Doing business in a circular economy requires companies to close loops. Dr Erwin van der Laan from the Rotterdam School of Management (Erasmus University Rotterdam) explains what companies need to do to create closed loops that make business sense.

Later in this episode we put the theory to the test when we examine how Philips Healthcare closes the loop in their refurbishment factory.

MAIN TAKEAWAYS 

•  The three main business processes required to close loops are:

1. Acquisition (collect the right volumes of products or materials of the right quality for a reasonable price)
2. Reprocessing (refurbish, remanufacture or recycle used products or materials for a reasonable price)
3. Remarketing (identify markets that want to buy the reprocessed products or materials)

• If any of these key processes fails we do not have a closed loop.
• Closing the loop on the product or part level potentially generates much more value than on the material level.