GERG Workshop “Circular Economy in Switzerland 2018 - the way ahead"

The workshop has become the kick-off activity based on the Circular Economy (CE) work that the GERG team at EPFL is developing. The long-term objective of the project is to support the transition towards CE within canton Vaud and outside.

This workshop was focused on businesses and their experience with Circular Economy practices in Switzerland, followed by a panel discussion hosting all pillars of the Quadruple Helix model (businesses, government, academia/research, citizens/users). Furthermore, the idea of the creation of Living Lab Lausanne (3L), with a major focus on CE, has been presented and discussed. Another important objective of this meeting was the exploration for potential collaborations and partnerships to engage in multi-stakeholder co-creation practices within the lab.

The program has comprised two main parts: input into discussion and the discussion itself.

In the first part, Dr. Darya Gerasimenko (EPFL, HSG, SSAU) presented an overview of the drivers of Circular Economy business practices as well as cooperation possibilities for the CE transformation focusing on living lab as a tool for stimulating and co-creating innovation followed by the insights from best practices in Switzerland. Three companies came to share their experiences, representing various types of enterprises: large and international company in CE transition (Logitech represented by Ms. Caroline Kennedy), family SME in the CE transition (Vögeli AG represented by Mr. Markus Vögeli), “new circular” business (Neovili represented by Ms. Milena Amaral).

In the second practical part, participants got an opportunity to exchange business experiences with respect to the CE transformation in small groups. Later on, working groups shared their thoughts with the panellists. The panellists (representing the city of Lausanne (Ms. Samira Dubart), CleanTech Alps (Ms. Sara Manzano) and the consumers’ association of Romandie (Ms. Laurianne Altwegg) as well as academia (Prof. Bruno Oberle)) have presented their perspectives as well as commented on the outcomes of the group discussions. This sharing and exchange of visions and thoughts was very interesting, intense and engaging.

The working groups identified barriers that still undermine the success of CE transition in Switzerland: among those are technology availability, extra costs, sourcing CE-based materials, consumer “linear model” culture etc. They also brainstormed about some solutions focusing on collaborative mind-sets across all pillars of the Quadruple Helix model (businesses, government, academia/research, citizens/users) as well as on trust building to enhance co-creation of solutions, such as some measurable “deliverables”.

During the apéro the discussion continued with informal exchanges and networking. Participants of the workshop additionally emphasized the importance of networking, knowledge and experience sharing on the various elements and practices of CE. All the dynamics within the workshop as well as the feedbacks are thoroughly recorded and studied by the team of 3L to make the Living Lab Lausanne (3L) setting a great place to co-create Circular Economy solutions within Switzerland.