Most interesting companies in the circular economy in Finland 2.1

The list of most interesting companies in the circular economy 2.1 shows you what operating a business in Finland’s circular economy means in practice. With this list of 41 pioneering companies, Sitra wants to encourage Finnish companies to develop smart business in the circular economy.

What is it about?

Compiled by Sitra, the new “The most interesting companies in the circular economy in Finland 2.1” list presents 41 pioneering companies that offer circular economy solutions to the global sustainability crisis.

The new publication is a follow-up to the tremendously popular “The most interesting companies in the circular economy” list, which Sitra has updated since 2017. During this time, circularity has gone from being a niche initiative from a selection of individual pioneering companies to being a widespread profitable business phenomenon.

“The latest list shows that we’ve taken a great leap in circular economy The circular economy An economic model which does not focus on producing more and more goods, but in which consumption is based on using services – sharing, renting and recycling – instead of owning. Materials are not destroyed in the end, but are used to make new products over and over again. Open term page The circular economy
development in Finland. We have companies and solutions that are at the leading edge, even by international comparison,” says Project Director Kari Herlevi from Sitra.

The updated report includes companies that were featured on the previous list as well as new entrants. Many solutions that were previously in a product development phase have evolved into commercial innovations. The list includes start-ups as well as major corporations on the path towards circularity.

The most interesting companies in the circular economy in Finland 2.1

Take a closer look

BUSINESS MODEL
Combi Work's Founder and CEO Edward Blomstedt on a green background with a forklift.
Examples

Combi Works takes advantage of factories’ surplus capacity: “We offer factory production as a service”

EcoUp's Managing Director Antti Ollikainen on an orange background with Ekovilla packages.
Examples

The circular economy group EcoUp manufactures carbon-neutral thermal insulation and reuses material from demolition: “We help the construction sector in the green transition”

Tamturbo's CEO Timo Pulkki on a green background with industrial air compressors.
Examples

Tamturbo offers compressed air as a service: “We are creating a technological revolution in factories”

3stepIT's Managing Director Mika Enberg on a green background with a laptop.
Examples

3stepIT offers more than just the leasing of laptops: “Up to 98 per cent of devices re-enter circulation”

Vaatepuu's founder Soile-Maria Linnemäki on a green background with clothes.
Examples

Clothing rental shop Vaatepuu helps designers as well as consumers: “Shared use reveals whether an item of clothing has been designed to last”

Valtavalo's marketing manager Maija Alasalmi on a green background with an industrial lamp.
Examples

Valtavalo fights the throwaway culture with lighting solutions based on a replaceable light source: “EU legislation finally reflects the message we have been repeating for years”

Examples

Emmy makes recycling clothes easy: “It is important that a high-quality product is used as long as possible.”

Fiksuruoka's CEO and co-founder Juhani Järvensivu on a pink background with a Fiksuruoka box.
Examples

Fiksuruoka brings surplus food to people’s doorsteps: “The more we grow, the more we reduce food waste”

Skipperi's co-founder Anna-Leena Raji on a pink background with a boat.
Examples

Skipperi makes boating available to more people: “A shared boat is a smart boat”

Lindström's Senior Vice President Anna-Kaisa Huttunen on a green background.
Examples

Lindström provides workwear as a service: “We reduce overconsumption of textiles and save natural resources”

Tori.fi's director Jenni Tuomisto on a pink background with an armchair and clothes.
Examples

Tori.fi helps Finnish people consume in a responsible manner: “Consumer-to-consumer sales enable people to by exactly what they want second-hand”

ResQ Club's CEO Souli Böhm on a pink background with a portion of food and a cellphone.
Examples

ResQ Club redeems surplus food from restaurants and brings it to consumer’s plates: “The service must meet the needs of different markets”

Ecolan's CEO Juha Ahvenainen on an orange background with a helicopter.
Examples

Ecolan recovers ash from power plants: “2021 is a record year for ash fertilisation in Finland”

Infinited Fiber Company's CEO Petri Alava on an orange background with a clothing rack.
Examples

