About the VFB project and this web site
This website was created by the project VFB which has received financing from Sweden’s innovation agency, Vinnova. The project was carried out during the period November 2019- November 2023. A presentation of how the project was executed and a summary of its results, in Swedish, can be reached here.
The project investigated whether a system where manufacturers provide white goods as a service to housing associations is economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable.
Full-scale tests were carried out together with the appliance company Electrolux and the housing companies SKB, Förvaltaren AB and ByggVesta AB. The project was led by Tricircular AB and Stairway. A description of all partners and their roles can be found below.
Project background
In a survey during the pre-study for the project, it was found that 68% of the largest public housing companies let white goods from rental apartments that could have been repaired go to material recycling. The two main reasons why appliances were thrown away were that repair was considered more expensive than buying a new product and that it was difficult to get hold of spare parts.
At the same time, there is a growing general interest in circular solutions and new business models. This applies to both housing companies and tenants.
Some of the issues addressed by the project
- What should the buyer of the functional service consider?
- What should the seller of the functional service consider?
- What user behavior and knowledge is important?
- What can affect the environmental impact positively and negatively?
- What is the role of digital technologies/IoT/Big Data/AI?
- What would the public sector do to facilitate and improve functional sales and drive innovation and competition?
The project was organized in 10 work packages
- WP 1 and 2 Project management and communication
- WP 3 Planning, implementation and evaluation of pilots.
- WP 4 Tenant acceptance and behavioral change.
- WP 5 Development of procurement and sales models for white goods service.
- WP 6 Environmental analysis and life cycle assessment
- WP 7 Technical platform and development of connected products.
- WP 8 Design and engineering
- WP 9 Public procurement, policy and management tools.
- WP 10 System analysis and evaluation of impact logic.
- Description of the different work packages and their deliverables can be found here.
System effects that the project can contribute to
The project was assumed to have the potential to contribute to a circular economy through the experiences from the pilots that were carried out and through the dissemination increased practical knowledge of circular business models.
Direct results were created in the respective work packages, and they can have systemic effects in the short term 3-5 years and in the longer term 6-10 years. An overview of expected system effects can be found here.