Analyzing circular business models and circular supply chains in the Swedish process industry

The project, led by Cali Nuur, aims to analyze the current situation and developments in the Swedish process industry in light of the transition to a sustainable and circular society.

A circular economy is considered to be key to the transition needed to achieve global sustainability targets. Circular economy is often depicted as a radical new idea, but key components of it, such as recycling, have been around for a long time. The processs industry in Sweden has a rich history, thanks to major industrial concerns such as Stora Enso, SSAB, Sandvik (now Allemia), Boliden and others. Given its enormous energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, this industry has a vital part to play in the transition to a sustainable and circular society. Steel alone accounts for 7–8 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.

The researchers will be analyzing the extent to which the Swedish process industryhas already adopted some of the key principles of circular economy. The research team is focusing on two key building blocks in the transition: development of circular value chains, and circular business models. An important aspect of the transition to a circular economy is that waste is a resource. This is particularly important for the process industry since very high production volumes generate large quantities of waste and residual products. These waste streams can form the basis for new forms of industrial symbiotic networks, typically at local/regional level. 

The process and basic industries are usually regarded as “traditional” and “inflexible”, heavily impacted by various lock-in mechanisms.

The researchers intend to answer the following questions: To what extent have circular value chains been adopted in Swedish process manufacturing? What explains the direction in which value chains and business models are moving? And what opportunities and bottlenecks exist in the transition to circular value chains and business models?