The construction and real estate industry is one of Sweden's largest consumers of energy andraw materials. According to figures from Boverket, the building industry was responsible for21% of Sweden's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. If Sweden is to fulfil its commitmentsunder the Paris Agreement and at the same time achieve the climate goals for the 2030 Agenda,resourceefficient measures are required immediately. The transition to circular economy can bea vital step in this necessary change. In circular economy, it is crucial to eliminate waste andpollutants which can be achieved by increasing efficiency and maintaining products andmaterials in a circular cycle. The aim of this study is to examine which strategies can be applied to implementing circulareconomy in the construction industry and what opportunities and obstacles they entail. I havealso investigated whether life-cycle assessment can be an effective tool for this implementation.To answer these questions, interviews have been carried through with researchers and businessrepresentatives who have extensive knowledge of sustainable construction and who arecommitted to finding solutions to combat climate change in the construction industry. Anextensive literature study has also been performed. The results indicate that there are several opportunities and sought-after measures with thecircular economy concept, of which the most significant one is its potential to increase resourceefficiency and thereby generate climate benefits. Strategies for the implementation of CEinclude methods such as circular procurement, design for deconstruction, material passports,upcycling and reversible building design. New smart business models can also generate newrevenues and create more employment opportunities. Challenges highlighted in the study are above all lack of financial incentives. For instance, inmost cases, it is at present more profitable to buy virgin than secondary materials. The lack ofspace for intermediate storage of materials to be reused is also a challenge. There is often a lackof knowledge with suppliers and customers. In addition, there are several legal issues regardingthe division of responsibilities and finally the need of more efficient policy instruments.

Industrialization and globalization of companies has promoted fast, easy and profitable business solutions. A linear business model (LBM) is seen as the most common way to do business. However, recent studies have enlightened how LBMs are detrimental to the health and biological cycles of the earth and its inhabitants. To prevent this, circular business models (CBM) are being introduced as a feasible while still profitable solution. CBMs are defined by Oghaze & Mostaghel, (2018), as the “…rationale of how an organisation creates, delivers, and captures value with slowing, closing, or narrowing flows of the resource loops”, as they base their business on products and services designed to close or slowing the resource loops, decreasing the overall need of virgin resources.  However, to make these major changes in the current way of designing products and services has to be made, taking into consideration the change in design objectives from a linear to a circular model. Today, there are many circular design methods (DM) developed by academia to aid designers in designing sustainable products and services, however, the uptake of such DMs in the industry is quite low. Such a low level of uptake is often due to a poor fit between the DM and the context it is adopted in, which does not aid its seamless integration in existing processes.  Therefore, this research aims to identify DM characteristics that will aid industries to be adopted or adapted by companies transitioning towards CBMs. To do so, three research questions were developed: i) What are the most critical internal and external drivers in a company that enable the successful adoption of a circular design method?  ii) What are the contextual barriers that companies encounter when adopting or adapting circular design methods? iii) How can the design method adopted or adapted be evaluated to improve their implementation in a company? To answer these research questions, a survey was initially carried out, and subsequent interviews were conducted amongst participants of five different companies from various sectors and expertise. The survey and interviews were grounded in previous research concerning types of CBM and different types of barriers and drivers influencing the adoption of circular DMs.  The result from the survey indicates that the ability to make trade-offs when confronted with sustainability aspects, management commitment to a CBM, good communication and sharing of environmental knowledge, both through different departments and with external actors like suppliers, as well as allocating resources such as time, personnel, funds, and having clear business incentives are needed to promote the use of circular DMs. From the interviews, it was also found that barriers to the effective use of DMs are lack of environmental knowledge throughout the supply chain and wrong identification of actors in the supply chain as well as limited communication with external actors. Furthermore, the research revealed several characteristics of the DMs such as simplicity, flexibility and informativity need to be adapted to leverage and overcome the identified contextual drivers and barriers respectively, for their successful deployment within the companies.

