Circular economy

Denmark’s consumption per capita is among the highest in the world. According to Circularity Gap Report Denmark, our economy is only 4% circular. 

Over-consumption is a key challenge in the transition to a circular economy.

The report mentions the lifestyle industry as an area that calls for improvement and efforts to achieve better utilisation of resources in Denmark. 

But new business models and ways of designing for a circular economy require deep interdisciplinary knowledge and expertise. 

In Lifestyle and Design Cluster we have chosen the transition to circularity as one of our focus areas. 

The planetary boundaries are nine environmental limits that, according to scientists, should not be transgressed if we are to prevent irreversible damage that will permanently impact the planet’s ecosystems.

Based on the planetary boundaries, Lifestyle and Design Cluster embraces the refuse principle under which over-consumption should be reduced and product lifecycles extended.

Lifestyle and Design Cluster will initiate and facilitate innovative partnerships that contribute directly to:

• limiting negative impacts on the environment and climate caused by greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, water consumption, discharge of hazardous chemicals etc.
• limiting energy consumption, resource extraction and waste generation.

To reduce consumption and maintain earnings, we need to rethink products and business models. Products must be designed for more than one life while still generating income.Insights from the new ways of developing products, businesses and systems can spark new, innovative solutions.

When businesses know more about their own supply chain, they are able to:

• comply with future reporting requirements regarding transparency and traceability
• identify any negative impact that can be minimised or eliminated.

Resilience is the ability to adjust and recover by re-using resources and minimising waste.

Businesses can improve their resilience to global challenges (caused by scarcity of supply, shifts in the global power balance etc.) by minimising resource consumption and understanding their own supply chain better. 

For businesses to build this resilience, new knowledge and new, innovative solutions are needed

Transition to circularity requires major changes and new thinking. This will create ample innovation opportunities for everyone in the cluster ecosystem.

Technological innovation plays a key role in realising circular economy principles.

• Blockchain technology enhances transparency and traceability in preparation for the coming digital product passport.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our work methods and the jobs of the future.
• Virtual technologies offer new platforms for collaboration and innovation enabling us to discover forward-looking ways of running a business.