Tom Rossau:
Danish Lamp Designer
Scraps Packaging Waste
The Danish design business and sculptural lamp maker Tom Rossau looks at reducing packaging waste by up to 80% with a new flat-pack product. The solution is one of three new initiatives the company developed as part of the Green Circular Transition program
The Results: Three new solutions flip the switch on waste
Tom Rossau and his team of employees entered a five-month program with us with a clear ambition – to become more circular. Through planned workshops and ongoing guidance, the team developed three plug-and-play solutions for the business:
- A flat-pack product that reduces packaging waste by up to 80%
- A cleaning kit that prolongs the lifetime of products, thus reducing their climate footprint
- Design-for-disassembly principles that make it possible to repair lamps at home and minimize the need for packaging in return transport while extending product longevity
“We were on the hunt for more knowledge on circularity, and we definitely got what we came for. I’m leaving this project thinking it was the best,” says founder Tom Rossau of the business’s participation in the program.
The next step for the small Copenhagen-based company is to close their material loop and not leave it up to their customers to handle the waste after end-use. A take-back system for the lamps is also in the works.
The Challenge: From guesswork to enlightened decision-making
- Tom Rossau and his team wanted to go from assumptions and guesswork to a more factual-based knowledge of their environmental footprint
- They wanted to widen their horizon on sustainability and the circular economy and create a more circular business model
“The biggest challenge I’ve experienced in the approach to a more circular and sustainable business model is the difference between guessing and actual knowledge. We need as much input from experts as possible to move forward in this process”
Tom Rossau
Founder
The Solution: Circular and tailored
- A free five-month course in the Green Circular Transition (GCO) program facilitated by us and supported by the talented guys from consultancy firm In futurum
- Frederik Larsen from In futurum introduced Tom Rossau and his team to The Circular Business Model tool developed in partnership with us here at DDC
- The Rossau-team also worked with our toolkit ‘Product analysis’, which helped them explore new ways of thinking, interacting, and building their products
“Two and a half hours after our first workshop, we talked about something completely different from what we’ve talked about the past year, the past five years, actually the past ten years.
So it works!”
Tom Rossau
Founder
About Tom Rossau
Tom Rossau designs sculptural lamps that increase the quality of life at home. The lamps are designed and built by hand in Frederiksberg from carefully selected materials. With their clean and organic design, the lamps are based on a Scandinavian tradition that values quality and durability.
| Number of employees | 10 |
| Founded | 2005 |
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