Abstracts Engineering

Developing a digital tool for innovating on circular strategies

by Matilda Larson

The continuing advancement of technology and increase of consumption globally in recent decades has led to severe environmental problems related to exploitation of natural resources. Circular Economy (CE) is an approach with the possibility for businesses of using material and energy resources more efficiently, keeping products or material in the loop for longer. Eco consulting companies are becoming common to aid businesses in sustainability assessments. Even in this field the focus has for a long time been on improving products’ circular abilities, while in the systems where they are being used, a linear approach is still being applied. To fully reach the potential of a CE approach, the linear systems need to become circular. In recent years, designers and researchers have tried to facilitate this transition by developing tools for Circular Business Model Innovation (CBMI). Yet, many of them are hard to find, not comprehensive enough to use on their own or require extensive reading to understand. This master thesis project presents the creation of a digital collaborative tool for CBMI, collecting and presenting existing methods in a user-friendly way. It is meant to be used by eco consultants or businesses wanting to develop a Circular Business Model (CBM). The tool consists of an interactive project planner, a library of worksheets, and additional functionality for further developing the tool. It is delivered on the collaborative platform Miro, with the hope of the tool being open to use for anyone. The project follows the Double Diamond process with a user-centred perspective. The process was iterative and included regular involvement of users in all phases of the project. Various methods were used during the project, some examples are User interviews and observations, Clustering of quotes, Six thinking hats, Concept creation, Branding, A/B testing, and product design. Before initiating the development of the tool an analysis and evaluation of existing tools for CBMI was performed. It was based on tools featured in two review articles and additional tools found through an expert interview and common search engines. Since the stream of literature on the subject is increasing rapidly, having a platform to collect methods might aid companies in finding the right tools for developing CBM. The tool is meant to be developed further by the user and improved alongside the usage. New methods can be added as they are found useful, and new activities from other tools can be added as they are developed in the future. Den framåtskridande utvecklingen av teknologi och den globala ökningen av konsumtion under de senaste decennierna har lett till allvarliga klimatproblem kopplade till exploateringen av naturliga resurser. Cirkulär ekonomi är ett tillvägagångssätt med möjligheten för företag att använda material och energi mer effektivt och behålla produkter och material i ett kretslopp under längre tid. Eco konsult-företag blir alltmer vanliga för att hjälpa företag i…