The challenge

The circular economy is gaining more and more traction and awareness, visible in the recent announcement of a €24 billion EU Circular Economy Package. The circular economy is an attractive concept, promising the efficient (re-)use of resources and a strong business case. However, a lot of companies are challenged to turn the potential into practice. The big question is how to apply the concept to individual operations and resource streams?

What we’ve created

In partnership with Unilever, we have developed a toolkit identifying 10 circular business model archetypes. These archetypes distil our long-term research into circular business models and include case studies we have spotted over the last few years.

In the toolkit users can find an  infographic summarising the archetypes and a  card deck with inspirational case studies. The notes section of every business case also includes more detail on the potential market growth opportunities, the potential to apply the example to brands and the scalability of each case. The user will also find an exercise that can be applied, for example, in workshop situations.

Next steps

We want to work with organisations to help them make the transition towards a more circular business model. Whether you are a small-scale enterprise or a multinational corporation, this resource can help shape your initial thinking about how you can make this happen. We hope the Circular Economy Business Model Toolkit will help you to identify concrete business opportunities, as it has done for Unilever.

If you would like to find out more about the toolkit or how Forum for the Future can help you make sense of the circular economy, please contact Simon Lee.

Image credit: Davide D'Amico / Flickr