Cleaning up the Cycle : A Circular Partnership Case Study

Aim: The aim of this thesis is to describe possible steps of how circular partnerships can be formed, and how they can connect the different steps of a material loop, such as design and recycling. The focus of the empirical study within this thesis is the reconnection of recycling, design and production within the household goods industry. By this we will answer the following research question:“What are the rationales and circumstances needed for separate organizations to develop a sustainability-oriented innovative partnership in the context of the Circular Economy?” The Case: This research project is based on a case study of a collaboration between Stena Recycling AB, a Swedish recycling company, and Electrolux AB, a global appliances producer. Together those two companies formed a pilot project, called the “Infinity Project”, whose goal is to produce a vacuum cleaner which is made out of 100% post-consumer recycled materials, and is 100% recyclable. Methodology: The researchers participated in the meetings of the Infinity Project, and interviewed the people who were involved in the beginning of the collaboration. The research is done in an abductive process, as literature was analyzed that explained the findings made in our observations. From the theory and our findings we created a model, which helps explain the what, why, and how of Stena Recycling AB and Electrolux AB reconnecting recycling with design and production processes. Key findings: Through industrial symbiotic lenses and a corporate social innovation mindset the two companies recognized the enormous amount of waste as a problem of linear business models. With a mindset driven by corporate social innovation, they saw the potential of a collaboration in order to achieve a shared competitive advantage. By selecting each other as a partner for this circular economic collaboration, they identified how they could combine their respective knowledge and resources to reach their mutual goals. Through a long term strategic approach with a clear and shared vision, clear targets from the directing management, and a team with complementary skills, many program synergies have been realized, with potentially outsized successes for each organization. This setting also created an environment of trust and a common identity within the project, which was fundamental to create social innovation and to find successful ways to reconnect recycling with design and production. Additionally, the existence of the project within each organization seemed to function as a talent magnet, attracting like-minded sustainability-motivated talent who would best perform towards the goals of the project