then extending that effort
beyond the walls of the enterprise. That requires both
close functional collaboration and deeper process
integration (see Fig. 1: A
Circular Economy Business
Model).
Research and development, manufacturing,
supply chain, sales, marketing, human resources,
environmental, health
and safety, corporate social responsibility, finance,
corporate communications -- all these functions
play a key role. Additionally, business partners and
companies outside the industry vertical need to be
involved for an effective
circular economy process to be developed.
The customer using any manufactured
product is a key link in this virtuous circle.
Each product needs to be returned by the
user at the end of its life so that it can remain in one of the many circles of reuse,
remanufacturing, refurbishment, or recycling. That means both the customer and
the business must see the value in the circular economy approach for it to work. But
when this value is recognized, rapid progress can be made in transforming business
processes, end-to-end.
Creating A Circular
Business Model
Over twenty years ago Lexmark began collecting used toner car- tridges from its customers. These
were then either remanufactured or disas-
sembled and materially recycled. Since
lion pounds of recovered cartridge mate-
rial by converting millions of used toner
cartridges into certified reconditioned
units, and it now processes approximately
25,000 empty toner cartridges every day. A
dedicated recycling plant has also been established in Juarez, Mexico, to provide customers with a central point to return empty
laser cartridges for responsible end-of-life
reuse or recycling.
Called the Lexmark Cartridge Collection Program (LCCP), this initiative has
led to significant business process improvements and the successful development of a
circular economy-focused, closed-looped,
recycling and reuse manufacturing strategy (see Fig 2: Lexmark Cartridge Collection Program). It has also led to increased
benefits for customers as well, including
individualized eco-reports based on their
17NA66
69
Component
reuse
Recycled
materials
Refurb/reuse
Service
................... ................... ................... ................... ................... ................... ...................
“Think of
the end of
the process
from the very
beginning,
and design
the product
accordingly,
with disas-
sembly and
reuse in
mind.”
17NA
666
9
Component
reuse
Recycled
materials
Refurb/reuse
Service
17NA
666
9
Component
reuse
Recycled
materials
Refurb/reuse
Service
figure 1:
A Circular Economy Business Model
Le
xma
rk
