Value-retained vs. impacts avoided: the differentiated contributions of remanufacturing, refurbishment, repair, and reuse within a circular economy

Abstract

Value-retention processes (VRPs), a collective term that includes practices of direct reuse, repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing, can facilitate the cycling of products and components within a circular economy (CE). VRPs are often presented as alternatives to conventional manufacturing and consumption, and as mechanisms for avoiding negative environmental impacts (e.g., landfill) and mitigating issues of material scarcity. However, these practices are typically lumped together under generic ‘reuse’ strategies within sustainable materials management programs and policies. Further, there is a lack of clarity and data regarding how VRPs differ, and the extent to which they contribute to the avoidance of negative environmental and economic impacts. Using novel integrated product-, process, and economy-level models, we quantify select environmental and economic impact metrics for VRPs and conventional manufacturing across six case study products, in two industrialized economies (USA and China). Using this novel methodology, we demonstrate a basis for clear differentiation of VRPs as distinct strategies within a CE, and show that each VRP offers differing forms of value (e.g. cost reduction, labor opportunity, and material retention) and differing degrees of environmental and economic impacts (e.g., primary material requirement, embodied emissions, process emissions). In all cases, the product- and process-level comparative analyses indicate that VRPs present a clear opportunity for significantly reduced environmental impacts, relative to conventional manufacturing. This novel methodology provides an adaptive, comprehensive model that can support the decision of whether or not to engage in VRPs. By quantifying and evaluating VRPs in terms of their relative environmental and economic performance, the distinct avenues, expectations and outcomes for CE can be better integrated across diverse industry and product portfolios (International Resource Panel [29]).