Upphandling av rekonditionerade kontorsmöbler - En strategi för att stärka utvecklingen mot en cirkulär ekonomi

Sammanfattning: Although reconditioned office furniture can implicate both environmental and monetary savings for contracting authorities, it seems relatively unusual for public authorities to purchase reconditioned furniture. The aim of this study is to investigate in what way public procurement of reconditioned furniture can be used as a strategy to strengthen the development towards a circular economy. To analyse that interviews with respondents from both the private and the public sector have been conducted. The private sector was represented by persons in the reconditioning industry for furniture and the public sector was represented by municipalities, the procurement authority as well as the purchasing centre SKL Kommentus. A review of previous research and theories regarding the adoption of a circular economy for office furniture was also performed. The results showed several sustainability benefits concerning reconditioned furniture. According to the municipalities, there are multiple economic, environmental and social benefits. Furthermore, the results indicate large possibilities for increasing volumes of reconditioned furniture, where public procurement can be used as a strategy. However, the results showed several difficulties, both within and between the different sectors. This is due to a current gap in which the needs of the public sector are not met by the private one. The main obstacles concerned established routines and practices in procurement, attitudes towards reconditioned furniture, insufficient supply of reconditioned furniture as well as competition within the re-manufacturing industry. Currently, public procurement stands for a small part of the total sales of reconditioned furniture. If the sectors can overcome the identified obstacles, there is a huge potential for increased public procurement of reconditioned furniture. This is of great importance in order to strengthen the development towards a circular economy and thereby reduce the resource requirement and the environmental impacts that follows.