Growing international interest in how procurement can drive sustainable innovation

The Asia Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable & Hotspot 2025 was held between 21 and 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 put four questions to Lina Svensberg to capture the interest that procurement-friendly innovation management has generated on the international stage.

What was it about your work that they were curious to learn more about in Taiwan?

– Taiwan is developing a roadmap for the circular economy towards 2050, planned for launch in 2026. They had read about our work with Demand Acceleration and within UNECE, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. They therefore wanted my input on policy development in the EU related to circular procurement – both the state of the art, what remains to be done, and what needs we see going forward.

What reactions did you encounter after your presentation?
– The clearest takeaway was how human the challenges are – both in policy development and in procurement. The fear of getting it wrong, but at the same time a desire to truly be part of driving change.

– Many also appreciated the perspective of seeing procurement as a tool for driving innovation. It sparked great interest in how this can work in practice. It is also a central perspective when we want to drive circularity: experimentally exploring how a resource can create value – and for whom. This differs from the traditional way of viewing circular procurement and innovation procurement.

Are there other ripple effects for 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 now forms the basis for establishing a drafting team to develop international policy guidelines. It is an exciting development, and we see great interest in these issues among UNECE member states.

How does it feel to encounter this interest?
– It is truly 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!