Green Design - Circular and sustainable production investments

Purpose and goal:

With an extremely large investment portfolio in Swedish factories over the next 20-years, innovative approaches are needed in order not to permanent unsustainable technology solutions, designed according to the linear model (take-make-waste). The right eligibility requirements must already be set in the investment projects, as it governs subsequent phases.

GREEN DESIGN is about designing for circularity and resource efficiency in investment projects to create sustainable factories. Project partners are AstraZeneca, Scania, Volvo CE, Elektroautomation, MDU, RISE & KTH. Expected results and effects:

GRÖN DESIGN intends to create: Reduced resource use and CO2 footprint from production (1) through solutions that extend the life of production equipment (2), as well as increase sustainability in the operational phase (3) and move from CAPEX to OPEX where equipment is leased (4), contribute to knowledge transfer for public investments (5), strengthens the business benefit and international competitiveness of Swedish machine suppliers (6), and disseminates research results and influences on policy level via the consortium, as well as the Delegation for Cirkulär Ekonomi.

Approach and implementation:

The aim is to develop knowledge on green production design via case studies and pilots in selected investment projects at the partners. The results are then translated into a green design methodology with circular design principles and guidelines. The Green Kaizen environmental map forms the basis for creating a green toolbox for requirements and design of production equipment, factory buildings and media.

The project is carried out in 5 work packages: Project management, Knowledge building, Knowledge development, Development of a green design methodology, and Demonstrators.