Identify opportunities for supply chain circularity
Develop supply chain circularity by identifying opportunities to loop products, components, and materials back into your supply chain to be reused, refurbished, or recycled. This requires adapting your business models and processes to facilitate stewardship over key materials and components throughout the life cycle. For instance, you can gain influence over products beyond the point of sale by incentivising returns through deposit-refund schemes and buy-back programs.1, 2, 3 You may also consider exploring products-as-a-service models like renting, leasing, and subscriptions.
Value recovery also applies to unsold, returned, or defective products. Although it may be convenient to destroy surplus products, there are financial and reputational costs associated with doing so. You can make better use of these resources by disassembling and reusing them, de-branding and donating them, or selling them at a discounted rate.
