access economy represents a major shift in the way we consume. Instead of owning products outright, people can now access them whenever they need them through rental, sharing, or borrowing services. Yet we continue to purchase many items that we use only occasionally: nearly 80% of everyday consumer goods—such as gardening, DIY, kitchen, and sports equipment—are used less than once a month. Although the benefits of the access economy are widely recognised, practical, cultural, and organisational barriers still limit its uptake. Access Hubs aims to overcome these obstacles by making these services more visible, easier to access, and simpler to scale across Europe,” explains Sébastien Bourdin, Professor of Economic Geography at IÉSEG School of Management and the project’s lead at the School.»

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