Design for circular economy

In an increasingly resource-constrained world and under growing regulatory pressure, companies are faced with the challenge of designing products and processes in a sustainable manner. Political initiatives such as the European Green Deal, the EU Circular Economy Package and the National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS) make it clear: Circular business models are key building blocks for the transformation to a sustainable economy.

The SKZ Plastics Centre supports companies in actively shaping this change in a practical way – from the initial idea to successful implementation. With its broad network of expertise, SKZ offers know-how along the entire value chain of the plastics industry.

A particular focus is placed on the ‘Design for Circularity’ (DfC) approach. Even in the early stages of product development, the SKZ supports companies in designing materials, products and business models in such a way that they are resource-efficient, repairable and recyclable throughout their entire life cycle – thus making a real contribution to the circular economy.

From strategy to implementation – practical and structured
The basis for this is the concept of R strategies – from refuse to recover – which enables a systematic analysis and evaluation of circular potential along the value chain.
SKZ considers the entire product life cycle and works together with industrial companies in five key areas:
Product development: Modularity, repairability, recyclability
Materials & procurement: Sustainable materials and digital product passports
Production: Use of used products or components
Logistics & return: Sustainable packaging, take-back systems
Service & reprocessing: Repair services, second-life products, sharing models

Two-stage support model for practical application
Building on this approach, the SKZ Plastics Centre offers a two-stage support model that provides practical guidance to companies on their journey to the circular economy:

Step 1: Laying the foundations and identifying potential
As part of a basic qualification, participants gain a comprehensive overview of circular principles as well as relevant tools, standards and practical examples. A structured quick check helps to identify potential for resource efficiency and circularity in existing products and processes.

Step 2: Develop measures and anchor them strategically
In the second phase, technical, organisational and strategic measures are developed and prioritised together with the companies and translated into a concrete implementation roadmap – tailored to the individual goals and framework conditions of the companies.

Interdisciplinary thinking – joint design
The practice-oriented approach of the SKZ Plastics Centre is aimed in particular at medium-sized companies, which can thus save internal resources and still reap maximum benefits. Interdisciplinary cooperation with experts from the plastics and circular economy sectors results in individual strategies that take both ecological and economic requirements into account.

‘In order to make products and product systems truly circular, focusing solely on design for recycling is not enough. Only by taking a holistic view of the life cycle and consistently using all R strategies can the full potential of the circular economy be realised,’ explains Heicke Gaedeke, Senior Engineer at SKZ.

SKZ invites companies to join forces in developing circular solutions – and thus actively shape the transition to a sustainable and future-proof economy.

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