Nordic Circularity Piloting Program for Technical Building Solutions

The Program's kick-off session provided an overview of circularity in technical building equipment, focusing on the current state and emerging opportunities. Participants gained insights from industry cases and heard from companies actively engaged in the circular economy.

SEMINAR SPEAKERS AND TOPICS:

• Introduction to the day, Melissa Kanerva, Program manager, Combient Pure
• State of circularity & circularity in the construction industry in the Nordics, Sofia Sundström, Circular Transition Officer, Cradlenet
• Circularity in technical installations, Ulla Janson, Senior Lecturer, Installation and Air Conditioning Engineering, Lund University
• Vision and emerging opportunities in circularity, Malin Belfrage, Senior Project Manager Sustainability, Vasakronan
• Circularity calls for new cooperations, Mikael Börjesson, Director Sustainability and External Relation & Caroline Jacobsson, Key Account Manager, Swegon
• Next steps & closing words, Melissa Kanerva, Program manager, Combient Pure

The hybrid event was followed by a matchmaking sessions for onsite participants, including company pitches on circularity activities and 1-to-1 speed dating between companies.

See recordings and the recap of the session

The second session focused on aligning value chain collaboration and decision making within the construction process to enable circularity in technical building equipment. Participants explored business models like reuse, refurbishment and take-back schemes.

SEMINAR SPEAKERS AND TOPICS:

• Introduction to the day, Melissa Kanerva, Program manager, Combient Pure
• Scoping circularity in – How decision making in the construction process needs to change to enable circularity, Skanska
• Insights from the Finnish Technical Installations’ reuse project, Charlotte Nyholm, Chief Specialist, Sustainable Construction, Granlund
• Cutting carbon and learnings from KONE’s Elevator Modernization and Reuse, Mari Lemberg, Circularity and Sustainability & Natasha Rubanin-Hildén, Senior manager, Sustainability, KONE
• Energy efficiency improvement as an enabler to circularity, Nikolas Salomaa, CEO, Nolla_E
• Next steps & closing words, Melissa Kanerva, Program manager, Combient Pure

The hybrid event was followed by a matchmaking sessions for onsite participants, including company pitches on circularity activities and 1-to-1 speed dating between companies.

See recordings and the recap of the session

The third session focused on the collaboration and partnerships needed to enable the circularity of technical installations. Participants explored how partnerships across the value chain can help overcome barriers such as dismantling, reverse logistics, and product recovery.

SEMINAR SPEAKERS AND TOPICS:

• Introduction to the day, Melissa Kanerva, Program manager, Combient Pure
• Action plan, guides and collaborative working methods for reuse of technical installations – examples from Swedish development projects, Johanna Andersson, Circular construction and reuse expert, IVL
• Value chain partnerships to scale up reuse from dismantling projects, Anastasia Wraa, Head of sustainability and advisory, NG Group / Øst-Riv
• Partnerships to enable dismantling, reverse logistics and product recovery, Klas Österberg, Project manager, Demontera
• Designer’s role in enabling reuse of technical installations: insights from experiences and collaborations, Anders Liaøy, Leader for Sustainability in HVAC, Anna Marwig, Leader for Sustainability Management in Buildings, Multiconsult & Line Røseth Karlsen, Head of Sustainability, Höegh Eiendom
• Next steps & closing words, Melissa Kanerva, Program manager, Combient Pure

The hybrid event was followed by a matchmaking sessions for onsite participants, including company pitches on circularity activities and 1-to-1 speed dating between companies.

See recordings and the recap of the session

The session was an official World Circular Economy Forum Side Event

The focus of the last value chain session, Planning and Preparing for Circular Pilots, was on how to turn circular ideas into concrete pilots, exploring the practical steps needed to design and pilot circular solutions in technical building systems. Participants heard from leading industry actors who are already piloting and scaling circular business models such as Product-as-a-Service, take-back schemes, and refurbishment programs.

SEMINAR SPEAKERS AND TOPICS:

• Introduction to the day, Melissa Kanerva, Program manager, Combient Pure
• Turning ideas into action - Building the business case for circular pilots to succeed, Arup
• Company case presentations on initiating circular pilots
  • Danfoss – Take-Back & Refurbishment, Rasmus Jorgensen
  • Kaer – Cooling-as-a-Service, Dave Mackerness
  • Adapteo - Space-as-a-Service, Mariana Edge
• Next steps & closing words, Melissa Kanerva, Program manager, Combient Pure

The hybrid event was followed by a matchmaking sessions for onsite participants, including company pitches on circularity activities and 1-to-1 speed dating between companies.

See recordings and the recap of the session

The Nordic Circularity Piloting Program continues in fall 2025 with real-life pilots on circular concepts for technical building equipment. Read more about the piloting phase, or sign up to our newsletter list to hear when dates are announced for our open spring 2026 events, where we will present learnings from the pilots.