What are some best practices and tools for circular design thinking and innovation?

According to Statista the circular economy revenue is around $339 Billion USD, and is expected to double by 2026. The top 3 benefits of circular design are: 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲: Circular design extends material lifecycles, reducing waste and cutting costs by reusing components. 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: The approach minimizes ecological impact by promoting reuse and recycling, aligning with sustainability goals. 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: By reusing materials, circular design lessens dependence on fluctuating raw material markets, stabilizing supply chains for long-term resilience.

Ideally Circular Design would be a spiral event which leads to a resolution which could wind and unwind capturing momentum of resources in both directions. Much like a precision watch with every revolution a newer efficiency realized.

Designing withing circular frameworks is challenging in the packaging industry. Especially when it comes to direct contact with food products. Sometimes you can not just reuse resins as you will put at risk the consumer health. These challenges are adressed through the work of CEFLEX that also could be added to the list of platforms to use while designing for circularity. They provide very insightful guidelines for those who work with various plastic materials.

I agree, a lot of businesses already implement these means and methods to design the most efficient and effective for them and their business cycle. However a lot of these methods need to become more universal, the more every business shares this infrastructure the larger the circle becomes, we then have opportunity for new businesses to leverage the same tools when acquiring abandoned real estate. We need more incentives for medium/small business to make these tools economically viable.

Totally agree with the statement, especially on co-creation as only through collective involvement we'll be able to achieve strong results in designing for circularity. Learning from each other and implementing the best practices will facilitate sustainable innovations.