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31da2f4e-f753-4082-ad5b-8ecbe46e946f CIRCULÉIRE MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: SHARECLUB WEBSITE: WEARESHARECLUB.COM SECTOR : CLEAN-TECHNOLOGY, PACKAGING PUBLISHED: 29 AUGUST 2025 TAGS: REUSEREVOLUTION, SINGLEUSEPLASTIC , PACKAGINGASASERVICE , ESGDATA , CSRD , ZEROWASTEEVENTS , SUSTAINABLEBUSINESS , WASTEREDUCTION The Challenge In 2021, Ireland produced the most plastic packaging waste in the EU at 73 kg per person ( Research Matters, 2024 ). Within that mix of waste, we discard approximately 22,000 disposable takeaway cups every hour. That’s 528,000 a day or an estimated 200 million annually, translating to 3,700 tonnes of single-use cup waste generated every year ( Recycling List Ireland, 2018 ). Most of these cups are made from paper lined with polyethylene (PE) to make them waterproof ( Repak, 2018 ). PE is the world’s most commonly produced plastic ( Science Direct, n.d ). While it is technically possible to recycle the cups, most paper mills do not have the capability to do so ( Repak, 2018 ). As a result, most cups end up in landfill or are sent to incineration ( Smyth, 2024 ). Disposable cups are also among the top 5 items found as litter along our coastline (Clean Coasts, 2024) where they break down into harmful microplastics that damage marine life, coastal ecosystems and ultimately end up in the human food chain ( Department of Health, Western Australia 2021 ). Microplastics have been found in virtually every part of the human body including the brain, lungs, placenta, bone marrow, as well as in blood, urine and breast milk ( Yale Environment 360, 2024 ). The Circular Opportunity Shareclub is a multi-award winning Irish company, and CIRCULÉIRE member, offering smart reusable solutions to help their clients reduce their environmental impacts. Founded with a mission to embed reuse into everyday operations, Shareclub helps offices, canteens, events and cafes replace disposable cups and bowls with reusable alternatives, supporting organisations to meet their sustainability goals. Shareclub provides businesses with reusable hot drink cups, reusable cold drink pint cups and reusable bowls for regular use in their workplace canteens or cafés, as well as for corporate events, conferences, and festivals. Shareclub offers their clients a borrowing system to suits their needs, such as RFID tags which are ideal for canteens or cafés, or a borrow & return app which is more suited to campuses and workplaces. They also offer branded options for customers who wish to buy their cups outright. Shareclub’s technology tracks borrowed items, providing clients with customised impact dashboards and measurable data—such as CO₂ savings and waste reduction metrics—for their sustainability reporting. Shareclub helps businesses integrate sustainable practices into their day-to-day operations and backs it up with real reportable data. By offering a digital borrowing model for reusable cups at events, workplaces, cafés, and take-away services, Shareclub ensures high return rates and significant waste reduction. Their services include impact dashboards and reporting tools that help businesses manage reusable stock and access sustainability insights. Shareclub’s digital system keeps track of usage and return rates, providing precise data on waste reduction and environmental footprint—all crucial to Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) reporting ( Shareclub, 2025 ). How Shareclub's RFID Technology System Works (Shareclub, 2025) Climate Impact Shareclub has already made a notable impact by saving over 15,000 disposable cups and preventing more than 5,700 kg of CO₂e emissions ( Shareclub, 2025 ). Their digital-enabled reuse system produces 90% less waste and cuts procurement and waste expenses by approximately 65% ( Shareclub, 2025 ). Shareclub intends to expand their network to more than 200 partners within the next four years with a focus on waste reduction, community engagement, and behavioural change through consumer education. Their digital-enabled reuse system has reported a 98% return rate, contributing to a more circular system and a reduction in future plastic production. Client testimonials from the Dublin Coffee Festival, Guinness Enterprise Centre, and Dublin City Council demonstrate the effectiveness and positive reception Shareclub’s solution has received ( Shareclub, 2025 ). Replicability Other examples of reusable system providers include: 2GoCup is an Irish deposit-and-return scheme for reusable cups and food