Whilst built-in obsolescence is often counter to circularity, we shouldn’t ignore the concept altogether. Particularly when we think of how much obsolescence we can see in natural systems. Short-use cycles can be circular if the relationship with waste is altered or turned on its head.
Rethinking material choices is one way to innovate the circularity of your system. Rethinking material properties altogether is a more radical approach. Researching, developing and engineering new materials at nano and micro levels could help us overcome some of our material challenges by producing something inherently circular in its properties.
Bear in mind the creation of labelling and coding systems which help with identification of materials at end-of-life. This supports extraction and recycling, and encourages commitment from organisations to adhere to standards and best practice. Transparency in terms of material use can lead to more circular choices earlier in the design process.
A collaborative, networked approach to design that creates solutions to challenges by involving users, stakeholders or members of a supply chain. Whilst there is clear commercial value in ensuring that you are addressing a real need and creating something which consumers will want, there is also inherent circular value in this approach. Engaging with the wider system of players will help you to understand the flows and processes you are trying to influence.
This is an approach to product and system design that encourages industry to protect and enrich ecosystems, while maintaining a safe and productive system for the continued circulation and use of technical nutrients such as metals. Certification acts as an incentive, encouraging organisations to commit to circularity principles and going some way to educating consumers as well.
Making decisions early in the design process to ensure easy and effective recycling or reuse often involves designing products for disassembly. Materials need to be easily, quickly and cost-effectively taken apart at end-of-life to separate into components and sort by material. The more complex the product, such as electronics, the harder this task becomes.
This approach fuses technology and biology to imitate nature’s patterns and strategies; which have been in research and development for 3.8 billion years! The objective is to establish dynamic balances and flows, and integrate our human endeavours with natural systems so that we are better adapted to life on earth now and in the future.
This focuses on using resources within the area where they will be transformed and distributed, in order to optimise material use and create a positive socio-cultural impact. Real economic gains can also be made by keeping your product close to the user or consumer and ideally within the ‘inner loops’ of repair, reuse or redistribution.
Products are being designed for repairability and/or quick fixes and upgrades are becoming available to extend their use. Often this is associated with new service business models which enable the consumer or user to take a more active role in ensuring the longevity of their product. There is also a growing community of people sharing skills and developing manuals to take product life beyond planned obsolescence.
These programmes aim to close the loop by ensuring that customers can take products and packaging back to the shops where they were purchased, for recycling, reclaiming of materials, or for refills. This provides opportunities for interesting new relationships between brands and consumers who have more frequent touchpoints, helping to build customer loyalty and, in turn, better success.
Novelis Inc. is the global leader in aluminium rolled products and the world’s largest recycler of aluminium, delivering unique solutions for the most demanding global applications, such as beverage cans, automobiles, architecture and consumer electronics. In 2014 Novelis opened the world’s largest cutting-edge aluminium recycling facility in Nachterstedt, Germany.
Forum is an independent non-profit organisation that works globally with business, government and others to solve complex sustainability challenges. We believe it is critical to transform the key systems we rely on to shape a brighter future and innovate for long-term success.
Novelis Inc. is the global leader in aluminium rolled products and the world’s largest recycler of aluminium, delivering unique solutions for the most demanding global applications, such as beverage cans, automobiles, architecture and consumer electronics. In 2014 Novelis opened the world’s largest cutting-edge aluminium recycling facility in Nachterstedt, Germany.
Forum is an independent non-profit organisation that works globally with business, government and others to solve complex sustainability challenges. We believe it is critical to transform the key systems we rely on to shape a brighter future and innovate for long-term success.
