Engaging the right stakeholders: circular resource flows
Would you like to contribute to increased circularity within the agricultural sector? Then this is a thesis project for you!
Client
Trinitek Upcycling is a newly founded company whose vision is to contribute to a circular economy by turning agricultural sidestreams into value before they become waste. To do this, they provide a matchmaking platform where producers and buyers can find each other. At their site, farmers and producers can list anything from sugar beet pulp, carrot culls and potato peelings to whey and bakery surplus. Potential buyers can represent a variety of businesses, including for example food companies, construction enterprises, and producers of biogas, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
They also provide a map service where you can see the location of different sellers and their resources. For now, Trinitek Upcycling mainly operates in Skåne, but their goal is to expand the market to include all of the Nordic countries.
Background
From the production at farms, surplus and waste material is continuously accumulated. Today, this usually entails a cost for farmers as they pay for seeds, put in working hours and use energy-consuming equipment for different steps of the production, only for some of the output to be thrown away. As EU-regulations aimed at farmers are also getting more and more strict, this imposes a lot of requirements for how farmers should manage their production. Usually, these requirements come without help and may risk the farmer’s agricultural support from the EU if they are not met. This is where Trinitek Upcycling can provide a valuable service and help farmers close the loops and make use of what would otherwise be considered waste.
Task
Trinitek Upcycling already have good knowledge on how to continue developing the website in terms of the technical aspects. Instead, the challenge they face is about reaching the right stakeholders. Trinitek Upcycling’s platform is aimed at farmers and producers, but uptake among farmers is low. To help Trinitek Upcycling reach their intended users and spur more sustainable value chains, your task is twofold:
- First, analyse why farmers do with their surplus/byproducts today. What would make a service like Trinitek Upcycling’s platform worth their time?
- Secondly, based on your analysis, propose how Trinitek Upcycling’s branding, website and external communication could change to better reach their target group.
In this project, you will work in close collaboration with the founders of Trinitek Upcycling, as well as with their IT team. The company is happy to help you get in contact with farmers in Skåne if needed.
Preferably, your results should be presented in both Swedish and English.
Related Sustainability Goals
