Abstract
Product design and development are key to moving towards a circular economy; however, the majority of products and components that are currently recirculated have not been designed for circulation of any sort. Circular economy business models and closing the loop can be functional only if the products and services are designed for circularity. This paper presents a set of generic design guidelines for different circular strategies. The guidelines are then used to map companies’ circular product design initiatives in the early stages of product design and development. The guidelines have proved to support decision-making and enhance the circularity of products. The guidelines were developed, validated, and tested at four companies within the Nordic countries through an action research approach. Sourcing raw materials, recycling, and ensuring the robustness of products for the use phase are the most common strategies used by the studied companies. There is an ongoing transition towards other recirculation strategies, such as repair, remanufacture, and reuse.
Highlights
The circular economy enables sustainable development, and the common circular economy practices within the manufacturing industry are end-of-use strategies, including recycling, remanufacturing, repairing, and reusing
This phenomenon could be attributed to the lack of structured and integrated design guidelines for circularity, as well as a lack of companies actively engaging with the circular economy
Circular product design and development have not been well established in the domain of the circular economy, and circularity aspects are not yet properly considered in the design phase
Summary
The circular economy enables sustainable development, and the common circular economy practices within the manufacturing industry are end-of-use strategies, including recycling, remanufacturing, repairing, and reusing. It is widely accepted that the majority of products and components that are currently recirculated via end-of-use strategies have not been designed for circulation of any sort, whereas these end-of-use strategies are greatly dependent on the very beginning stage of the product lifecycle, i.e., product design and development [1,2]. This phenomenon could be attributed to the lack of structured and integrated design guidelines for circularity, as well as a lack of companies actively engaging with the circular economy. This approach will contribute to resource efficiency, less waste generation, and overall fewer environmental effects
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