containers, operating across cafes and businesses in Ireland. RECUP is Germany’s largest reusable deposit system for coffee-to-go cups and takeaway bowls, with over 20,000 partner locations. Vytal is a digital, deposit-free reusable packaging system for takeaway meals and drinks, using QR codes and a mobile app to track containers. Again is a UK based company creating a network of cleaning facilities ("CleanCells") to enable the large-scale, cost-effective cleaning and redistribution of reusable packaging for brands. Loop is a global reuse platform that partners with brands to offer products in durable, returnable packaging, which is collected, professionally cleaned, and refilled. ALL CASE STUDIES

8e6b311c-1b69-4b7d-bc5b-d08ce03d5ed8 CIRCULÉIRE MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: TYMPANY MEDICAL WEBSITE: TYMPANYMEDICAL.COM SECTOR: MEDTECH PUBLISHED: 12 MAY 2025 TAGS: MEDTECH, CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODEL About Tympany Medical Tympany Medical is a Galway-based medical technology company that produces sustainable surgical ear, nose, and throat endoscopes. Endoscopy uses camera technology to improve the visualisation of hard-to-reach areas during surgery. The Challenge The healthcare sector produces a lot of waste and contributes significantly towards climate change. In fact, healthcare systems contribute approximately 4%–5% of global greenhouse gas emissions ( Rodríguez‐Jiménez et al., 2023 ). If healthcare were a country, it would be the fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet. With medical procedures and technology becoming increasingly complex, coupled with global population growth, the waste produced from the healthcare sector is only projected to grow. The production, delivery, use, and disposal of single-use medical supplies account for about 80% of the industry’s carbon footprint ( Greene et al., 2022 ). Currently, discarded products that are disposable rather than reusable make up 85% of global medical waste, while the remaining 15% is hazardous medical waste that requires considerable management ( Greene et al., 2022 ). High-income countries like Ireland produce up to almost 11 kg of hazardous waste per hospital bed per day ( Janik-Karpinska, 2023 ). An endoscope is a thin tube with a light and camera at the end. Endoscopy is a medical procedure that involves the insertion of an endoscope into the body to visualize internal organs and structures. Traditional endoscopic equipment is limited by light availability and imaging technology. Traditional equipment is fixed in terms of what can it can see and the angle of view cannot be adjusted. This can be a significant problem in an area with multiple cavities such as the sinus. As these traditional scopes do not provide visibility around corners, four separate scopes, each with different angles (0, 30, 45, and 70 degrees), must be prepared for each surgery. This results in significant waste given that they are removed up to 30 times per procedure. Furthermore, there is a great deal of sterilisation effort required and a lot of additional waste generated from supporting materials, including single-use plastic packaging. The Circular Opportunity Tympany Medical has developed the next generation of endoscope called Solascope. Solascope is the world’s first sterile, panoramic endoscope with integrated lens cleaning. The device is currently completing its initial design phase and preclinical validation. Tympany Medical has designed and patented a novel proof-of-concept encapsulation technology. This outer-layer protects the core components of their endoscope, allowing the highly technical internal components to be reused, while significantly reducing the amount of waste produced. Solascope further improves surgical visibility due to its panoramic camera lens while simultaneously reducing the amount of blood obstructing the lens via its inbuilt cleaning system. Climate Impact The Solascope will have the following clinical, environmental, and monetary impacts: Reduced number of scopes prepared per procedure from four to one. Encapsulation technology with fully integrated manufacturing and remanufacturing technology, making the circular economy for medical devices a reality. Reduction in cost and environmental impact of risk waste (disposal of risk waste costs between €935 – €2,125 per tonne. The average is €1,530). Replicability In 2019, the global health care market was valued at approximately USD $7.7 trillion and was projected to exceed USD $8.5 trillion by 2020 ( Deloitte, 2019 ). Because circularity in healthcare is a relatively new concept, Tympany Medical has the potential to carve out a space in the market and be a leader and exemplar in the circular medical device industry. Medical waste has a significant environmental impact, and international and national focus is increasingly directed towards sustainability. As a result numerous initiatives to develop circular medical products and practices have been launched. The ReMed project, for example, a collaboration between Loughborough University and the University of Leeds, aims to identify the barriers to the circular use of medical devices and develop potential sustainable solutions. ALL CASE STUDIES

