Cross-border cooperation among companies operating in the circular economy sector remains stuck in the starting blocks. Now, however, a group of initiatives and companies in Switzerland and Slovenia, as well as from Denmark and the USA, has made an effort to change this situation. According to a statement, the group sent a joint delegation to the LOOP Forum for this purpose. The nordic countries’ largest circular economy event took place in Copenhagen at the end of April and attracted around 3,000 participants.
Several of the participating Swiss initiatives and companies also appeared together on panels, including ALDEA, iceep and LaserLab. The Zurich-based initiative ALDEA aims to bring people together for sustainable work. Its team includes Fyona Seguin, the founder of Looply, a platform for trading pre-owned branded goods that is based in London. She points out that the most significant hurdles for a circular economy are not linked to the materials or technology, but rather to the commitment shown by people, the trust required for this and the local relevance of circular systems.
Iceep is a provider of takeback solutions for used products and is operated by Innovopolis AG from Uster in the canton of Zurich. LaserLab AG, based in Aadorf in the canton of Thurgau, has developed a technology that extends the service life of machines on the basis of laser-assisted surface treatment. LaserLab also established contact with the ReManufactory initiative of the Technical University of Denmark.
Moreover, Swiss representatives were involved in the numerous workshops organized during the LOOP forum. For example, Climatex from Altendorf in the canton of Schwyz presented its Stitchlock thread, which can be dissolved in water.
The delegation was organized by the entrepreneur Julie Harboe in cooperation with Nina Meglic from the Slovenian cleantech organization ACT SI and Christian Häuselmann from the Zurich-based Yodel Foundation. The group will also be taking part in the 9th International Conference for Technologies and Business Models for Circular Economy (tbmCE), which is being held this September in Portorož, Slovenia, as well as the Circulator Forum in Bern this November. ce/ug