Circular economy means reusing products, recycling materials and designing products in such a way that they are easier to repair and recycle. Circular business strategies thus require much more information about a product. For example, if a manufacturer wants to recycle its products in the best possible way, it also needs to know exactly which materials are used in them.
Currently, this information is not always easily available to companies. However, the rapid evolution of digital technologies today can help overcome this information problem.
Through the Circular Bytes project, Agoria wants to help companies use digital technologies to achieve a more circular business strategy.
First, we organised 3 different workshops about circular economy and digital technologies. During these workshops, participating companies were informed about available digital technologies and potential circular applications. They were also challenged to find out for themselves which information and technologies they would need to achieve a circular business model. Companies were even guided to a specific 'solution provider'.
On the basis of the knowledge acquired during these workshops, we also created a casebook. This deals with questions such as: What are successful strategies for circular enterprise? What product information can support those strategies? How can a company build such a strategy step by step? It also includes 12 detailed success stories in which digital and circular already reinforce each other. It is not a scientific study with ready-made solutions, but invites companies to experiment with circular, digitally supported strategies.
Agoria
Partners Sirris, IMEC, Go4Circle
Sectors
The knowledge acquired in the project will be further disseminated, both digitally and on paper, via the casebook.
The use of digital technology for circular business strategies will from now on also become a fixed part of the one-to-one counselling that Agoria and Sirris offer to companies.
In addition, the partners are investigating the feasibility of organising one or more workshops where manufacturing or recycling companies are brought into contact with digital solution providers.