Circular business – trendy buzzword or consumption of the future?
As part of Sustainability Week at Lund University, LUSEM arranged a special episode of the popular live broadcast Morning Talks which focused on sustainability, circular business and the circular economy. And I was invited to take part.
The lovely Louise Larsson moderated a conversation between me (who she described as ‘the consumer expert who stopped shopping’) and Therese Gerdman, Marketing & Communication manager at Inter IKEA. We talked about what exactly a circular economy is and how it differs from a circular business model as well as discussing how brave companies need to be if they are to succeed in making their production more sustainable and circular.
The conversation was held in English and broadcast live on YouTube and we got lots of questions from the viewing public, which is always nice. One of the best questions we received from the public was aimed at Therese. She was asked about IKEA’s plan to become 100% circular by 2030 (that means that they will use 100% recycled and repurposed materials to produce their products rather than new resources). More specifically, Therese was asked what will happen if IKEA doesn’t manage to become fully circular by 2030. Her answer, in my opinion was magnificent. She said, “At least we gave it a try right?”
“At least we gave it a try right?”
I thought it was so refreshing to hear an organisation admit that they don’t have all the answers but that they will do their best nonetheless. I am so used to hearing inflated and often meaningless promises from businesses and politicians that this simple truth really hit home. Like the rest of us, the people who work at IKEA are doing their best to do the right thing but also understand that it might not be enough. That doesn’t mean that they will stop trying if this plan doesn’t work. Rather it suggest (to me at least) that they are not trying to present a greenwashed image of a perfectly sustainable organisation. They are being transparent and honest, which is scarily refreshing these days!
If you missed the live broadcast, you can catch the recording on LUSEM’s YouTube channel.
Sustainability Week is an annual event in Lund organised as a joint venture by Lund University and the City of Lund. Sustainability week serves as a platform for bringing together ideas, for cross-disciplinary collaborations, for raising public awareness and for inspiring sustainable change.
