PRESS RELEASE: HÅLLBAR INTERIÖR IS READY TO LAUNCH

Vinnova motivates their decision in the announcement for Stage 3 – Implementation, within the program Challenge Driven Innovation as follows:

“The project proposal is deemed to demonstrate a clear systems perspective and the problem formulation highlights the complex societal challenge linked to the 2030 Agenda. The solutions are deemed to be able to drive towards a more sustainable interior architecture and less waste of resources. The potential for both national and international dissemination is assessed”

A certification and a digital tool

Hållbar interiör has been working to develop an environmental certification for premises and a digital tool – Hint, which is used to measure the environmental impact of one’s business. The tool gives an indication of how sustainable your premises, interior or project plan is. For example, did you know that the biggest environmental impact of furniture occurs at the manufacturing stage? It is possible to work consciously and more circularly to reduce emissions and environmental impact.

But how best to do this can sometimes be a challenge. Hi helps you measure your impact and suggests how to work smartly and responsibly towards a sustainable discourse. You will be helped to calculate and implement changes to become better suited for the environmental certification Hi launched. Maybe you just want to work more sustainably?

Hint helps you work towards individually tailored goals and needs. However, with the new global climate goals, there is reason to review your operations. Soon you will need a tool like Hi to help you get ready for the coming change.

New climate targets and regulations

With the EU’s new directive (CSRD), which requires companies to start accounting for their sustainability and also to report it under the new framework, we need to develop our common understanding of what sustainability is. Also our understanding of the concept. Sustainability reporting is equated with financial reporting legally and responsibly. The certification that Hi has developed has the potential to facilitate such a transition through its criteria. The certification also enables stakeholders to better prepare their operations for the global climate goals.

There is currently no equivalent to Hi on the market. There is no environmental certification, no tool like Hint for interior architects, designers and architects. With the new demands on businesses to work more sustainably, a new common industry standard is needed for all to relate to. The Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning is also planning to introduce new legal requirements for extended environmental declarations, which may also cover solid furnishings and finishes. This will place high demands on operators and companies to familiarise themselves with the new regulations and how best to comply with them.

The market needs certification

We need a solution that will help us prepare the whole industry for the new directives. Sustainable Interiors is an initiative for such a solution, with the aim of facilitating a common transition for all. Certification can also help develop new regulations and policies, which will be decided in Sweden and the EU in the future.

Hi and Hint are ready to be tested by users. The desired outcome is that the certification and the tool bring together as many users as possible in a common cause. During step 3, the project will be tested, tested and tested by Hi’s partners. Hopefully this will generate more users. The goal is to develop further through testing. Develop the criteria on which Sustainable Interiors is based and thus its potential for growth and different uses.

“The market lacks and needs certification and innovative tools, like the ones we have developed. There is a high demand and a large void for corresponding products today, so the prognosis is good to get Hi on the market”, says Kristin Östberg, project manager for Hi, and CEO and interior designer at Indicum.

Many industries are already well advanced in their sustainability efforts. Certifications are common and a marker of the credibility of the business. It rewards the assumption of real responsibility as an actor and not only serves as a seal of quality, but also signals legitimacy. Kristin Östberg does not want to see the industry she works in lag behind. She also sees a danger that an industry that is largely female-dominated will fall behind and not gain recognised legitimacy in relation to more male-dominated areas such as construction, where there are already a number of established environmental certifications.

Everyone benefits from a common vision for sustainability

It should be stressed that it is in everyone’s interest to work towards a common understanding and certification, as there are many benefits to be gained from rapid progress. But it needs to be done with respect to criteria and measurable objectives, to ensure good results. Hi has been careful to avoid a scenario where quality and measurability are abandoned in favour of other values or merits. Credibility, integrity and measurability are aspects that all participants in Hi have actively worked towards, throughout the development of the project.

The list can be long of areas that benefit from working towards a circular transition. In addition to a more sustainable environmental impact, business and markets also benefit, as more innovative ideas and projects emerge as a natural part of the transition. It is possible to work consciously so that more global goals, such as gender equality, biodiversity conservation and sustainable industry are woven into the benefits. Something Hi actively worked on during the project. Kristin Östberg hopes that Sustainable Interiors will continue to contribute to such growth in the long term, which can thus generate more chains of innovative development.

During step 3, the project will continue to work on launching Sustainable Interiors on the market. It is hoped that the broad collaboration within Hi will be a step in the right direction towards changing the industry, resulting in reduced emissions and more sustainable development in the long term.

For pictures and more information contact kristin.ostberg@indicum.se