Infinited Fiber’s technology allows wasted textiles to be reborn: “You can see and feel the transformation in the textile industry”

Kotkamill's Vice President, Sustainability and Communications, Saila Kettunen on an orange background with paperboard packaging.
Examples

MM Kotkamills replaces plastics in packaging with paperboard innovation: “We are creating the future for the Finnish forest industry”

Ponsse's Product Group Responsible Ville Ohukainen on a blue background with machine parts.
Examples

Ponsse recycles parts from expensive forest machinery: “Everything began from the needs of our customers”

Paptic's founder and CEO Tuomas Mustonen on an orange background with a circular economy symbol.
Examples

Material innovation developed by Paptic is used to replace plastic in packaging: “We are manufacturing a material that is as strong as plastic but as easy to recycle as paper”

Spinnova's CEO Janne Poranen on an orange background.
Examples

Spinnova makes textile fibres from pulp: “We are the only company in the world to manufacture textile fibre without harmful chemicals”

Examples

Verso Food, a company acquired by Raisio, brings fava beans to our plates: “There is global demand for fava beans grown in Finland”

Woodly's CEO Jaakko Kaminen on an orange background.
Examples

Woodly produces clear plastic packaging made from wood: “We make achieving sustainability goals possible for large companies”

Vaatelaastari's CEO and founder Jetta Liukkonen on a blue backgroung with a clothe repairing sticker.
Examples

Vaatelaastari patches the trouser knee in just one moment: “A stain or a hole does not make clothing waste”

Salla Ahonen, Vice President, Sustainability on an orange background with a plastic bottle.
Examples

Neste’s next step may involve making plastic out of algae and landfill waste: “We are putting a lot of effort into innovation”

Valtra's Aftersales Marketing Manager Jari Luoma-Aho on a blue background with machinery parts.
Examples

Valtra reconditions the old gearboxes of tractors in its Reman programme: “We extend the service life of tractors by up to 30 years”

Globe Hope's CEO Seija Lukkala on a yellow background with Globe Hopes products.
Examples

Globe Hope makes responsible fashion from recycled textiles: “Our business was based on the circular economy before the term had even been invented”

Varusteleka's development coordinator Olli Rauhala on a blue background with army boots and gear.
Examples

Varusteleka buys used goods and puts them back on sale: “We train our customers to move from being consumers to users”

Betolar's fouder Juha Leppänen on a yellow background with concrete objects.
Examples

Betolar replaces cement with a low-emission circular economy option: “We must see side streams as a new source of raw material to replace virgin materials”

Biolan's Director of Product Development, Hannamaija Fontell on a yellow background with a wheelbarrow.
Examples

Biolan uses by-products from different sectors: “Half of the well-known product Musta Multa is compost mixture”

Gasum's vice president Johan Grön on a yellow background with factory parts.
Examples

Gasum produces biogas from waste: “Customers are working hard to find energy solutions to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions.”

Fortum Battery Solutions Head of Business Tero Höllander on a yellow background with batteries.
Examples

Fortum Battery Solutions recycles lithium-ion batteries: “We recover valuable metals”

Honkajoki's head of development on a yellow background.
Examples

Honkajoki makes full use of the side streams from the meat industry: “For as long as people eat meat, the by-products must be used”

Orthex's CEO Alexander Rosenlew on a yellow background with plastic products.
Examples

Orthex increases the use of recycled plastics: “We manufacture plastic products from the plastic packaging collected from consumers”

Soilfood's CEO and founder Eljas Jokinen on an orange background with a tractor.
Examples

Soilfood processes fertilisers from industrial side streams: “Processed products turns agricultural fields into carbon sinks”

Maas Global's CEO Sampo Hietanen on a green background with a car and a bus.
Examples

Whim gathers all modes of transport into one package: “We provide freedom of movement without the trouble of ownership”

Pure Waste's co-founder Jukka Pesola on a yellow background with a t shirt.
Examples

Pure Waste manufactures clothes, yarns and fabrics from 100% recycled material: “We take into account the circular economy in all stages, from designing the product to taking the clothes back”

