South of Sweden

City of Malmö & local partners - Upscaling, behavior change, digital tools and public procurement

About the pilot

City of Malmö wants to reduce the carbon emissions caused by office furniture by buying more
secondhand furniture, increase the circular ambitions in the contract for newly produced
furniture and prolong the lifetime of furniture through internal reuse. During the project we will
procure new furniture and test nudging methods to increase purchasing of secondhand
furniture. Our aim is also to get better conditions and a new digital platform for the internal reuse
function. If possible, the position as resource coach will be tested to help offices to furnish
with reused furniture.

The City of Malmö

City of Malmö has been working with circular requirements and ambitions in procurement since 2018 and furniture was the first product group with a circular focus. In spring 2023, a new framework agreement was made for secondhand furniture, that replaced the one from 2018. City of Malmö also has a contract for new furniture where circular principles are included, like spare parts and requirements of circular materials. With the next tender, the ambition is to further increase the circular ambitions. The organization has also worked with the behavioral aspects linked to a circular transition, through several educational and communication activities. 2022 about 15% of the office furniture being bought by the organization was secondhand.

The project team has members from the centralized procurement unit and from the environmental department. The project is very well aligned with the 2030 net zero emission goal for the City of Malmö’s organization. It also targets City of Malmö’s goal to become more resource efficient. More about City of Malmö’s environmental goals can be read here.