b96f2e0f-736a-4b70-ade9-9f23323c8096 CIRCULÉIRE NON-MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: SOTENÄS MARINE RECYCLING CENTRE WEBSITE: SYMBIOSCENTRUM.SE SECTOR : ADVANCED MATERIALS PUBLISHED: 19 NOVEMBER 2025 TAGS: MARINEPLASTIC, GHOSTGEAR, OCEANPOLLUTION, FISHINGINDUSTRY, INDUSTRIALSYMBIOSIS, RECYCLING, WASTETORESOURCE, EPR, CLEANSEAS The Challenge Sotenäs is a small coastal municipality in Sweden with around 9,000 inhabitants. Fishing is the primary industry and it is home to the second largest fish auction in the country. The municipality also homes three of Sweden’s major seafood processing plants ( Marthinson, 2022 ). Tourism plays a key role in the local economy, with the population swelling to over 50,000 each summer ( Charter & Whitehead, 2023 ). Both fishing and tourism rely on healthy seas and clean environments. Yet, Sotenäs faces significant challenges from marine litter and waste generated by the fishing industry. This local issue mirrors a global crisis. While plastics have delivered clear benefits - being lightweight, durable, and versatile for many industrial and everyday applications - their widespread use has also created severe environmental challenges. Plastic production has surged in recent years, driving climate change and harming marine ecosystems. Global plastic production now exceeds 450 million tonnes annually ( Ritchie, Samborska & Roser, 2023 ). From extraction to disposal, plastics generate large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs). In 2019 alone, plastics accounted for 1.8 billion tonnes of GHG emissions - about 3.4% of global emissions ( OECD, 2024 ) and every minute, the equivalent of a garbage truck’s worth of plastic enters the ocean, threatening marine life ( Tsydenova & Patil, 2021 ). A Circular Solution The Sotenäs Marine Recycling Centre (SMRC) is Sweden’s first facility dedicated to marine recycling. It was established in 2018 through a partnership between Sotenäs municipality and local fishers, as part of Symbioscentrum - an organisation promoting industrial symbiosis in the region ( Charter & Whitehead, 2023 ). SMRC collects, separates, and processes discarded fishing gear and marine litter, including "ghost gear"- fishing equipment such as nets, lines, or traps that has been lost, abandoned, or discarded yet continues to capture and kill fish or other marine animals. SMRC sorts metals and different plastic types such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyamide, and PET for reuse, recycling, or upcycling. Due to its success, SMRC expanded nationally in 2020 through the Fiskereturen project, creating around 10 collection hubs in fishing ports across Sweden. Fishing gear from these locations is trucked to SMRC for processing ( Charter & Whitehead, 2023 ). SMRC worked with authorities to prepare for the European Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations for fishing gear , which came into effect in January 2025 ( Charter & Whitehead, 2023 ). The centre also offers testing services and is developing new circular products from waste fishing gear and marine plastics through its innovation testbed, Testbed Ocean Waste (TOW) ( Charter & Whitehead, 2023 ). Climate Impact Previously, most clean polymers collected by SMRC were exported to Plastix Global in Denmark for recycling into pellets for use by European and international industries (Charter & Whitehead, 2023). Today, more polymers are reused locally in Sweden, reducing resource loss from export and increasing the availability of recycled materials. This shift lowers reliance on imported and virgin polymers. In 2022, the SMRC collected 152 tonnes of used fishing gear ( Torbäck, 2023 ). About 60 - 80% of the collected gear was recycled, 5 - 10% reused, and the remainder that was unsuitable for recycling or reuse was sent for energy recovery ( Torbäck, 2023 ). Recycling one tonne of plastic