Remeo's CEO Johan Mild on a yellow background with a Remeo truck.
Examples

Remeo increases the reuse of waste material generated by the construction industry and the retail sector: “High-quality raw material is a prerequisite for the circular economy”

Durats CEO Heikki Karppinen on a yellow background.
Examples

Durat buys back the furniture it has made from recycled plastic: “We aim at a fully closed loop”

Tuuli Mäkelä, head of marketing at Zen Robotics on a yellow background with a robot.
Examples

ZenRobotics robots sort waste efficiently: “Artificial intelligence will revolutionise recycling”

Kamu Collective founders on a blue background with Kamupak packages.
Examples

Kamupak is a circular takeaway packaging solution based on a digital deposit system: “Single-use packaging is a thing of the past”

Rester's CEO Outi Luukko on a yellow background with clothes.
Examples

Rester is Finland’s first large-scale textile recycling plant: “We want to revolutionise the raw materials of textiles in industry”

Touchpoint's CEO Noora Salonoja on a yellow background.
Examples

Touchpoint makes its workwear suitable for recycling: “Reuse is considered as early as the design stage”

Konecranes leaders on a blue background.
Examples

Konecranes designs cranes that withstand time and use: “All our activities aim to extend the life cycle of our products”

articles

41 pioneering Finnish circular economy companies

news

Sitra publishes its latest feature on 41 pioneering Finnish circular economy companies

How was the list compiled?

Mitigating the climate crisis and stopping the loss of biodiversity will not wait, which means that well-being can no longer be based solely on the manufacture of new goods and the introduction of new natural resources. 

The global transition towards a carbon-neutral circular economy is an opportunity for Finnish companies to expand their business to new markets and to solve the greatest challenges of our time. 

Sitra has maintained a list of the most interesting companies in the circular economy since 2017. In that time, the circular economy has transformed from being something that involved a few pioneering individual companies to become widespread profitable business. 

In 2021, Sitra was seeking companies to include on the an updated list that: 

We were looking for examples of all five circular economy business models. 

In addition, we had a particular interest in how circular economy solutions promote biodiversity.  

Applying to be included on the list

Companies were encouraged to apply for inclusion on the list using our online form. The deadline for applications was 16 April. 

In addition, anyone was allowed suggest an interesting company and Sitra’s circular economy team also proposed potential solutions for inclusion on the list. Sitra contacted all suggested companies and asked them to submit the application form for assessment. 

Evaluation of companies 

A panel of experts selected the companies to be included on the list. The panel consisted of circular economy experts from Sitra and its stakeholders. Members of the panel were:

The expert panel assessed the companies through four criteria. 

The expert panel’s assessment is subjective, and their goal was not to select the best circular economy businesses in Finland.

Who are involved?

Sitra’s circular economy team was responsible for compiling the list. An expert panel consisting of independent experts on the circular economy and a Sitra representative selected the companies to be included on the list. 

Where are we now?

The list of most interesting companies in the circular economy was first published in spring 2017, after which it was updated in autumn 2017 and spring 2019. Following the spring 2019 update, there were 124 companies on the list. 

An important and natural continuation to the most interesting companies list was the first circular economy recognition and honorary mentions distributed by Sitra and the Quality Centre to pioneering companies in the circular economy in 2019. The recognitions were also aimed at increasing the importance of the circular economy among companies, highlighting examples of successful companies and encouraging companies to invest in the circular economy. 

The list of most interesting companies in the circular economy 2.1 will continue what the previous list started in presenting the most interesting examples of circular economy today. 

In the spring and autumn of 2017, and for the update in spring 2019, Deloitte Oy was commissioned to assist with the company interviews. 

BUSINESS EXAMPLES

124 examples to explore.

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Update on 4th October 2017: Ecofer Oy has been removed from the list after the company’s operations has been discontinued.

Update 28th December 2017: Grano Oy has been removed from the list because the list became more ambitious.

Update on 6th February 2019: BioGTS has been removed from the list after the company went bankrupt. RealGreen has been removed from the list after the concept has been discontinued.

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Riku Sinervo
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Marleena Ahonen

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