Material efficiency strategies are of significant importance for the shift towards producing sustainable vehicles and Asynchronous motors (ASM), both for current and new developments. Strategies such as a lightweight design, product lifetime extension, recyclability, and a material selection process based on the three branches of sustainability (ecological, economical, and social). Additionally, this thesis is produced at the request of a case company involved in the production of ASM, with the aim to investigate the sustainability and recyclability of the materials in their current product. This in combination with the importance of circularity, recyclability and resource efficiency, and an increasing market of motors has led to the study’s two research questions (RQ). RQ1: To which degree can carbon dioxide emissions and energy usage be reduced by changing the materials in an ASM rotor? RQ2: How does the changing of the material in the ASM rotor affect the challenges with recycling it? This study contains a theoretical and empirical sub-study. The theoretical sub-study consists of a literature study of published research on the following subjects: Sustainability; sustainable manufacturing; recycled material; recycling processes and circular economy(CE). CE is research in connection to product development. The empirical sub-study is inspired by a policy assessment framework and adapted to fit the thesis. The empirical work contains a life cycle analysis (LCA) with a singular focus on the environmental impact. The work has been conducted during a period of 20 weeks and planned with an agile approach. For the collection of empirical data, six interviews, relevant industrial articles, and the material database Granta EduPack 2022 R2 have been used. Additionally, the thesis contains a comparison between the current material and alternative materials for the ASM rotor. All in all, this has led to a theoretical result with a singular environmental approach to sustainability.     The result of the thesis has partly been the comparison between the current material in the ASM rotor and the proposed materials. The comparison showed that the maximum values for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were equal, and an 8.5 per cent reduction occurred for energy usage. The secondary result is that there are factors that enable and prohibit materials and products’ recyclability potential. Moreover, indicated the result of the thesis that the selection of suitable material could reduce these factors. The authors’ conclusion of the thesis is that a material change has the potential to reduce a product’s current environmental impact, secondary is sustainability a complex term that requires a balance between all three sustainability branches. For future research on the subject is it the author’s recommendation that all three branches of sustainability should be studied in more depth, in connection to the ASM. Moreover, factors outside of CO2 and energy should be studied in further depth.   Keywords: Environmental impact; Sustainability; Recycling methods/material/metals; Circular economy/CE; Product development. / Materialeffektivitetsstrategier är av stor betydelse för övergången till att producera hållbara fordon och asynkronmotorer (ASM), både för nuvarande och framtida utveckling. För att uppnå detta är strategier som lättviktsdesign, förlängning av produktens livslängd, återvinningsbarhet och en materialvalsprocess baserad på hållbarhetens tre grenar (ekologiska, ekonomiska och sociala faktorer) avgörande. Detta examensarbete är framtaget på förfrågan från ett fallföretaget involverat i produktionen av ASM. Syftet är att undersöka hållbarheten och återvinningsbarheten av materialen i deras nuvarande produkt. Examensarbetet grundas på cirkuläritet, återvinningsbarhet och resurseffektivitet, samt den växande marknaden för motorer, vilket har lätt till examensarbetets två forskningsfrågor (FF). FF1: I vilken utsträckning kan koldioxidutsläpp och energianvändning minskas genom att byta material i en ASM-rotor? FF2: Hur påverkar bytet av materialet i ASM-rotorn utmaningarna med att återvinna produkten? Detta examensarbete innehåller en teoretisk och empirisk substudie. Den teoretiska studien består av en litteraturstudie av publicerad forskning inom följande ämnen: Hållbarhet; hållbar tillverkning; återvunnet material; återvinningsprocesser och cirkulär ekonomi (CE). CE tas