Development of circular toolkits for a company : a vietnamese company as a case

Abstract

Circular economy is one of the European Union’s sustainable targets to replace the traditional linear “take-make-waste” economy model. However, some companies still have difficulty in understanding the circular economy concept and struggling to apply the principles of circular economy into their business. This results in slow transition from linear economy to circular economy. This thesis aims to boost the circular economy transition by designing toolkits for companies that can help them to exploit the opportunities of circular economy and implement its principles in their daily business. The toolkits were testified on a Vietnamese company as a case study in order to evaluate the effectiveness and advantages of the toolkit.

The research methods applied in this study were literature review and empirical research. The literature review method was used in the theory part of this thesis to explore the concepts of circular economy, its principles, applicable circular design, and business models, as well as circular opportunities and barriers. The toolkits were developed based on secondary data from a book by Perter Lacy, combining it with the knowledge of circular economy in theory part. An empirical study included the analysis of the testing result and the effectiveness of the toolkits on the case company.

In conclusion, the study found that the toolkits were applicable and practical for companies. The toolkits focused on embedding circularity into three important dimensions of a company: Operations, Products & Services, Culture & Organization. By utilizing the toolkit, the companies understood more about the principles of circular economy and were able to launch circular initiatives into their current business. Besides, the toolkits are suitable for a company in the early stage of circular transition or in developing countries where circular economy concept is still unfamiliar. However, the toolkits were rather simple and straight-forward. This might decrease the effectiveness of the kits when being applied by mature companies. However, the toolkits can still be used as a checklist and an example of circular economy practices. More research is needed to improve the toolkits effectiveness such as adding more dimensions, in-depth analysis, and different industries.