e-book: Circular Economy & Sustainable Supply Chains

Regulatory Requirements and Compliance

This e-book provides you with an overview of the latest developments in relation to the Circular Economy and sustainable supply chains.

Learn more about regulatory requirements, practical approaches, and solutions.

 

Content

Statutory regulations and political initiatives in relation to the Circular Economy, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), REACH, and further requirements concerning the ecological and social sustainability of products pose various challenges for companies’ compliance processes and reporting obligations.

 

This e-book provides you with an overview of the latest legal, social, and technological developments in relation to the Circular Economy, product compliance, and sustainable supply chains. Apart from the Circular Economy, the e-book focuses on legal requirements, solution approaches, technical innovations, and good practices in the area of modern-day slavery, REACH, CSR, and supply chain management. The backbone of this e-book comprises select presentations given at the 4th iPoint “Conflict Minerals & Sustainable Supply Chain” symposium held on November 10, 2016.


Part 1: Introduction to the "Circular Economy" and "Product Lifecycle Management"

 

Part 2: Six Expert Contributions on Challenges, Strategies, and Compliance Solutions

Extract

 

1.1 Circular Economy

 

The basic idea behind the "Circular Economy" is to throw out the approach known as the "linear economy" characterized by the 'take, make, use, dispose' model, in which the raw materials used in products are thrown away at the end of their use phase and buried as waste in landfills. Instead, the Circular Economy is based on continuous, positive development cycles. It is founded on the principle of re-using and recycling the raw materials used in products and returning them to a technical and biological cycle that extends beyond what would otherwise be their linear lifespan. The optimization and digitalization of products, services and business models based on this principle opens up a host of opportunities for supporting both legal compliance and the sustainability of products.

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As the significance of the concept of sustainability has grown over the past years, so too has the pressure exerted on companies to respect the increasing demands of society in this regard. Enlightened consumers and company employees place great demands on manufacturers, production processes and the finished goods. The Circular Economy has long since ceased to be an abstract vision. The Circular Economy Package adopted by the European Union in 2015 has laid down a legal framework and parameters for its implementation.



1.2 Product Lifecycle Management

iPoint-systems is working hand in hand with its customers, international research institutes, and industry associations on a holistic approach with the objective of closing the circle of the product lifecycle. Prerequisite for this is a change of thinking at an early stage of the product design phase, in which all resources used, their procurement and processing, and the lifespan of the materials must be taken into consideration. The subsequent steps of the process chain are production conducted in compliance with social and ecological aspects, product usage, and what is known as the "reverse channel", that is, the logistics of returning, recycling, upcycling, and re-use processes. Due to national and international rules and regulations, it is essential that the individual process steps are documented in order to guarantee traceability. The data recorded for the development, production, and usage processes can in turn be put to use to optimize the products and processes. Sustainable products offer substantial benefits to manufacturers:

 

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