Growing international interest in how procurement can drive sustainable innovation

The Asia Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable & Hotspot 2025 was held from 21 to 24 October in Taipei. The conference brought together government representatives, businesses, researchers and civil society to promote collaboration and solutions in the circular economy.

We asked Lina Svenberg four questions to capture the interest that procurement-friendly innovation management has generated in the international arena.

What is it about your work that they were curious to know more about in Taiwan?

– Taiwan is in the process of developing a circular economy roadmap for 2050, which is planned to be launched in 2026. They had read about our work on Demand Acceleration and within UNECE, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Therefore, they wanted my input on policy developments in the EU related to circular procurement – both what is the state of the art, what remains to be done and what needs we see ahead.

What reactions did you encounter after your presentation?
– The most obvious was how human the challenges are – both in policy development and in procurement. The fear of making mistakes, but at the same time a desire to really be part of the change.

– Many also appreciated the perspective of seeing procurement as a tool to drive innovation. It raised a lot of interest in how it can work in practice. It is also a key perspective when we want to drive circularity: experimentally exploring how a resource can create value – and for whom. It differs from the traditional way of looking at circular and innovation procurement.

Are there other ripples on these issues internationally?
– Yes, not least through our work within UNECE in recent years. We have led a workstream on Innovation-Enhancing Procurement and recently presented a policy paper in Geneva. This is now the basis for establishing a drafting team to develop international policy guidelines. This is an exciting development, and we see a great interest in these issues among UNECE member countries.

How does it feel to meet this interest?
– It is very inspiring to see how the seed that was sown in Karlstad and Värmland is now nourishing new collaborations, policy development and exchange of experience in other parts of the world!