Partners: the foundation of the circular economy

2021

With

Partners: the foundation of the circular economy

Contents

On June 29, 2021, a conference on the circular economy was held at ESCP. The French association of Enterprises for the Environment (EpE) presented 3 years of reflection by its "Natural Resources" commission on the circular economy approach.

This collective reflection, chaired by Rachel Kolbe Semhoun, CSR Director of the InVivo Group, was based on 27 concrete initiatives carried out by various companies. The analysis revealed the following:

main objectives of the circular economy;
analysis of the diversity of the main governance models;
the different ways to implement it;
the importance of partnerships to co-construct a stable and sustainable model.

How to successfully implement a circular economy? What is the place and role of partnerships? Rzilient gives you some ideas and presents its eco-collaborations for a virtuous digital industry.

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What is the circular economy?

Today, it is important to find alternative models to try to extract less scarce resources, use less energy and produce less waste.

The circular economy appears to be a good solution since it is presented as an alternative model to the dominant economic model based on the linear use of raw materials.

According to ADEME, the circular scheme is a system of exchange and production that seeks to increase the efficiency of resource use and decrease the impact on the environment. The carbon footprint of both the company and the users is reduced, thus lowering the carbon footprint of digital technology.

To be beneficial, Rzilient bases its circular business model on 3 main areas:

the offer: we buy a service rather than material goods;
consumer demand and behavior: the challenge is to extend the life of their digital tools to the maximum;
waste management.

Although this circular economic model seems to be the ideal solution for the coming years, there are many obstacles to its implementation.

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Obstacles and constraints of the circular model

Dispersal of secondary material deposits

Sometimes the energy and secondary materials needed to make a primary resource are scattered all over the place. It can be expensive (in time, energy and money) to collect them. The example of microplastics in the oceans is telling, we can see that it is almost impossible to collect them because of their size and quantity.

There is also a great lack of access to information on these secondary materials. This is a real obstacle to their collection and reintegration into the economy.

To expedite the process, the following information should be provided:

geolocation of deposits;
quantity and quality;
the actors of the sector.

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Variable quantity and quality

Depending on the secondary materials needed, there may be an increase in demand, resulting in a scarcity of the material. Often materials that can be recycled are not produced in sufficient quantities to cover all needs. New material must be produced.

Iron is a good example. It is easy to recycle and recover, as is the case for 95% of scrap metal. But only 40% of steel production comes from recycling because the total quantities demanded are increasing.

Quality is also a variable factor that can quickly become a constraint. Often mixed with other materials, secondary raw materials are sometimes of lower quality than new raw materials.

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Lack of technology

We are still in an early stage of the circular economy. Some technologies are missing to be able to help the model to be deployed on a large scale. Price is also a hindrance since new raw materials are often cheaper since they don 't require sorting, recycling, or dissociation of compounds.

In the digital industry, it is very difficult to recycle components because of their small size and the lack of technology to do so in a significant way.

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Lack of access to information

To develop this circular pattern, we need:

technical expertise
scientific knowledge
organizational expertise.

The work can be long and complex and the lack of information on the subject, or even training, is a brake on its massive development.

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Lack of regulatory and fiscal incentives

Public policies are starting to become aware of the scope of environmental issues and are putting in place favorable regulations.

For example, there is the anti-waste law for a circular economy (AGEC) dated February 10, 2020 and other draft discussions on the circular economy. But companies deplore the absence or delay of some legislationand especially the lack of a global incentive framework.

It is noted that some reconditioned equipment or secondary raw materials are more expensive than traditional alternatives, which does not encourage companies to take up the issue.

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The persistence of psychological barriers

One of the big blackspots for getting out of a traditional pattern and adopting the circular economy are psychological blocks. In companies, some people may perceive it as a hindrance to business development, while others are simply reluctant to change their habits.

It can also be difficult to get away from the idea that it is necessary to always have the latest fashionable product and that refurbished computer tools are of lower quality than new ones.

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No circular economy without partners

To overcome these various obstacles, it is necessary to establish partnerships.

These can be:

of public authorities;
associations;
research institutes;
other companies.

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The 3 modes of governance

To link eco-partnerships to create a circular economy within one's company, there are 3 ways to work together:

centralized governance ;
distributed governance ;
governance in the form of a digital platform.

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Centralized governance

The governance between the different partners is mainly carried out by a single actor who is in charge of the process.

It bears most of the organizational costs and risks. On the other hand, it is also the one who benefits the most from all the partnerships established.

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Distributed governance

Distributed governance among partners in a circular economy is more equitable. It is based on a scheme of equal sharing of costs, risks and benefits.