saves approximately 16.3 barrels of oil or 5,774 kilowatt hours of electricity ( UNDP, 2022 ), meaning SMRC’s efforts generate significant environmental savings. SMRC also creates green local jobs through the municipality’s work-training programme ( Charter & Whitehead, 2023 ). Trainees help separate and sort fishing gear and beach plastic, as well as clean municipal beaches and coastal areas ( Charter & Whitehead, 2023 ). Replicability Discarded fishing gear and marine plastic waste are global problems, especially in coastal regions with limited recycling infrastructure. Globally, only about 9% of plastic waste is recycled; the majority is either incinerated (approximately 34%), landfilled (around 40%), or improperly disposed of into the environment ( Wu et al., 2025 ). Replicating the SMRC model successfully requires two critical elements: infrastructure to collect and process the nets, and a market to buy the resulting recycled material. While the infrastructure gap remains significant, a growing number of companies are proving that a robust market for marine plastics exists. By treating waste gear as a valuable feedstock rather than trash, these organizations are driving demand: OceanЯ (Ireland), a Cork-based apparel company, produces garments from marine plastic waste and has diverted over 1.5 million plastic bottles from oceans and landfills. Waterhaul (UK) recovers and recycles marine plastics, including ghost gear, into traceable, purpose-made polymer products used in injection moulding. Bureo (Chile/US) collects discarded fishing nets and recycles them into NetPlus nylon pellets for use in the products of brands such as Nike & Patagonia. Patagonia (USA) are an outdoor clothing pioneer incorporating recycled plastics and collaborating with companies like Bureo to use discarded fishing nets to make high end outdoor clothing. ALL CASE STUDIES

a2ad675a-3d2a-4cc8-a7c1-5ea94d4f5d0d CIRCULÉIRE NON-MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: IKEA WEBSITE: IKEA.COM SECTOR : BUILT ENVIRONMENT PUBLISHED: 14 JULY 2025 TAGS: RETURN, REUSE, RECYCLE, TAKE-BACK, SECOND LIFE, FURNITURE About IKEA IKEA is a home furnishing retailer founded in Sweden in 1943. As of July 2025, there were 486 stores worldwide, serving millions of customers. IKEA has been measuring their climate footprint and setting goals to minimise their environmental impact since the 2016 financial year (FY). The Challenge Every year, 10 million tonnes of furniture is thrown away by businesses and consumers across Europe, and most of this either ends up in landfill or is incinerated ( Forrest et al., 2017 ). The fast furniture industry is wasteful, resource-intensive and polluting. In the EU, furniture waste accounts for more than 4% of the total municipal solid waste (MSW) stream ( Forrest et al., 2017 ). According to IKEA’s FY24 Sustainability Report, their climate footprint is estimated to be equivalent to 21.3 million tonnes CO2 (IKEA, 2024 ). This represents a decrease of 5% compared to their FY23 report and 28% compared to their FY16 baseline but it’s still equivalent to approx. 5.6 coal-fired power plants’ emissions in a year ( EPA.gov, 2025 ). IKEA’s report also highlights that the majority of their climate footprint comes from raw material extraction and processing (52%) and their product use in customers’ homes (17%), which includes the energy consumption of lighting and appliances over the product’s lifetime (IKEA, 2024 ). The Circular Solution in Practice IKEA’s Buy Back & Resell Programme is designed to increase the number of times a piece of furniture is used before being recycled or sent to the landfill. IKEA buys back eligible preloved items from customers and resells these good quality second-hand pieces in the store’s Circular Hub section. Aside from second-hand items, the Circular Hub also offers ex-display products and discontinued furniture. To avail of this service, customers can fill out a form on IKEA’s website, to estimate the furniture’s buy-back value. Then they must bring their assembled IKEA furniture, together with the estimate, to an IKEA store. An IKEA worker will inspect the furniture before accepting it and giving the final agreed value as an IKEA gift card. The Buy Back Program is available in 28 countries, including Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Japan and Italy. Impact The Buy-back scheme helps IKEA in cutting their carbon footprint by reducing the amount of virgin raw material inputs required for their products. This can be fulfilled through closing the product loop by