How AI Can Accelerate Circular and Sustainable Business Models

From Vision to Execution: Why Technology Matters

Circularity is no longer a side initiative. For businesses serious about long-term resilience, it is a structural shift.

At our Circular Breakfast during TechBBQ in Copenhagen, we explored how technology, particularly AI, can enable and accelerate circular and sustainable business models.

The discussion brought together:

• Claes Radojewski, Generative AI Nordics, NVIDIA
• Nanna Gelebo, Managing Director & Partner, Boston Consulting Group
• Anders Munk Jepsen, CEO & Founder, NORNORM
• Moderated by Zivile Ein
  

The conversation was clear: circularity is possible but scale requires systems, data, and collaboration.

AI as an Enabler of Circular Business Models

AI will not solve overconsumption on its own. But it can significantly accelerate the shift to circular models.

Data and machine learning enable:

• Predictive maintenance that extends product life
• Asset tracking and optimisation across locations
• Smarter demand forecasting
• Continuous improvement of design and utilisation
  

For a circular subscription model like NORNORM’s, data is foundational. Understanding how furniture is used, when, where, and how intensively, allows us to keep products in circulation longer and reduce unnecessary production.

This is where AI becomes a game changer. It turns circularity from a static concept into a dynamic, optimised system.

Circularity Is Not an Add-On

One theme stood out: circularity cannot sit on top of a linear model.

It requires a fundamental redesign of how value is created. That means:

• Rethinking ownership
• Designing for longevity and adaptability
• Aligning incentives across government, finance, and industry
  

Circular business models demand cross-sector collaboration. No single company can drive the transition alone. But partnerships at scale can shift markets.

For workspace leaders, this means embedding circularity into procurement, operations, and long-term planning, not treating it as a one-off initiative.

Better, Cheaper, Smarter: Competing on Performance

For circular models to scale, they must compete head-on with traditional alternatives.

That means being:

• More efficient
• More adaptable
• More customer-centric
  

Circularity must deliver operational and financial value, not just environmental benefits.

When circular systems reduce upfront capital expenditure, improve flexibility, and optimise asset use, sustainability becomes a competitive advantage. Not a compromise.

Technology helps make that possible by increasing transparency, efficiency, and responsiveness.

What This Means for Future Workspaces

Workspaces are becoming more fluid. Teams grow, shrink, and reorganise. Locations shift. Expectations evolve.

Circular subscription models align naturally with this new reality. When combined with AI-driven insights, they allow companies to:

• Adapt layouts quickly
• Reconfigure areas without waste
• Extend product lifecycles
• Reduce embodied carbon impact
  

Circularity, supported by technology, becomes a practical tool for resilience.

Collaboration Is the Real Accelerator

If there was one shared conclusion, it was this: collaboration across industries is essential.

Technology providers, consultants, manufacturers, landlords, and operators all play a role. When expertise connects, progress accelerates.

The transition to a circular economy will not happen through isolated innovation. It will happen through shared systems, shared data, and shared ambition.

And it starts with conversations like this one.