Caroline Düberg Martinsson is the innovation coach passionate about the circular economy

Region Västra Götaland is continuing its circular economy initiative with the aim of strengthening collaboration and accelerating the pace of the ongoing circular transition. Almost 100 business coaches are taking part in the "Circular Design & New Business" challenge, one of them is our innovation leader Caroline Düberg Martinsson.

Regional Development Region Västra Götaland interviewed Caroline about circularity and the challenge.

- Today's lifestyle is unsustainable, we need to start doing things differently and think circularly. We've often gotten away from thinking resource efficiently and need to create a culture and an economy that doesn't reward waste.

Caroline Düberg Martinsson is an innovation manager at Wargön Innovation and is passionate about circularity. She is one of almost 100 innovation coaches who are part of the Västra Götaland region's "Circular Design & New Business" challenge.

Caroline has extensive experience working on sustainability issues, and her interest in the circular economy arose from a frustration that so much in the textile industry was not working.

- We have grown up with things being a certain way, and we stick to it. But now the old habits don't work anymore and we have to rethink. It's a big challenge for everyone, both economically and culturally," says Caroline.

From waste to resource

Wargön Innovation specializes in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the development and commercialization of new innovative products, processes and business models. Here you can test new technologies and new methods to take steps towards the circular business. The focus is on textile and bio-based materials, but especially industrial textile sorting. In its test and demo environment, Wargön Innovation has an automated textile sorting system that can sort by material and color. Work is also underway to see how machine learning and AI can support an efficient sorting process.

- The aim is for each item to end up with the right recipient, so that what would have become textile waste instead becomes a raw material in a new business model. In concrete terms, this could mean that a washed-out hollow T-shirt can be recycled and become new textile fiber, while a pair of broken jeans ends up in a flow where they are repaired and can be put back on the market," says Caroline.

With all textiles entering a circular flow, an efficient sorting process is key to developing circular products and services for the textile industry.

- In a circular economy, what is waste in a traditional linear economy should instead become a resource for someone else in the circular economy. In the case of textiles, it is about reusing and recycling to increase the lifespan of the material, for greater resource efficiency and less environmental impact.

Innovation training provided new tools

Despite her previous experience in the field, Caroline thinks she learned a lot during her training in Västra Götaland's innovation system. And she is looking forward to working on the challenge itself, which involves coaching companies in Västra Götaland to transition to the new, circular economy.

- It was a great training. I got a whole toolbox of different models and examples I can use in my job. But most importantly, I got contacts and a large network that I can talk to. Basically, all innovation coaches share the same issues, even if they are in different industries. Now it's so exciting to finally be up and running! It's really a huge team effort to support businesses in the region to transform. And this challenge we have taken on will be a catalyst that will lead to a plethora of new solutions," says Caroline.

Making circular loops profitable

At the same time, Caroline sees major challenges for companies, not least the current economic situation, which affects companies' ability to adapt quickly. "Basically, it's about creating business models that make the circular loops profitable. Packaging the offer so that it appeals to the customer and is relevant in the new economy. But here, Caroline believes there are also new opportunities, as companies with a circular offering can strengthen their relationship with customers.

- In a linear economy, the product disappears with the customer, while in a circular economy, you can have a relationship with the customer throughout the use phase.

Transitioning takes time

For her part, Caroline sees a challenge in the challenge itself. Converting a company that thinks in a linear way to become circular is not done in a flash. You have to work with the entire value chain and work in stages. At the same time, she wants to be able to demonstrate important, clear results during the challenge itself.

- Now it's time for action. After the initial training, in the challenge we leave the theoretical and work practically with the companies. It's great fun," Caroline concludes.

Read more about the Circular Design and New Business Challenge

Read more about Region Västra Götaland's Circular Business Models initiative