What kind of circular actions can a company implement?
Published on 17 April 2023
Publication
The circular economy applies to many sectors of activity, and involves a wide variety of actions. It's not always easy to understand them all, or to appreciate the impact of different behaviors.
The Lansink scale thus presents a normative framework for judging efficiency in resource use. the use of resources: reuse requires fewer resources or energy than repair, just as repair requires fewer resources or energy than recycling. When a product can no longer be recycled, it can be incinerated to recover its energy potential. At the very bottom of Lansink's scale is landfill, the final stage when waste can no longer be recycled at all.
R |
Explanation |
Examples of actions for companies |
|---|---|---|
Refuse |
Refusing to consume is the behavior that has the greatest impact on our ecological footprint. | Refusing to use certain solvents or other substances hazardous to health or the environment in the manufacture of products |
Rethink | Reflect on our production, consumption and use in order to optimize resource management. | Think about product design to optimize the use of new resources. ( eco-design) Think about new business models to optimize the use and production of goods, such as selling a service rather than a product ( functionality economy ) Use industrial machines collectively to limit the need to purchase multiple machines ( s ymbiosis ) |
Reduce |
Reducing consumption, for example by optimizing industrial processes industrial processes for businesses and industries industries | Optimize industrial processes to produce the same quantity of with less material and energy (eco-design) Use recycled or biosourced in place of new inputs to produce goods (eco-design/sustainable sourcing) |
Reuse |
Extend the life of objects that are still in good condition, but which are no longer of use to their original owners | Sell or buy second-hand industrial machinery still in good condition from other companies Reuse packaging Sell products no longer in use via secondary channels |
Repair |
Extend the life of used objects in need of repair | Set up systems to recover used goods and give them a second life to give them a second life via repair or reconditioning centers. reconditioning centers Pay attention to the reparability of products at the design stage |
Renovate |
Giving a second life to an old object or product |
Completely update a product by replacing or renovating defective parts |
Remanufacturing |
Extend the life of components from certain used products by reusing them in the manufacture of these same products |
Use working parts from a defective product to design a new for the design of a new product, as in the case of telephone components (batteries, cameras, screens, etc.) that are used in the production of in the production of new phones. Modular product design encourages remanufacturing. |
(Repurpose) Upcycling |
Extending the life of certain used objects or their components by giving them a new function and added value | Purchase industrial waste from another company for use as raw materials in its own production. Change the use of buildings no longer required for their original purpose |
Recycle |
Réintégrer les ressources dans le circuit économique en les transformant en nouvelles matières premières via des procédés de tris et de transformation chimique, en essayant de conserver une qualité la plus grande possible |
Transforming waste into new raw materials for the production of new goods |
Upgrade |
Quand il n’est plus possible ni de réutiliser les produits d’une quelconque façon, ni de les recycler, il est alors possible en dernier recours de valoriser les déchets en production d’énergie | Thermal recovery of waste to create energy Recycling organic waste into biomass or fertilizer |