The Nordic Circularity Piloting Program finalized its tour of Nordic capitals with the fourth value chain session on May 15th, 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The final session focused on learnings for planning and preparing for piloting of circular solutions. 70 attendees from across the Nordics came together to hear from case studies exploring circularity in technical building equipment, and what these case studies can tell us about the key enablers of piloting circular business models.
The vibrant energy of the previous three sessions continued into the Piloting Program’s final session, with presentations from industry practitioners, company pitches and 1-to-1 matchmaking to find pilot partners. The lively Q&A sessions and discussions showed that there are no easy answers or pathways to circularity - with the hardest part often being the mindset shift these business models require.
Circularity can’t be achieved in one giant leap - testing creates a foundation for growth
The session’s first inspirational presentation came from Arup, whose experts Peter Vangsbo, Associate Director of Climate and Sustainability Services, Anna Queralt, Senior Consultant, Climate and Sustainability Services and Kimberley Perry, Senior Engineer, Transport Infrastructure and Sustainability, shared Arup's Circular Buildings Toolkit as well as case studies from the company’s experience integrating circularity into projects. The Toolkit was developed in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and aims to redesign design processes based on four principles including building for long-term value, building efficiently and using the right materials. The shared case studies underscored the importance of communication and knowledge sharing across the value chain as a key factor for success.
Next, Rasmus Jørgensen, Circularity Manager from Danfoss, shared a transparent and practical look at the company’s journey toward implementing circular business models, emphasizing that circularity is an ongoing learning process requiring significant effort and a shift in mindset. With practical examples of how the company is building capabilities for and testing product take-back, refurbishment, and disassembly, Danfoss emphasized that the move to circularity is above all, gradual and involves many smaller steps towards the bigger goal of circularity. Challenging legacy assumptions, practicing on products already coming back today, and thinking about future scale were among the key pieces of advice shared for successful piloting.
Reimagining industry norms with servitization business models
The second half of the morning’s presentations turned the focus to servitization as an enabler of the circular economy. To begin with, David Mackerness, Director at Kaer, shared the company’s 12-year transformation from a traditional cooling equipment supplier to a pure Cooling-as-a-Service provider. With Kaer, customers only pay for cooling they use, with no upfront or fixed costs, shifting the responsibility and financial incentives for energy efficiency and sustainability onto the provider. This can enable sharper reductions in energy use and therefore carbon emissions, though country-specific regulatory and financing complexities must be navigated. Key enablers of success for Kaer have been simplifying offerings and pricing for clients, standardizing contracts for clarity and operational efficiency, and ensuring rapid scaling of the business to beat the market.
The last presentation of the day was from Mariana Edge, Group Sustainable Products Manager at Adapteo, who showcased Adapteo's Space-as-a-Service model that uses modular solutions to enable reuse and circularity in the construction industry. With flexible, prefabricated space solutions, such as schools, hospitals, and accommodation, that can be rapidly deployed, disassembled, and refurbished for reuse, Adapteo is able to respond to evolving societal and regulatory needs. In collaboration with Arup, Adapteo is developing a circularity index to quantitatively measure material inflows and outflows, product design, and component longevity to better understand the circularity of the business model.
The Copenhagen session continued in the afternoon with the last company pitches and speed dating sessions to find the best matches for potential pilots. The Program is now moving towards the concrete piloting phase, with applications for real pilots (to take place in fall 2025) open until June 6th. Decisions on which pilots will enjoy the program’s facilitated support and joint communications efforts will be published in mid-June. Read more on the selection criteria, free tools available to help with pilot planning, and how to apply here.
For more information on the Nordic Circularity Piloting Program, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at melissa.kanerva@combient.com.