Press Release on February 14, 2024: ASSA ABLOY, KONE and Swegon accelerated their circularity development in a year-long collaborative effort with Vasakronan and Combient Pure
ASSA ABLOY, KONE and Swegon took part in Combient Pure’s Circularity Development Program to create processes and concepts that improve the circularity of their products. Technical building products present one of the largest emission sources in buildings, and circular economy tactics are a key tool for reducing these product-related emissions.
During the program, ASSA ABLOY, KONE, Swegon and Vasakronan worked together for 12 months to develop the circularity of technical building products, such as ventilation products, elevators, and automatic doors. The participants went through development sprints in six main themes: understanding the customer, impact measurement, dismantling and reverse logistics, product life extension, circular procurement and aligning internal processes, utilizing peer-to-peer learning and frameworks provided by Combient Pure.
New circular concepts and ways of working
The program accelerated the internal developments of the participating companies and resulted in interesting new circular concepts and ways of working.
“By participating in the program, ASSA ABLOY has gained insights about how to overcome common challenges when upscaling circular products to larger volumes. Based on the learnings, we have enhanced our process for circular development and how to increase the total sales volume of circular products. Another outcome of the program is the implementation of a new ASSA ABLOY refurbished parts center in addition to our already-established centers”, says Zeljka Svensson, VP and Head of Global Innovation Management at ASSA ABLOY.
At KONE, the program has helped the company to move from conceptual thinking to more specific actions. It has helped KONE to bring together the various aspects of a circular future for their industry and customers. In addition to the insights gained, one of the most important takeaways for KONE has been the support and collaboration between the participating companies during the development sprints.
“As the modernization business grows, we have seen the need for circularity and sharing, re-using existing materials and repurposing also on the rise. By working together, the industry will be able to accelerate these approaches and reshape the future,” says Minna Pirkkanen, head of modernization offering at KONE.
For Swegon, one of the outcomes of the program was to launch its RE:3 concept – RE:use, RE:vitalise, and RE:duce - for systemizing its circularity efforts and providing guidance to customers and employees.
“The program´s structure and the collaborative mindset of the involved people supported us in kicking off impactful internal changes for widening our circular market offer. Seeing a high interest and demand of our recently launched refurb kit for our GOLD air handling units in multiple European and Nordic countries as one example of RE:3 confirms that we are on the right track”, says Mirko Sauvan, Sustainability Manager at Swegon.
“For Vasakronan the program enabled a deeper understanding of the challenges of our suppliers and gave us the possibility to share knowledge with professionals along the whole value chain. We will take all the learnings into account when we update our circularity requirements in our tender specifications so that they are even more relevant for our contractors and suppliers”, says Claire Mirjolet, Project Leader, Sustainability at Vasakronan.
"We at Combient Pure are very proud of these pioneering companies, one of the firsts in their industries to develop circularity across their own organizations, across their value chains and together with peers. The commitment and open-minded approach that the companies have taken during the program have resulted in tangible results. We are excited about the impact we have collectively catalyzed in shaping a more circular future”, says Louna Laurila, Program Manager at Combient Pure.
The 12-month effort came to a close on February 14th, when the participating companies shared their insights and company-level results from the program.
Background on the intensive 12-month program to drive circular economy
Combient Pure, Vasakronan and KONE first came together in 2022 to study the challenges and opportunities for developing more circular technical building products. The results showed that there are some barriers for developing truly circular technical building products, but also that there is great opportunity in reducing the emissions from such products when embarking on the circularity journey.
The program accelerated developments in circularity among the participating companies with practical working methods and frameworks, peer-to-peer learning, and discussions with customers and other actors within the value chain.
Developing more circular products requires engagement from manufacturing companies’ internal stakeholder groups and multiple external stakeholders like construction companies, property owners and installation companies, to name a few.
The Circularity Development Program was led by a team from Combient Pure, which supports the decarbonization and circularity development of Combient network companies and companies in their value chains.
Contact information:
Louna Laurila, Program manager, Combient Pure, louna.laurila@combient.com, +358 400 628 521
More information: https://combientpure.com/circularity-program
Read more about the learnings from each development sprint: https://combientpure.com/articles/key-learnings-from-combient-pures-circularity-development-program-2023
Company introductions
Combient is a Nordic innovation network of 36 leading companies. Its goal is to support the business development of its associate companies. Combient Pure is the newest capability in the network, with a goal of creating low carbon and circular value chains. Pure develops impactful and sustainable multi-company solutions together with Combient associate companies, and companies operating in their value chains. www.combientpure.com
The ASSA ABLOY Group is the global leader in access solutions. The Group operates worldwide with 61,000 employees and sales of SEK 141 billion. The Group has leading positions in areas such as efficient door openings, trusted identities and entrance automation. ASSA ABLOY's innovations enable safe, secure and convenient access to physical and digital places. Every day, we help billions of people experience a more open world.
KONE’s mission is to improve the flow of urban life. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, KONE provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization to add value to buildings throughout their life cycle. Through more effective People Flow®, we make people's journeys safe, convenient and reliable, in taller, smarter buildings. In 2023, KONE had annual sales of EUR 11.0 billion, and at the end of the year over 60,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland.
Swegon is your partner for sustainable indoor-environment solutions that work exactly as desired, at the lowest possible lifecycle cost. We are a total system supplier. Our offer includes ventilation, heating, cooling and climate optimization systems, as well as connected services and expert technical support. Count on us to add value to your project from start to finish – and beyond. In everything we do, we are guided by a single purpose: to enable healthy, comfortable and safe indoor environments for people to be at their best, today and tomorrow.
Vasakronan is Sweden’s leading property company with a portfolio valued at around SEK 175 billion (2023). The portfolio is focused on centrally located office and retail properties in the growth regions of Stockholm, Uppsala, Gothenburg and Malmö. Our vision is to create future-proof cities for everyone where people and companies thrive. The company is owned in equal shares by the First, Second, Third and Fourth Swedish national pension funds.