upp i samband med produktutveckling. Den empiriska substudien är inspirerad av ett policyramverk och är anpassad för att passa detta examensarbete. Det empiriska arbetet innehåller en livscykelanalys (LCA) med fokus på den ekologiska aspekten. Arbetet har bedrivits under en period av 20 veckor och planerats med ett agilt förhållningssätt. För insamling av empiri har sex intervjuer, relevanta industriartiklar och materialdatabasen Granta EduPack 2022 R2 använts. Dessutom innehåller examensarbetet en jämförelse mellan nuvarande material och alternativa material för ASM-rotorn. Sammantaget har detta lett till ett teoretiskt resultat med ett fokus på den ekologiska hållbarheten.   Resultatet av examensarbetet har delvis varit jämförelsen mellan det aktuella materialet i ASM-rotorn och de föreslagna materialen. Jämförelsen visade att maxvärdena för koldioxidutsläpp (CO2) var oförändrat medan det förekom en 8.5 procentuell minskning av energianvändningen. Resultatet utav den andra frågeställningen är att det finns faktorer som möjliggör men även försvårar material och produkters återvinningspotential. Dessutom påvisar resultatet av examensarbetet att valet av lämpligt material kan minska dessa faktorer. Författarnas slutsats av examensarbetet är att ett byta av material har potential att minska en produkts nuvarande miljöpåverkan. En annan insikt som författarna tar med sig är att hållbarhet är ett komplext begrepp som kräver en balans mellan alla tre hållbarhetsgrenarna. För framtida forskning i ämnet är det författarens rekommendation att alla tre grenarna av hållbarhet bör studeras mer djupgående, i anslutning till ASM. Dessutom bör faktorer utanför CO2 och energi studeras närmare.   Nyckelord: Miljöpåverkan; Hållbarhet; Återvinningsmetoder/material/metaller; Cirkulär ekonomi/CE; Produktutveckling

Textilindustrin präglas av en snabb produktionstakt som genererar stora mängder textilavfall. År 2025 träder Avfallsdirektivet bestämmelser om separat textilinsamling i kraft, vilket innebär att den svenska avfallsindustrin står inför en stor omställning. Studien syftar därför till att utforska aktörernas ansvarsområden och positioner inom textil avfallshantering. För att kunna öka förståelsen för hur nya direktiv kan implementeras på ett effektivt sätt belyser studien även utmaningar och möjligheter. Målet är således att främja övergången till en cirkulär ekonomi och förbättrad avfallshantering i Sverige. För att samla in data har en kvalitativ metod tillämpats, där fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer med relevanta aktörer verksamma inom den textila värdekedjan genomfördes. Empirin analyserades genom en tematisk analys som resulterade i tre huvudteman och åtta tillhörande subteman. Studien visar på en omogen marknad som möts av utmaningar i form av otillräckliga volymer, bristande infrastruktur och konsumenters okunskap. Det finns dock möjligheter som ponerar ett samordnat avfallssamhälle med medvetna konsumenter där avfall ses som resurs. Studien bidrar således med kunskap inom den svenska avfallshanteringens omställningsarbete mot en cirkulär ekonomi. / The textile industry is characterized by a rapid production pace that generates large amounts of textile waste. In 2025, the Waste Directive’s regulation on separate textile collecting will come into force, which means that the Swedish waste industry is facing a major transition. Therefore, this study aims to explore the responsibilities and positions of actors within textile waste management. To increase understanding of how new directives can be implemented effectively, this study also highlights challenges and opportunities. The goal is therefore to promote the transition to a circular economy and improved waste management in Sweden. For data collection, a qualitative method has been applied, where four semi-structured interviews with relevant actors involved in the textile value chain were conducted. The empirical data was analyzed through thematic analysis, resulting in three main themes with eight belonging subthemes. The study reveals an immature market facing challenges such as insufficient volumes, inadequate infrastructure and consumer ignorance. However, there are opportunities that suggest a coordinated waste society with informed consumers where waste is seen as a resource. The study therefore contributes with knowledge to the Swedish waste management’s transition towards a circular economy.

