Circular Transformation of Industries 2025

An earlier paper from the World Economic Forum, Bain & Company and the University of Cambridge, “Circular Transformation of Industries: The Role of Partnerships,”13 identified a set of circular solutions – for example, repair services and internal sourcing of circular feedstock – which can be clustered into three “archetypes” for circular value creation. The first archetype centres on replacing virgin materials with circular ones – for example, using recycled plastic or aluminium. This strategy is appropriate for most manufactured goods, and especially those that have a short lifespan, such as packaging. The second archetype focuses on extending product lifespans to reduce the demand for, and therefore output of, manufactured goods. This strategy is relevant for high-value products that are durable and can be disassembled for repair, refurbishment and upgrades. The third archetype redefines business models by adopting more circular ways of working and refers to sharing models. It is most suited to high-value, upgradeable products, and services. The 2024 survey shows businesses are starting to build circular models across multiple solutions, and archetypes. One-quarter of businesses have scaled solutions across all three archetypes, while an additional 20% of respondents have scaled solutions across two archetypes. This trend of combining a number of solutions is accelerating as businesses pilot more solutions. The survey finds that businesses with mature circular strategies spanning all three archetypes are generating higher economic value than those that are active in only one or two archetypes. This bodes well for the future of circularity, as the benefits appear to accrue with experience. Circular models will go through the same experience curve benefits that linear models went through in the past. As circularity transforms entire business and operating models, new value creation opportunities emerge across the value chain. For example, a circular economy requires advanced collection and sorting of valuable scrap or new logistics processes for end-of-life products. Emerging sectors with new players will not only foster innovation and create new job opportunities, but will also command a significant influence on value creation from circularity at scale. Three archetypes, multiple strategies Circular Transformation of Industries: Unlocking Economic Value 9