Circularity.fm

This episode features Alexander Shevelov from Würth Group discussing their journey and strategies in integrating sustainability into business processes. Würth's approach is all about integrating internal and external stakeholders into the process, listening to their needs and giving them ownership. The conversation delves into the role of sustainability ambassadors, having top-management support and involving external partners. People: Alexander Shevelov, Strategy & People Lead Sustainable Value Chain Management, Würth Group Patrick Hypscher, Co-Founder of Green PO, Expert in Sustainable Business Models About Würth (from website): The Würth Group is the global market leader in the development, production, and sale of fastening and assembly materials. The Würth Group operates worldwide and currently consists of more than 400 companies with more than 2,700 branches and shops in 80 countries. In its core business, the manufacturing of assembly and fastening materials, the Würth Group is a firmly established market player. Further Links: Würth Group, https://www.wuerth.com/

Many investors and companies struggle to balance profit and impact. Should we go for one at the expense of the other? Or can we combine the two? And if so, how do we translate this ambition into tangible goals and make them work in day-to-day operations? In this episode, Axel Berger, Chief Sustainability Officer at Haniel, shares how Haniel has profit and impact targets.

What do you do if you need to solve a problem you are not familiar with? You learn new skills. Or you ask for help. It’s the same for companies testing a new proposition. So, you have to decide what are the things you do internally and what are the things you ask others for support. In this episode, Robert Klauer tells us how vaude – a German outdoor equipment manufacturer– split the work for running its renting proposition.

At running events, drinks are typically provided in disposable cups. That is a significant amount of waste. SCC events, the Berlin Marathon and Berlin Half-Marathon organizer, wants to change that. So they partnered with Cuna Products, Remondis, and WWF to pilot a reusable cup. Collaboration is essential to move towards a circular economy. This episode sheds light on the implications for the users, the product, the logistics, and the pricing. Thanks to Michael, Head of Operations at SCC Events, and Rafael, CEO and founder of CUNA Products, for sharing their experience with us!

From time to time, ingenious people sit in the laboratory and discover new technology, find new insights about how the world works, or how to improve the status quo. But how to turn that into practice? There might be plenty of possible applications in multiple markets. You cannot start with everything at the same time. How do you evaluate these options? How do you make a choice? In this episode, Juni, co-founder of mujo labs, shares her story about leveraging the benefits of algae to provide biodegradable packaging materials.

What is the best legal entity to start a sustainable business? The way an organization is set up defines its modus operandi. Whether money is a means to an end or an end in itself is decided at that early moment. In this episode, Élie, co-founder of Commown, shares the rationale and details of running an organization as a cooperative in collective interest.

What does it take to reduce packaging waste? Re-usable packaging in e-commerce starts with customer information, checkout adaptations and needs to tackle a fundamental question: How does the packaging return? In this episode, Doris, founder of Hey Circle describes the steps necessary to switch to re-usable packaging.

Do you put planet over profit? Every organization answers this question, mostly implicitly in day-to-day decisions. It's the job of the leadership team to set priorities when it comes to planet and profit ambitions. In this episode, a leader of a purpose-driven startup founded by a stock-listed company shares his experience of balancing planet and profit ambitions.

How can you inform customers about the way in which you apply circularity? Many organizations invest a lot in their circular approach and want to share this with the public. In this episode, Silke from Urwahn tells us how a label can help convey circular efforts.

Building a marketplace requires growing two customer groups at the same time: The buyers and the sellers. Providing platform services that compete with the sellers' offerings adds another twist to the challenge. In this episode, Tobias Kronawitter, founder of kaputt.de, shares his experience in helping people extend the lifetime of smartphones, smartwatches, coffee machines, and game consoles by matching them with local repair shops and offering repair kits.

Why should a brand or manufacturer offer its products as a service? And what will they learn about their products? In this episode Puck Middelkoop, the founder of Hulaaloop will share her experience in renting out kids' clothes from premium brands.

Why should customers rent a product they previously bought? Having a compelling answer to that question is key for the success of every Product as a Service model. And why would you start the service under a new service brand when you already have a well-known product brand? In this episode, Lisette from bedzzzy shares her experience with offering circular Auping mattresses as a service.

Did you ever wonder how a large company organizes the transformation to a more circular business? And what if you're producing and selling thousands of products - how to assess and manage their circularity? These are the main questions we will explore in this episode. Simon Skoog from IKEA shares experiences they made so far.

How to run a Product as a Servíce business together with a social partner? And how to remove the worries of poor people with a subscription? The Papillon project rents out Bosch home appliances to poor people. In this episode, Bruno Vermoesen explains the unique character of Papillon.

This episode will give you an overview of more than 140 different organisations running business models in the circular economy. I assign these organisations to one of five types: Product as a Service, Sharing Platforms, Resource Recovery, Product Life Extension and Circular Supplies.

This is a short introductory episode with essential information about this podcast.