In the culmination of a year-long project, Combient Pure hosted an event that brought together companies who participated in the Circularity Development Program, and their stakeholders. The program featured ASSA ABLOY, KONE, Swegon, along with their customer Vasakronan, working together to develop products and processes for circularity. You can read more about the program here.
On February 14th, 2024 over a hundred building industry and Combient company representatives gathered together at Combient Zenit in Stockholm, as well as online, to hear about the achievements of the participants of the Circularity Development Program 2023. It was a valuable opportunity for those interested in circularity to glean insights from large companies that had intensively worked on the topic for the past 12 months.
Watch the key learnings from the program presented by Louna Laurila, who was the program lead from Combient Pure:
Download Combient Pure's presentation here (PDF)
Next to Combient Pure’s Marika Määttä and Louna Laurila, we had speakers from each of the participating companies: Anna Denell, Chief Sustainability Officer at Vasakronan, Zeljka Svensson, Vice President Global Innovation Management at ASSA ABLOY, Minna Pirkkanen, Head of Modernization Offering at KONE and Mirko Sauvan, Sustainability Manager at Swegon.
Here are the key takeaways along with video clips and presentations from each of our speakers.
For Vasakronan, circularity enhances business
The first presenter at the event was Anna Denell, Chief Sustainability Officer at Vasakronan, one of the leading real estate developers in Sweden.
“We have a goal of 100 % circular building development,” Anna said. That was an eye catching quote, as she also mentioned that currently only around 9% of building materials used in construction are circular. Despite the long way to go, Vasakronan is determined to reach its goal - and not the least for business reasons.
Vasakronan stresses that a circular economy gives their business a sustainable economic model. The circular model can lower property management costs, and “green” buildings are preferred by tenants, leading to higher rents. This in turn leads to a higher property value, and as such, makes it easier for developers like Vasakronan to get favorable terms on loans, or easier access to capital.
For Vasakronan, sustainable development is vital for their business model. It’s future proofing their operations. And that’s why Vasakronan wants to strongly push their suppliers towards circularity.
Watch Vasakronan’s full presentation here:
Download Vasakronan’s full presentation here (PDF)
ASSA ABLOY puts an emphasis on refurbishing products
Zeljka Svensson, Vice President Global Innovation Management at ASSA ABLOY was the next speaker to share what her company achieved as a result of the Circularity Development Program.
ASSA ABLOY is known for durable products - locks and keys do not usually need to be replaced for their wear and tear. In the development program it was nevertheless the ASSA ABLOY entrance systems that participated. A crucial thing for more circular entrance systems is being able to reuse them, or parts of them - that was a key topic for ASSA ABLOY in the program.
As one of the key results of the program, Zeljka shared that ASSA ABLOY will open a new refurbishing center that enables the reuse of entrance system products on a European level, next to previously established centers.
Watch ASSA ABLOY’s full presentation here:
Download ASSA ABLOY’s presentation here (PDF)
KONE extends building lifetime with modernization
Minna Pirkkanen, Head of Modernization Offering at KONE shared her insights from KONE’s participation in the Circularity Development program.
Minna shed some light to the megatrends related to the building stock by mentioning that practically all buildings that will be built in Europe by 2050, are already built. That sounds like it would be an issue for an elevator and escalator company, but according to Minna, it’s the opposite. This provides ample opportunities for KONE whose elevator modernization business area participated in the Circularity Development Program.
KONE designs elevators as modular which is essential for circularity as it allows KONE to only replace parts that need replacing in a modernization project. Already now some modernization cases focus on only replacing the electronic parts of the elevator, leaving for example the metal weights to be reused.
As a result of the program, KONE’s Modernization business moved from conceptual thinking to more specific actions when it comes to circularity.
Watch KONE’s full presentation here:
Download KONE’s presentation here (PDF)
Swegon developed a new circular product offering
The final presenter of the event was Mirko Sauvan, Sustainability Manager at Swegon. He shared a fascinating presentation of how Swegon concretely developed their offering towards circularity during the program.
Swegon focuses on creating a more circular product offering with a RE3 concept that the company launched as a result of this Circularity Development Program. In the RE3 concept, Swegon e.g. utilizes reused parts, and upgrades or refurbishes existing products to be sold at a similar value and warranties as new products.
As a result of the program, the circularity development work at Swegon has accelerated considerably.
Watch Swegon’s full presentation here:
Download Swegon’s presentation here (PDF)
Insights Galore
At the end of the event, a panel discussion shed more light on the learnings and insights from the program.
What stood out from this panel, was Anna’s quote when asked, what value does circularity bring to the company? “The linear economy will not be viable for much longer,” Anna said. “When things get transparent, the choice becomes easier for consumers, lenders and other actors,” she said, describing well the pressure especially the building sector is facing to transform towards sustainability.
Mirko echoed that same sentiment, as he said that the appeal of their products and brand has increased by enhancing circularity and participating to this program.
Watch the panel discussion for more insights on the program and working towards circularity:
Combient Pure is looking for companies that want to participate in this year’s program, aimed at manufacturing companies and their value chains. Is that you? Let us know by contacting us at pure at combient.com!