On October 24, 2019, as part of the cycle of educational events of the international project “EcoDesign Circle 4.0”, an interactive training Learning Factory was organized.

An international team of ecodesign and circle economy experts from Russia, Estonia, Finland and Germany and workshop participants in teamwork examined models for creating a new chair, umbrella and sneakers, based on Ecodesign principles.

The workshop ended with a lecture “What is Ecodesign and Circle Economy? How will this affect our lives?”, presented by Conrad Dorer, representative of the German Environmental Protection Agency, coordinator of the project “EcoDesign Circle 4.0”.

The beginning of June was marked by an online conference “Sustainable Development: Challenges and Opportunities”. It was attended by both Russian and international experts who discussed the possibilities for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the broader context of European cooperation.

At the expert session of the conference, which brought together leading experts in this field, the head of the Russian part of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project, General Director of Medina Art LLC Marina Lebedeva spoke about successful Russian and European examples of tools and projects that contribute to building a dialogue between business, government and civil society in order to achieve the SDGs.

As part of the student session, PR-manager of the Ecodesign and Cyclical Economy 4.0 project Oksana Shipacheva made a presentation on the topic “Experience in implementing the SDGs in Europe and Russia on the example of the international project Ecodesign and Cyclical Economy 4.0”. Both performances aroused great interest among the participants. In total, the conference brought together about 90 people.

The online conference brought together experts from Germany, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Russia and the Netherlands, laying the foundation for future collaboration.

As a continuation of the project, in February 2020, project sessions “EcoDesign Audit” and “Ecodesign Sprint” were held in St. Petersburg. The First Furniture Factory is a pilot project to apply these best practices for changing business processes and designing new products.

The events were attended by experts from Estonia, Germany, Finland and Russia, as well as top managers of the company, who got acquainted with the principles of the circle economy in a workshop format.

The results of the audit of the company's production processes, conducted by Markus Vihma, an expert at the Estonian Design Center, formed the basis for the development of new products and business ideas for the First Furniture Factory.

The project session “EcoDesign Sprint” was moderated by Anna Rutkovski, expert of the Finnish Design Forum. Within its framework, the participants developed three pilot projects, which will be developed and implemented by the First Furniture Factory in the field of new customer-oriented services, digitalization of the sales system and optimization of production processes. This will affect the strategy for improving the internal processes of the organization related to product design, optimization of procurement procedures, manufacturing and logistics, based on the principles of ecodesign

Have you ever wondered how many tons of old office furniture and furniture in general go to landfill every year?

We want to make a difference. We have already built furniture recycling plants, and we are ready for conscious consumption. And we also understand that we need to pass on a clean world to children and grandchildren.

Together with the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, we have launched the project "New life of an old wardrobe", which is supported by the Presidential Grants Fund.

The project aims to reduce the negative impact on the environment by introducing methods of recycling used cabinet furniture, the amount of which is increasing due to the growth in consumption and production of furniture and panel materials. Within the framework of the project, it is planned to create and implement a system of interrelated measures during 2020-2021, including the creation of an effective model for the disposal and recycling of used cabinet furniture and production waste, including a logistic scheme and an economic model; introduction of knowledge about new technologies for processing secondary waste, as well as designing products taking into account its processing (ecodesign); increasing the environmental awareness of the population in the field of conscious consumption and recycling of furniture, organized on the basis of furniture sales networks. The start of the project was marked by the release of a story about the problem of recycling used furniture on the First TV Channel in June 2020, on the Day of the Ecologist.

Project “EcoDesign Circle 4.0” was presented at the 5th European Resource Forum.

On December 3, 2020, at the European Resource Forum, the international partners of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project of the Baltic Sea Region Interreg program Aino Vepsalainen (Design Forum, Finland) and Ronya Scholz (Technical University Berlin, Germany) told the forum participants about the circular economy and presented the main formats of our joint project - Learning Factory, EcoDesign Audit and EcoDesign Sprint. The presentation took place in the framework of the parallel session “Resource efficiency and circula design - from niche to mainstream”, which was also attended by experts in the field of circular economy from Estonia and the Netherlands.

During the presentation, the European colleagues shared the best practices of circular design from the experience of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project, and also discussed the values of the circular approach and the specifics of interaction with the end user.

On November 19, 2020, within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Innovation Forum, a panel discussion "Circular Economy and Ecodesign - Drivers of Modern Production Development" was held. The session was initiated by the St. Petersburg University of Management Technologies and Economics. Vice-Rector of the University Gennady Kostin opened the session with a welcoming speech. The discussion was moderated by the head of the Russian part of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project, General Director of Medina Art Ltd Marina Lebedeva. The invited experts shared their practices and ideas of the circular economy:

Thomas Stautmeister, business consultant, professor, head of the IpeA GmbH Academy (Germany)

Wilfried Bergmann, Doctor of Jurisprudence, Professor, Vice President of the European Academy of Arts and Sciences, coordinator of the Science and Education Working Group (Germany)

The session participants discussed megatrends in the development of a circular economy and their role for a modern enterprise, as well as during the interactive part they proposed solutions to promote ideas of joint consumption, environmental sustainability and digital transformation. The interactive was conducted by Valentin Shumovsky, an expert in business development, innovation and sustainable development.

