Konecranes has committed to reducing Scope 3 emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to the 2019 level. Circularity plays a central role in achieving this target, as it provides significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain. To meet the target, Konecranes is committed to enhancing resource efficiency, extending equipment lifetimes, eliminating waste, and keeping materials in circulation. In other words, with circular design, Konecranes is able to transform inefficiencies in value chains into new sources of value. These measures translate into business efficiency as they increase revenue growth from new ways to deliver value to customers, cost savings through resource efficiency, and secure greater resilience against material scarcity and supply chain risks.

Once Upon is participating in the Nordic Circular Design Programme because they want to take bolder and more concrete action. Circularity as a principle has been part of the company’s thinking but is now being put into stronger practice. As a company creating and selling physical products, in their case photo books, Once Upon wants to take responsibility for its footprint in the world. That responsibility doesn’t stop at their own products but extends across their entire value chain. The programme provides the tools and the space to reflect, learn, and turn intention into clear direction.

Easy-Laser’s ambition is clear: their products should be used as often as possible, for as long as possible, delivering maximum impact with minimal resource use. In this way, sustainability has always been at the core of their business. According to Easy-Laser’s Product Designer Melina Åkesson, sustainability, and specifically circular design, is central to the company’s approach, as it ensures that the material value invested in production remains in circulation for as long as possible.

The programme gathered again in a lively networking event and a live workshop in Helsinki, bringing together not only the participating companies but also potential new business partners.

Transitioning to a circular economy is not only about shifting business models or product designs. It is about changing mindsets and behaviours in your whole value chain in order to ultimately change the entire economic system. How can you be a leader of that change? 

The ADKAR model describes the necessary steps an individual needs to go through in order to commit to a new behaviour. How can you make sure that people are aware the change is going to happen? How can you make them desire this change? How can you make sure they have the knowledge and abilities needed to make necessary changes? How can you reinforce the new behaviour?

The shift toward a circular economy is redefining how European companies manage their value chains. Transparency, traceability, and sustainability will become key requirements, and are at the heart of this transformation. As part of the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) comes along the requirement for Digital Product Passports (DPPs).

The first live workshops of the Nordic Circular Design Programme 2025-2026 were a big success! The participating Nordic companies across various industries gathered in Stockholm to meet each other in person and took part in programme modules focusing on the following topics:

- Exec: Market transition towards circularity & EU legislation
- R&D: Circular products: Design strategies

The discussion revolved around investigating alternative circular business models (such as moving from product reimbursement to service based models), redesigning product features (such as replacing glue with mechanical fastenings and simplifying the overall design of the products), obtaining reliable data on used materials and many other topics.

Results from the entire programme will surely be excellent! Stay tuned for more.

As the application period closes, we are excited to introduce to you two more participants to the programme, Paree Group and Easy-Laser