Building circular strategies: Lessons across sectors - 23 Sep 2025

Circularity means keeping resources in use for as long as possible through strategies such as product design for durability and reuse, product-as-a-service models, remanufacturing, recycling, and converting waste into inputs for other processes. Success in circularity depends on aligning these strategies with a company’s business model and strengths, creating value for both the firm and its stakeholders, while poor integration or strategic misfit can lead to failure. Although circular practices vary across sectors, they share a common logic and offer opportunities for cross-sector learning. The workshop explored key questions such as how to effectively design and implement circular strategies, what societal benefits these strategies provide, and which barriers hinder their adoption.

We started with an expert panel discussion where panelists drew from their own experience to address these questions, sharing concrete insights from their work with circularity across diverse sectors. This was followed by roundtable discussions that brought together people with diverse professional backgrounds to exchange perspectives and identify best practices collaboratively.