Co-creation – a facilitator for circular economy implementation? A case study in the kitchen industry

Paper in proceeding, 2019

Although the concept of Circular Economy (CE) has gained significant attention in business and academia, knowledge and strategies on how to bring circularity into practice still remains limited. Most research efforts are theoretical and focus on waste handling, resource use and environmental impact. Only few studies focus on the practical implementation of CE. There is a lack of research on practical cases, where both the design process and involved stakeholders are considered. This paper reports on a case study carried out in collaboration with a Scandinavian kitchen manufacturer, to increase the understanding on how co-creation strategies can contribute to the implementation of circular economy in the kitchen industry. Based on three workshops followed by five interviews with workshop participants, insights have been gained regarding barriers and opportunities for implementation of circular economy in small manufacturing firms. Results indicate that the co-creation workshops have led to an increased understanding of CE and change of attitude towards CE among the participants.