Kinnarps asks the question – Can circularity become more sustainable?
Johanna Ljunggren, Sustainability Manager, Kinnarps AB and Dan Molander, Sales Director, Kinnarps AB
The circles can be made bigger by creating sustainable, customised working environments and well-being among employees – tailor-made environments that meet the needs of the individual, the group and the company, both today and in the future. This is why Kinnarps are working on concepts for offices, schools and healthcare (Next Office®, Next Education® and Next Care®). This means that, together with their customers, they map out and analyse the business, involve the management team and employees in the change process and, with this knowledge as a basis, create a customised working environment that will last.
”We see that our customers, in both small and larger companies, are facing new challenges regarding requirements for sustainability and flexibility. In order to meet today's trends, we need to find new sustainable ways together. We know that our furniture has a long service life and is designed to last. It is also easy to freshen up if necessary. By combining high-quality products with our concepts, where we help our customers to analyse the needs of their business, we can jointly create bigger sustainable circles.”
Making sustainable choices has, for many companies, become both a requirement and a matter of course. They want high-quality products that stand the test of time. This, in combination with constantly changing working environments, creates new demands for interior design solutions. It may be a case of attracting new staff, having a stimulating working environment and strengthening the brand. In order to achieve this, there is a need to renovate environments at regular intervals, something which can conflict with the idea of sustainability. One possible solution to this conflict of interests is the so-called functional leasing of interior design solutions. Kinnarps is participating in various functional leasing pilot projects, one of them in collaboration with Toyota Material Handling in Mjölby, which wanted to furnish an environment for the duration of a three-year project. The aim is to give the company a flexible and sustainable way of getting the functionality it needs, updating if its needs change, and the possibility of reusing products.
In Kinnarps' view, this is a matter of creating bigger circles, where products are used, freshened up, reused and recycled sustainably. For this reason, Kinnarps works with a built-in circularity in its products, following the cycle USE-REUSE-REMAKE-RECYCLE. It is important to think in terms of sustainable materials, produce with high quality, give opportunities for freshening up, offer reuse and enable recycling. Another important element of sustainable thinking in connection with working environments is how the products are transported to the customer. Kinnarps has its own delivery concept, its 'blue trucks', a system developed in-house and characterised by resource efficiency and concern for the environment. This means that the company can optimise its transportation – design and routes – taking account of climate impact and reduced CO2 emissions. The products are freighted wrapped in blankets and cardboard, which are then reused, saving 270 kg of packaging per container. Thanks to this delivery concept, they can load up to 50% more furniture than the industry average, calculated on the basis of the same container size. As an example, when others need up to three trucks, Kinnarps manage with two.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
For more information, please contact:
Kristina Hjalmarsson
Internal communication, PR & Event Executive, Kinnarps AB
Telephone: +46 (0) 706 38 52 87
kristina.hjalmarsson@kinnarps.se
Dan Molander
Sales Director, Kinnarps AB
Telephone: +46 (0) 515 380 30
dan.molander@kinnarps.se
Johanna Ljunggren
Sustainability Manager, Kinnarps AB
Telephone: +46 (0) 515 381 21
johanna.ljunggren@kinnarps.se
About Kinnarps
Kinnarps delivers interior design solutions for offices, schools and healthcare & nursing facilities. The entire value chain is characterised by high quality and low environmental impact – from raw materials to finished solutions. Kinnarps is one of Europe's biggest manufacturers of interior design solutions for workplaces, with operations in 40 countries and a Group turnover of over SEK 4.2 billion. Kinnarps was founded in 1942 by Jarl and Evy Andersson. It remains a wholly-owned family business.
About the Kinnarps Next Concept
NEXT OFFICE®, NEXT EDUCATION® AND NEXT CARE® are Kinnarps' concepts for developing operationally customised working environments for offices, schools and healthcare & nursing. This means that we map out and analyse your business, involve your management team and employees in the change process and, with this knowledge as a base, create customised working environments.
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