Circular Economy

Technology Skill Notes

Use the My Notes sections below to add your own notes as you work through the
Circular Economy Technology Skill module.

YOUR BUSINESS

Questions My Notes

I. Why do you want to use a circular

economy model?
a. For example, are the resources you
want to use for your business likely
to get more expensive, or difficult to
source? Or do prices fluctuate
making it hard for your budgeting
processes and price stability?
b. Do you think there is a better market
opportunity for your business if you
make it a circular one? For
example, increasing repairs and
improving product life extension will
enable you to develop partnerships
and deepen relations with your
customers.
c. Do you see a lot of waste in your
area that costs you to manage it
responsibly?
d. Do you want to contribute to a more
sustainable and healthier
community?
e. Do you want your business to be
longer lasting?
f. Are your investors and employees
concerned about sustainability?
g. Have your customers asked you
about your business sustainability,
are they unable to manage price
fluctuations/increases?
h. Do you want to reduce the impact of
your business on the planet and
people?
 i. Do you want to hand on a
sustainable business to your kids?

II. How can you use circular economy

principles in your value chain?
a. Is there an opportunity to use more
circular inputs to your business?
b. Do your customers have circular or
low carbon goals?
c. Is there a lot of waste in your value
chain that could be reduced? (E.g.
excess packaging)
d. Do you see many inefficiencies in
your value chain that could be
improved? (E.g. partly full delivery
vehicles)
e. How can you determine the value of
the waste that you would use if you
were to produce in a circular
manner?

III. How could your circular business be

relevant to your customers and
employees?
a. Do you offer more value in services or
products if you offer circular ones? Would
customers appreciate that? Do customers
have sustainability goals?
b. How do your customers use the services or
products that you sell? How can you
improve the lifespan of these services or
products? Can you get them back at the
end of use?
c. How can you engage with potential
customers?
d. How do you retain employees and lead
them to effectively and efficiently work
towards common goals rooted in
sustainability?
e. What types of incentives can you offer to
your employees to reduce turnover and
increase productivity?
IV. What would you need to create your
circular business?
a. Do you need specific technology
(for example machinery or software)
to start your circular business? Is
that technology available and
accessible to you?
b. Do you need extra funding to start a
circular business? Or to help
transition from selling items to
selling services? Would you have
access to funding?
c. Have you done a market study on
the potential for your circular
business?
d. If you are transitioning to offering
services do you need bridge
financing?
e. Do you need to change
compensation and marketing
models in your business or value
chain?
f. What else do you need to start your
circular business?
YOUR SERVICE OR PRODUCT

Questions My Notes

Design
● What waste does my service or product
generate during manufacturing, use, and at
its end of life?
● How can I make or change the design of
my product or service in such a way that
there is less waste?
● Can it be manufactured with circular inputs
such as renewable energy or post-
consumer recycled materials?
● Can the lifespan of your product or service
be extended by improving its quality,
repairability, and design for recycling?
● Once the lifespan has ended, what will you
do with your service or product?
● Can your service or product be reused or
recycled?
● Are customers unable to manage the waste
generated by your products?

Sourcing
● Where do I source my resources?
● Can I use the byproducts of my service or
product for new services and products?
● Are there any suppliers in the area where I
can buy waste or recycled goods as a
resource for my business?
Production/Manufacturing
● How much waste does the production of my
service or product generate?
● Are there any ways in which I can reduce
waste in my production process?
● Do I need certain technology for my circular
business to generate less waste? And can I
source that elsewhere by recycling an
existing machine, for example.
Distribution
● How do I get my product or service to my
customers?
● How much waste do I generate in doing
so?
● Are there any ways in which I can reduce
my waste during distribution, such as in
packaging or transportation? For example,
can I offer bulk packaging or is my
packaging made up of recyclable materials
and can those be recycled?
Use
● How can I improve the way my customers
use my service or product?
● How can I extend the lifespan of my service
or product?
● How can I make sure that my customers
are likely to return the byproducts and
waste of my service or product to me or
another company rather than disposing of
it?
● Does offering a service enable me to
develop closer relationships with my
customers?

Resource efficiency
● How can my service or product be reused
or repaired to extend its lifespan? Are there
spare parts or repair manuals?
● How can I assist my customers in repairing
or reusing the service or product in order to
extend its lifespan?
Recycling
● How can my service or product be recycled
if it cannot be reused?
● How can I assist my customers in recycling
the service or product?

Other Considerations
● Can it be manufactured with circular inputs
like post-consumer recycled materials?
● Can the lifespan of your service or product
be extended by improving its quality and
repairability? Can you make spare parts
and repair manuals available?
● Once the lifespan has ended, what to do
with your service or product?
● Can your product be reused, repaired or
recycled?
STAKEHOLDER MAPPING

Stakeholders
Questions
Customers Suppliers Industry

Who are my
stakeholders?

Why should I engage

them in my business?

What resources and

perspectives can I use
from their business?

Why would they want to

cooperate with me? What
can they use from my
business?

How can I cooperate with

my stakeholders?

How can I approach my

stakeholders?

What can I suggest as a

first step to my
stakeholders?

Are there any risks in

cooperation with my
stakeholders?