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Sweden

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Circle Economy
Overview
Introduction
Measuring the Circularity of SwedenScoping and trade dynamicsPractical challenges in quantifying circularity
Circularity Indicator Set
Material flow and footprints
Sizing Sweden's GapThe material footprint satisfying societal needsFamously low-carbon — but also highly material-intensiveA global standout for mineral, metal and biomass extractionExpanding building stock and thriving manufacturing industryA key player on the global scene with thriving trade
Bridging Sweden's Circularity GapConstruct a circular built environmentCultivate a thriving food systemMake manufacturing circularReshape extractive industriesDrive a clean mobility forwardDesign conscious consumablesCombined interventionsRoot causes preventing the realisation of 'what-if' scenarios
Recommendations

Make manufacturing circular

The manufacturing industry is a massive global consumer of resources: making the machines we use to get through everyday life, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive and vast quantities of other products stocked on shelves around the world. Sweden has a strong and highly diversified manufacturing sector: it's pivotal for employment in the country, and it represents three-quarters of the value of Swedish exports—but its material and carbon footprint is substantial. Key sub-sectors—from steel, automotive, chemical and forestry to industrial machinery and food processing equipment—dominate the manufacturing landscape. The industry is already modernising, with the Swedish government encouraging circular production measures from digitalisation to resource-efficiency [107]—and notably, the service content of industrial goods has grown over recent years. More and more, the industrial sector is selling complete solutions rather than a simple product, indicating a dynamic spirit receptive to innovation. Sweden's progress in this area is largely supported by government policy, such as the Smart Industrial Strategy [108], and further mobilised by multi-stakeholder research such as the Roadmap for Increased Uptake of Industrial Symbiosis in Sweden [109]—in which goals to reach standards for sustainability are matched by aims to remain competitive. Efforts, however, largely focus on decarbonisation: strong strategies backing material efficiency—for example, via waste prevention and utilisation, and material savings—are largely lacking.[110] While circularity has a ways to go in permeating the Swedish industrial sector, a cultural tendency towards innovation and reception to new technologies supports this transition.

In this 'what if' scenario for Sweden's manufacturing sector, we outline opportunities for the country to boost its circularity while cutting the sector's heavy material footprint.

Impact on Sweden's circularity

Scaling resource-efficient manufacturing processes—run by durable, long-lasting equipment—could decrease Sweden's material footprint by 5.3%, with a concurrent boost in the Metric of 0.19 percentage points (including extractive waste) (0.24 percentage points excluding extractive waste). Efficiency gains would see the advent of many co-benefits, from decreased energy use to lowered emissions. Increasing durability would bring about several new employment opportunities, ranging across practices like repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing. Sweden manufacturing companies would benefit, too: already competitive, the uptake of circular business models, from servitisation and reverse logistics to leasing and rental models, could strengthen Swedish industries' position on the global market.

Sweden's manufacturing success, from sustainable steel to circular business models

Sweden's steel manufacturing sector is known worldwide for its efforts in sustainability. In 2018, it launched a Fossil free road map [114] saturated with circular strategies, from cutting material consumption and extending product lifetimes, to maximising the use of recycled materials. Three years later, Sweden's manufacturers made headlines for producing the world's first 'fossil-free steel'. [115] Stockholm-based project H2GS is similarly using green hydrogen to produce 'green steel'[116]—and both projects show just how close collaboration among supply chain actors can give rise to impressive technological breakthroughs. Swedish manufacturing companies are also increasingly integrating circular practices into their business models and offerings. Gothenburg-based SKF—a global giant in the manufacturing sector—has introduced an integrated solutions programme, SKF Rotation for Life, where clients can secure a performance-based agreement combining bearing technology, failure detectability and reliability services in one integrated package for rotating equipment.[117] Cleaning and municipal machinery supplier Hako has introduced an agreement where clients have access to fixed monthly costs for reparation and maintenance, spare parts and trainings for correct product use.[118] Epiroc, a world leader in the manufacturing of mining and construction equipment, is now embracing a Batteries-as-a-Service model for its battery-powered electric vehicles: the company claims full responsibility for batteries' certification, maintenance and upgrades.[119]

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Cultivate a thriving food system
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Reshape extractive industries

The Circularity Gap Report is an initiative of Circle Economy, an impact organisation dedicated to accelerating the transition to the circular economy.

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