EcoDesign Circle was a joint initiative of the Baltic Sea countries, combining design, circular economy, and sustainable development. It consisted of two projects and their partners. The aim was to increase awareness of circular design and implement it in the Baltic Sea region.
Altogether eight design organizations, authorities and design actors form six countries took part in the initiative. The projects were carried out in 2016–2021 and the total budget was 2.7 M €. The projects were partly funded by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme of the European Union. The Lead Partner of both the projects was the Umweltbundesamt UBA of Germany.
In the first phase of EcoDesign Circle the understanding of designers and design organizations in ecological product design and circular business models was increased. In EcoDesign Circle 4.0 the focus was on services: the objective was to increase the readiness of designers and companies in developing service-based tools and approaches to the circular economy. Special attention was also paid to digitalization as it will e.g. enable the use of various digital service platforms.
In both EcoDesign Circle and EcoDesign Circle 4.0, methods and tools for creating circular business models were developed, starting from the design stage. Among the tools is EcoDesign Learning Factory, a workshop which illustrates the whole potential of circular design. EcoDesign Audit charts the present situation of a company and its prospects in circular economy and design. EcoDesign Sprint, developed by Design Forum Finland, aids companies in designing products and services in accordance with the circular economy. Essential in all the methods is collaboration in multidisciplinary teams and making use of design methods.
EcoDesign Sprint is a unique business development and acceleration programme: it is a combination of innovation, practical training and product & service development through circular economy thinking and design methods.
The first phase of EcoDesign Circle (2016–2019) developing circular economy and related business, research and educational activities with the means of design.
The objective of EcoDesign Circle 4.0 (2019–2021) was to increase the readiness of designers and companies in developing service-based tools and approaches to the circular economy.
