Presentations from the Speakers Day 2 April 22 2021
Nordic Circular Hotspot and the need for digital circular collaboration platforms
Josefina will speak about Cirkulära Kartan “The circular map” a map over Swedish companies with circular ambitions, with a purpose to inspire and share good examples for the business sector.
Elin will present the Nordic Hotspot and the digital stakeholder platform they are developing - the Nordic Circular Arena. The Nordic Circular Hotspot aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in the region by becoming the go-to-place for everything about circular economy in the Nordics. The Nordic Circular Arena will be open to everyone to share experience, knowledge, events about circular economy and for circular interaction between stakeholders.
Josefina Sallén
Founding member of the Nordic Circular Hotspot, Focus Area Manager Circular Transition at RISE
Josefina Sallén has 25+ years experience from change management senior manager, CEO and as organizational consultant. She has experience from a broad range of industries from automotive and process industry to construction and pharmaceuticals both in Sweden and internationally. The past years she has made use of this knowledge to engage in circular transition and create true impact. Her focus is on hands on transition and bringing the wide knowledge from the entire RISE organization out to companies.
Elin Bergman
Cradlenet & Nordic Circular Hotspot, Development of Circular Economy stakeholder platforms in the Nordics.
Elin is known for being the Circular Economy Queen of Sweden. She worked for many years as the circular economy expert at WWF Sweden, is one of the co-founders of Nordic Circular Hotspot, and is the COO and spokesperson of the Swedish circular economy network Cradlenet. At WWF she developed the international circular economy network; The Baltic Stewardship Initiative, to enable recirculation of nutrients in the Baltic Sea region in the agri-food sector.
CIRCit – Circular Economy Integration in the Nordic Industry for Enhanced Sustainability and Competitiveness
Closing the loop strategies are reviewed within the project CIRCit for manufacturing industry in the Nordic countries, considering the conditions that are typical for the region. Among the relevant inputs for an informed decision is information on the residual value at the end of use, and ways to capture it. Knowledge on the actual state of an asset is divided between manufacturers and users. Barriers for reuse such as restricted chemicals in existing products and technological obsolescence are often presented as reasons why closing product and material cycles is not further implemented yet. Within CIRCit, a framework is developed that identifies suitable closing the loop options and formulates requirements for sophisticated future recycling processes.
Jutta Hildenbrand
PhD researcher at RISE Division Production and materials
Graduated from Technische Universität Berlin (Dipl. Ing. Environmental engineering) and University of Wuppertal (Ph.D. degree in safety engineering). Since 2015 she is working as a research scientist and project manager at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. Her research fields are life cycle assessment and system analysis for product systems including a focus on chemicals assessment.
How to approach and work with the UN’s sustainability goals
The EPR schemes have obviously worked with the UNs sustainability goals since we all started with collecting, dismantling and recycling of WEEE.
But - have we been equivalent skilled to tell everyone about this? And have we also in a good enough way included the producers in the work we do for them - when it comes to the sustainability goals?
Norsirk works directly towards delivering more and better on three of the sustainability goals, and we would like to share the method of how we have done the approach to include the UNs goals in our business - and how we include the producers in our work, which also leads to a closer cooperation with the producers. We also work indirectly with some other of the UN sustainability goals - and will also be able to tell you about those.
Passionate in her daily work as a communicating director in Norsirk, an EPR company approved from Norwegian authorizes to collect and recycle WEEE, batteries and packaging.
Guro K. Husby
Guro has been an important part of the exciting travel NORSIRK has had for the last 15 years.
From the EE-take back scheme Elretur - until today - to the full scope and far most forward leaning EPR company in Norway. Her responsibilities throughout the years has been managing the customers, the marketing, the sales, the web, the social media strategy and all other communication. Guro is well known as a engaging speaker, and is indeed passionate about her work.
She is also the mother of two girls, happily married and she loves cross country skiing in the Norwegian mountains.
CE@KTH leading the transition towards Circular Economy in Sweden and beyond
The Circular Economy (CE) at KTH (CE@KTH) initiative aims to establish and strengthen CE driven research and education in Sweden. The goal is to put together competences and activities related to CE at different schools and departments and develop a common strategy for future research and collaboration. CE@KTH also works to expanding collective competence of Swedish research and development teams and delivers expert assistance across industries in Sweden. The CE@KTH platform is open for both researchers and industrial partners to join, discuss their challenges and co-create solutions to advance their knowledge and its implementation in transition from linear to circular industrial systems.
