This paper outlines the state-of-the-art of the furniture industry in relation to circular economy while highlighting policies, initiatives, actors, opinions and scenarios. It has emerged that several initiatives exist but also divergent options on future sustainable development paths. Therefore, recommendations are offered for the industry by pointing at some potential opportunities to progress in its “circular journey”. This report was developed during the “Framtidsscenarier för cirkulära möbelflöden” project that was funded by Västra Götaland Regional Council. The document should be read in connection with the project final report (RISE Report 2021:55).

Denna rapport beskriver tre olika framtidsbilder av hur vi på ett cirkulärt sätt tillgodoser behov av möbler inom företag och offentlig sektor år 2030. Scenarioberättelserna beskriver ”lyckade” och rimliga utvecklingsvägar, där branschen tydligt gått från en linjär till en cirkulär logik, men på olika sätt. Scenarier utgår ifrån två områden där det råder osäkerhet i på vilket sätt och hur snabbt branschen och relationerna mellan aktörerna däri kommer att utvecklas: (1) graden av digitalisering och informationsdelning och (2) hur affärsrelationen mellan aktörer utvecklas i olika centraliseringsgrad i värdekedjan.

Som en del av analysen diskuteras även risker och möjligheter för svensk möbelbransch som varje scenario medför och utvecklingsbehov för att lyckas ställas om till en cirkulär ekonomi till år 2030. Sammanfattningsvis finns behov av nya och utvecklade kompetenser, förbättrad informationsdelning och förändrade roller. 

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Inom Fossilfritt Flyg 2045 genomförs en framtidsanalys. Syftet med framtidsanalysen är att tillsammans med aktörer och intressenter i ekosystemet kring flyget dels skapa samverkan, dels genomföra en rad aktiviteter vilka tillsammans med övrigt analysarbete ska resultera i en gemensam rapport till projektets finansiär, Energimyndigheten. De huvudsakliga aktiviteterna är trendanalys, scenarioanalys och färdplanering. Denna rapport presenterar resultatet av scenarioanalysen, och inbjuder läsaren till att använda dessa scenarier som underlag för att föra strukturerade samtal kring framtiden för fossilfritt flyg i den egna organisationen, med hjälp av den övningsdel som avslutar rapporten.

The scenario analysis aims to support strategic efforts to end aviation’s dependence on fossil fuels by creating reasonable, consistent pictures of what the future might look like. We focus on the external environment indeveloping the scenarios. This involves taking a look at potential developments leading up to 2045 of the factors which have major relevance for fossil-fuel-free aviation but are beyond the control of ecosystem actors and stakeholders.The scenario narratives we have produced contain descriptions of the business sector, politics, society, and technology and infrastructure, and capturethe developments of the following factors: global travel and consumer pressure for sustainable travel, raw material competition, the oil industry, the willingness to make sustainable investments, electrification and decentralisation, and disruptive technologies and business models.

The Swedish project P-to-Product focused on developing and adapting methods to promote recirculation of phosphorus (P) products extracted from sewage and sewage sludge. The project consisted of three work packages: 1) market introduction, 2) environmental impacts and 3) agricultural requirements. In wp 1 opportunities and barriers were identified and policy recommendations developed. This was done through interviews, surveys and workshops with stakeholders from sewage utilities, innovation companies, the fertilizer industry, the federation of Swedish farmers and national authorities. In wp 2 a simplified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was developed focused on nutrient recycling, global warming potential and energy use. In addition to this a chemical checkpoint was formulated with chemical analysis of a wide range of pollutants. For the development of methods in wp 2, granulated or pelleted nutrient products from the companies EkoBalans (a struvite based product with nitrogen and potassium added) and Outotec (a P-product with origin from incinerated sewage sludge) were used as case products. These products were also used in wp 3 where physical properties were evaluated and spreading tests were executed using existing machinery. The project provided a useful set of methods which soon will be complemented with methods to assess plant nutrient efficiency.

This is the final deliverable from a task within the national research program Mistra Closing the Loop (CTL). It aimed at analysing the barriers and drivers for industrial waste recycling as a part of transition towards a circular society. In doing so, we drew on the experiences from five projects participating in CTL. Found below is a graphical abstract capturing both of the logic behind the research and the main results.

Industrial recycling as part of a broader transition towards a more circular society faces an overwhelming number of obstacles on all system levels. Apart from being a source of despair, long, unprioritised lists of barriers can lead to diffusion of efforts and resources while attempting to tackle them all at once. In addition, these barriers have traditionally been regarded as separate entities, and little is known about the relationships between them. In this report, we argue for a shift in how we study and act on the barriers for circular transition. More specifically, we call for:

• a need to better understand the links, relationships and dynamics between different barriers and barrier groups• a need for methodological experimentation and more action-oriented research• a more targeted approach, where resources are pulled towards tackling a few barriers with a scientifically demonstrated potential to accelerate the change