Being a startup is not easy. Being a circular startup might be even more difficult. However, startups are important drivers in the circular transition. That was among the key messages from this year’s LOOP Forum, a business-focused circular economy forum taking place for the fourth time in Copenhagen.
To highlight the significance of startups in this transition and support their development, Nordic Innovation, in collaboration with Nordic Circular Hotspot, invited selected circular startups from across the Nordic region to exhibit at a joint Nordic stand.
These startups were all nominees from the Nordic Circular Hotspot Award Show, held during the Nordic Circular Summit 2024.
A good opportunity to network
The award winner, Icelandic company Melta, transforms food waste into fertilizer. Participating in LOOP Forum as an exhibitor at the Nordic stand was a valuable experience for the startup.
Björk Brynjarsdóttir, CEO at Melta said:
“It has been really great. We came here looking for potential partners and investors and we spoke with some interesting people. The Nordic stand was a good opportunity for us. We have also taken the opportunity to walk around and be proactive in meeting people. So that has also been really fruitful."
The Danish company, Nuterials, was another exhibitor at the Nordic stand. Nuterials upcycle unutilized walnut shells into durable and eco-friendly materials. The company wants to scale and their participation at LOOP Forum was a good opportunity to look for potential investors.
Maren Bohl, Co-founder at Nuterials said:
“We are looking for companies that are willing to try and adapt to more sustainable materials. But we are also open to talking to investors to scale our production. We have met a lot of interesting companies, and we have gained new ideas on how and where our materials could create an impact.”
Startup collaboration is a win-win
Björk Brynjarsdóttir from Melta also took part in Nordic Innovation’s panel discussion ‘Collaboration with startups for circular success’. The discussion emphasized how collaboration with startups can accelerate the circular transition.
For a small startup like Melta collaborations are important to growth:
“All the major milestones that we have been able to reach have always been through collaboration with municipalities or with corporations,” said Björk Brynjarsdóttir.
The discussion also highlighted the value startups bring to corporate and public-sector partners.
Betina Simonsen, Managing Director at Lifestyle and Design Cluster, shared insights from the Closing Loops program, which focuses on circularity in value chain collaborations. Startups have been involved in the program’s more than 40 partnerships.
“We can see huge benefits when startups become a part of the value chains. The startups are the innovation. It might take a bit more time to work with them. But they create so much value and innovation,” she said.
In addition to exhibiting, the startups had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to potential partners during the forum’s "Speakers' Corner."
Data sharing for circularity
Together with Accenture, Nordic Innovation also hosted a workshop based on the findings from the Nordic Circular Accelerator program. The workshop served as a soft launch of the new Nordic Circular Data Sharing Playbook.
Over the past year, 60 Nordic companies participated in the Nordic Circular Accelerator program. The aim of the program has been to demonstrate the benefits of data-sharing for circularity and show how data can be shared along the value chain. The companies have been organized into 10 collaborations, and over 12 workshops they have explored how to gather and share data between their partners.
The upcoming playbook summarizes key results from the program and offers practical guidance, tools, and insights for companies seeking to implement circular data-sharing practices.
The playbook will be launched on 21 may.
Register for the launch of the Nordic Circular Data Sharing Playbook