Amir Rashid
Professor, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Amir Rashid is a Professor and head of the Manufacturing and Metrology Systems Division at the Department of Production Engineering, School of Industrial Engineering and Management, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. He has a PhD in Production Engineering and more than 15 years of experience in manufacturing industry. His initial research had a focus on productivity improvements in the manufacturing processes and lately shifted more to sustainability in manufacturing systems. Currently he is coordinating different CE related initiatives and research projects at Swedish, Nordic, and European level.
A more sustainable material use, actions needed
Legislation and implementation are similar in the Nordic countries, synergies possible. Some proposed actions; increased use of functional sale, in classification use bioavailability instead of concentration and common Nordic criteria for end-of-waste.
Christer Forsgren
R&D manager Stena Recycling International.
R&D manager Stena Recycling International for 18 years, now Senior Recycling Advisor, Adjunct professor in Industrial Material Recycling at Chalmers Technical University, 30 years of experience from management positions in the recycling industry and Chair of the Waste & Chemicals Task Force at EuRIC.
Klas Cullbrand
Director of Circular Economy group, Chalmers Industriteknik
Klas is leading the circular economy efforts at Chalmers Industriteknik. With many years of experience helping recyclers, manufacturers, NGOs, agencies, industry organisation etc. in their efforts to become more circular Klas leads the group with focus on circular logistics, circular business models, circular technology and circular design.
Don't buy! Let’s share the materials. Subscription-based furnishing going global
You lease your office. Your copy machine. Even your plants. But you buy your office furniture. Why? NORNORM aims to change all that. This Industrial-backed, tech-enabled company with global ambitions has set out to transform an entire industry, redefining how we create workspaces - from buying to subscribing. The benefits are huge. Attractive workspaces at affordable prices will suddenly be made accessible for the many businesses and people. Meanwhile, the whole concept is built on circularity, where every piece of furniture is kept in a loop to keep it in constant and optimal use, from one workspace to the next. And every product carefully maintained and refurbished to extend its lifespan – from perhaps 2 to 20 years. Good for people, planet and profits.
Emil Steenhouwer
Strategy Director at NORNORM
Emil Steenhouwer, Strategy and Investment Director of NORNORM, has a strong passion for combining innovation and business, which is manifested in his CV. He describes himself as “a driven, business-minded and entrepreneurial spirit with a curious mind”. After graduating from the Stockholm School of Economics, he co-founded two companies in the interior design and smart homes segment, followed by starting his own business in investment and consulting. Before joining NORNORM in May 2020, he has also had a number of leading positions in marketing, finance, sales and real estate at companies including Svenssons i Lammhult and BMW Northern Europe.
Pre-order fashion with dynamic pricing instead of make-to-stock saves materials
Rickard Lindqvist
Founder of Atacac
Circular procurement – it’s time we demand the right stuff from the beginning
Public procurement has been identified as an important tool in society´s work with introducing a circular economy. There is currently a lack of information and support about circular procurement both in procurement legislation and the national procurement strategy. The presentation will focus on the need for a life cycle perspective for procuring materials and products in a scientific and legal correct way.
Sven-Olof Ryding
Associate Professor in System Ecology at the University of Uppsala
He has held several positions with regard to scientific work such as Ass. Prof. at the University of Linköping and Head of Research at the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, IVL. He has been leading operational work as Senior Environmental Advisor at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprises and Managing Director for the Swedish Environmental Management Council, the former Swedish expert organization on Sustainable Procurement. Sven-Olof has been engaged and led a number of international activities with regard to sustainable development and procurement within EU, UN and bilateral work around the world.
