Period: 1.1.2018 - 30.6.2022

Content: Circular economy (CE) is an industrial system that replaces the traditional linear business model with a circular one. For companies this means introducing new business models based on repair, reuse, refurbishing, remanufacturing and recycling. For customers this means replacement of worn products with more sustainable products or services. For the European economy, the net benefit of the circular economy has been estimated up to 1 800 billion euros by 2030. In addition, the circular economy offers significant environmental and social benefits and an opportunity to increase employment. Over the next 10 years, the demand for global construction is expected to increase by 70 %. This is a challenge in a world where more and more resources are becoming scarce. In addition to constructing new, there is also an urgent need to upgrade the existing building stock. Thus, the construction industry is in need for new business models and practices in order to prepare the trade for the future. The supply chain serving the built environment is diverse and includes contractors, consultants, property management specialists, architects and SMEs. Increasing wood in construction would benefit Mid-Nordic regions with their forest-based economies. Cross-border Finnish-Swedish collaboration would provide sufficient critical mass for SMEs to innovate successful CE practices and business models, as well as to create joint networks and supply chains for global marketing.The overall goal for the project “Circular Economy – A Game Changer for the Wood Building Industry” is to boost regional companies competitiveness on the international market by initiating new networks and business ecosystems and introducing circular economy solutions based on previous recognized success factors. The project contributes to the Botnia-Atlantica business priority and offers an increased capacity for cross-border business cooperation for companies within the wood building ecosystem. The main goal for this project is to support SMEs within the wood building ecosystem in overcoming common barriers for adopting a circular economy business. At the end of the project, the participating companies in both Finland and Sweden will have increased their knowledge on new business models (WP2), raised employee know-how on new technical solutions (WP3), better understanding of customers need for product and service development (WP4) and created new networks and business ecosystems (WP5).The project offers a platform for networking and expert assistance to foster the game change to circular economy. It also gives the SMEs in wood building industry opportunities to find synergies and complementary skills within a larger region, thereby making the transition to a circular economy easier. The work done in the project will strengthen the cooperation between universities and companies and contribute to increased innovation and transfer of new technologies to regional SMEs.

Focus area: Hållbar energiteknik

Campus: Vasa Wolffskavägen 33

Financers: Interreg - Botnia Atlantica, Österbottens förbund

Project owner: Novia University of Applied Sciences

Partners: Tampere University of Technology, Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences, Umeå University/Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University/Umeå School of Business and Economics

Project manager: Niklas Frände

Partners: Tampere University of Technology, Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences, Umeå University/Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University/Umeå School of Business and Economics

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