12-point charter for circular entrepreneurship

A definition of circular action is necessary because companies need a guideline to be able to act and communicate safely and boldly at the same time. No comparable pragmatic approach for defining an ecological sustainability strategy is as broadly and globally anchored as the circular economy approach.

Our definition below does not claim to be absolute, but should be read as a charter that is as compatible as possible. It is subject to constant further development. We would be delighted to hear from anyone who shares this globally recognized approach. Feel free to contact us personally at any time.

1. Circular Economy is a system in which the production of materials and goods generates a minimal amount of resource consumption and waste, emissions, and energy waste.
   The circular economy is a way of doing business and thinking in which the production of materials and goods generates a minimum amount of resource consumption and waste, emissions and energy wastage.
   
2. It is a very pragmatic sustainability strategy that can be applied individually by each company, which starts with product design and can unfold its full potential through production, marketing and sales as well as customer, supplier and partner management.
   
3. Firstly, this is mainly achieved through the technical design of products and goods for reusability without material-destructive recycling. Rather, it is done in such a way that products of the same quality level can be created once a technical product, for example, has been used.
   
4. Ideally, but not necessarily, the subsequent use of products or goods is already considered in their design, either in principle or in concrete terms (circular thinking and action / closing loops).
   
5. New forms of use and contractual arrangements, such as waiving the transfer of ownership in favor of mere temporary use, promote traceability and take-back rates and have positive effects on company balance sheets (increase in assets). There are very successful examples of this, e.g. in window construction and industrial lighting.
   
6. One intended use can be extended for a long time or distributed among as many users as possible. For example, through renting and other forms of sharing. Through take-back and resale models such as refurbishment or second-hand.
   
7. Different uses of a material can follow one another, such as re-use (second-hand), refurbishment or recycling. In the case of washing machines, for example, the partial refurbishment of Miele washing machines is currently being tested, in which a machine is returned to the factory after around 9 years and delivered to customers with a much lower energy consumption thanks to new units and better microplastic filters.
   
8. In the ideal scenario, circular action enables consumption that is in line with the sustainability goals, in particular UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 (ensuring responsible consumption and production).
   
9. The use of toxic substances or those with known negative effects on living creatures and the environment is of course excluded. Competing objectives (example: recycled polyester saves many emissions by reducing the cost of new production, but the microplastic load is significantly higher due to shortened fibers) occur again and again and must be dealt with constructively and transparently.
   
10. Energy used must be as green as possible.
    
11. Fairness and the avoidance of social injustice along the entire supply and disposal chain must be kept in mind and included accordingly in metrics and seals.
    
12. Natural systems must be protected or regenerated.