I Sverige är 93% av alla existerande företag i mikrostorlek. Trots det finns det väldigt lite forskning på hur de ska gå tillväga för att implementera en cirkulär affärsmodell. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka förutsättningarna ett modeföretag i mikrostorlek kan ha för att implementera cirkulära affärsmodeller.   Dagens ekonomiska system bygger på linjära affärsmodeller. Det betyder att människor köper, använder och sedan slänger produkter som fortfarande har ett potentiellt ekonomiskt värde. Cirkulära affärsmodeller utgör ett alternativ till dagens ekonomiska system. Det bygger på att produkter efter brukningsperiod återanvänds eller återvinns för att bibehålla det ekonomiska värdet och sparar på resurser som är skadliga för miljö och människor.   I teorin presenteras tidigare forskning som gjorts kring cirkulär ekonomi, innovativa affärsmodeller och ramverk samt mikroföretagets roll i en cirkulär ekonomi. Ostrukturerade intervjuer med verksamma inom återvinning, återanvändning och ekodesign samt semistrukturerade intervjuer med produktionschef och produktutvecklare på fallföretaget har utförts. Detta har givit en bred och djup kunskap kring vilka förutsättningar som finns och vilka tillvägagångssätt mikroföretag kan tillämpa för att fortsätta resan mot en mer cirkulär affärsmodell. Resultatet av studien visar att fallföretaget idag på många sätt agerar cirkulärt, men att kompletterande aktiviteter och tekniker gällande återtagningssystem och externa införningfaktorer saknas. / In Sweden 93% of the existing companies are microbusinesses. Despite this, there is a lack of research on how they can implement circular business models. The purpose of this study is to investigate what prerequisites a micro business within the fashion industry can have to implement a circular business model.   Today’s economic system is supported by linear business models. This means that people buy, use and dispose of goods that may have a potential continuous economic value. Circular business models offer an alternative to the current economic system. They are based on reuse and recycling to upkeep economic value and cut down on byproducts that are harmful to the environment and people.   Earlier research regarding circular economy, innovative business models and framework are presented in this study. Unstructured interviews with people working actively within fields such as reuse, recycle and eco-design have been held, as well as semi-structured interviews with the production manager and product developer at the case business of this study. The interviews have provided a wide knowledge around what prerequisites and course of action a micro business within the fashion industry can apply, to continue working against a more circular business model. The result of the study show that the micro business can operate in a circular manner, but require complementing activities and technologies regarding take back systems and external adoption factors.

This study identifies enabling factors for a circular business model that focuses on use-oriented services in the fashion industry. The objective is to provide an overview of the possibilities of use-oriented services for sustainability and to determine motives for renting everyday clothes from a consumer perspective.The clothing industry is one of the most polluting and unsustainable business industries (Leal Filho et al., 2019). It starts to move towards the wider movement of circular economy and use-oriented service businesses, which some scholars see PSS as a sustainable business option due to its reduced environmental impact of economic activity (Baines et al., 2007). With the concept being tested on less quality-focused fashion retailers, the concept's real strength can be slowly analyzed. This study focuses on incentives and obstacles for conscious consumers to participate in a fashion renting program as well as the possibilities for sustainability from a consumer perspective. A multidisciplinary literature review was conducted to get insights into the topics of sustainable business models, circular businesses in particular, and product service systems, especially in the fashion industry. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect empirical data that were analyzed and related to the concept of social practice theory. The results show that renting everyday garments appears as a new concept that has not been considered yet. There is a general interest in renting special occasion clothes. Identified obstacles are the own lack of interest in fashion styles, no need for new clothes, quality, as well as logistic and transportation concerns.Sustainability was an overall important aspect for all respondents and, therefore, the concept of renting was mainly discussed in the sense of providing a sustainable purpose. Participants agreed that the business model could contribute to sustainability when the lifetime of garments is significantly extended. However, they questioned if renting can really decouple economic success from material consumption.

