Data4Circularity – towards a data-driven circular economy in Finland, 16 February 2022

Europe is speeding up the twin transition towards digitalization and circularity. There are dozens of public and private  initiatives, but which of them will eventually change the game? And what would it mean for a country such as  Finland to stand out as a twin transition  frontrunner?

This online event is free of charge. It will serve  thought-provoking debates and cases and shed light on some of our most interesting  projects and research results related to circular ecosystems and accelerators, Gaia-X, data, tools and technologies, system mappings and governance initiatives. 

Find the event materials and recording here (until 18.3.2022)

Data4Circularity – Towards a data-driven circular economy in Finland 

16 February 2022

9.00–14.30 Online

Organisers

Circular Design Innovation Community, Circular Design Network Project, 

VTT, Syke, Aalto, GTK, Luke, Motiva Services

9.00-12.15 Plenary 

Sketchnoting by Linda Saukko-Rauta / Redan Redan

Welcome and introduction to the theme of the day, Annukka Berg, SYKE & Vesa Silfver, Motiva Services 

EU’s twin transition towards digital and circular economy,  Annika Hedberg, European Policy Centre 

Commentaries:

Mapping the twin transition – Our key findings and biggest surprises, Liisa Pesonen, Luke 

The unturned stones – Stakeholder perspectives to data use and opportunities for a circular economy, Inka Orko, VTT

Data giants as game changers, Juha-Pekka Raeste, Helsingin Sanomat

The state and promotion of a data-driven circular economy in Finland – What steps are being taken in circular and artificial intelligence programs? Sari Tasa, TEM

Cases: Understanding batteries, textiles and food/carbon as systems and key value chains

Textiles, Pirjo Heikkilä, VTT

Batteries, Sonja Lavikko, GTK

Food/carbon, Eeva Lehtonen, Luke

Launching the Handbook for a Data-driven Circular Economy in Finland – Data Sources, Tools and Governance for Circular Design, Tommi Kauppila, GTK 

Commentaries: 

Why more is not always merrier – The amount of data is increasing, but we could use it better, Susanna Horn, SYKE

Leading global circular practices – from insight to action, Wesley Spindler, Accenture

Commentaries and cases:

Accelerating ecosystems for circular and digital twin transition in Finland, Paula Eskola, Motiva Services 

 LOOP as an accelerator towards circularity, Moona Pohjola, Verona Growth

Gaia-X and circular economy, Anssi Komulainen, Sitra & Päivi Kivikytö-Reponen, VTT

Commentaries: 

Experiences and opportunities related to Gaia-X – Finnish working group perspective, Ilkka Lakaniemi, Aalto

Decentralization paves the way for a circular economy, Kristiina Valtanen, VTT

13.00-14.30 Workshops 

Workshop 1: Do we need national initiatives to promote a data-driven circular economy?

Finland has adopted a new strategic programme to promote a circular economy. In the programme, digitalization is seen as one of the key enablers of circularity.  At the same time, the EU is proceeding on several frontiers to speed up the twin transition. What would be a feasible national strategy in this situation? Should we just wait and implement what is coming from the EU? Or is there space for an active national role and forward-looking initiatives? Could pioneering work even provide some advantages? What could such initiatives, e.g. active work in international contexts, financial instruments, regulatory sandboxes, be? In this workshop, we dig into these questions and seek to find some preliminary ideas for national initiatives and policies. 

Workshop 2: Sustainable circular design – From knowledge to action

In design, the usability of data in its raw form is low – it needs to be further processed, analyzed and prioritized in order to become valuable knowledge for  decision-making. Furthermore, the knowledge should finally lead to concrete actions and design improvements in the underlying systems. Commonly, design actions are expected to lead to overall improvements but often they may incur tradeoffs between multiple sustainability impacts. What is “sustainable circular design”? Who are the relevant actors in it? Which factors are determining the applicability of “sustainable circular design” in different industries? How does data on environmental impacts support the design of sustainable circular supply chains? Are tradeoffs acceptable and how should they be integrated into decision-making frameworks? This session presents a holistic decision-making framework to support sustainable circular design and aims to discuss the gaps, benefits and practical use cases with the participants. 

For more information, please contact:

Annukka Berg, annukka.berg@syke.fi, 050-3480 919

Milja Räisänen, milja.raisanen@syke.fi, 029-5252 085