Circular Economy – a sustainable model for your organisation and the environment

Businesses, organisations and industries need to embrace the opportunities and benefits of a circular economy so that waste is ‘designed out’ of how we live – those who can do so first will have a competitive advantage.

A circular economy is achieved by designing products smartly with their whole life cycle in mind, re-using and repairing to extend their useful life, and then when their life is deemed over, remanufacturing to create new products from old.

There are several routes to embracing a circular economy including;

• Design
  Products are made using regenerative materials and modular design techniques in order to be longer-lasting and easier to disassemble and repair, in essence, to design out waste;
• Re-use and repair
  Product life cycles are extended by maintenance and repair, so they remain in their original use for as long as possible. This could include manufacturers retaining ownership of their products and implementing re-use and repair services;
• ​Recycling
  Products can be easily separated into component parts and materials, enabling use in new products, displacing the use of virgin raw materials;
• Manufacturing
  Manufacturing products with circular economy principles built in at design;
• Remanufacturing and Reuse
  Extending the lifetime of products at the end of their ‘first life’ by repurposing them or enabling other, subsequent uses;
• Business Models including leasing and servistisation;
  Overseeing the full lifespan of your products creates a truly stable business model, with a steady income.

Every business is different. Moving to a circular business model can sometimes be about making a few small changes that can make a huge difference in the long run.

Source: Zero Waste Scotland.  Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

It makes business sense. By getting the maximum value out of the resources they use, they will gain the competitive benefits of forming longer-lasting relationships with customers, based on the provision of products and services rather than the sale of products alone;

Source: Zero Waste Scotland.  Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.