The rise of the circular economy brings many benefits to our societies. In particular, it reduces climate change and provides a solution to the problems of plastic pollution, excessive waste and overconsumption.
Today, many companies have decided to opt for product purchasing strategies that ensure they improve their environmental impact and move towards a circular economy. Turning their backs on established business practices, these organisations are focusing on innovation and revising their production models with the aim of reducing the extraction of new resources and the generation of waste.
Here are some examples of companies that have adopted circular practices:
In 2017, Ikea set up a furniture rental programme, allowing its customers to rent furniture rather than buy it. After rental, the furniture is returned to Ikea, which repairs it and puts it back into rental or recycling.
Renault has set up a remanufacturing programme for its car parts, which consists of recovering, cleaning and repairing used parts for reuse in the production of new parts.
Lancôme, a brand of the L'oréal Group, launched a facial care product in a refillable glass jar in 2017. The brand offers its customers a jar and two refills. Thanks to this new proposal, a reduction in packaging weight of 58% compared to buying three traditional products.
Although Elis already relies on the functionality economy. The company is committed to recovering 90% of textiles and has also reduced water consumption in its laundries by almost 30% compared to 2010.
Philips has launched a leasing programme for its lighting products, which allows customers to rent lighting systems rather than buy them. After leasing, the products are returned to Philips, which repairs them and either leases them back or recycles them.
These and many other companies have adopted circular practices to reduce their environmental impact and create long-term value.
The adoption of circular practices is a crucial solution to address our environmental and economic challenges. It is essential that consumers and businesses are made aware of the benefits of this approach.
No organization can claim to be small when it comes to the inclusion of the philosophy of Circular Economy in their management. We are all concerned.