The background
A concept was developed with housing association Eigen Haard, in which sustainable white goods (washing machines, refrigerators and dryers) are rented to their tenants, with a footnote that the appliances’ constituent materials can be recycled after seven years. By offering this concept, the tenants’ housing costs were lowered in a structural manner.
Context
Influencing residents’ behavior is a frequently discussed topic in the social rental sector. The housing corporation Eigen Haard was struggling with this problem: how do you get tenants engaged with the topic of sustainability, and how do you make sustainable white goods accessible to tenants with a small budget?
The question
Develop a partnership that makes it possible to rent sustainable white goods (washing machines, refrigerators and dryers) at an affordable price. Make a business case for this and arrange the legal assurance.
Current situation and future
The business case had to be perfect for all participants: Eigen Haard, B/S/H/, Turntoo and the tenants.
The process
Following the development of the concept, a selection was made to set up a closed value chain of partners that could collectively offer cooling, washing and drying services to the tenants. In concrete terms, this meant establishing a collaboration between Eigen Haard, a white goods producer (B/S/H/) and a financial intermediary (Turntoo) that could put the devices on the balance sheet. In order to make the project truly circular, the objective is to take back the used appliances after seven years and to reuse the materials in a high-quality manner. This project is therefore sustainable not just in terms of energy saving, but also in the conscious handling of materials.
The results
Eigen Haard completed a successful experiment with 70 devices. B/S/H has also converted the concept into a new initiative in which they can offer appliances on a rental basis.