facilitating appropriate recycling after multiple uses. In addition, this scheme can contribute to promote the repair concept, by making all the different components of furniture available for purchase separately. Sometimes, the smaller parts (such as dowels, screws, washers, etc.) can be obtained free of charge at the stores. Furthermore, through this scheme, accessible and affordable furniture will be available for low-income households. During IKEA's 2024 Buyback Friday campaign alone - an alternative to Black Friday - almost 55,000 IKEA products were returned to stores for resale (IKEA, 2024 ) . Replicability The European Union (EU) manufactures almost one-quarter of the world’s furniture, constituting an €84 billion market ( Forrest et al., 2017 ). Consumers are becoming more concerned about the environmental impact of the goods they buy. Moreover, government regulations such as the EU Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR ) are pushing for eco-design criteria for products to greatly enhance their circularity, energy performance, and other aspects of environmental sustainability. Businesses will be required to provide product information from conception to end-of-life for almost all physical goods placed on the EU market. IKEA is serving as an industry pioneer in circular concepts by offering its Buy Back Programme. Businesses can be drawn to this scheme because it can increase profitability by decreasing the cost of production. Furthermore, it can be replicated to a variety of industries such as home appliances, electronics, and textiles. Among the Irish stores in the circular furniture industry are: Finline Furniture , take back old Finline sofas and give them a makeover. reducing the number of sofas going into landfill. Their upcycled sofas are striped down, re-padded, re-sprung, re-foamed and re-upholstered before being resold good-as-ne w. for a fraction of the price. Rediscover Furniture , is a furniture restoration and upcycling social enterprise housed at the Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun, Dublin. Walsh’s Furniture Repair & Assembly specialises in in repair of upholstery, leather, timber, and furniture assembly. ALL CASE STUDIES

94036eb7-0636-4468-96f2-31cf79a845fc CIRCULÉIRE NON-MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: HOLCIM WEBSITE: HOLCIM.COM SECTOR : BUILT ENVIRONMENT PUBLISHED: 05 NOVEMBER 2025 TAGS: SUSTAINABLECONSTRUCTION, GREENCONCRETE, RECYCLEDCONCRETE, BUILTENVIRONMENT, EMBODIEDCARBON, CEMENT, CONSTRUCTIONWASTE, WASTETORESOURCE The Challenge Buildings account for 39% of global carbon emissions, with operational emissions related to heating, cooling, and power use contributing 28%, and embodied carbon—emissions from materials and construction—making up 11% ( World Green Building Council, 2025 ). Concrete alone is estimated to be responsible for approximately 6 to 8% of global CO 2 emissions ( World Economic Forum, 2024 ). This high carbon footprint arises mainly from the energy-intensive process of heating limestone at extreme temperatures during cement production, to make clinker, which is a primary ingredient in concrete. The built environment consumes about 50% of all extracted raw materials globally, emphasizing its significant resource demands ( European Commission, 2018 ). Concrete is the second most used material on earth, following only water in volume of use ( World Cement Association, n.d. ). Without the adoption of sustainable practices, the global consumption of raw materials for construction is projected to double by 2060, causing further environmental degradation and resource depletion ( OECD, 2019 ). A Circular Solution Holcim, a worldwide leader in building materials, partnered with Seqens - a major social housing organization in France - to give birth to Recygénie, the world's first building fully made from recycled concrete. This 220-unit social housing complex utilised Holcim's ECOCycle technology, which turns construction and demolition waste into new building materials (Holcim, n.d.). In 2021, a group of 1960s apartment buildings were torn down just outside of Paris, France. On the same site, construction began on the Recygénie complex, one year utilising demolition waste from the very buildings that once stood on the site ( Fast Company, 2024 ). This project demonstrated Holcim's ECOCycle technology platform, which enables the production of concrete from 100% recycled construction and demolition materials. The platform includes advanced crushing and processing systems that transform demolition waste into