Creating Customer Value in a Circular Economy

Resource related challenges are becoming increasingly severe. The shift towards a circular economy is viewed as one prominent way to overcome the challenges. A shift towards a circular economy would partly require new business models, commonly referred to as circular business models. In order to enhance the development of circular business models, there is a need to understand how companies with circular business models can create customer value. Hence, a company need to create value for their customers in order to capture economic value within the organisation. Therefore this study is looking into how existing companies, and in particular those with service oriented circular business models, are creating customer value. The term service oriented circular business model is introduced in this study and can be seen as a sub-set of circular business models; with the common characteristic of providing access or usage of products rather than ownership. The study uses the value proposition canvas as a tool, showing how the three companies, Vigga, Enso and Repack, are creating customer value by enabling their customers to: save money, save time, use high quality products, use more convenient solutions, reduce their environmental impact and by creating an “early-adapter-feeling”.Customer value – key to a market driven transition towards a circular economy? “Most of the materials we use, we lose and the things we make are consistently under-utilised” - Ellen MacArthur Foundation, describing today’s hugely wasteful societies. In contrast, societies applying the alternative concept of a circular economy could eliminate waste and pollution, keep products in use and regenerate natural resources. But how do we get there? A transition towards a circular economy needs to be empowered by a number of different forces - e.g. education, policy and market mechanisms. In order to make the market force stronger and to increase the chance for *circular businesses to stay on the market, their offers need to be more attractive than competing business-as-usual options. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how circular businesses can attract customers - i.e. how circular businesses create customer value. There are a number of different types of circular businesses - a subset of them provide access or usage of products instead of ownership since it facilitates design for product maintenance, redistribution, reuse, refurbishing, remanufacturing and recycling. Three examples of such businesses, which all operate in different industries, are: 1. Vigga - provides access to reusable, refurbishable and recyclable children’s clothes 2. Enso Tires - provides access to remanufacturable and recyclable car tires 3. Repack - provides usage of reusable and recyclable packaging Certain patterns can be identified when you look at how the three circular businesses create customer value - they provide offers, which in comparison to business-as-usual options, allow their customers to: save money, save time, use more convenient solutions, use higher quality products, and reduce their environmental impact. Two examples: • Buying access to remanufactured tires allows customers to save money since the same raw material is used in multiple tires which enables reductions in material cost and therefore also in market price. • A company providing access to clothes has an economic incentive to designed garments that last and have higher quality. This since, the provider’s revenue grows as the number of use cycles increase. A deeper understanding of how circular businesses can attract customers would enable more circular business initiatives and accelerate the shift towards a circular economy. That’s why customer value has a central role in the market driven transition towards a circular economy. *circular businesses are business with circular business models which is defined in the thesi

Verotoxinogenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) O157:H7 – A Nationwide Swedish Survey of Bovine Faeces

In the autumn of 1995 the first outbreaks of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 including ca 100 human cases were reported in Sweden. From outbreaks in other countries it is known that cattle may carry these bacteria and in many cases is the source of infection. Therefore, the present study was performed to survey the Swedish bovine population for the presence of verotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC) of serotype O157:H7. Individual faecal samples were collected at the 16 main Swedish abattoirs from April 1996 to August 1997. Of 3071 faecal samples, VTEC O157 were found in 37 samples indicating a prevalence of 1.2% (CI(95% )0.8–1.6). All 37 isolates carried genes encoding for verotoxin (VT1 and/or VT2), intimin, EHEC-haemolysin and flagellin H7 as determined by PCR. Another 3 strains were of serotype O157:H7 but did not produce verotoxins. The 37 VTEC O157:H7 strains were further characterised by phage typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The results clearly show that VTEC O157:H7 is established in the Swedish bovine population and indicate that the prevalence of cattle carrying VTEC O157:H7 is correlated to the overall geographical distribution of cattle in Sweden. Results of this study have formed the basis for specific measures recommended to Swedish cattle farmers, and furthermore, a permanent monitoring programme was launched for VTEC O157:H7 in Swedish cattle at slaughter

Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) in Swedish sewage sludge

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat in veterinary medicine and human healthcare. Resistance genes can spread from animals, through the food-chain, and back to humans. Sewage sludge may act as the link back from humans to animals. The main aims of this study were to investigate the occurrence of vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) in treated sewage sludge, in a Swedish waste water treatment plant (WWTP), and to compare VRE isolates from sewage sludge with isolates from humans and chickens. Methods: During a four month long study, sewage sludge was collected weekly and cultured for VRE. The VRE isolates from sewage sludge were analysed and compared to each other and to human and chicken VRE isolates by biochemical typing (PhenePlate), PFGE and antibiograms. Results: Biochemical typing (PhenePlate-FS) and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) revealed prevalence of specific VRE strains in sewage sludge for up to 16 weeks. No connection was found between the VRE strains isolated from sludge, chickens and humans, indicating that human VRE did not originate from Swedish chicken. Conclusion: This study demonstrated widespread occurrence of VRE in sewage sludge in the studied WWTP. This implies a risk of antimicrobial resistance being spread to new farms and to the society via the environment if the sewage sludge is used on arable land

Evenemang och arenor - Långsiktig strategi eller kortsiktiga lösningar?

Många städer och kommuner investerar, eller planerar att investera, i evenemang, arenor och kongressanläggningar. Dessa investeringar är ofta stora, iögonfallande och förväntas ha en inverkan på stadens utveckling, så väl ekonomiskt som en påverkan på stadens attraktivitet och image. Vid en närmare studie av den akademiska litteraturen så ser vi en diskurs mellan olika forskare om hur effektivt platsutvecklingsverktyg evenemang och arenor verkligen är. De beräknade ekonomiska vinsterna, såväl som andra förväntade effekter, kritiseras av ett flertal forskare. De kommunala beslutsfattarna vi intervjuat förväntar sig att evenemangen och arenorna ska ge en ökad attraktionskraft, större turistekonomiska vinster och fler arbetstillfällen till staden. Stadens image och varumärke förväntas också stärkas radikalt om staden lyckas locka till sig evenemang. Evenemangen och arenorna skall även fungera som mötesplatser för lokalbefolkningen och erbjuda en attraktiv puls och samtidigt gynna det lokala näringslivet. Med andra ord så förväntar sig beslutsfattare många effekter av investeringen i staden evenemang och arenor. Slutsats: De kommunala beslutsfattare som intervjuas i studien förväntar sig att evenemang och arenor skall ge flertal olika effekter på stadens platsutveckling. Förväntningarna på evenemang och arenor är mot bakgrund av bland annat Book (2008a) och Eisinger (2000) för högt ställda. Samtidigt som de kommunala beslutsfattarna har förväntningar på icke-ekonomiska effekter, såsom image, så mäts och styrs valet av evenemang endast utifrån ekonomiska termer. Detta kan ifrågasättas då exempelvis Baade & Dye (1990) menar på att de ekonomiska effekterna är svåra att mäta och kommunens ekonomiska vinst är enligt flera forskare, såsom Horne & Manzenreiter (2006), ytterst tvivelaktig. Vi finner en stor diskrepens mellan de effekter av evenemang och arenor som presenteras i den akademiska litteraturen och de kommunala beslutsfattarnas förväntningar och ställer oss kritiska mot hur evenemang för närvarande används i platsutvecklingen

Ixodid tick species found in northern Sweden - Data from a frontier area

Environmental and climatic changes in northern Europe have shaped a geographical area in which new tick species may become established and introduce new tick-borne pathogens. In recent decades, ticks have expanded their latitudinal and altitudinal range limits in northern Sweden. In this study, ticks were collected in 2018 and 2019 in northern Sweden from different hosts, mainly from dogs, cats and humans. The ticks in 2018 (n = 2141, collected from 65 municipalities in 11 provinces) were identified as Ixodes ricinus (n = 2108, 98.5%), Ixodes persulcatus (n = 18, 0.8%), Ixodes trianguliceps (n = 14, 0.7%) and Hyalomma marginatum (n = 1, 0.05%). The ticks collected in 2019 (n = 519, across a smaller area than in 2018, i.e. Sweden's four northernmost provinces) were identified as I. ricinus (n = 242, 46.6%) and I. persulcatus (n = 277, 53.4%). Among those collected in 2019, the majority of I. ricinus (n = 111, 45.9%) were submitted from the province of Va & BULL;sterbotten, while most I. persulcatus (n = 259, 93.5%) were collected in the province of Norrbotten. This study provides updated figures on the geographical distribution of two Ixodes species in northern Sweden. The results confirmed I. ricinus to be the dominant species and that I. persulcatus has enlarged its distributional area compared with previous reports. Updated knowledge of tick distribution is fundamental for the creation of risk maps and will allow relevant advice to be provided to the general public, suggesting measures to prevent tick bites and consequently tickborne diseases

