Working on the R-Ladder: Tools for Circular Design

The R-ladder helps you organize your circular design choices. The higher up the ladder, the more value you retain: from preventing material use to reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling products, parts, and raw materials. Circonnect has developed tools to help you tackle specific design challenges: from rethinking your product’s core function to finding new uses for waste streams. This allows you to maintain control over raw materials, reduce costs, and build a product that lasts longer.

These tools will help you gain a clearer understanding of where the greatest circular opportunities lie, what design choices are involved, and how to manage materials, costs, and supply security. Select the tool below that best fits your current situation.

Rethink & Reuse Tool

With the Rethink & Reuse tool, you can identify the core function of your product or packaging and discover how to fulfill that function using fewer raw materials. You challenge existing assumptions and work toward concepts that deliver the same or better functionality with less material. This reduces your dependence on scarce raw materials and strengthens your position in a market where raw material prices continue to rise.

Do you work in manufacturing, construction, consumer goods, or plastics? Use this tool to identify the core need behind your product and design new, resource-efficient solutions.

Here's how to fulfill your product's core function using fewer raw materials

The Rethink & Reuse tool walks you through the following steps:

You'll explore what your product's core function really is and what's needed to achieve it
You'll explore entirely new concepts that serve the same purpose
You develop solutions that use fewer or no raw materials
You assess whether you can better meet your user's needs

Discover the Rethink and Reuse tool

Design for Repair and Remanufacturing

With the Design for Repair & Remanufacturing tool, you can discover your product’s potential for reuse and learn how to anticipate this as early as the design phase. Using TU Delft’s Hotspot Mapping method, you can identify which parts of your product are crucial for easy assembly, disassembly, repair, and reuse. This increases the value you derive from your product and reduces your dependence on new raw materials.

Do you work in mechanical engineering, HVAC, construction, medical devices, or consumer goods? Use this tool to design at the component level for repair, reassembly, and reuse.

How to Design for Repairability, Reassembly, and Reuse at the Component Level

With the Design for Repair & Remanufacturing tool, you can achieve the following: v

You'll gain insight into the various Design for Repair & Remanufacturing strategies
You'll conduct a product assessment using the Hotspot Mapping method
You'll discover how circular design contributes to long-term security of supply and a smaller environmental impact
You identify where in your product the greatest profit can be made

Discover the Design for Repair & Remanufacturing tool

Repurpose tool

With the Repurpose tool, you can find out whether your waste streams are suitable as materials for a new product. In five steps—from identifying your motivation to drafting a Design Brief using the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences method—you’ll assess the value still present in your waste streams. This allows you to create new value from materials that would otherwise be lost through recycling or incineration.

Do you work in the manufacturing industry or the consumer goods sector, and do you have waste streams for which you haven’t yet found a use? Use this tool to determine whether repurposing is a suitable strategy for your company.

Here's how to determine if your residual electricity is suitable for a new product

The Repurpose tool walks you through this process:

You'll discover the motivation behind giving your waste stream a second life
You identify and analyze the types of waste streams you have
You experiment with the materials from your waste stream
You will develop a Design Brief that a designer can use as a basis for further work

Discover the Repurpose tool

Support your business case with residual value

Do you want to know where the most value lies in your product, or to provide a financial justification for a circular choice? The Residual Value Tool calculates the reuse value of your product at the product level and the recycling value at the material level. You can use this information to evaluate design choices, explore new business opportunities, or support financing applications, appraisals, and bids.

Do you work in the manufacturing industry, construction, consumer goods, or plastics, and are you looking for support to build a circular business case? Then the Residual Value Tool can help you, no matter what stage of your design process you’re in.

Discover the Residual Value Tool

Are you looking for more in-depth information?

Publication

Material selection and impact
|
Usage and behavior
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The Value Hill

CIRCO |
August 22, 2022 |
Reading Time 3 minutes

Circular Design Strategies for Products that Last and Products that Flow

CIRCO |
Sept. 15, 2022 |
Reading Time 3 minutes

Circular Business Models: Products that Last and Products that Flow

CIRCO |
Sept. 14, 2022 |
Reading Time 3 minutes