Biowaste Valorization (BV) includes practices that capture the value of biowaste through its conversion to high-value products. BV practices can influence the progress of various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) differently. BV can have several potential interactions with the SDGs (BV-SDGs interactions) that may take the form of either synergies or trade-offs. Therefore, the identification of BV-SDGs interactions is key to the successful achievement of SDGs. Sweden is a country at an advanced stage of BV implementation and can thus offer valuable insights. Through semi-structured interviews, relevant stakeholders evaluated the impact of BV on 15 selected SDGs targets in Sweden thus far. Both positive and negative effects were found, but synergies outnumbered the trade-offs with BV positively contributing to all 15 targets. However, this study also shows some potential trade-offs that require further investigation. The findings highlight the need for multidisciplinary collaboration to address BV-SDGs interactions comprehensively. The evidence provided in this study can inform the scientific community as well as other types of stakeholders towards better BV planning. The insights from the Swedish case can be valuable to Sweden and other countries in different stages in the transition to BV and a wider Circular Economy (CE). / Biowaste Valorization (BV) inkluderar metoder som fångar värdet av bioavfall genom dess omvandling till högvärdiga produkter. BV-praxis kan påverka utvecklingen av olika hållbara utvecklingsmål (SDG) på olika sätt. BV kan ha flera potentiella interaktioner med SDG (BV-SDG-interaktioner) som kan ta formen av antingen synergier eller avvägningar. Därför är identifieringen av BV-SDG-interaktioner nyckeln till ett framgångsrikt uppnående av SDG. Sverige är ett land i ett långt framskridet stadium av BV-implementering och kan därmed erbjuda värdefulla insikter. Genom semistrukturerade intervjuer utvärderade relevanta intressenter effekten av BV på 15 utvalda SDG-mål i Sverige hittills. Både positiva och negativa effekter hittades, men synergierna överträffade avvägningarna med BV som positivt bidrog till alla 15 målen. Men den här studien visar också på några potentiella avvägningar som kräver ytterligare utredning. Resultaten belyser behovet av tvärvetenskapligt samarbete för att ta itu med BV-SDG-interaktioner på ett heltäckande sätt. Bevisen som tillhandahålls i denna studie kan informera vetenskapssamhället såväl som andra typer av intressenter mot bättre BV-planering. Insikterna från det svenska fallet kan vara värdefulla för Sverige och andra länder i olika skeden av övergången till BV och en bredare cirkulär ekonomi (CE).

2015 is a turning point in the common history where the 2030 Agenda has set 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to transform our world into a thriving and sustainable society in which humankind’s well-being is ensured while protecting the planet’s environmental boundaries. The same year, the European Commission adopted its first Circular Economy Action Plan with 54 actions to be implemented with a concise milestone: closing the loop. This inspiring concept of shifting to a Circular Economy (CE) in opposition to a linear economy is now gaining tremendous attention worldwide in the light of the emergency of redesigning our society to accelerate the journey towards a sustainable development. To successfully make this transition, a systemic change is required and it is a necessity to join forces to implement an extensive collaboration needed to align those two far reaching commitments. Thus, this study scrutinizes the interconnections between the CE targets and the SDGs targets using unique pairs of indicator time-series from 2000 to 2019 for 28 member states of the European Union (EU). The Global SDG Indicators Database and the Circular Economy Monitoring Framework of the European Commission were selected to perform this analysis. Firstly the correlations are disentangled into synergies for positive correlations and trade-offs for negative correlations using the Spearman’s rank correlation. Secondly this study aims at going further in the interpretation by examining causality in correlations found through a Transfer Entropy (TE) model measuring the power of coupling