From resource mapping to circular implementation in a SME-based industrial city

Vetlanda is a manufacturing-based municipality with a strong industrial profile in aluminium, metal processing, wood-based industries and food-related activities. The local industrial ecosystem is supported by a municipally owned energy company, creating favourable conditions for circular and low-carbon solutions. A recent resource mapping has identified significant untapped potential linked to aluminium scrap, surface treatment residues, excess heat, wood waste and food waste, as well as key interconnections between material flows, energy systems and local infrastructure.

The main challenge for Vetlanda is moving from analysis to concrete implementation. While the technical potential for circular solutions is clear, implementation is constrained by global value chains, regulatory complexity, unclear governance roles and investment barriers. The municipality is therefore at a critical transition point, shifting from strategic insight towards operational circular solutions.

A key local actor is Hydro, a global aluminium company whose operations are closely integrated with local energy, water and material flows. This creates both opportunities and challenges, as local circular ambitions must align with global industrial standards and corporate decision-making. At the same time, the municipally owned energy company represents a strategic asset with the potential to enable circular and climate-neutral solutions through energy integration and excess heat utilisation.

Vetlanda seeks to learn from peer cities that have successfully translated industrial resource flows into operational circular systems, including enabling local circular loops for aluminium and metal, transforming difficult industrial residues into usable resources, clarifying the municipality’s enabling role, and moving from pilots to permanent, scalable structures in cooperation with industry and SMEs.