Ensto was one of the 50 companies that had the privilege to participate in the first national Circular Design Program arranged in Finland. The year-long program was led by Ethica and Design Forum Finland and financed by the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, and it ended in December. The goal was that at the end of the program, each participating company will have the steppingstones for piloting and scaling a concept in accordance with the circular economy. The program offered two tracks to learn: executive/owner and expert paths.
At the beginning, through our own product example, we evaluated what challenges and opportunities there are to improve the circular economy at the product level. As the program progressed, we strengthened the company's cross-cutting understanding of the connection between the brand and the circular economy – both now and in the future – through workshops and training.
During the program, we identified our own abilities and systems, determining what kind of cooperation and guidance is needed to implement opportunities for increasing material circulation. We envisioned what needs to happen along the way to reach the ambitious goals set for sustainable development in the next few years. Towards the end, we explored Ensto's role in the world, assessing the carbon handprint that our product enables, and strategized how to communicate about it effectively to support the company growth and renewal.
All in all, the program offered us a network and a toolkit for developing our circular economy work. We continue our development work to promote the circular economy at Ensto and to gain a deeper understanding of our environmental impact.
“Ensto continues to focus on developing the circular economy. This includes reducing emissions, but also increasing positive impacts. At Ensto, this is possible both through the development of competences, innovation and especially collaboration. Above all, the circular economy needs collaboration,” Jenni Raitavuo, Head of Sustainability at Ensto, sums up the next steps.
We would like to thank the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, Design Forum Finland and Ethica Finland for the pioneering work and numerous experts for sharing their knowledge!
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Pictures: Petri Anttila