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Governance in the form of a digital platform

This type of governance is based less on proximity, but rather on efficiency. The partners are put in contact on a platform that brings to light new possibilities of commercial transactions between the actors.

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The objectives of partnerships in the circular economy

Making the most of local resources

To do this, the partners try to answer the question: how to take advantage of its close environment, of the neighbouring agricultural or industrial activities? For example, the companies can join forces so that the waste of one becomes the energy of the other.

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Secure supplies and outlets

Thinking about local alliances helps to reduce waste, but above all, to secure its raw materials. Thanks to these cross-commitments, partners create closed loops of value.

The difficulties linked to the variation of secondary raw material flows no longer exist since companies no longer depend on exogenous factors but rather on local companies with which they have created alliances.

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Structuring circular economy channels

Creating these economy loops allows us to see the missing links. Businesses can be created to meet this need to limit waste. The economy is sustainable in the long term thanks to the increasing number of actors.

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Experiment and industrialize

As we have seen, what hinders massive development is the lack of knowledge and technology. Establishing partners allows to mutualize the costs of a technological exploration; the investment of a single actor is less with several.

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Creating new value chains

Collaborations have the potential to be created on a national or continental scale. This is the best way to transform certain sectors of activity in depth. All the more so if the actors of this economic model are supported by public authorities, industrialists and actors from the research world.

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A circular digital industry thanks to Rzilient's eco-partners

The partners create a virtuous and more resilient circular system. This is particularly the wish of Rzilient in the digital sector, which takes care of the computer hardware of its partner companies, for example.

Rzilient's main objective is to makethe fleet process in companies a commodity by recreating the link between the different actors of the responsible digital sector.

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The actors of the digital value chain

Reconditioners, suppliers and repairers

The collaborations are numerous, we work especially with the actors of the reconditioning and repair of the following computer devices:

Building partnerships allows us to go beyond the simple supplier relationship as we work on the long-term co-design of services integrated to the platform developed by Rzilient in order to simplify and standardize the sustainable procurement and repair processes.

Moreover, in an effort to be consistent, we do our best to operate in short circuit. We work with refurbishers in France and in Europe to reduce the distances between their workshops and our customers. In this context, for a low carbon delivery, we collaborate with :

Chronopost;
Stuart.

Our customers/users

Today, we have about 100 of them. The new forms of contract signed by both parties are based on performance andusage, not possession, through a service approach offered by Rzilient throughout the life cycle of the digital devices offered. We are particularly proud to support the following players:

We partner with committed projects to help them maximize their societal impact. Supporting projects that share common values in order to transform the business world is our raison d'être.

The actors at the end of the equipment's life

When the equipment cannot be reconditioned, we work particularly with 3 actors of the sector in addition to our reconditioners:

WeeeFund;
Zack.

The work is done hand in hand with a real complementarity of approaches in the respective value chains. The challenge is to maximize the residual "end-of-cycle" valueof the equipment when the customer disposes of it.

Partners who calculate the carbon footprint

To reduce its environmental impact, Rzilient offers the possibility to rent its services and reconditioned equipment. This completes the initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint, hence the eco-collaborations with Greenly, Sami and Keewe.

The actors of responsible digital

To have a truly responsible and virtuous digital sector, we need to create complementarities. That's why we work together with FileVert and Canopé.

The first one intervenes at the level of digital uses while the second one focuses on awareness and training workshops, all in order to accompany towards more sustainable digital practices. Rzilient comes as a concrete solution to support the management of the material.

Eco-responsibility in the office

A tripartite collaboration is set up with Adopte un bureau and aKagreen to introduce moreeco-responsibility in the office. The solutions are complementary and intervene at different levels in order to cultivate more well-being at work - aKagreen by greening workspaces to reconnect with nature, Adopte un bureau by providing pleasant and sustainable furniture to reduce its environmental impact, and Rzilient by promoting positive impact digital to put responsible and circular practices back at the center of companies' digital approach.

Collaborations between committed actors

We also collaborate with platforms for referencing responsible projects as well as sustainable media in order to engage in a dialogue about our common topics and give them more visibility to the general public:

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Platforms for the referencing of responsible projects

Sustainable media partners

Whether it is for referencing platforms or sustainable media partners, our collaborations allow us to feed their databases, which in turn increases our visibility and legitimacy. It also feeds our SEO so that we are referenced and recognized by companies as a responsible digital actor - within a community of sustainable solutions.

Sustainable Solutions Communities

Many close ties have been forged with players in the same ecosystem. Here are some of the communities to which we belong and which work for a virtuous digital sector:

These partnerships are constantly evolving to bring eco-responsibility further into the digital sector.
We are aware that there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve a truly responsible sector, but we are convinced that we can get there if we work together.

Written by

Audrey Pogu