Martina Thorsell
Procurement Officer at Sysav
Designed to die – how disposables can be more sustainable than reusables
An enhanced vision of Extended Producer Responsibility and the role of all actors
C-SERVEES seeks to boost a resource-efficient circular economy in the electrical and electronic (E&E) sector through the development, testing, validation and transfer of new circular economic business models (CEBM) based on systemic eco-innovative services that include: eco-leasing of EEE, product customization, improved WEEE management, and ICT services to support the other eco-services. ICT tools (relying on QR codes) will be developed as the driver of the proposed eco-innovative services to take full advantage of the potential and synergies of two major revolutions of our time: the circular economy and the Industry 4.0. The project will thus contribute to transform the E&E sector into circular and 4.0, raising new opportunities for end-users (such as their involvement in design or the access to a product as a service) and for social and solidarity economy. The techno-economic, environmental and social viability of the new CEBMs will be validated through demonstrations dealing with four target products belonging to different EEE categories: large household appliances, IT equipment, telecommunications equipment, and consumer equipment. Pascal Leroy will present the findings of an international survey underscoring the CEBM.
Pascal Leroy
Director General of the WEEE Forum since 2007, oversees the general management of the association and has been in the WEEE business for almost twenty years. Formerly he was Government Affairs Manager on WEEE at APPLiA, the European home appliance manufacturing industry.
Circularity for beginners: serving the unbelievers
Circular value maximization vs Linear cost reduction, the case of mobile devices
Since its commercial start in 2014, Closing the Loop has been a pioneer in circularity for mobile phones. Its efforts to close loops in an industry struggling with a less sustainable image - serving customers that are reluctant to choose sustainability over usability - resulted in the creation of pragmatic circular services. Closing the Loop's circular offsetting services are now creating customer value and positive impact for consumers, some of the world's largest companies as well as the telecom industry itself.
Joost de Kluijver
CEO and founder, Closing the Loop
Joost started a company that won the Dutch Circular Award in 2018. He works with companies, municipalities, governments and the technology sector in turning circular ambitions into appealing results. His company is known for its work in emerging markets, for its customer centric approach towards circularity and the fact that it got some of the leading telecom brands on board for the path towards a closed loop industry. Joost has been an entrepreneur for 10 years and worked for Accenture and the Global Reporting Initiative in the past.
How can information about reuse and recycling follow each and every e-product until it is waste?
Kristina Liljestrand
PhD Chalmers Industriteknik
Kristina is working with logistics solutions and business models to create circular systems in Swedish companies.
Where do we as a local collection system make the most difference?
Fredrik Benson
Business Development
I am a solution-focused analyst with a keen interest in business development and improvement work. At present, my mission is to develop one of the world's best producer responsibility systems for electronics both practically but also as an organization. The sustainability concept is found in several dimensions, ranging from organization, relationships to the environment.
As a person, I want to contribute to passing on a society and environment to our children who are better than what we inherited from previous generations.
Capturing the real environmental benefits of product reuse
End-of-life interventions such as material recycling and product reuse are widely recognised as delivering important environmental benefits. However, these benefits may not be as readily identified as it might seem. For instance, it has been noted that reuse merely delays the final disposal of a product and does not deliver reduced impacts over its total life cycle. The key is focusing on the appropriate spatial and temporal system boundaries, relating to the provision of product function. Comparisons between reuse and make-use-dispose pathways must focus on the function provided and fairly account for this in each case. The study explores these issues for a range of consumer products including electronics. It emerges that product reuse requires more complex and multi-faceted analysis than is often recognised.
John Baxter
Senior Researcher, NORSUS Norwegian Institute for Sustainability Research
John is a chemical engineer with almost 25 years’ postdoctoral experience. He has worked at NORSUS (formerly Østfoldforskning) for the past nine years, focusing on life-cycle assessment and related analyses spanning a wide range of products and services. He has developed specialist interest in the analysis of particular consumer product flows (notably electronics, textiles / clothing and furniture) involving the analysis of product life cycles, the generation of environmental declarations, and the assessment of end-of-life pathways such as recycling and reuse. Important clients and partners in these areas include other research organisations, the relevant Norwegian sector bodies, and the environmental authorities.
Critical Raw Material Circularity for Solar Cell Technologies and Material Recycling Options
How can we organize a sustainable raw material supply for solar cell technologies? What will happen to the waste created from solar energy? The solar cell industry demands different valuable and critical raw materials depending on photovoltaic (PV) technology, such as indium, copper, gallium, tellurium, and silver. Considering the solar cell market and progress in PV technology, the resource limitation is a significant challenge to achieve the solar energy production target. Specifically, the future supply of silver is the bottleneck of the solar energy industry unless a substitute metal is found, though a small amount of silver is used as a conductive grid on solar cells.
