In 2016, Finland became the first nation to design a circular economy roadmap, in an effort to design goods to be less resource-intensive, from their manufacture to disposal and recycling. Tim Forslund of the Finnish Innovation Fund (SITRA) was one of its architects and joins this episode of Mongabay Explores to detail his nation’s circularity plan and the challenges ahead.

Over 50 nations now have such plans in development, and while Finland is years ahead of them all, it hasn’t yet seen a reduction in its economy's resource consumption so far. Forslund explains why, and how policies implemented today may only produce results much later.

“We're seeing a lot of these policies being implemented, but it will take more [time] to see the change.”

Read more on Finland’s circular economy roadmap by Mongabay contributor Sean Mowbray here:

Lessons from Finland’s attempt to transition to a circular economy

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Image Credit: Finland has produced innovative solutions seeking to increase circularity in the textile sector. For example, a pilot project incentivizing textile collection in the city of Lahti claimed a 500% increase in recycling rates. Companies such as Spinnova are adopting methods that use renewable resources, such as wood. Other circular solutions, including expanding markets for recycled materials, increasing circularity in design, and reducing consumption, are required, experts say. Image courtesy of Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto.

Timecodes

(00:00 ) Introduction

(02:17 ) It’s Not Just Finland

(05:58 ) Sector by Sector, Country by Country

(11:30 ) Roadblocks and Challenges

(17:16 ) Policy and Market-Based Solutions

(20:17 ) A ‘Greenlash’ to Mandates?

(25:37 ) Slowing Down Fast Fashion

(29:07 ) Plastics Recycling

(31:33 ) Transforming Education

(33:50 ) Designing Solutions for People

(36:41 ) Credits