Zero Waste Landfill Program

Circular economy is an economic model that aims to minimize resource consumption and waste emissions and achieve sustainable development by maximizing resource reuse. It contrasts with the traditional “linear economic model,” which refers to a linear process of producing, consuming, disposing of, and discarding products. The circular economy achieves maximum utilization of resources by promoting the reuse, recycling and reproduction of products, as well as reducing resource use through design and technological innovation. This economic model not only reduces environmental impact, but also improves the competitiveness of corporations and creates jobs.

Corporations are adopting the circular economy to promote sustainability and economic efficiency to meet consumer demands. Here, we have selected several cases to better understand the circular economy.

Adidas' three rings of sustainability

The sustainable "three rings" designed by Adidas are recycling ring, reclamation ring and ecological ring. The first cycle involves recycling plastic waste, the second involves designing shoes that can be remade, and the third cycle focuses on regeneration, with Adidas aiming to use biodegradable materials that will naturally break down into the surrounding environment.

In 2024 Adidas begins to shift to recycled materials allowing us to reuse materials that have already been produced. This helps us achieve our goals of using less of the earth’s resources and lowering the carbon footprint of our products. Starting in 2024, Adidas will replace virgin polyester with recycled polyester wherever possible. In addition, Adidas also uses recycled materials such as rubber and EVA in its footwear and recycled polyamide in its clothing.

In 2017, Adidas set a long-term goal to replace all virgin polyester with recycled polyester in all products where the solution is available by the end of 2024. By 2023, 99% (2022: 96%) of all polyester we use will be recycled.

Share of recycled polyester in 2023

Source: Adidas official website

In addition to recycling products, Adidas has also conducted several pilot recycling services in recent years, such as sneaker cleaning, rental and recycling programs in stores around the world. In 2023, Adidas focuses on repair themes to extend product life. We maintain maintenance services at the Terrex mall in Munich and launch a pilot rental project at a new concept mall in Berlin.

In the ecological aspect, Adidas uses new environmentally friendly materials. In 2023, Adidas launches products using new technology ("LanzaTech") materials that convert greenhouse gases into polyester raw materials. The waste gas comes from industrial emissions and is fermented into ethanol, one of the elements needed to make polyester. These elements replace traditional building blocks made from fossil fuel raw materials.

IKEA

The flow of IKEA products in the circular economy: from the sourcing of ideas and materials to the use of the products in customers’ homes, and back to the circular flow for reuse or recycling. It is working to eliminate waste, recycle products and materials, and no longer use virgin, non-renewable materials.

Product development is the starting point of IKEA's value chain. Following the concept of democratic design, IKEA takes sustainability into consideration from the beginning of product development and works towards making products more recyclable.

IKEA focuses on the renewable and recyclable properties of the materials used, and continuously explores and innovates the use of recycled materials in order to maximize its recycling capabilities. "In our view, going all-green from the beginning of development is of extraordinary significance in reducing carbon emissions throughout the product's life cycle." Dong Chaoxing, managing director of the East Asia Region of the IKEA Product Development Center, said, "Currently, 60% of IKEA's products are based on renewable materials. Take recycled polyester as an example. The recycled polyester yarn widely used on the market has been mainly made of plastic bottles. In our work, we found that an IKEA cooperation Partners have developed an innovative technology that recycles polyester waste generated during the textile manufacturing process into polyester yarn and reuses it in production. It is thanks to this technological breakthrough that we have truly achieved the goal of polyester textiles The cycle is closed, and this technology has been applied to the development of new products such as bedding, home textiles and carpets."

According to reports, IKEA's goal by 2030 is to be able to define the life cycle of all products during the development stage, produce products using only renewable or recyclable materials, and provide 100% recyclable products.

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The process of IKEA products in the circular economy

Source: IKEA 2023 Sustainability Report

Samsung

Samsung has been deeply practicing environmental protection in recent years. It not only pursues high quality in shaping product experience, but also integrates environmental protection concepts into its products. In order to better achieve the goal of green and low-carbon development, Samsung promotes the application of recycled plastics and the use of recycled materials. Its Neo QLED 8K TV and remote control are made of recycled resin.

We can also find many recyclable materials in Samsung’s mobile phone products. In Samsung’s “Galaxy for the Planet” plan, discarded fishing nets are used as materials and converted into part of smartphones. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S23 series mobile phones not only use recycled ocean materials, but also use recyclable aluminum, recycled glass, etc. The Corning? Gorilla? Glass Victus? 2 used in the Samsung Galaxy S23 series contains 22% pre-consumer recycled glass; the redesigned packaging box also uses 100% recycled paper, further achieving a circular economy. In addition, in Samsung’s new Samsung Galaxy S24 series of smartphones, components containing recycled plastics, glass, and aluminum are used both inside and outside the fuselage, and for the first time, materials containing recycled cobalt, recycled rare earth elements, and recycled steel are used and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) materials.

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In addition, Samsung also plans to achieve 50% of plastic parts in products containing recycled resin in 2030, and increase this proportion to 100% in 2050 to improve the recyclability of resources throughout the product life cycle.

The relationship between circular economy and sustainable development

Corporations are the main body in developing circular economy. The development of circular economy by corporations is not only the need of the times but also the pressure of the environment. It is also of great significance for achieving the coordinated development of economy, society and environment. It is an inevitable choice for corporations to adhere to the path of sustainable development.

Corporations can bring considerable economic benefits by transitioning to a circular economy. For example, reducing packaging waste and lowering CO2?can attract and retain customers and enable efficiencies and value savings across the business and supply chain.

A foundation report pointed out that by adopting circular economy principles, corporations across Europe will share a net income of 1.8 trillion euros by 2030, which is 0.9 trillion euros more than the current linear development path.

The EU says that in the United States, only 5% of the value of plastic packaging materials remains in the economy. The rest will be lost after a brief first use. Plastic packaging materials have an annual bill of between 70 billion and 105 billion euros, and corporations can divert these funds to other projects, such as helping to combat climate change, through a circular economy approach.

In addition, a circular economy strategy can also allow corporations to predict and avoid the financial penalties of stricter regulations, such as the UK plastics tax and Extended Producer Responsibility reform (EPR) in 2022.