Experts and managers of furniture companies about megatrends and circular economy development
As part of the Mebel 2020 online programme of supporting events, “The New Life of an Old Wardrobe” project was launched, combining two online events - a seminar and a business game. The project was organised by the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia with the support of EXPOCENTRE AO.
Timur Irtuganov, General Director of the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, Thomas Stautmeister, expert of the furniture industry, Professor, Business Consultant of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 international project, and Olga Pentelkina, representative of IKEA, welcomed the event participants.
Marina Lebedeva, General Director of Medina Art OOO and Head of the Russian section of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 international project, moderated the event and opened the seminar with a presentation on megatrends. Among the key megatrends Marina singled out the shift of economic power from West to East, lack of resources, technological breakthrough, social changes and rapid urbanization. Participants were invited to discuss the impact of trends on business and share their experience in doing business in the light of global changes. Discussing megatrends, Thomas Stautmeister emphasised that social change, in particular population ageing, is leading to a reduction in re-purchasing of furniture and interior items, which has a significant impact on the market structure.
The seminar was continued by Olga Pentelkina, IKEA representative. In her presentation, Olga spoke about the activities that the company has already implemented and continues to develop towards sustainable development. "We have long since launched a battery acceptance service and are proud to have collected more than 50 tonnes of batteries in 2019 and handed them over for recycling. The same applies to lamps - we have handed over more than 20 tonnes of lamps for recycling," said Olga. "And this is just a small example of the significant number of services that IKEA continues to implement”.
The second part of the event was held in an unusual format, namely, all those present online were invited to take part in the business game "Creating business ideas on the principles of circular economy". In the interactive mode, limitations for business development were identified and new niches were found based on megatrends and the principles of circular economy.
The exhibition programme of supporting events: https://www.meb-expo.ru/ru/events/
Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO