How to Go Full Circle: The Circular Business Model
Circularity is one of the big buzzwords of our time. But how to approach it from a business point of view? Dive into our toolkit, and these short explainers – all here to help you make your circular ambitions actionable
Five videos and you’re on your way. In close collaboration with design consultancy In futurum we’ve developed the Circular Business Model tool to remove any obstacles on your journey towards becoming a circular business. Meet Frederik Larsen from In futurum. He’ll introduce you to the three cycles of the design tool.
02.05
First cycle
Welcome to the first cycle: the start of life cycle, which consists of four stages:
Design, sourcing, production, and distribution. For each stage, you might ask yourself these questions:
- Design: When designing your offerings, do you consider the full life span of the product?
- Sourcing: What is your material input, and where does it come from?
- Production: How are materials treated during production, and what does the process require?
- Distribution: What does your product rely on to create value?
02.05
Second cycle
Moving on to the second cycle: the product life cycle with the four stages care, repair, up-cycle, and re-sell. For each stage, you might ask yourself a few questions:
- Care: Does your product require special care?
- Repair: How can your product be repaired, and what does it require?
- Up-cycle: How can your product be up-cycled, and does it require something special from the company?
- Re-sell: Does a re-sell model for your product exist?
02.05
Final cycle
The final cycle of the design tool is the end of life cycle, which has three stages: collection, deconstruct and recycle. And here are your questions:
- Collection: Can your product easily be collected for recycling?
- Deconstruct: Can your product be disassembled?
- Recycle: Can all the materials be recycled?
02.05
Case: Solartes
Say hi to Swedish startup Solartes! They participated in the Urbantech Circular Design course and worked intensely with the tool to analyze and develop a more circular way forward. Learn how the tool helped them change their solution, mindset, and in the end, their entire business model.
02.05
Virtual circular design course tool
Circular business model mapping
Can’t get enough of design and innovation? We hear you. And we have you covered.
Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest from our world delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the ddc newsletter