Article / Report

Impact on increased knowledge and understanding as a result of the case study

Increase Awareness

Solidify definitions and create frameworks to support the understanding of the circular economy across contexts and maintain cohesive systems of data sharing, processing and storing.


 Knowledge Management

Impacts

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The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

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Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

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Based on the work of [Bocken et al. (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309699661_Product_design_and_business_model_strategies_for_a_circular_economy), the Four Flows Framework serves as a simple framework for managing resource flows in a circular economy by using less (Narrow), using for longer (Slow), using again (Cycle), and using clean, regenerative materials and energy (Regenerate).

These different principles of circular economy can be applied to our socioeconomic metabolism: we can design stocks like buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and vehicles to be rich resource mines for the future, and design manufactured goods and consumables to be cycled and made regenerative. Furthermore, the focus must also centre on getting more value out of fewer materials. Achieving the aims of a circular economy—minimising material use, regenerating the Earth, and preventing material losses—can be done through these four key strategies mentioned above.

Source: Circle Economy. (2023). *[The circularity gap report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)* (p.22). Amsterdam: Circle Economy. 

Four Flows Framework

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Volume 69, 2018, Pages 769-774Download full text in PDF

 The Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) tool, which is part of a broader ‘Circular Indicators Project’ developed by The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Granta Design, allows companies to identify additional, circular value from their products and materials, and mitigate risks from material price volatility and material supply. Integrated with the MI:Product Intelligence package, MCI enables users to analyse and evaluate a range of environmental, regulatory, and supply chain risks for their designs and products.
MCI measures how restorative the material flows of a product, which can be aggregated up to product portfolio, and even further up to company level. Complementary indicators allow additional impacts and risks to be taken into account. The indicators may be used by product designers, as well as for internal reporting, procurement decisions, and the evaluation or rating of companies.

Inputting material data into the MCI formula allows the participating company to review products to rigorously measure the circularity of material flows for selected products, with the option to aggregate for product portfolios, and up to company level. Ultimately, carrying out the methodology enable the company to support decision making on tradeoffs between circularity and the economic, environmental, and societal objectives on product design and materials procurement.
    The co.project group is expanded the MCI methodology to include biological materials and addressed some of the challenges associated with combinations of biological and technical materials. The group is also addressing some of the risk-based complementary metrics for biological materials.        Company Level Aggregator Tool   Download      MCI Product-Level Dynamic Modelling Tool  Download      Methodology An Approach to Measuring Circularity  Download      Project Overview An Approach to Measuring Circularity  Download      Non-Technical Case Studies An Approach to Measuring Circularity  Download         Together with the methodology, the project has contributed to the development of a commercially-available web-based tool that will provide businesses with the means to track their progress and ensure that their products fit a circular economy based business model. The Circularity Indicators tool has been developed by Granta Design, and integrated with the MI:Product Intelligence package, which enables users to analyse and evaluate a range of environmental, regulatory, and supply chain risks for their designs and products.  With MI:Product Intelligence, users can either import, build and edit bills of materials for products or designs through an easy-to-use web app, MI:BoM Analyzer, or they can work within a CAD system. In either case, users can run reports that analyse bills of materials in order to assess product risk and guide design decisions. As a result of the Project, a new Circularity Report, based on the methodology referred to above, is available in the web app. The Circularity Report analyses environmental, regulatory and supply chain risks alongside the Material Circularity Indicator.                                     The project was executed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation together with Granta Design, the world leader in materials information technology. It has been co-funded by the LIFE financial instrument of the European Union.  As part of the project, the methodology was tested by a group of leading European businesses with real product data to ensure its robustness and relevance economy-wide. In addition, several other stakeholders from investors, regulators, consultancies, and universities were involved in the project through virtual and in-person workshops to help refine the developed measurement approach.   

We’re a charity committed to creating a circular economy, which is designed to eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature. It’s an economic system that delivers better outcomes for people, and the environment.

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Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Granta Design

<p>The Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) tool, which is part of a broader ‘Circular Indicators Project’ established by The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Granta Design, offers companies the ability to measure additional, circular value from their products and materials, and mitigate risks from material price volatility and material supply. It calculates the quantity and intensity of circulation on the product and/or company levels. The tool can also compare a firm's performance with the industry’s average&nbsp;as well as provide a web-based component that can equip businesses with the means to track their progress and ensure that their products fit a&nbsp;circular economy based business model.</p>