Want to become more circular?
The work package for Circular Business Models and Procurement aims to integrate circular thinking into the business models of the Nordic construction companies and their value chains. This will support the overall goal of minimising the environmental impact in the Nordic construction industry while still maintaining competitiveness.
Circular business models in construction companies are tools that contribute to the green transition in the Nordic construction sector. To assist this transition within the sector, we have also increased the understanding of the benefits of circularity in industry organisations, clusters, business advisors and others that work with Nordic construction companies through competence building and by giving them tools to assist the SMEs.
Both circular business models and procurement are important drivers in the green transition. The former can be leveraged for competitive advantages, and the latter is key to enabling a new market for circular solutions and circular business models.
Progress for circular business models
Circular workshops
This work package has organised workshops to help Nordic construction companies identify opportunities, digital capabilities and suitable business models as well as cooperation possibilities. The aim was to increase knowledge encourage piloting, transform and scale new circular business models in the companies. 19 Nordic construction companies participated in the workshop, where more than 50 companies from the Nordic manufacturing industry we present. The companies were from different parts of the value chain and were able to exchange best practises and work on their own companies’ business models.
Nordic tool box
The workshops were based on the Nordic Circular Economy Playbook, which contains examples and practical tools that companies can use in their transition to the circular economy. To further aid companies towards circular business models, a second playbook, the Nordic Circular Economy Playbook 2.0 – Transform and scale, was developed and published.
Both playbooks are a part of the Nordic tool box for circular economy, which this work package has established.
A report “Circular business models in the Nordic manufacturing industry - current status and development" was developed based on the work with the Nordic manufacturing industry.
Progress for procurement for circularity
The work package for Circular Business Models and Procurement furthermore focuses on how municipalities and cities can practically procure sustainable and circular buildings. In this work, we have engaged the Nordic Smart City Network, a collaborative project between Nordic municipalities and cities as public developers play an important role in ensuring that public buildings become sustainable and circular.
Pilot projects
The three Nordic Smart Cities, Tampere, Stavanger and Torshavn, are running pilot projects with the goal of including circular thinking and procurement in the planning process as well as in new tenders for buildings. For instance through reuse mapping of existing buildings.
The pilot projects include a nursing home and a kindergarten where the aim is to strive for the added benefit of a more holistic planning in every stages of a project – in the planning phase of a single new building, as well as on an urban development level.
Upcoming activities
- Following the Nordic Smart City Network’s pilot project in developing sustainable and circular construction planning processes and buildings
- Nordic Blue building Alliance - a project which will look into different business models of sustainable blue building materials and aim to develop a playbook for public procurers in public procurement processes of building