2 Circular Economy Online Tools

to test and study Closed-Loop Strategies

In this post:
ResCoM – Resource Conserving Manufacturing,
Circular Economy Toolbox – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Above Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash

Each tool functions differently and offers different information.

#1 of 2 Circular Economy Online Tools

I believe ResCoM is the most user involved and detailed of these 2 CE Online Tools.

We show manufacturers the ways to capture value by closing-the-loop

ResCoM stands for Resource Conserving Manufacturing. Manufacturers can test ideas with ResCoM. They can work-out the challenges of disrupting their production systems, to consider closed-loop manufacturing and marketing.
Twelve organisations across industry, technology and research work on ResCoM, which is EU funded. It is an interactive working tool. ResCoM brings together software, descriptions and methods to one platform. It gives users the opportunity to test closed-loop product systems and their own decision-making.

Tested by OEMs

ResCoM includes examples of 4 industrial case studies that used the ResCoM Tool to conduct pilot programs. Their pilots demonstrate how the tool can be applied across various industries. Lessons learned by these 4 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) – Bugaboo, Gorenje, Loewe, and Tedrive were used to develop the Tools to support the companies that will use ResCoM.
There are 11 tools. (You will find a short description of each here.) You can use your own data, to test such ideas as:

• Simulate economic and environmental issues
• Calculate environmental, regulatory and supply chain risks
• Compare potential Profitability and Environmental performance.
• Consider product components for remanufacturing
• Repair or replacement issues of Share-a-Space, a Product’s Multiple Lifecycle Management.  Don’t buy a refrigerator, rent one.

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The other Online Tool is based on “case studies” and “basic strategies”. There may be a sentence in a strategy that sparks a solution to one of your issues about how to handle business in a Circular way…..

#2 of 2 Circular Economy Online Tools

This toolbox focuses on Retail Markets.

Circular Economy Toolbox – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
This web-based toolbox intends to help the private sector include circular ideas into their business practices. The toolbox assists companies at any stage of the circular economy. It shows examples of programs and practices that are of critical benefit to business values. Bringing these tools into practical use will provide useful steps for companies to take to adjust their own practices to the long-term benefits of “circular thinking”. You can navigate the toolbox in two ways.

By topic

First, you can look at how different circular business practices are developed by topic. Links to these specific topics are at the top of the toolbox page.

By Specific Industry

Second: If you have a specific industry, business process, or other term, you can search by keyword, using the search box located at the bottom of the Toolbox page. You can type in any word or subject, or go to the glossary of circular economy terms & keywords for ideas. Included are keywords for industry type, location in the value chain, and potential metrics to measure impact. 

I typed-in the words below. In most cases I got between 3-7 cases to study.

Below is something else that may be of interest; a report commissioned by UPS (2015), with data that I believe many businesses may still consider “relevant”.

The 2016 UPS & GreenBiz Circular Economy Research Study presents the findings of an online survey conducted by GreenBiz Group in December 2015. An email link was sent to the panel’s 5,370 members inviting them to take part without names in the survey. For the purposes of this report, we analyzed the results from 423 respondents. Approximately 85 percent of these respondents are in the United States. The responding companies represent a broad and diverse corporate sustainability experience. There are those at the very beginning of focus on corporate sustainability and others that have years of involvement.

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Another very interesting and detailed report, by the US Chamber of Commerce, with data from 2014: Trash to Treasure: Changing Waste Streams to Profit Streams. Some of it’s key findings:

• Waste is becoming more expensive. In the past 15 years, food costs have increased 66%, paper 16%, metals and minerals 90%.
• Many companies have already identified waste as an issue and are increasing their profits by changing production processes to reduce waste. They are also educating their workforce and engaging with consumers to recover or refurbish items.

For some industries, closing the loop is very logical:

So, are you going to take a look at these 2 Circular Economy Online Tools? See how soon you can close-the-loop……….?

There are a number of posts that talk about Cradle to Cradle Certified™:
Cradle to Cradle Certified™ – paving the way
>Path to Cradle to Cradle Certified™ – #1 How to get ready to “Do the Homework”?
>Path to Cradle to Cradle Certified™ #2 – the Homework
>Path Cradle to Cradle Certified™ – #3 The Cost
Product Design Review – The verdict: Form should still follow Function*
Do you know your Business’s Carbon Footprint?
Part #2 – Financing a Small Business in a Sustainable/Circular Economy