Cities are facing a transition in which sustainability, circular flows and green legislation require the modernisation of logistics and trade flows. EU and national policies place increased demands on resource efficiency, reduced carbon emissions and digital reporting of logistics chains. This means that both companies and public actors need to develop new ways of working to meet future demands.

In this, digitalization can act as an enabler on several levels. By optimising physical flows, improving reporting capabilities and creating new services, digital solutions can streamline both transport and return management. At the same time, technological developments are opening up new business models in the sharing economy and circular flows, which can create new businesses and jobs. The LAGOM project in Trelleborg Municipality combine research, innovation and collaboration to meet sustainability challenges and strengthen the exchange of knowledge between academia and society.

- Trelleborg has a unique position as a logistics hub and coastal city, where trade, port and sustainability meet, says Klas Hjort, project manager at LAGOM and researcher at Lund University. For Lund University, the collaboration is an opportunity to link research to concrete challenges and contribute to developing Trelleborg's role in the green transition.

In the project, academia, industry and the public sector can implement a city-based policy process with innovation in focus to create conditions for testing and developing sustainable logistics solutions adapted to the requirements of the future. To create the solutions of the future, collaboration between different organizations is needed. The project aims to jointly develop local policy recommendations for Trelleborg's stakeholders to drive development and facilitate future implementation of solutions.

This project builds on previous research in digitalisation, transport optimisation, innovation and policy development to create the conditions for solutions adapted to Trelleborg's specific conditions. It is also based on innovation work and the understanding of drivers of innovation in collaboration, as well as experience in practical and strategic policy work.

- Solving complex societal challenges requires collaboration on a whole new level, says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth, Future by Lund and Lund University. One way to make this possible is to develop local policy agreements that create incentives for innovation and a place where the rules of the game for collaborative development work are particularly favourable. Lund University and Future by Lund, together with a large number of partners in Europe, have developed a so-called “Policy Engine” within the platform ekip for this purpose. It will be exciting to use the method in Trelleborg.

Within the framework of the LAGOM project, participants will:

1. Identify logistical challenges, needs and opportunities in Trelleborg, with particular focus on port operations and the growing role of municipal textile collection and waste management. Textile management has been a municipal responsibility since the beginning of the year. It examines how DPP (Digital Product Passport) and digitalisation can be an opportunity in this context.

2. Promote knowledge exchange and skills building through workshops and seminars where stakeholders together identify real problems, challenges and opportunities with trade and logistics in the city.

3. Explore innovation themes in collaboration, such as business models (e.g. in the sharing economy), circular flows and digital platform-based services, and what kind of local policies are needed to catalyze development.

4. Develop recommendations with policy-makers, business and community actors at local level, recommendations for how policies and regulations can support a sustainable, digitally assisted transformation of logistics chains and waste management to support local transformation and innovation work.

The text is based on the project application written by project manager Klas Hjort.

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Project Lagom

Project Manager: Klas Hjort Lund University

Project Time: 20250825- 20260630

Partners: Lund University Future by Lund Trelleborg Municipality together with business and community stakeholders in Trelleborg.

Financier: Competence Fund Trelleborg

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