The role of digitization for circular business models

To achieve a circular economy, the built environment sector must rethink how buildings are designed and how business and projects are carried out.

You can state that policy-initiated requirements such as climate declarations and CSRD push towards a digital development to structure and track, among other things, material use. A business model clarifies how companies create, capture and deliver values.

A circular business model strives to slow down, reduce or even "shut down" resource flows so that growth and resource consumption are gradually decoupled.

The opportunity digitalized circular business models can be used for is as a tool for companies that want to integrate sustainability values and goals in their operations.From research and in practice, it has been shown that a circular business model presupposes three things.Digitization to meet complex and interconnected needs,Circular flows should be organized as an ecosystem-like collaboration, andCircular business models are interdependent on policy-driven changes and companies acting proactively.The path towards transformation, digital and circular, in the built environment begins at project level and then leads to transformation at industry level.

These two steps, i.e. the connection between the project´s finances and the company´s transformation towards circularity, are a central "nut" to crack.

A central question therefore becomes the focus on the value proposition in the project itself, i.e., what should be circulated and how should a business model create and deliver value forExtended lifespan of construction works,Increased circularity of buildings,Material compensation,Flexible and adaptable design for new production, andFunction sales.The project considers circular transformation at the policy level but concentrates on opportunities at the company level.

The aim of the project is therefore to jointly discuss and find opportunities, barriers, and examples of:How value propositions could be designed,What can/should be circulated,The role of digitalization,What roles should companies take in a circular ecosystem,How to gradually transition to circularity and at the same time create value in project finance and different business logics in the ecosystem, andHow to act jointly on policy rules and new requirement criteria.The research approach in the project is a so-called Mode II.

Co-producing research takes place interactively between researchers and actors from the sector so that knowledge production can create a change that takes practical needs and research approaches into account at the same time.

The intention is to demonstrate how companies can gradually improve their positions and risk analyses that enable the emergence of circular business models.

The project is carried out as three work packages:Current situation analysis and mapping,Analysis and identification of types of circular business models (containing 3 types of workshops), andKnowledge dissemination.The project is governed by a steering group with representatives from Smart Built Environment´s management.

The project is carried out by two groups, the academic working group from Luleå University of Technology and Linköping University as well as the Industrial focus group whose purpose is to focus the project towards the industrial needs and assist in the analysis of results.

Other industry representatives are actors within public/private developers, architects, consultants, contractors, installers, material suppliers, wholesalers, digital suppliers.

The main part of the project is carried out as a series of workshops: an Inspiration Seminar (experiences from Swedish industrial companies), three Ecosystem Workshops (internal needs and driving forces, wishes of others) and a Focus Group Workshop (the researchers, with the help of the industrial focus group, put forward themes, actors critically review and joint proposals is produced, among other things, identification of research gaps).