TrÆls is a small company with 8 employees, which was established in 2016. They are a furniture company that builds furniture or physical environments out of recycled wood materials for sale and hire. Examples of their products are furniture, stalls, art works, plant boxes and other specially designed products. They use residual, waste and surplus materials, primarily made from wood, which they process and reuse for new products and environments.
TrÆls takes inspiration in UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals with a special focus on sustainable development, social wellbeing and circular economy. They also engages in networks, projects and events to promote the learning of and a better understanding of sustainability and circular economy.
ReSOLVE principles:
Sharing - Rents out the products.
Optimise - Uses residual, waste and surplus materials.
Loop - Treats and reuses old wood for new products and environments.
Regenerate – using reusable materials and they prevent unnecessary harvest of trees.
The entrepreneur(s): (briefly introducing the person, main focus on their professional background, skills gained)
Anders Koed Jensen is the owner of TrÆls. He is an engineer specializing in Business Development. Anders specializes in green business models with a particular focus on circular economy and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Anders is an expert and front-runner in circular economy and works with a long-term goal of making Denmark a leader in circular economy in three areas: Design & urban development, strategy & analysis, as well as upcycling & production development.
Anders is also founder and serial entrepreneur behind the companies Brainwash, Håndslag and AKJ, as well as the recycling system ReDo and one of the main partners in the Compas Commercial Building, Hedensted.
- “AKJ” (Anders Koed Jensen) is a consulting firm in the practice of circular economics and the UN's 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which offers support to companies, municipalities, projects, etc.
- "Brainwash" is a company that creates business models based on the UN's 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development.
- "Håndslag" (handshake) is a green design and marketing platform.
Personal website and Linkedin profile:
http://akjensen.dk/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anderskoed/
Products/services:
Produces sustainable products and environments, made by reused wood, that they sell and rent.
Target customers:
They have a broad line of customers like companies, shops, festivals, and public institutions like museums, libraries and schools.
Social /environmental/economic impact:
Social impact:
Inclusive work place. They cooperate with the employment services.
Environmental impact:
Reduce waste and use natural resources. Reduce tree cutting by reusing old and residue wood materials.
Economic impact:
They support local production.
Sector:
Manufacturing/Production
Circular business model/strategy:
TrÆls’s business model was developed to be circular, so the whole foundation with furniture made by reused wood and the activities and services they engage in, are based on sustainability and circularity. The founder, Anders wanted to start a business for 0,- and from that, the business naturally evolved to be circular. He wanted to start a business that was aimed at the demands and trends of the future. When Anders tried to find information about circular economy, it was limited what he found - therefore he did not find inspiration in the social, environmental or economic benefits as such, as he did not as such know the benefits. However, from the start, he has been driven by the economic, social and environmental aspect.
TrÆls designs special made furniture to their customers, but they try not to develop products based on the customer’s needs. They do not want to follow demands, but want to “design” the customer’s needs and a new market that are based on sustainable and circular principles. This is why they engage in a lot of projects and activities to promote the understanding and awareness of these themes.
Maturity level:
Growing
Website/references:
https://traels.nu/
https://www.facebook.com/traels.nu/
https://www.instagram.com/traels.nu/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/18111305/admin/
Location:
Denmark, Hedensted
Year of establishment:
Anders started the business alongside his education. Here he developed the business-strategy and in March 2017, he went full-time with the company.
