RECORD INTEREST WHEN WORLD-LEADING INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES MET FOR
CIRCULAR INITIATIVE
Spirits were high when the Circular Initiative on May 5th once again could gather a physical audience at this year's event. At the same time, over 1500 people were registered as an online audience. Industry partnerships and growing demand for circular products and solutions were a common theme throughout the program.
“This is very exciting. We’ve seen incredible developments since we started the Circular Initi-ative four years ago. The interest in close collaboration to create circular solutions is very high,” said Fredrik Pettersson, CEO of Stena Recycling AB, which is behind the event as initiator and organizer.
In addition to the record-breaking audience, the program was more packed than in any pre-vious year, with 12 different companies and organizations represented*. The Circular Initiative is now a well-established forum where large industrial companies are happy to participate in order to share their circular solutions. One that attended in the audience was Dan Sten Olsson,
The need to meet after two years of pandemic restrictions became clear at the event.
Discussions were lively and new contacts were made.
“For me, this is a great opportunity to inspire others, but also to be inspired myself. The key to success in going circular is collaboration – not just collaboration within your own value chain, but also between different industries. That’s exactly what I see happening here,” said Lisa Ekstrand, VP and Head of Sustainability, Vestas, who was one of the participants in the event program.
EXCITING COMPANIES PARTICIPATED
Among the new companies in this year’s agenda were Blomsterlandet, Polestar and SKF, which clearly shows that circular solutions are important in all sectors. It also reflects the incredible breadth of Stena Recycling’s ability to support companies in all different industries in their circular development.
A recurring partner in the Circular Initiative is Electrolux. Barry Waddilove, Sustainability
Director Development & Collaboration at Electrolux contributed with energy on stage together with Louise Eriksson, one of the expert consultants from Stena Circular Consultant. In a popular feature, they demonstrated the scope and complexity of creating more circular products by concretely showcasing several challenging parts from washing machines, refrigerators, and cookers.
“This is our fourth year, and every year we learn new things, we create new partnerships with Stena, and we increase our knowledge. It creates a dynamic when other companies join. The knowledge increases as the initiative grows,” said Barry Waddilove.
