June 11th 2026 | Field Visit

Curators: Prof. Preeti Shroff , Founder NAO International; Birgit Geiberger, Global Head of Product UX Design, IKEA; Industry Advisor, Inclusive AI Lab; Dr. Lianne Toussaint, Assistant Professor Media, Art & Society UU

Co-facilitators: Adil Boughlala, Sustainable AI researcher, Inclusive AI lab (NL); Dr. Dennis Nguyen, Assistant Professor of Digital Literacy & Digital Methods, AI Methods lead, Inclusive AI Lab;

Venue: IKEA, Danzigerkade 15, 1013 AP Amsterdam

This immersive field visit offers a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the world’s largest retailers translates circular economy ambitions into operational, digital, and customer-facing reality. Designed for global professionals seeking practical insight and peer exchange, the session explores how sustainability, digital innovation, and business value intersect in real organizational settings. Participants will hear directly from IKEA’s circular and digital teams, gaining insight into strategy, implementation challenges, and lessons learned. The visit spotlights initiatives such as Buy Back, As-Is, and IKEA’s Second-Hand digital platform, connecting circular strategy with concrete design choices, digital platforms, customer journeys, and operational trade-offs. Through hands-on work with customer journeys and service blueprints, participants will add environmental (planet) and AI swimlanes to surface impacts, capabilities, risks, and opportunities across the value chain. Combining expert input, applied learning, and peer discussion, the session equips participants with actionable ideas for pilots, partnerships, and scaling circular solutions within their own organizations.