Innovation conference sets sights on transition to a circular economy

Per Mickwitz, professor of environmental policy at Lund University, is one of the first speakers:

“We are at the beginning of the transition, and we have a long way to go. Meeting places like this workshop can facilitate finding the way forward together – we need to become better at learning from one another,” he says.

The same message is signalled by Tetra Pak through Laurence Mott, Executive Vice President for Development and Technology:

”Innovation is a team sport. You cannot do it on your own. If somebody can do it faster, or better, and has more skills or capabilities than you do, you need to partner with them.”

Gain insight into how companies think

Lea Fünfschilling, associate professor of sociology and researcher within CIRCLE at Lund University, is one of those taking part in the conference. She wants to find out more about how companies approach their transition processes:

“We need to let go of old habits and daily routines that are not sustainable; put simply, we need to try and find a lifestyle that does not involve replacing old gadgets with new ones. But what is industry’s rationale about phasing out old patterns? That is what I want to know more about. Without industry and commerce, making the transition is difficult,” she says.

Linear business models need to become circular

Another attendee is Fredrik Nilsson. He is a professor of packaging logistics at Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering (LTH). He is hosting a roundtable discussion concerned with what critical factors could be identified in the shift from linear to circular business.

He suggests that in certain cases, business can be an aggravating factor for transition since large companies are often reluctant to invest in new, circular concepts:

“The last fifty years have seen companies optimising a linear model of business that in no way resembles the circular one. Companies need to think outside the box, recalibrate their business models and stop making things easy for consumers,” says Fredrik Nilsson, explaining that companies compete on consumer satisfaction through increasing numbers of products at lower prices, as well as faster delivery times at the expense of resources and the environment.

“One way of doing it is to break down the big questions and take on the problems one step at a time”

As well as Tetra Pak and Lund University, those attending to share their knowledge, experience and lessons learned include companies such as IKEA, Mastercard, Stora Enso, Volvo Cars and Alfa Laval.

Anna Celsing, a former chemical engineering student from LTH, now sustainability director at Alfa Laval, is inspired by all the meetings and the fledgling relationships with other companies facing similar sustainability challenges to Alfa Laval. She is also looking forward to working more closely with academia.

“We all need to work more closely and collaborate according to the challenges that we are all facing together. One way of doing it is to break down the big questions and take on the problems one step at a time, in smaller building blocks through collaboration on the basis of different skills and perspectives,” she says.

According to Anna Celsing, an important part of the transition process is making the common goals explicit – and finding the paths to reach them.

Her colleague Martin Hermansson, business developer at Alfa Laval, agrees:

“An important part of the circularity is a leadership that believes in a green transition and setting clear goals that mean we as a company can both reach our targets and be good for the planet at the same time.”

Summarising the conference discussions, Fredrik Nilsson says that the challenges the companies are wrestling with, in order to transition, are also evident in research:

“The research shows that one of the absolute most important factors for a transition from linear to circular to be possible, is collaboration between and within research chains. That is why I hope that next time we meet, our discussions will not be about how individual stakeholders can transition, but rather a constellation of corporate partners presenting what they have actually done together.”