The Nordic Circular Economy Playbook is a concrete tool in the Nordic Council of Ministers’ work towards the 2030 vision of the Nordic region becoming the most sustainable and integrated region in the world.
“The change towards a more circular economy is motivated by our common responsibility to create a more sustainable Nordic region, but it is also a question of the future viability of Nordic businesses. The real game changer is that businesses that do not change will fall behind. They will have higher costs, less market access, and be hit harder by future regulations”, says Marthe Haugland, Senior Innovation Adviser at Nordic Innovation.

All innovation happens as a result of bringing bright minds together, and that is what we are trying to do.
– Marthe Haugland, Nordic Innovation
Providing the tools for successful transition
“If the businesses in the Nordic region do not succeed with the green transformation, we will see a loss of jobs, declining value creation and tax revenues, resulting in an inability to maintain welfare. It is not only about the endurance of nature, but also about the economic sustainability of the Nordic countries”, says Haugland.
Nordic Innovation’s role in the green transformation is to share insights, enable cooperation between ecosystems, kickstart innovation, and share tools to help businesses succeed with the circular transition.
“You cannot make it alone”
With the Circular Business Models in the Nordic Manufacturing Industry project, Nordic Innovation aims to enable the creation of unique Nordic value chains, competence building in ecosystems, and collaboration between Nordic companies.
“We see that establishing networks at a Nordic level has a value in its own terms. By bringing together companies, entrepreneurs, capital, experts, and authorities we can trigger new innovations in the Nordic circular economy just by establishing new connections in and between the Nordic countries. All innovation happens as a result of bringing bright minds together, and that is what we are trying to do”, says Haugland.
The tools in the playbook were used with great success in our workshops, and we saw how it is possible for businesses to cooperate across borders.
– Marthe Haugland, Nordic Innovation
“We want to challenge industries for a circular future. With the Playbook you will get the hands-on tools to adopt circular business models tailored for the manufacturing industries. The Playbook introduces a circular value chain and new ways of collaboration. It can inspire new income streams, adoption of new digital technologies, bring your closer to solving your customer needs, save costs and help save the planet.”