strength for two possible causal directions. This means that the directionality is assessed in a correlation by understanding which indicator in a pair is the cause and which is its effect. Hence a synergy could either be due to a positive impact of a CE target on a SDG target or to a SDG target that enhances a CE target. An analogous analysis is performed for a tradeoff. Broadly, the outcomes highlight a stronger causality in the interconnections in the direction CEtowards SDGs and overall the results show more positive interconnections with 22.43% of share than negative ones with 8.62% of share. The highest share of positive impacts of the CE on the SDGs isfound with SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) and SDG 15(Life on Land) while the highest share of negative impacts of the CE on the SDGs is found with SDG 2(Zero Hunger), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). Additionally, the study identifies various speeds of development between countries in the alignmentof their SDGs progress and CE implementation. United Kingdom, Spain and France gather the best results in term of positive interconnections while Italy, Latvia and Luxembourg appear to have the highest share of negative interconnections. To succeed in both commitments, identified synergiesshould be leveraged and trade-offs efficiently tackled. / År 2015 var en vändpunkt i den gemensamma historien när Agenda 2030 satte de 17 Globala Målenför hållbar utveckling (SDGs) som syftar till att omvandla vår värld till ett välmående och hållbartsamhälle där mänsklighetens välbefinnande säkerställs samtidigt som planetens miljögränserskyddas. Samma år antog den Europeiska Kommissionen sin första handlingsplan för cirkulärekonomi med 54 åtgärder som ska genomföras med en enda milstolpe: att sluta kretsloppet. Detta inspirerande koncept om att byta till en cirkulär ekonomi (CE) i stället för en linjär ekonomi får nu stor uppmärksamhet över hela världen i ljuset av det akuta behovet av att omforma vårt samhälle för att påskynda övergången till en hållbar utveckling. För att lyckas med denna övergång krävs en systemförändring och ett omfattande samarbete är nödvändigt för att sammanfoga dessa två omfattande åtaganden. Därmed undersöker denna studie kopplingarna mellan CE-målen och SDG delmålen med hjälp av unika par av indikatortidsserier från 2000 till 2019 för 28 medlemsstater av Europeiska Unionen (EU). ”The Global SDG Indicators Database” och ”The Circular EconomyMonitoring Framework” av den Europeiska Kommissionen valdes ut för denna analys. Först kopplas korrelationerna loss till synergier för positiva korrelationer och avvägningar för negativakorrelationer med hjälp av Spearmans rangkorrelationskoefficient. Vidare syftar denna studie till att gå längre i tolkningen genom att undersöka kausalitet i de korrelationer som hittades med hjälp aven Transfer Entropy (TE)-modell för att mäta kopplingsstyrkan för två möjliga kausala riktningar. Detta innebär att riktningen i en korrelation bedöms genom att förstå vilken indikator i paret som är orsaken och vilken som är verkan. En synergi kan alltså bero på en positiv inverkan av ett av CEmålen på ett av SDG-delmålen eller tvärtom. En likartad analys utförs för en avvägning. På det helataget visar resultaten på en starkare kausalitet i kopplingarna i riktning från CE-målen till SDGdelmålen, och överlag visar resultaten att det finns fler positiva sammankopplingar med 22.43% än negativa med 8.62%. Den högsta andelen av CE-målens positiva effekter på SDG-delmålen återfinnsför mål 7 (Hållbar Energi för Alla), mål 3 (God Hälsa och Välbefinnande) och mål 15 (Ekosystem ochBiologisk Mångfald) medan den högsta andelen negativa effekter på SDG-delmålen återfinns för mål2 (Ingen Hunger), mål 9 (Hållbar Industri, Innovationer och Infrastruktur) och mål 10 (Minskad Ojämlikhet). Dessutom identifierar studien olika utvecklingshastigheter mellan länderna när det gäller deras framsteg i SDG-delmålen och genomförandet av CE-målen. Storbritannien, Spanien och Frankrike har de bästa resultaten när det gäller positiva sammankopplingar medan Italien, Lettland och Luxemburg tycks ha den högsta andelen negativa sammankopplingar. För att lyckas med både SDG och CE bör identifierade synergieffekter utnyttjas och kompromisser hanteras effektivt.

