Circular business models

Led by Haga Initiative 

The workstream aims to share good examples between the Nordic countries by combining policy and practice. Nordic companies are asking for more incentives and measurements to increase circularity, which this workstream contributes to. 

Circular economy is an important building block for the green transition in order to reduce the use of resources and make use of the resources that are already in circulation. The Nordic countries have long been leaders in environmental and climate policy. However, many challenges remain because environmental destruction and climate emissions continue to occur on a large scale. The main reason is the current linear economic model. For a development in line with the Paris Agreement's maximum of 1.5 degrees, a transition to a highly circular economy is required.

 

Circular Business Models – Nordic opportunities and challenges in the new geopolitical landscape

In the beginning of 2023, the first sub report "Circular Business Models - Nordic opportunities and challenges in the new geopolitical landscape" was launched, which identifies opportunities for the Nordic region to take global leadership in the circular transition and highlights that leadership requires a joint strategy and increased cooperation within the Nordic region. The report highlights various areas where Nordic cooperation can play an important role for a common Nordic circular economy: 

1. A joint Nordic circular economy strategy focusing on high potential solutions and critical value chains
2. Exchange experiences on circular economy tax reform
3. Exchange experiences and harmonize standards, definitions and access to data
4. Knowledge transfer and learning from the frontrunners

Read the report here.

 

Co-benefits of Circular Economy in the Nordics – a great opportunity to gear up sustainable business models

This report was published in December 2023.

Moving towards a circular economy is an essential part of the sustainable transition, and businesses are at the heart of this, driving innovation and developing new business models. However, the circular transition faces many barriers and progress has so far been very limited. 

In this report, we argue that by making visible the many co-benefits of circularity, policy makers and businesses are more likely to advance their efforts and accelerate the transition towards a more circular economy. We will also present four recommendations to Nordic policymakers: 

• Support Nordic businesses to identify co-benefits of increasing circularity in their decision-making by creating a Nordic circular economy database. 
• Incentivize sharing knowledge and data between stake-holders around identified co-benefits of circular economy in the Nordics and methods for quantifying them. 
• Develop a practice of benchmarking public procurement processes against circular alternatives by considering co-benefits. 
• Designate a permanent coordinator to strengthen circular business solutions and promoting their co-benefits in the Nordic countries. 

 

Read the report here.

Watch the webinar here.

 

Contact: Gabrielle Tillberg, ; Nina Ekelund,