Resource-Efficient and Effective Solutions (REES) based on circular economy thinking is a 4-year programme run by a consortium of leading Swedish universities, large and small companies and societal actors, and is funded by MISTRA. The programme’s vision is to advance the transition of the Swedish manufacturing industry towards a circular and sustainable economy. 

The REES programme comprises seven interrelated projects. The first project provides a knowledge foundation for the rest of the programme by exploring under what conditions, and for what types of products and sectors, circular solutions are more resource efficient, as well as the market and policy drivers and barriers for REES. On this foundation stand three projects on product and service design, business models, and policies for REES. A synthesis project will then set out to understand the interrelations between product and service design, business models and policies, and explore opportunities for effective interplay between them. 

IIIEE will have the main responsibility for research related to business models and policies. 

The REES consortium consists of three academic partners (Linköping University, Lund University and Chalmers University of Technology), five large companies (Attends Healthcare AB, Ericsson AB, Stena Recycling AB, Volvo Group, Volvo Car Group), seven SMEs (Godsinlösen, HTC Sweden AB, Inrego AB, Off2Off, Polyplank AB, Qlean Scandinavia AB, and Ståthöga MA Teknik AB), two non-profit organizations (Din Fabrik and Stpln), and two municipalities (Lund and Malmö).

RESULTS 

The programme has recently started. The IIIEE has hired three new PhDs. In total the REES programme has 9 PhD students. The IIIEE has initiated work with REES partners, which will lead to several master thesis projects in the near future, and later on to case studies to become important part of the PhD dissertations. So far, the work of the IIIEE researchers has resulted in four publications and one master thesis. In March a meeting among the academic partners was held, where the development of a joint textbook on circular economy was discussed. 

IIIEE students have started to be actively involved in REES research by conducting course work with REES companies. For example, three ARSCP course topics are currently being researched with Volvo Group AB and Godsinlösen AB. In addition, a group of students participates in a Strategic Environmental Development exercise at Volvo Group AB headquarters in Göteborg in April 2016. At least three thesis topics of relevance for the REES programme are being planned for 2016.

Researchers at the IIIEE:  Oksana Mont, Andrius Plepys, Carl Dalhammar, Leonidas Milios, Julia Nussholz, Katherine Whalen

See more: REES - Resource Efficient and Effective Solutions