Burçak Ebin
Researcher, Nuclear Chemistry and Industrial Material Recycling, Chalmers University of Technology.
He received PhD degree with thesis on the development of nanostructured cathode particles for Li-ion batteries at Istanbul Technical University, Turkey in 2014. He has been working as a researcher at Nuclear Chemistry and Industrial Materials Recycling Group at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden since 2014. His research fields are recycling of valuable metals from different waste streams such as solar cells, batteries, mining and metallurgical production waste using a combination of high temperature, hydrometallurgical and supercritical fluid technologies.
The future of large-scale textile sorting in the Nordic – challenges and opportunities
The textile industry is facing a shift in paradigm. The development of large-scale textile sorting of the future have to address all the needs of a circular economy. Among them are sorting of post-consumer textiles for reuse, redesign and recycling and developing new markets for the material-sorted textiles, as well as to develop both standardization procedures and policies connected to textile sorting. Maria Ström will share her extensive knowledge of what is needed in the industry and her learnings and takeaways from Wargön Innovation, the only pilot plant for textile sorting in the Nordic region that is sorting for both reuse, redesign and recycling.
Maria Ström
Head of innovation, Wargön Innovation
Maria is head of innovation at Wargön Innovation, a national development and knowledge centre for process and production technology focusing on new sustainable materials, especially biomaterials and textiles. The facility is the only pilot plant for textile sorting in the Nordic region that is sorting for both reuse, redesign and recycling. Maria Ström has a M.Sc. and a Licentiate degree in chemical engineering from KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, and has 20 years’ experience of working in the forest industry in various roles including process engineering, marketing, productivity enhancement and strategic procurement. Since 2014 she has been with Wargön Innovation, which is a part of Innovatum Science Park.
Textile products' environmental impacts
We live on an amazing planet. But science tells us that we are pushing it beyond its natural limits. At the same time, there has seldom been such great potential for innovation that can allow us to avoid serious threats and to change the world for the better.
We asked ourselves if we could change consumer behaviour, our impact as a brand and at the same time reconnect people to nature? This was made by challenging status quo and putting the user experience in focus, rather than the consumptions experience.
Through our Subscription pilot we evaluated how to truly decouple the resource resources with our turnover as a brand, yet offering products and experience beyond expectation.
Gustav Hedström
Head of Product-as-a-Service, Houdini Sportswear
Gustav is leading the work towards a 100% circular business model at Houdini Sportswear, using nature as a blueprint. Gustav has, together with the whole team at Houdini, been working with designing an circular eco-system. The system includes circular products that are design for longevity and use, added to a system that is allowing for a closed loop system through circular business models.
SIPTex – the first industrial scale automated textile sorting facility
Siptex is the world's first large-scale facility of its kind. It sorts textiles by color and fiber composition using near-infrared light, which makes it possible to handle large flows and produce textile fractions that are adapted to different recycling processes. For textile recycling on a larger scale, consistent quality and large volumes are required. Today's manual sorting of textiles cannot match the market's need for quality-assured, material specific products. Automated sorting is the link that has been missing between collection and high-quality textile recycling. Siptex will contribute to increased circularity in the textile value chain and strengthen Sweden's position as a pioneer in innovation and circular economy.
Erik Perzon
Sustainability and circularity, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute
Erik Perzon is manager of the Siptex project. He is working as Senior Project Manager and Area Leader for Textiles at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute. Erik holds a PhD in materials science from Chalmers and has more than ten years experience in research, innovation and project management in the areas of plastics, bio based textiles and textile recycling.
Conversion of non-recyclable textiles into valuable feedstocks by steam gasification
Textile recycling is limited, only 1% of clothes are closed-loop recycled, and barely 12% is reused in lower-quality applications (wiping, stuffing or insulation). The rest is landfilled or incinerated or lost into the environment.
Textile waste consists of a variety of polymers and often blended together which complicates its sorting and recovery. Fibre blends are challenging due to mixed natural-synthetic filaments, heterogeneity and pigments/ additives.
