The Circular Map gathers cases and inspires

The Circular Map contains a sharing platform, Vakansa, where focus is on the many unused buildings that exist in Gothenburg. The concept involves matching vacant premises with businesses which, on their own, have a hard time fully covering the expense of a lease. Shared use offers benefits in the form of resource efficiency and a higher level of utilization, along with possibly also helping to make the city more vibrant.

Another example is Hako Ground & Garden, which has transitioned to a service-based business model. The company previously sold machinery. Now though, it offers equipment in good condition that can be used for park and ground maintenance during the summer months and for snow and ice removal during the winter. Regular maintenance is performed on the machinery, keeping it in good condition and extending its life, along with evening out Hako’s capacity utilization.

What advantages does the Circular Map offer?

– “Companies gain visibility as a circular player,” says Josefina Sallén.

The service was created in conjunction with Region Halland wanting to take stock of the circular companies in the region. It did so in part because it wanted to support them, but also, to share good examples and gain a better understanding of what the circular economy really means in practice.

– “The Region needed to know which companies were involved in order to make the concept of circularity more tangible. Sure, we could have put together a PDF report, but it would have become obsolete within a couple of months. We needed something else, that would remain up-to-date and be beneficial to everyone,” says Josefina Sallén.

– “The Circular Map isn’t based on having everyone participate. It does, however, provide many good examples of what the circular economy is in practice,” she says.

Criteria and priority areas

To be included, companies must first meet the main criteria, which is all about long product lifespan, high utilization and circularity. There are also some priority areas that companies should be working with:

• Use renewable energy to manufacture and deliver their offerings.
• Work on continuous improvements towards circular principles and resource productivity.
• Invest in circular offers and skills.
• Communicate honestly and transparently about how the company acts in a circular manner.
• Collaborate with others in circular business ecosystems, for example by participating in research and development projects.

– “If you feel that your company meets those criteria, we warmly invite you to contact us,” says Josefina Sallén.

How have you benefited from the service yourself?

– “It offers great inspiration. We have used several of the examples in our trainings. When you have specific company examples to look at, it facilitates a good dialogue on the criteria. It helps cut right to the chase about what it means to be a circular company. But each company still needs to find its own way of transitioning to circular offers. This is exactly what we need,” she says.