Publication on the website KP.RU

"What ecodesign and circular economy are and how they will change our lives: https://www.spb.kp.ru/daily/21712090/4326609/" 

The panel discussion can be viewed on YouTube: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqoV5g5-Mkk&feature=youtu.be

In 2020, the Committee of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the Development of Business Practices made the TOP-10 Rating "Best Business Practices 2020". More than 50 companies in various fields from Moscow, Moscow Region and other regions of Russia submitted applications for participation in the award.

EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project won the award and received a diploma on December 16 during the Best Business Practices 2020 online conference.

In October 2019, within the framework of the Green Day of the Forum of Strategists (www.forumstrategov.ru), a presentation of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project took place. Conrad Dorer and Marina Lebedeva spoke about the project and its planned results.

International Youth Online Conference "The Future of the Fashion Industry"

On April 20, the International Youth Online Conference "The Future of the Fashion Industry" took place. The main topics of discussion were the future development of the fashion industry, the advantages and disadvantages of education in the field of fashion and design, the role of innovative technologies. The discussion was attended by designers, buyers, as well as representatives of the textile industry from Russia, Italy, Australia and Germany.

Medina Art LTD represented by Oksana Shipacheva presented the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project at the conference and introduced the participants to the concepts of circle and linear economy in the context of the fashion industry. In addition, the transition from “fast” to “slow” fashion was considered on the example of Russian and international brands. At the end of the presentation, the designers received recommendations for building a “sustainable” brand.

As part of the Design Week in St. Petersburg, the results of the spring session 2020 of the XXIII International Children's Design and Art Competition "Room of My Dreams" were summed up. This time the theme of the year is "CLEAN LINE AND ECODESIGN". "Clean line" is a clean world around us, and pure colors of nature, and ecodesign, and cleanliness inside us!

An authoritative international jury selected the best of more than five hundred works created by children. 64 winners of the spring online session of the Second round of the competition between the ages of 4 and 17 have been determined in four main and two additional nominations. At the online virtual exhibition in the competition group on the VKontakte social network https://vk.com/kmminfo, drawings, pieces of furniture, room models and interior items are presented.

In autumn, we will meet again at the offline exhibition of the best works, we will see the defile of children's clothing design studios, we will plunge into the cycle of the Festival of creative professions.

The purpose of the Competition is the development of talented youth, through the art of interior design, the formation of a sense of style and harmony in the work of young artists and designers, helping them in determining their vocation and future profession. In total, more than 1200 participants from 29 regions of Russia took part in the spring session of the Competition.

On April 20, Marina Lebedeva, head of the Russian part of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project, general director of Medina Art LTD, took part in the online broadcast “Circle economy - how it helps income growth” of the ”Mature Business.Reboot” channel, in which she talked about the concept of ecodesign and the circle economy, as well as their advantages over the linear economy.

On April 20, 2020, Marina Lebedeva, head of the Russian part of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project, general director of Medina Art LTD, took part in the online broadcast “Circle economy - how it helps income growth” of the ”Mature Business.Reboot” channel, in which she talked about the concept of ecodesign and the circle economy, as well as their advantages over the linear economy.

From 22 to 25 June 2020, the Design Week was held in St. Petersburg in the format of an online forum. This is an annual event for architects, designers, interior designers, developers and businesses. This year it was devoted to analyzing the current situation during a pandemic, searching for new ideas and solutions for the further development of design.

A special place in the program of the online forum was taken by a panel discussion dedicated to ecodesign and circular economy. The international partners of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region program Conrad Dorer (Germany), Thomas Stautmeister (Germany) and Markus Vihma (Estonia) took part in the discussion. The discussion was moderated by Marina Lebedeva, head of the Russian part of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 international project of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region program, General Director of Medina Art LTD.

On November 25, 2020, the project "New Life of an Old Cabinet" with the support of the international project "EcoDesign Circle 4.0" held a seminar and a business game dedicated to the transition to a circular economy in the furniture industry.

At the seminar, Marina Evgenievna Lebedeva, the head of the Russian part of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project, spoke about the megatrends of the world economy and the creation of sustainable products based on the principles of a circular economy. General director of AMPDPR Timur Irtuganov and business consultant of the EcoDesign Circle 4.0 project, expert of the furniture and woodworking industry Thomas Stautmeister also shared their expertise. In addition, Olga Pentelkina, IKEA sustainable projects manager, presented the main directions and projects of the company, developed in accordance with the concept of a circular economy.

During the business game, the participants identified the obstacles that hinder the transition of woodworking industries, furniture factories and shops to a circular economy, and proposed their solutions. The presenter and moderator of the business game was Valentin Shumovskiy, a business coach, an expert on innovation, business development and sustainable development.

Watch the video of the event on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7-FqNMsQgg&feature=emb_logo

On November 26, 2020 a business training "Design Talks" was held with experts of the international project "EcoDesign Circle 4.0" from Finland, Poland and Germany. 

During the event, participants learned how to build business models based on the principles of a circular economy and what role a designer should play in the entire process. During the training, design solutions and examples of implementation were presented, showing how design contributes to sustainable growth and the implementation of the principles of a circular economy. In addition, the event introduced participants to sharing and reuse strategies, upcycling and recycling.

Marina Evgenievna Lebedeva, the head of the Russian part of the international project EcoDesign Circle 4.0, General Director of Medina Art Ltd, told Telegraph why waste appears, how its volume can be reduced and what role in this a circular economy plays.

Link to the article:

https://rustelegraph.ru/news/2020-09-03/marina-lebedeva-vse-otkhody-proizvodyatsya-iz-za-nepravilnogo-proektirovaniya-92454