Delegation for a circular economy
Ylva Norén is the Chancellor of the Delegation for Circular Economy. The chancellery is located at the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth and supports the Delegation for circular economy. The purpose is to create a point of contact between the state, business, academia, regions and civil society so that they can work together with circular economy. Ylva has most recently held a position at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, where she has worked with forest issues, among other things. She has extensive experience from the Government Offices and is described as a network builder. In this interview, she answers our questions regarding circular economy and what the Delegation is working on.
Ylva, you are the head of the secretariat for the circular economy delegation. What does the delegation do? What are your tasks?
The delegation for circular economy has the government's task of strengthening society's transition from a linear to a circular, bio-based and resource-efficient economy. It is, for example, about developing proposals for cost-effective instruments and constituting a node for all actors in society who work with the transition. We have recently presented a new website with the ambition that everyone who is interested in circular economy should be able to find answers to their questions or information on how to apply further. As head of the office, I lead the work at the office and I and my employees ensure that the Delegation can deliver according to its assignment. The Delegation includes a reference group and a number of expert groups that look at limited issues with great potential and significance for a circular adjustment. Many suggestions and ideas about collaboration come to the office and we all take a closer look at them and present them to the Delegation.
How would you describe circular economy?
There are very many definitions, but I want to emphasize that everyone has a role to play in Sweden's adjustment. We need to see the resource in much more of what we today classify as waste and this applies from the individual household to the large company in the global export market. By recycling and reusing, we can reduce the extraction of virgin resources and contribute to the generational goal in the Swedish environmental goals - to hand over to the next generation a society where the major environmental problems are solved, without causing increased environmental and health problems outside Sweden's borders. It is also important to see that the circular flow starts in the design phase of both production processes and products. When you stand with the consumed item by the trash, or the heat that was just wasted in a production process, it is too late. Just reuse - to extend both product and material life - is of great importance for the transition.Why is it so important for Sweden to invest in a circular economy?
It is important for the whole world to move from a linear to a circular economy. The government presented its national strategy for the circular economy this summer and put Sweden on the global circular map. Sweden has good prospects of becoming a leading player in the transition. Climate measures and the circular economy are closely linked, and Sweden has embarked on a journey towards fossil freedom. Sweden is also an important industrial nation, for example in forestry, and is well placed in terms of product development of bio-based materials, which can be of great importance in the circular transition both nationally and globally.
What do companies gain from switching to a circular economy?
When readjusting, it may initially lead to an increase of cost , but in the longer term there are financial incentives in the form of, for example, better resource utilization and the construction of industrial symbiosis, where one's 'waste' becomes an asset for the other's product or production process. As the knowledge of what the circular economy is increases, I think you can count on more conscious consumers who demand circularity. The one who can then deliver has a competitive advantage.
Where do you see the biggest challenges ahead of the transition to a circular economy?
Above all, I believe that it is about the need to increase knowledge in society about what a circular economy is. It is not just an environmental issue or an industrial growth issue, but a collaboration that benefits both sectors. The transition may share a challenge with digitalisation - to be placed in a union, when in fact it is about collaborating as much as possible.
What do you think concerning digitization and how digitization could be used to create a circular economy?
It is really only the imagination that sets the limits for how significant digitization can become. Digitization's opportunities for optimization of, for example, processes, material utilization, traceability and information flows can be important building blocks in the transition to a circular economy.
More about the chancellery and information material about circular economy can be found on the Delegation's website.
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