A technology that enables producing new materials with the same quality is needed. For today's non-recyclable textiles, thermo-chemical recycling could constitute an important alternative to obtain hydrocarbons from synthetic textiles, thus, enabling a pathway towards a circular economy.
Isabel Cañete Vela
PhD Student at Chalmers University of Technology
Isabel does experimental research in plastic waste recycling in a pilot plant. Her aim is to test, understand and steer thermochemical processes to produce new feedstocks.
Closed Loop Recycling through Depolymerization of PET and Polyester Waste
Production waste was successfully depolymerized with high yield using an inorganic catalyst. Carbon black pigments and other contaminations could be separated from the monomer in the process. Analyses show high purity of the obtained white monomer. Re-polymerization results in PET suitable for melt spinning of new polyester fibers.
Karin Lindqvist
Project Manager-Research Engineer, RISE
With background in chemical engineering Karin Lindqvist has worked in the field of Materials Science and Chemical processes for more than 30 years.
Environmentally sustainable processes and recycling has been of increasingly importance in her work for more than 10 years.
Plastics, Textile and Nonwoven Recycling through depolymerization is a topic of growing interest which also has become Karins specialization.
Scientific studies in this field with development of the processes has recently led to demonstrations of new applications based on recycled nonwoven as raw material.
A Swedish source of critical minerals, from mine waste
Phosphorus is a primary nutrient in mineral fertilisers. Without mineral fertilisers, global food production could be halved. Rare Earth Elements (REE’s), a group of 17 metals, are essential for innovation and the green transformation. In the ReeMAP project, LKAB is developing innovative technology and processing capabilities to extract phosphorus and rare earth elements, classed by the EU as Critical Raw Materials, from today’s mine waste.
Ulrika Håkansson,
Business Development Manager & Project Manager ReeMAP, LKAB Minerals
Ulrika Håkansson is a business development manager at LKAB and leading the ReeMAP project. She will present the road from today up until a fully operational, fossil-free, industrial park that produces critical minerals in 2027. Ulrika holds a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from KTH, Royal Institute of Technology.
Overview of the status and future perspectives of nutrients recycling from sewage in nine selected countries
Recovery of metals and nutrients from ashes using electrodialytic extraction
Incineration of waste and biomass is an important part of the heat and power supply in many countries. Next to energy, ashes are also an output from the incineration plants, and the ashes are most often disposed of in landfills or used as backfilling in closed mines. However, the ashes contain a variety of important elemental resources, which are lost during this practice. Instead, these elemental resources should be recovered in the support of sustainable consumption and circular economy. This presentation focus on the recovery of nutrients and heavy metals from different ashes by use of an electrodialytic method.
Lisbeth M. Ottosen
Professor, head of section for Materials and Durability, at Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark
Lisbeth M. Ottosen is leading a research team ZeroWaste Byg with focus on upgrading of waste to resources. The two major research lines are use of secondary resources in construction materials (mainly concrete and bricks) and recovery of elemental resources such as phosphorous and heavy metals from particulate materials (ashes, soils, sludges and sediments). She is currently lead on a sector development project “Circular Civil Engineering” for the Technical University of Denmark, where the university and the construction sector jointly maps the technological developments and innovations needed to enable transition towards a circular economy. Lisbeth is MSc in civil engineering and received her PhD within environmental technology. She is author of more than 150 ISI indexed Journal papers.
The Grängesberg Apatite Project - an update
Grängesberg Exploration develops primarely the Grängesberg Apatite Project – a tailing project focusing on phosphorous and REE recovery – and the Dannemora Iron Ore Restart Project – a brown field project focusing on the untapped high grading potential of the magnetite ore. Both projects have reasonably short time to first production, with relatively low initial capital expenditure needs.
Christer Lindqvist
CEO, Grängesberg Exploration Holding AB
Christer holds a Master of Metallurgical Engineering from The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. He has over 30 years’ experience from industrial, mining and infrastructure developments both in Sweden and internationally at senior management levels.
He has been the chairman and later CEO of Nordic Iron Ore AB as well as chairman of Copperstone Resources AB. He is the founder of Grängesberg Exploration AB and since last year the CEO and main owner of the listed Grängesberg Exploration Holding AB, through the acquisition of Grängesberg Exploration AB containing the Grängesberg Apatite project and the Dannemora iron mine restart project.
Recycling of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium from Cities to Agriculture
EasyMining Sweden, a company in the Ragn-Sells group, has developed several processes for recovery of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium from urban wastes. The presentation will include a short description of the processes as well as the work that is ongoing for the establishment of the first full-scale plants for phosphorus recovery from sludge ash, salt recovery from waste incineration fly ash and nitrogen recovery from wastewater.
Yariv Cohen
Since 2007 R&D Manager at EasyMining and also a part-time researcher at SLU University in Sweden.
Yariv is a specialist in chemical separation technologies and has a long experience in phosphorus chemistry. Obtained his Doctoral Degree from SLU University in Sweden with the title “Phosphorus recovery from urban wastes and ashes”. Was awarded the 2008 Science Technology and Environment Scholarship from the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, for research regarding recovery of phosphorus from municipal wastes, ashes and iron ore mine wastes.
Session introduction
Peter Mellgren
CEO, TMR
Rethink the packaging system
Packaging provides large short-lived material flows that must become more circular in the future. But it is not the amount of material collected that creates circularity, but the amount of material that is actually recycled and becomes new products. In order for us to achieve the EU recycling targets of 2030, and also the industries lofty ambitions, the entire business model for packaging needs to be reviewed. Our innovation manifesto: We want to lower the transition barriers to unleash the power of ideas, creativity and innovation towards circular packaging systems.
Ann Lorentzon
RISE
Ann is a project manager in Sustainability and Product safety with focus on packaging. Her projects have often an holistic view of the packaging value cycle. Ann works as a project manager for research and assignment projects in packaging and circularity. Her current portfolio of projects includes product safety, food waste and circular economy. She is the leader of Normpack, a business group with 180 member companies, working with food contact requirements. Her previous projects have focused on packaging logistics, cost calculations, recycling and environmental evaluations, reflecting her background as a logistics engineer.
Tatjana Karpenja
RISE
Tatjana is a project manager Sustainability & Digitalisation at RISE with 13 year expertise in sustainability and circular economy within value cycles of biobased materials. She is leading RISE’s collaboration initiative on sustainable circular packaging, and is the member of the BioLyftet expert team that educates and coaches SME:s in biobased and recyclable materials. She is working as evaluation partner in international multi-disciplinary projects by applying sustainability and circularity strategies and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
What requirements is circular economy putting on logistic solutions?
Per Stoltz
Resource and Waste Manager, IKEA Group
Per Stoltz connects retail business knowledge with circular economy. He started working as IKEA's purchasing manager in Italy, then moved to Sweden to work with global strategic purchasing and product development in the IKEA headquarters. He has been engaged in sustainability issues, and for the past three years has led the transition for the world's largest furniture retailer to become a truly circular company.
Renewable materials and circularity
Lisa Säfwenberg
Manager Circular Solutions på Stora Enso
The circular transformation starts in our head
The Delegation for Circular Economy is an advisory body to the government. The purpose of the delegation is to strengthen society's transformation to a resource-efficient, circular and bio-based economy, both nationally and regionally. Initially, the Delegation focuses on three areas: design for circularity, plastic and public procurement.
Klas Gustafsson
Member of the Delegation for Circular Economy and Deputy CEO of Tekniska verken
Klas has been working for more than eight years as Deputy CEO of Tekniska verken and has 20 years experience of the energy industry. His work focuses primarily on strategy, business development and public affairs.
Research for the future of recycling
In order to put the recycling efforts where the give the best results it is important to see the whole picture of the recycling itself. In some cases it may not be the researchers which hold the key but the industry and in some other cases the opposite. It is the same with selection of techniques. There is no “one size fits all”. It is all a part of a larger picture.
Christian Ekberg
Prof Ekberg is the leader of the joint group of Nuclear Chemistry and Industrial Materials Recyclingp and founder (2011) and director of the competence centre Sustainable Nuclear Energy Centre (SNEC) since 2013. He is also the founder and first director of the Competence Centre Recycling (CCR).