Relooped

BOFA at the forefront of retail innovation with major EU project
BOFA has been granted DKK 4.2 million for the Retail ReLooped (RELOOPED) project, which helps support Bornholm's shared vision of a waste-free island by 2032.
The funding is for a three-year project under the EU Interreg South Baltic programme and aims to develop new, more resource-efficient solutions for food packaging in the retail sector.
Today, plastic packaging is abundant in the goods we buy from retailers and becomes our plastic or food and drink carton waste. This is one of the reasons why Denmark is one of the most waste-producing countries in the EU.
Plastic waste is often difficult and expensive to recycle, and much waste could be saved if packaging, waste management and infrastructure were thought through from the start. New EU legislation is about to be implemented to tighten up the food packaging area, and chains like COOP have strong climate and environmental goals. The RELOOPED project has been launched to help the transition underway.
The project will test circular solutions together with users, retail chains and the waste industry. There is the prospect of experimenting with packaging-free solutions (loose markets), returnable packaging, etc. Crucially, however, the project will aim to test the solutions together with the users. In practice, this means that Bornholmers and tourists will be involved in testing RELOOPED solutions in selected COOP stores.
This is the first time BOFA is leading and coordinating an EU Interreg South Baltic project. RELOOPED has a total budget of over DKK 15.6 million. There are partners from the countries around the Baltic Sea, specifically Sweden, Poland and Lithuania, participating under BOFA's leadership.
In addition, it is the close co-operation with retailers that makes the project unique. COOP is closely associated with the project with the potential of their more than 1,000 stores, and in Poland, the Żabka chain is similarly involved with their more than 9,000 stores.
Bornholm will be at the centre of the project, where the solutions will be tested. COOP and the regional municipality are excited about the project, which speaks directly to Bornholm's ambitions for the green area. The project follows up on previous projects where Bornholm acts as a test island for the green transition.

Facts about the project:
The project is supported by the EU Regional Fund through the Interreg South Baltic programme. The total budget is EUR 2.1 million (DKK 15.6 million), which is supported with 80%.
BOFA is the coordinator and the other partners are the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery - Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland), Klaipeda University (Lithuania) and Sustainable Business Hub (Sweden). COOP and Żabka are associate partners.

Selected quotes:
"It's really good for Bornholm that we've got the project. It gives us even better opportunities to achieve our ambitious goals in the waste area. And I'm also proud to have such ambitious and committed employees who make it possible." - Jacob Trøst, Mayor, Bornholm Regional Municipality

"For us, the project is part of our efforts on sustainable packaging, circular economy and COOP's climate plan. I'm happy that we can test things and try to close some loops on the lovely island that Bornholm is." Jonas Engberg, Climate Manager, COOP

"BOFA's project work could be more visible, as we have actually built up a very large collection of externally supported projects in recent years. However, no one has given us as much responsibility as here with RELOOPED, so the grant is a huge pat on the back." David Christensen, Project Manager, BOFA

"Congratulations to BOFA and Bornholm for winning the RELOOPED application. We work with our members to access EU funds and we also provide funding for applications. Here we have had a really good collaboration with BOFA, who just seem to be able to punch above their weight class." Jørn W. Sanne-Wander, EU Advisor, Greater Copenhagen EU Office