Making the world go round
We opened the first Circuit space in our Birsta City meeting place in Sundsvall (Sweden), offering the many people easy access to a range of services, retailers and activities related to the circular economy.
What does it mean when we say we want to inspire and enable the many people to live a more sustainable life? Among other things, it means to make it easy for everyone to do their part creating a better planet. One way to do it is to provide the communities of our meeting places with spaces that offer many ideas, products, tools, and services that help them reduce their impact on our environment. Just like Circuit.
As the name hints, Circuit is a curated space for goods and services related to the circular economy, inspiring visitors to repair, reuse, and recycle everyday items. They can also rent products, and get help to re-use, repair and recycle items – finding any and all opportunities to eliminate wastefulness. We opened the very first Circuit in our Birsta City meeting place in Sundsvall (Sweden) in early June 2022.
Let us take you for a tour! As you enter, you’re met by our welcome desk where our co-workers will answer all the questions about the space. You can then visit the lounge area, or bring your items to the community Swap Shop. Make sure to also pay a visit to our innovative partners that make circular living truly enjoyable. These include a Repair Station staffed by community-led businesses skilled at repairing or personalising your existing belongings, and leading circular retailers like AB Småland. Hyber, who offers rental and subscription services for children’s wear and equipment. You can also spend some time browsing around the vintage and second-hand stalls in the Loppis area, our own contemporary twist on the traditional flea market. And if you want to learn more about how to make circularity an integral part of your everyday life, the welcome hub offers a lively agenda of workshops and activities where you can meet experts who are happy to share their knowledge on how to better care for and extend the life of your things.
At a time when we’re all aware of the unsustainable impact humans are having on our planet, a circular lifestyle inspires to get the very most out of every single resource we use. As Jens Nielsen, Ingka Centres Global Commercial and Digital Director, puts it: “We’re all becoming more conscious of our consumption, with many of our simple everyday pleasures coming at a cost to both ourselves and the planet. But it doesn’t have to be this way. By making it easier to repair, reuse and recycle, we can help our visitors achieve more with less, and live within the limits of our planet. Our meeting places are at the heart of communities, and so they are a natural location for inspiring local people. With the support of partners offering products made from renewable or recycled materials, Circuit makes it easy and exciting for our visitors and the local community to live in ways that are friendlier to both the planet and their pockets, and I believe such spaces have potential to spread across our portfolio in the future.”
We won’t hide we love Circuit and we’re proud of it. And that’s not only for the many opportunities it offers to live in a more circular way, but also because its true strength lies in bringing together different people who can share a wealth of knowledge about how to live more in tune with our planet, and bring along many fresh ideas on how to apply that to our everyday, every day. Together, we can make the world go round – or circular.
Our Sustainability stories
Making the world go round
We opened the first Circuit space in our Birsta City meeting place in Sundsvall (Sweden), offering the many people easy access to a range of services, retailers and activities related to the circular economy.
Making room for a better world
At our Aleja Bielany meeting place in Wroclaw, visitors can find FOROOM, an intercultural community point where people don’t necessarily speak the same language, but where everyone wants to understand each other.
Love your stuff for longer
Like the previous year, we decided to stand out on Black Friday and Double 11 again and run the Love your stuff for a longer campaign.
Prevent it like a gentleman
Our team at MAR Shopping Algarve (Portugal), truly cares about their community and they’re committed to a serious-yet-fun annual event that focuses on men’s health.
A more planet-conscious way to shop
MEGA Nizhny Novgorod (Russia), and their neighbours created a whole new way of combining shopping with… not shopping!
Things to love and love again
Our team at ELNÒS Shopping, Brescia (Italy), helped developing a whole new kind of second-hand store where end products are as beautiful as the way they’re sorted.
The not-so-secret garden
In September 2020, our Wola Park opened the doors of its Everyday Garden (“Ogród Codzienny”).
Helping our planet while taking a break
Our very first centre opened in 1973, Birsta City in Sundsvall (Sweden) has many inspiring stories to tell.
Bags full of care
This is a story of love – love for fashion, but mostly love for people. And it starts with a simple, but wonderful idea.
