AAUBS COLLABORATES WITH A TRANSFORMATIVE GLOBAL PROJECT ON A CIRCULARITY SHIFT IN THE GLOBAL APPAREL INDUSTRY

Description

Aalborg University Business School through the ‘Circular Economy in Bangladesh’s Apparel Industry’ (CREATE) project will aim to partner with SWITCH2CE, a world-wide research and policy-development initiative on circularity shift.

The SWITCH2CE project is led by UNIDO and supported by Chatham House as one of the three key service providers, the two others being ‘Circle Economy’ and ‘European Investment Bank’ (EIB). The project is funded by the EU and Finland.

TRANSFORMATION TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The “SWITCH to Circular Economy Value Chains” project will work with large multinational enterprises (MNEs) and transnational actors to transform the linear economy in the apparel industry to a circular economy both in sourcing countries and Europe.

The CREATE project’s research findings may support the project efforts to co-develop policies for a circular economy shift as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr. Mohammad B. Rana, Associate Professor at Aalborg University Business School, is the project lead of the CREATE research project. He will be representing AAUBS in SWITCH2CE and is looking forward to being part of a project that will help solve some of the grand challenges the world is facing today.

- Although circular economy appears to be a good model to reduce resource depletion and environmental impact in the most polluting industries such as apparel and textile, it is not simple to implement in the context where institutions are not supportive to circularity shift. Challenges are deriving not only from the business model innovation but also from institutional transformations in particular the policy, process, mind-set, and habit changes. The CREATE project will research all these challenges, and our collaboration with SWITCH2CE will help us co-develop compatible policies to support the green industrial transformation at the country, industry, and firm-level. I am optimistic that our partnership will make a greater social impact in achieving UN sustainability goals,” says Dr. Rana.

Klas Wetterberg, Project Manager of SWITCH2CE, Chatham House, UK, states that:

- SWITCH2CE and CREATE project have a shared vision. We both aim to develop effective policy for an inclusive circular economy transition, based on research findings and stakeholder dialogue that can support green transformation of the global apparel value chains. Collaboration between SWITCH2CE and CREATE projects will create synergies for our initiatives to make a stronger social and environmental impact in the global apparel industry, particularly in Bangladesh. We are very much looking forward to working with the CREATE project, says Klas Wetterberg.

Christian Nielsen, Head of Aalborg University Business School, is also very pleased with the new collaboration.

- At AAUBS, we are proud to collaborate with UNIDO and Chatham House in the SWITCH2CE-project. The consideration of sustainability is of great importance in the business world and to society as a whole. Companies need to innovate their business models sustainably to be more value-adding and competitive. The transformation towards a circular economy is one of the best possible ways to achieve sustainability-capability that companies can pursue to address climate change and the sustainable development agenda, says Christian Nielsen. 

• Read more about the SWITCH2CE project: https://www.switchtocircular.eu/about/about-programme  
• Read more about the CREATE project: https://www.business.aau.dk/news/news+article/a-new-12m-dkk-research-project-supports-the-circular-economy-in-the-bangladeshi-garment-industry.cid536054

CONTACT

Associate Professor Dr. Mohammad B. Rana, Aalborg University Business School, phone: +45 9940 8231, email: mbr@business.aau.dk

Subject

Aalborg University Business School (AAUBS) is in the process of joining the forces with the “SWITCH to Circular Economy Value Chains” (SWITCH2CE) project to make an impact on a circularity shift in the global apparel value chains.