The Circular Economy Strategist, developed within the European KATCH_e project, is an interactive web-based tool designed to guide businesses, designers, and students through the transition from linear business models to sustainable, circular ones. By bridging the gap between product design and corporate strategy, it ensures that environmental sustainability works hand-in-hand with economic profitability.
The tool operates through a highly structured five-step sequential workflow that builds directly upon the traditional Business Model Canvas framework. The process begins with an optional step where users describe their current business model, mapping out their existing value proposition, customer segments, and supply chain. Next, the tool guides users to evaluate circular opportunities by analyzing the product’s entire lifecycle, from raw material extraction to its ultimate end-of-life phase. Based on this lifecycle evaluation, the system runs an algorithm-driven matching process to help users choose the best-fitting circular economy strategies, such as offering products as a service, extending product lifetimes, or creating take-back schemes. Once these strategies are chosen, the tool automatically adapts the original framework to design the new circular business model, highlighting the specific changes required in cost structures, key partnerships, or customer relationships. Finally, the user can compare the original linear model and the new circular model side-by-side before exporting the final deliverable
Keywords
Main theme addressed by the tool
Circular economy
Objectives
The tool functions as a step-by-step guide to analyze, co-create, and implement Circular Economy strategies. It helps organizations look at their current products or services and identify opportunities to retain the value of resources for as long as possible (through repair, reuse, remanufacturing, or recycling).
Target audience
Product designers and product developers, professionals and students
Benefits
Focus on Design and Business: Unites ecodesign (product design) with commercial strategy, ensuring that the circular product is sustainable and profitable.
Practical Approach: Utilizes visual tools, matrices, and support cards that facilitate brainstorming workshops and multidisciplinary teamwork.
Alignment with European Knowledge: Being part of KATCH_e, the tool reflects best practices in circular design from the Construction and Furniture sectors (the main focuses of the original project), although it is adaptable to other sectors.
Data requirements
Information on the current business model to be analized is needed
Learning Profiles addressed
- Circular Construction & Resource Recovery Specialist
- Deep Retrofit Site Coordinator
- Green Construction Strategy Leader
- Lifecycle Carbon & Climate Compliance Specialist
- Sustainable Construction Project Manager
Examples of application
Language
EN
Cost
free
