Blog posts on circular transition

Relevator is a Swedish business that sells warehouse automation machinery in countries around the world. 100% of their product is recovered from existing warehouses. To Relevator’s founders, circularity was “common sense”.

OOAKI (one-of-a-kind-living) is a Swedish sofa refurbishment startup that worked with RISE to develop its circular business model. In a conversation with RISE, OOAKI’s Chief Digital Officer, Lennart Svanberg, discusses how this shift was inspired by a closer relationship with customers.

A thought experiment on how we can turn the tax system upside down to meet contemporary challenges

If consumers had their way—according to research at RISE— we’d be living in a much more circular world. Unfortunately, circular utopia will not emerge overnight, but this doesn't mean we shouldn't work toward it. Below we speculate why… and the answer has to do with bridges.

For a long time, our industry has been built on linear flows – production, use, disposal. Now this way of thinking is being challenged by demands for resource efficiency, climate targets and new technology that makes it possible to recover and reuse existing components. Remanufacturing shows how this can be done in practice.

That was the central question when RISE gathered researchers and industry partners for a webinar on 25 September 2025. The focus was chemical recycling, a technology that can move the textile industry closer to circularity and reduce dependence on virgin raw materials.

Imagine a Swedish industrial company that has been actively working with sustainability for years. They've chosen recycled materials, placed clear demands on their suppliers and made an effort to stay informed about new regulations and guidelines. Still, keeping up is challenging – and it’s not always clear what applies.

We have created a system where those who try to do the right thing – in food, construction, automotive or the public sector – often have to pay more, face more obstacles and take greater risks. At RISE, we develop models that reverse the logic: where sustainability pays off and societal benefit becomes business benefit.

48 Swedish municipalities are aiming for climate neutrality by 2030. But how do we pay for the transition – and how do we avoid the costs of not doing so? Circular economy and new financing models can show the way towards both climate goals and economic resilience.

Water is both our most basic resource and one of the most vulnerable. Climate change, increasing resource demands and a growing global population are forcing us to rethink. It is no longer enough to simply reduce our water consumption - we need to start seeing water as a circular resource, something that can be reused and optimized at every stage.

Clean water has been taken for granted in Sweden, but climate change requires new thinking. With Unity4Water, RISE and industry are developing solutions for reusing process water - a step towards a water-wise future.

FairChain and the Bär i Bygden initiative show that it IS possible to create a fairer, more sustainable berry industry by using resources smarter. Through shorter value chains, efficient technology, and strong local engagement, we can build a model that makes each coin circulate multiple times within the region.

Every fourth year, Electronics Goes Green (EGG), shows the way in connecting industry leaders with the latest research and innovations in sustainable electronics, we from RISE were there...

Last week, it was time for Techtextil in Frankfurt, a major textile fair held every other year focusing on technical textiles. Material developers, fiber spinners, weavers, and machine manufacturers from various parts of the industry and the world were present to network and explore trends for the future. Of course, RISE was there to do the same. 

There is an increasing interest in introducing nutrition and health aspects in the assessment of the environmental impact of foods. A suggested method to do it is called nutritional LCA. Through nutritional LCA, it is possible for actors in the food system to include a more holistic sustainability perspective of foods.

Textile industry leaves a considerable footprint on our planet. One reason is its linear economy structure, where new raw materials pass through the production and use phases only to end up on ever-growing landfill sites. Technology development for the circular transition is a major focus in our R&D-labs at the moment.