Till följd av att Europeiska unionen försöker uppnå de globala klimatmål som ställts i och med Agenda 2030, uppkommer även förslaget Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulations (ESPR) av den Europeiska kommissionen. Förordningen har i mål att skapa en större hållbarhet på den europeiska produktmarknaden genom att kravställa redovisning som kan främja cirkularitet inom framtida produktlivscykler. Med ESPR framkommer även begreppet kring digitala produktpass (DPP), en digital representation av en fysisk produkt som redovisar produktrelaterad data i syfte av att främja cirkularitet, transparens och mer hållbara konsumentmönster. Det digitala produktpasset är en central del av ESPR och gäller för samtliga produkter som säljs på den europeiska marknaden. Denna studie har undersökt hur ett praktiskt fall av implementation av digitala produktpass har tagit form hos en svensk, medelstor möbeltillverkare. Studien har undersökt hur dynamiken, som uppstått på grund av ESPR i en tillverkningsbaserad sektor, tagit form och vilka förberedelser, problem samt möjligheter som uppstått i och med förordningen. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med centrala aktörer inom IT- och möbelproduktion har studien identifierat kritiska områden kring behovet av standardisering, utmaningar som medföljer teknologin samt osäkerheter kring validitet av data. Trots de tekniska och organisatoriska hinder som uppkommit, visar resultatet även på fördelar och möjligheter med DPP såsom ökad hållbarhet, större tillförlitlighet till kunder samt möjligheter till utökade och effektivisering av befintliga affärsprocesser och affärsmodeller. / In response to the European Union’s efforts to meet the global climate goals set forth by Agenda 2030, the European Commission has introduced the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulations (ESPR). The regulation aims to enhance sustainability in the European product market by requiring disclosures that can promote circularity in future product life cycles. With the introduction of ESPR, the concept of Digital Product Passports (DPP) emerged. A digital representation of a physical product that documents product-related data with the goal of promoting circularity, transparency, and more sustainable consumer patterns. The digital product passport is a central part of the ESPR and will apply to all products sold on the European market. This study has examined a practical case of how implementing digital product passports has taken shape at a medium-sized Swedish furniture manufacturer. The study explores the dynamics that have arisen due to ESPR in a manufacturing-based sector, examining the preparations done, problems that have arisen and opportunities that have emerged due to the regulation. Through semi-structured, qualitative interviews with key actors within IT and furniture production, the study has identified critical areas concerning the need for standardization, challenges associated with the technology and uncertainties regarding validity of data. Despite technical and organizational obstacles that have arisen, the results of this study also highlight the advantages and opportunities of DPPs, such as increased sustainability, greater reliability for customers, and opportunities to expand and streamline existing business processes and models.

This master’s thesis aims to improve the circularity of the electric vehicle (EV) battery value chain, specifically focusing on sustainable waste management of Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) in Europe, particularly Sweden. The research objectives include evaluating and proposing actionable recommendations to enhance circularity, addressing environmental impacts, and supporting the industry’s transition towards a sustainable business model aligned with the new European Union (EU) Battery Regulation, which aims to enhance recycling rates, reduce environmental impact, and secure the recovery of valuable materials. The key research questions addressed are: (1) What initiatives, technologies, or best practices are currently being developed to support circularity and sustainable waste management in the EV battery value chain? (2) How can the circularity of the EV battery value chain be enhanced, particularly in sustainable waste management for LIBs? (3) What environmental impacts, socio-economic opportunities, and challenges exist in a circular value chain in the EV battery industry? The methodology employed a mixed-methods approach, including a literature review and case study, stakeholder interviews, SWOT analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA) using Minviro LCA software to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of state-of-the-art industrial LIB recycling methods. Key findings indicate that several initiatives and technologies are being developed to support circularity, including advanced recycling technologies and second-life applications for batteries. Enhancing circularity requires regulatory support, technological advancements, and stakeholder collaborative efforts. The findings highlight significant potential for extending the lifecycle of EV batteries through re-use, re-purposing, and recycling strategies. The analysis reveals that advancements in recycling technologies and supportive regulatory frameworks can substantially reduce the environmental impact and improve LIB supply chain sustainability. Notably, the LCA results highlight that mechanical and hydrometallurgical recycling processes offer more favourable environmental outcomes than pyrometallurgical methods. Thus, it shows potential for lower environmental impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and resource depletion, alongside socio-economic opportunities like job creation and economic growth. However, challenges such as technological barriers, economic feasibility, regulatory compliance, and EV battery value chain complexities remain, and these must be addressed. The conclusions drawn from the findings recommend that a combination of regulatory support, technological innovation, and stakeholder collaboration is essential for improving the circularity of the EV battery value chain. The study recommends advancements in recycling technologies, developing efficient testing and certification processes for second-life batteries, and establishing clear regulatory frameworks to facilitate circular economy practices. These measures are crucial for supporting the industry’s shift towards a more sustainable and circular model, ultimately contributing to the EU’s climate neutrality goals by 2050.