Circular Transformation of Industries The Art of Scaling Circular Supply Chains 2025

2.3 Product: choose items built for circularity Not all products work equally well in circular models. Products with strong return flows and high leftover value that can be easily reworked are natural starting points. Scaling up requires balancing technical potential, market demand, regulations and economics. Market demand: Products with large existing customer bases and higher resale value often generate more consistent returns. Steady flows make scalable collection and reworking operations possible. Circular appeal is stronger for items with proven demand in refurbished, reused or as-a- service formats. Products covered by EPR laws motivate companies to develop circular offerings early. It is important to keep abreast of fast-evolving regulations in categories such as batteries, packaging, textiles, electronics, vehicles and consumer goods. Value retention: Circular efforts often start with products that retain value despite use, making cost- effective repair, refurbishment or remanufacturing before resale viable. Items with high-value or recoverable materials – such as electronics with rare earths or critical raw materials – support profitable refurbishment and recycling, either as a whole or just with certain components. Technical feasibility: Technical factors influence which products work best in circular systems. Items that disassemble and process easily are typically more viable. Design elements such as modular architecture significantly improve reuse potential, even when circularity wasn’t originally intended. Environmental and strategic benefits: Products with high emissions, resource consumption or waste output are good candidates for recycling and refurbishment because of their high environmental impact. Second-hand and recycled products often deliver lower carbon footprints. According to the 2025 survey, emissions reduction is a leading motivation for pursuing circularity. Products using scarce or strategic materials, such as rare earths or critical materials, provide additional value by reducing consumption of virgin materials. Where strategic materials are scarce, recycling can strengthen supply chains and business resilience. For example, Wilo’s recovery of used pumps enhanced its material supply, demonstrating economic viability within a year. This can enable economic profitability from the start of the initiative. Where strategic materials are scarce, recycling can strengthen supply chains and business resilience. Circular Transformation of Industries 13