80% of a product's environmental impact is determined at the design stage

In a circular economy, everything is about value retention. To achieve that, it is necessary to design products - from phones to overpasses - to be circular from the beginning. And that requires knowledge. We collect and enrich knowledge about everything in the field of circular design. Everyone can then work with that. This is how we design a future-proof, circular economy together.

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The impact of circular design

Some 45% of the climate goals set must be realized from the transition to a circular economy. More than 80% of all product-related environmental impacts are thereby determined during the design phase. The importance of circular design is thus abundantly clear.

Moreover, the circular economy has enormous earning potential. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates it at $630 billion a year for the European manufacturing industry by 2025. This is obviously a major incentive for companies to go circular. The deployment of circular business models is therefore always included in a circular design.

In short, circular design is paramount from both ecological and economic perspectives.

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In a circular economy, everything is about value retention. Therefore, it is important to design products circularly from the beginning. This requires applicable knowledge. How can you as a company or designer get started? We share concrete tools and give you tools to develop a product, service or business model in a circular way. Together we can design a future-proof circular economy.

 

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The themes in circular design

Three dimensions apply to integral circular design: the product-service combination, the business model and the value system. Moreover, design does not stand alone. As a designer or company, you have to take into account the context you are in. All knowledge items on this site are sorted by the theme they relate to. You can search for contributions in the relevant design topic. Or search for circular design knowledge on a specific sector.

Is circular design still uncharted territory for you, but would you like to learn more? Then you can get started with the Circular Design Starter Kit. In it we guide you through the basics of circular design.

Open the starter kit

Trending knowledge items

Webinar
  • Rethink
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  • Material selection and impact
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Expert Café Repurpose Design as a circular strategy

  • Hogeschool van Amsterdam |
  • 29 November 2023 |
  • Leestijd < 1 minuut

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Article
  • Rethink
  • |
  • Material selection and impact
  • |

Repurpose Design as a circular strategy

  • Hogeschool van Amsterdam |
  • 29 November 2023 |
  • Reading Time 4 minutes

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Article
  • Material selection and impact
  • |
  • Training / Competencies
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Reparations and education: not the hardest part of transition

  • CIRCO |
  • November 01, 2023 |
  • Reading Time 4 minutes

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Featured knowledge items

Whether you are looking for innovative design strategies, information on circular business models or learnings from entrepreneurs. In the form of articles, webinars, design tools or research reports. You'll find it all in our knowledge base!

Case
  • Material selection and impact
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  • Funding
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Making circular impact by using circular insulating glass

  • CIRCO |
  • June 14, 2023 |
  • Reading Time 3 minutes

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Article
  • Material selection and impact
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  • End of use
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6 insights on Design for Recycling within the plastics industry

  • Ingeborg Gort | CIRCO |
  • September 08, 2022 |
  • Reading time 2 minutes

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Tool
  • Rethink
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  • Value Thinking
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HvA RETHINK tool

  • Yanti Slaats |
  • Feb. 16, 2023 |.
  • Leestijd < 1 minuut

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Publication
  • Standardization and norms
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  • Policies and Regulations
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Laws and regulations circular design

  • Department of Waterways and Public Works |
  • August 26, 2022 |
  • Reading Time 3 minutes

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Circular design as a motor for raw materials transition

By 2050, the Dutch economy must have transformed from the current linear model to a sustainable circular system. In a circular economy, products retain their value longer and raw materials are reused again and again. Circular design is the driving force behind this. After all, a large part of the environmental impact of an end product is already determined in the design phase. A sustainable economy is only created by thinking about value retention and the recovery of raw materials during the design phase.

In recent years, much research and experience has been gained with circular design strategies and business models. In order to be fully circular by 2050, it is essential that this knowledge and experience be available to a wide audience. CIRCONNECT brings together experiences from various disciplines to make them accessible to designers, entrepreneurs, policy makers, research and education.

About CIRCONNECT

CIRCONNECT is the inspiring, connecting and catalyzing knowledge hub in the field of circular design. With our network of enthusiastic collaborating parties, we make knowledge and experiences in the field of circular design widely accessible.

We do that on this online platform. But also with knowledge events and various other knowledge propositions. The knowledge is always specifically tailored to specific industries and target groups.

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Meet the CIRCONNECT partners

These parties are joining forces to share, enrich and disseminate common knowledge of circular design.

All partners

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