Dairy milk from cow and goat as a sentinel for tick-borne encephalitis virus surveillance

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is one of the most severe human tick-borne diseases in Europe. It is caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), which is transmitted to humans mainly via bites of Ixodes ricinus or I. persulcatus ticks. The geographical distribution and abundance of I. ricinus is expanding in Sweden as has the number of reported human TBE cases. In addition to tick bites, alimentary TBEV infection has also been reported after consumption of unpasteurized dairy products. So far, no alimentary TBEV infection has been reported in Sweden, but knowledge about its prevalence in Swedish ruminants is scarce. In the present study, a total of 122 bulk tank milk samples and 304 individual milk samples (including 8 colostrum samples) were collected from dairy farms (n = 102) in Sweden. All samples were analysed for the presence of TBEV antibodies by ELISA test and immunoblotting. Participating farmers received a questionnaire about milk production, pasteurization, tick prophylaxis used on animals, tick-borne diseases, and TBE vaccination status. We detected specific anti-TBEV antibodies, i.e., either positive (>126 Vienna Units per ml, VIEU/ml) or borderline (63-126 VIEU/ml) in bulk tank milk from 20 of the 102 farms. Individual milk samples (including colostrum samples) from these 20 farms were therefore collected for further analysis. Our results revealed important information for detection of emerging TBE risk areas. Factors such as consumption of unpasteurized milk, limited use of tick prophylaxis on animals and a moderate coverage of human TBE vaccination, may be risk factors for alimentary TBEV infection in Sweden

Seroprevalence of Pestivirus in Eurasian tundra reindeer in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Russian Federation.

Reindeer herding is of great importance for the indigenous people of the Fennoscandia peninsula and northern Russia. There are also free-ranging feral populations of reindeer in Finland, Iceland, Norway and Russian Federation. The genus Pestivirus contains several viral species that infect ungulates and often show capacity to transmit between different host species. Sera from 520 Eurasian tundra reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Russian Federation were analysed and the prevalence of pestivirus-specific antibodies was determined. Seropositivity proportion was 48.5% for Sweden and 41.2% for Norway, but only 1.6% forIceland and 2.5% for Finland. All Russian reindeer investigated were seronegative. Pan-pestivirus RT-PCR of seronegative animals (n = 156) from seropositive herds confirmed their negative status. These results indicate unexpectedly non-uniform circulation of an as yet uncharacterised pestivirusin Eurasian reindeer populations. The high seroprevalence in some regions warrants further studies of pestivirus infection dynamics, effects on reindeer health and population dynamics

Screening of Eurasian Tundra Reindeer for Viral Sequences by Next-Generation Sequencing

Reindeer husbandry is essential for the livelihood and culture of indigenous people in the Arctic. Parts of the herding areas are also used as pastures for farm animals, facilitating potential transmission of viruses between species. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, viruses circulating in the wild are receiving increased attention, since they might pose a potential threat to human health. Climate change will influence the prevalence of infectious diseases of both humans and animals. The aim of this study was to detect known and previously unknown viruses in Eurasian tundra reindeer. In total, 623 nasal and 477 rectal swab samples were collected from reindeer herds in Fennoscandia, Iceland, and Eastern Russia during 2016–2019. Next-generation sequencing analysis and BLAST-homology searches indicated the presence of viruses of domesticated and wild animals, such as bovine viral diarrhea virus, bovine papillomavirus, alcephaline herpesvirus 1 and 2, deer mastadenovirus B, bovine rotavirus, and roe deer picobirnavirus. Several viral species previously found in reindeer and some novel species were detected, although the clinical relevance of these viruses in reindeer is largely unknown. These results indicate that it should be possible to find emerging viruses of relevance for both human and animal health using reindeer as a sentinel species