Business models, policies, and partnerships for sustainable working life: circular initiatives in the textile and construction industries

The project will identify and explore challenges and opportunities to create sustainable business models that promote a sustainable working life, develop processes and methods for how social partners can cooperate and how public actors can contribute.The project focuses on business models for circularity in sectors with significant contributions to climate change and other environmental problems as well as challenges for working life.

Circularity includes product design, repair, reuse, and recycling.The project will use methods from social innovation to discover unidentified opportunities for sustainable value creation. However, work life issues are rarely included in business models.

That is why we will involve the social partners and public actors in order to create adequate preconditions for sustainable business models.We will study textiles and clothing, as well as construction products and materials.

These sectors, have potentials for greater gender equality and socio-economic equality in the workplace and to increase employment for those far from the labour market, while at the same time having internal and external challenges in terms of expansion, job security, work environment and environmental impact.

We will develop:Increased knowledge of drivers, relevant roles, and actors within and outside current circular value chains and their influence on the creation of sustainable business models.Concepts for sustainable business models that benefit the environment, as well as a working life that promotes learning, innovation, and gender equality, and that ensures effective work environment management.Social partnership concepts to shape the green transition to ensure a sustainable working life, such as how collective agreements between the social partners can contribute to an appropriate education system, job security and work environment work.Concept for public actors’ role in creating the conditions for sustainable business models.