Rethinking Value: how companies are transforming circularity

Circularity is becoming increasingly central in today’s economic debate, yet it often remains confined to strategic presentations or pilot projects with limited impact on core business operations. For many companies, it still feels like an abstract concept, difficult to translate into processes, products, and value models. The white paper Rethinking Value: Business pathways to circular transformation by Vlerick Business School aims to bridge this gap by showing how circularity can become a concrete driver of innovation, competitiveness, and resilience.

The report examines circular transformation through real cases from a wide range of sectors—including finance, electronics, polymer materials, retail, and agri-food—demonstrating that circularity is not a niche approach, but a perspective that can reshape any industrial model.

Why rethinking value matters

The linear model that has dominated the economy for decades is showing increasingly evident structural limits. The growing volatility of raw material markets, the pressure of European regulations, and the environmental impacts linked to resource extraction all point to the need for a radical shift. According to the Circularity Gap Report 2025, only 7.2% of global materials currently cycle back into productive use—a clear sign of inefficiency and lost value.

At the heart of the white paper lies an invitation to rethink what we mean by “value.” Not just immediate revenue generated by selling a product, but long-term value: the ability of a product to last, be repaired, repurposed, recovered, and transformed into new materials or services. This approach reduces dependency on critical resources, stabilizes costs, strengthens supply chain resilience, and opens new business opportunities previously unexplored.

The pillars of circular transformation

Research identifies five fundamental dimensions behind every credible circular transformation pathway.

The first is systems thinking: the ability to view processes, products, and material flows as part of an integrated system. Without this systemic perspective, circularity risks remaining fragmented. Examples such as the Kalundborg Symbiosis in Denmark illustrate the power of industrial collaboration, where the by-products of one actor become valuable inputs for another.

The second pillar is design. Around 80% of environmental impacts are determined in the early development phases, when materials, form, modularity, and assembly processes are defined. Designing with circularity in mind means creating products that are repairable, upgradeable, easy to disassemble, and recyclable, enabling longer and more stable life cycles.

The third pillar concerns business model innovation. Circularity is not just about producing differently—it’s about creating value in new ways: services instead of ownership, product take-back programs, second-life markets, regeneration, and remanufacturing. Tools like the Circular Value Index help evaluate the economic viability of these strategies objectively.

The fourth pillar brings together enabling mechanisms: digitalization, regulation, finance, and legal tools. The introduction of the Digital Product Passport, the growth of sustainability-linked financial instruments, and new European policies all make it easier to measure, manage, and incentivize circularity across the value chain.

Finally, the fifth pillar focuses on people. Without leadership, specific skills, coherent incentives, and a culture that embraces experimentation, circularity cannot scale. This is perhaps the least tangible yet most decisive area.

Case studies: how circularity takes shape in companies

One of the strengths of the white paper is its analysis of real-world cases—not isolated initiatives, but strategic processes already reshaping various industries.

ABN AMRO — Finance as a transition accelerator

ABN AMRO is a pioneering example of a bank embedding circularity directly into risk assessment and lending policies. It contributed to developing the Circular Risk Scorecard, now used by other financial institutions, and actively supports companies adopting product-as-a-service models. Its Sustainable Impact Fund invests in high-potential circular solutions, demonstrating how finance can shape new market standards.

Barco — Technology designed to last

Barco operates in the visualisation systems sector, traditionally driven by rapid innovation and frequent product replacement. By introducing the Ecoscore methodology, the company has rethought product design and services: modular products, simplified repairs, take-back programs, and refurbishment processes. Circularity has become a lever to strengthen operational resilience and unlock new high-value services.

B.I.G. — Redesigning a high-material-intensity sector

Beaulieu International Group manages very large volumes of polymer materials—a challenging sector to transform. Through its Route 2030 strategy, the group aims to use 50% recycled or bio-based raw materials by 2030 and to develop fully recyclable products. Initiatives such as the Relive and Circul8 collection programs, or the REWIND project, show that even in the most complex sectors, circularity can become a realistic industrial strategy.

IKEA — Circularity at global scale

IKEA is one of the most convincing examples of circularity applied at mass scale. Buy-Back programs and the IKEA Pre-Owned platform demonstrate how second-life products can become mainstream in retail. In Belgium alone, more than twelve thousand items returned through the Buy-Back service in 2023—a 72% increase over the previous year. Internal governance has been adjusted accordingly, integrating environmental goals into performance evaluations.

Impetus — Unlocking value in agri-food sidestreams

In the agri-food sector, Impetus works directly with production by-products, transforming them into new resources. Through a “circularity-as-a-service” approach, the company helps producers and processors map sidestreams, identify valorisation pathways, and develop new commercial outputs. It’s an example of how circularity can emerge where businesses typically see only costs.

From strategy to action: what leading companies have in common

Across all analyzed cases, several recurring elements emerge. Companies that achieve concrete results are those that integrate circularity into their strategic goals rather than treating it as a side initiative. They build strong partnerships across the value chain, break down internal silos, and invest in design as a long-term lever. They also act before regulations force them to change, creating competitive advantage.

Another key factor is the ability to generate demand: circularity works when customers—whether businesses or consumers—perceive value in repair services, second-life products, or use-based models. Finally, almost all cases highlight the importance of starting small, experimenting, and then scaling progressively.

A transition already underway

The white paper emphasizes that circularity is neither simple nor immediate. It requires new skills, adequate infrastructure, and the ability to measure and monitor material flows. Yet it also shows that, when approached methodically, circularity delivers tangible results: cost reduction, greater resilience, new market opportunities, and improved risk management.

The transition is already underway, led by companies that view circularity not as an obligation but as an opportunity to redesign their value models.

Tondo’s perspective

For Tondo, an organization committed to accelerating circular innovation, this study provides an important confirmation: circularity is no longer an aspiration but an inevitable evolution of economic models. It requires collaboration, systemic vision, and the courage to rethink established processes, but it opens the door to an economy capable of regenerating value instead of consuming it.

The challenge now is to turn these examples into widespread standards. This is where the competitiveness of European companies will be defined in the years ahead.