Digital Policy Lab for Circular Furniture Flows

The public sector purchases large volumes of furniture every year. At the same time, fully functional furniture often sits unused, is forgotten, or replaced prematurely. Despite ambitious sustainability and resource-efficiency goals, reuse remains the exception rather than the norm. In the project “Digital Policy Lab for Circular Furniture Flows,” RISE, Axfoundation, and partners explored how the public sector can move from isolated reuse initiatives to a more systematic and measurable approach. The project demonstrates that digital solutions can play an important role – but only when integrated with governance, accountability, financial incentives, and everyday decision-making.

The project Circular Furniture Flows aims to increase furniture reuse in the public sector.

The Issue

Today, many municipalities lack a comprehensive overview of their furniture inventory – what furniture they own, where it is located, what condition it is in, and whether it can be reused. Information is often scattered across different systems – or missing entirely. This makes it difficult to plan long term, track progress toward sustainability goals, and prioritize reuse over new purchases. At the same time, the issue is becoming increasingly relevant as the EU develops new requirements for greater traceability and improved product data, including through digital product passports.

However, to create real value in the public sector, this information must also be connected to how furniture is used, moved, maintained, and reused over time. Another barrier is that financial structures often incentivize the wrong choices. New purchases can be treated as long-term investments, while repair, refurbishment, and reuse are typically charged directly to operational budgets. As a result, circular alternatives may appear more expensive – even when they are better for both the climate and long-term financial performance. The result is that reuse initiatives are often driven by committed individuals and local efforts, rather than by shared practices, clear accountability, and integrated governance.

Municipalities often already have both the ambition and the furniture they need. For reuse to become the norm, it must be easy to find, assess, and make use of what already exists.

– Johanna Olofsson Behrman, Project Manager, Future Materials, Axfoundation

Our solution

The project was lead out by RISE as a policy lab, where municipalities, research institutes, industry stakeholders, and procurement organizations jointly explored what is required to scale circular furniture management. One key conclusion is that furniture needs to be viewed as a long-term asset – not as a one-time purchase. For this to work, information must follow the furniture throughout its entire lifecycle – from needs assessment and procurement to use, relocation, repair, reuse, and end-of-life management.

The project developed a 2030 vision in which digital product passports, lifecycle data, and decision-support systems are integrated. In this vision, reuse, repair, and refurbishment are the default choices. New purchases are made only when existing resources can no longer meet the need. As part of the project, the prototype BEHÅLL was developed – a simple decision-support tool that illustrates how different furniture choices impact cost and climate over time. The prototype compares options such as internal redistribution, external reuse, refurbishment, leasing, and new purchases. The goal was not to create a finished IT system, but rather to explore how better data can help public-sector organizations make more sustainable decisions in practice.

Did you know that …

Government agencies purchase newly manufactured furniture for 99 percent of their replacements – despite a framework agreement that enables reuse.
100 billion tonnes of raw materials are consumed globally every year. This is equivalent to nearly two Earths’ worth of resources.
Sweden produces furniture worth SEK 23 billion annually, of which 30 percent consists of office furniture.
The production of office furniture alone causes annual emissions of 170,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. At the same time, a reused workstation saves approximately 300 kilograms of CO₂ emissions compared with a newly manufactured one.

Some Facts …

Digital Product Passports (DPPs)
Digital “product passports” that compile essential information about a product’s materials, origin, use, repairability, and recycling throughout its lifecycle. DPPs are being introduced gradually through the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

Roadmap for Public Procurement and Public Purchasing
The Swedish government’s 2025–2030 roadmap outlines the transition toward more strategic, sustainable, and digital public procurement and purchasing – where increased reuse and easier market access for small and medium-sized enterprises are key priorities

Results

The project demonstrates that more digital tools alone are not enough. For reuse to become the norm, support systems need to exist where decisions are already being made – in procurement systems, financial systems, facility management systems, and within day-to-day operational processes. Five key learnings stand out:

Digitalization needs to support the entire furniture lifecycle
Isolated solutions for inventory management or reuse have limited impact if they are not connected to procurement, finance, usage, and follow-up processes.
Integration matters more than introducing separate new tools
Circular choices need to be easy to make in everyday operations. If users have to leave their existing systems, reuse quickly becomes a side track.
Organization and financial governance are just as important as technology
Clear ownership, shared ways of working, and budgeting models that support lifecycle thinking are essential for scaling reuse.
Municipalities can start already today
It is possible to build basic traceability, test decision-support tools, and collect relevant lifecycle data without waiting for fully implemented digital product passports.
Shared standards are needed to scale
For furniture data to be usable over time and across organizations, common definitions are needed for aspects such as condition, value, climate impact, and lifecycle events.

Together, these learnings show that circular furniture management is not primarily a technology issue. It is about creating the right conditions for making better use of existing resources – through clearer accountability, better data, more effective governance, and decisions that take both cost and climate impact into account over time.

Next steps

The project resulted in a report containing key learnings, guidance, and recommendations for how public-sector organizations can continue advancing circular furniture management. For municipalities looking to get started, the recommendation is to begin with a limited scope while designing for scalability – select one furniture category, establish basic traceability, clarify ownership and responsibilities, and test how data can support better decision-making.

The results can be used by municipalities, procurement organizations, system providers, and other stakeholders seeking to make reuse a more integrated and natural part of public furniture management.

Our contribution

RISE was the lead project partner for Circular Furniture Flows. Axfoundation contributed business and systems perspectives within the project’s policy lab, where stakeholders from the furniture industry and the public sector explored what is required for circular furniture flows to work in practice. Axfoundation also contributed to the project’s communications and dissemination of results.