Nowadays most companies operate on a linear economy that consists of “take, make, use and waste”. However, this is not sustainable in the near future and companies need to switch to a circular economy model by closing the... [ view full abstract ]
Nowadays most companies operate on a linear economy that consists of “take, make, use and waste”. However, this is not sustainable in the near future and companies need to switch to a circular economy model by closing the loop of materials, energy and waste flows. In addition, companies are becoming more and more aware of the importance of implementing the circular economy as a way of achieving sustainable development, thanks to the influence of governments, institutions, researchers and consumers. However, as traditional and linear business models still exist, companies will require guidance as they transition to a circular system and learn to operate under the circular economy model and to apply its principles for sustainable production and consumption. This guidance is especially important in the case of SMEs, which are the predominant form of enterprises in the OECD area, accounting for approximately 99% of all firms, 70% of jobs on average, and generating between 50% and 60% of value added on average. But SMEs face technological, financial and human resources barriers when it comes to implementing the circular economy. Bearing this in mind, the aim of this research is to provide companies with a guide that helps them identify circular economy implementation opportunities in their own businesses in order to create value and consequently a competitive advantage in the market. This guide was developed through a review of the literature, and it was validated in a rubber-metal company. Our circular economy implementation guide is based on six fields of action: take, make, distribute, use, return/enrich and create industrial symbiosis. The guide presents a diagnostic tool, a benchmark report, theoretical immersion in the circular economy and eco-innovation, and a set of exercises that help companies identify opportunities related to the circular economy in their processes. The exercises are partially based on the Ecodesign cards developed in the Switchmed project. These cards were updated to fit the proposed fields of action. During the validation phase, the leaders of each department and the general manager worked on these exercises in groups to analyze the company’s actual performance in the different fields of action. Next, the groups identified improvement opportunities. All the information was gathered and the different groups reached a consensus. As a final exercise, they organized the identified opportunities according to the expected benefits and the implementation time: short, medium or long term. Finally, they selected the most appropriate opportunities to start with and prepared an action plan. The guidance we propose will allow companies to go deeper into the circular economy and identify the opportunities they have. Moreover, this study provides an exciting opportunity for the research community to advance in the knowledge of the circular economy implementation in SMEs to identify, plan and capitalize the circular economy opportunities. As a result, the circular economy will no longer be too far out of the reach of SMEs, which could give them the push to start moving from a linear to a circular business model.
5c. Circular economy, zero waste & innovation
