Mapping out and overcoming barriers for circular products: the policy context for corporations that want to “go circular”

A general problem for corporations with a circular business model concerns their potential to compete in an economy that is, still, predominantly ‘linear’. They often need public policy interventions to get a foothold and compete in the market.

Policymakers often underestimate these challenges, and we see a need for more research on concrete company cases, with a “bottom-up” perspective, where the real-life concerns of companies are identified and presented to policymakers.

The aim of this project is to originate from the “going circular” efforts in one case study industry – Zound Industries International AB – and use this case to identify key barriers for the development of more circular product and service offerings, and business models.

The project has three main steps: analysing barriers and map out existing and proposed policies in Europe and the US; match the key barriers to potential policy interventions, and; propose a detailed package of policies and measures to address the barriers. Experts at Zound will work closely with researchers at Lund University during all parts of the project.

The NGO Repair & Share will support the project through their knowledge of EU policy processes, and they will also represent civil society and independent repairers. A stated aim of the project is to influence policy processes, especially at the EU level.