Sustainability
Product design
Business

The strength and role of circular design

Pieter van Os19 Apr 2023

 

 
   

 

About 80% of the environmental impact of a product is determined in the design phase according to the EU. Design also enables companies to create long term competitiveness by introducing new (circular) business models, anticipating on issues like resource scarcity and complying with (international) regulation. With circular design, these aspects are added to the traditional design process.

 

Framework circular design

 

Circular design is disruptive on both a business and systemic levels. On the business front, companies extend or intensify their involvement with their products and customers beyond the traditional (linear) moment of sale. They take the entire life cycle into account in the design process by anticipating the future use and the end-of-use scenarios in their products and service design and business models. In order to close loops, to preserve the ecological and economical values of products and materials efficiently, value chains are reconfigured at a system level. Furthermore, at this level, new conditions encouraging a circular transition need to be complemented by government policies, regulations and incentives.

 

Having said so, designers are believed to be the ones who can and should facilitate the circular transition, applying design skills and knowledge to take on these societal challenges. 

 

Design capability building to fuel the circular transition

 

The CIRCO design methodology facilitates companies and creative professionals to start circular business on a practical basis. Under the motto "Creating business through circular design”, companies develop a circular proposition enclosing a circular business model, a product (re) design and complementary services in a three-day workshop cycle. This is completed with a concrete roadmap for implementation to anticipate all activities to migrate from their current linear way of working to the desired circular ones.

 

The CIRCO method is based on an academic framework of the Technical University of Delft. It is called Products that Last which is written by C. Bakker & M. den Hollander, e.a. This framework explains five circular business models and six circular design strategies.

 

Since the start, CIRCO has guided more than 2,000 companies and trained more than 800 creative professionals to apply the design tools in their daily practice.

 

The method is offered through a network of local partners in 14 countries. It is a not-for-profit programme under the auspices of CLICKNL, co-financed by The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and distributed internationally in cooperation with Creative NL.

 

The generic learnings gained from guiding these companies are collected, analysed and made available as a feedback loop providing input for governments for their circular policies and updating knowledge and educational institutions on knowledge and capacity building needs.

 

CIRCO is happy to share the experience that they have built up with both guiding companies and designers, and feeding governments and knowledge institutions in order to accelerate the circular transition.

 

Invitation to share experiences and engage in dialogues

 

Pieter van Os is co-founder of the CIRCO-programme and responsible for the international roll-out. In that role he has been personally involved in supporting companies and designers in all 14 partner countries so far.

 

He is happy to share his experience with the disruptive and pace setting role of circular design in the Netherlands and abroad. In this he will touch upon the key design principles of the CIRCO-methodology, the design challenges in various sectors, the cumulated learnings of participating companies and the role of designers in the circular transition. He discusses the role that circular design plays in accelerating circular transition on a regional and national level, as well as the relevance and benefits of circular innovation for individual companies and designers.

 

Several proven formats including interactive CIRCO demonstration workshops, roundtable dialogues or design classes are available to share the available contents and experiences in line with the needs, knowledge level and ambitions of the intended audience and the timeslot available.

 

 

For further information please contact:

Pieter van Os

CIRCO INTERNATIONAL

Pieter@Circonl.nl

+ 31 653 45 1028