high-quality recycled aggregates, sand, and cement components. By reusing these recycled materials, ECOCycle reduces reliance on virgin raw inputs, conserves natural resources, and contributes to lowering the carbon footprint of new buildings ( Holcim, 2025 ; Holcim, 2023 ). A key collaborator on the project was the CSTB (Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment), the French national organization for R&D in construction. The CSTB’s partnership was essential to monitor and validate the performance of the recycled material, as the project went beyond existing French building standards. By working with the CSTB to validate the material, the project helped create a pathway for future circular projects and challenged existing regulations that limit the use of recycled content. The circular opportunity presented by Recygénie shows that big buildings can be constructed using only recycled materials, without a compromise on quality and safety. This helps keep waste out of landfills and encourages better use of resources. It sets an example in the field of sustainable building practices that can be used around the world ( Holcim, 2023 ). Climate Impact Recygénie has significantly reduced its environmental impact. The project's primary CO 2 savings come from using recycled materials to create new clinker, a process that avoids the high-temperature calcination of virgin limestone—the main source of cement's emissions. The project also diverted over 6,000 tons of construction and demolition waste from landfills and saved an equivalent amount of natural resources by recycling materials such as cement, aggregates, and water. These efforts demonstrate the potential of circular construction practices to lower carbon emissions, reduce waste, and conserve resources ( Holcim, 2023 ). Replicability The success of Recygénie proves that fully recycled concrete buildings are feasible and scalable. Holcim is replicating this model across the markets where it operates, adapting the solution to local building norms and material availability. In 2023, Holcim has recycled nearly 8.4 million tons of construction demolition materials ( Holcim, 2023 ). Several Irish companies are making great strides in the use of recycled cement and sustainable construction practices: Ecocem Ireland is a leading sustainable cement producer specializing in Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS), a byproduct of the steel industry used as a low-carbon substitute for Portland cement. Their product significantly reduces embodied carbon in concrete while maintaining high performance. Techrete are Ireland’s largest architectural precast concrete façade specialist, Techrete has launched a sustainable concrete range with a 50% reduction in embodied carbon, driven by incorporating cement replacement materials and high-performance mixes. Trinity College Dublin & FLI Precast Solutions developed a groundbreaking low-carbon concrete using biomass ash, an industrial byproduct from Edenderry Power Station, reducing carbon emissions by over 50%. Kilsaran , a longstanding Irish concrete products producer, implemented CarbonCure technology, which injects recycled CO 2 into concrete to permanently mineralize it for a reduced carbon footprint. ALL CASE STUDIES

cb7c465f-6983-49e7-acbe-5a9b7ab331ef CIRCULÉIRE MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: CIRCULAR FOOD CO. WEBSITE: CIRCULARFOOD.CO SECTOR : FOOD & BEVERAGE PUBLISHED: 8 TH APRIL 2026 TAGS: FOOD WASTE VALORISATION, UPCYCLED INGREDIENTS, WASTE TO VALUE, BIO-BASED SOLUTIONS, RESOURCE EFFICIENCY, INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS, MATERIAL EFFICIENCY, CIRCULAR FOOD SYSTEMS, EMISSIONS REDUCTION, SUSTAINABLE NUTRITION The Challenge Food loss and food waste create profound environmental and social burdens worldwide. Despite food production claiming nearly a third of global agricultural land, approximately 1.05 billion tonnes of food were wasted in 2022 – while 783 million people faced hunger and a third of the global population grappled with food insecurity ( UNCC, 2024 ). This inefficiency generates 8-10% of global annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, roughly five times the emissions of the aviation sector ( UNCC, 2024 ). In the European Union (EU), annual food waste exceeds 58 million tonnes ( Eurostat, 2025 ), producing emissions equivalent to 252 million tonnes of carbon dioxide ( European Commission, 2023 ). If food waste were an EU Member State, it would rank as the bloc's fifth-largest GHG emitter ( European Commission, 2023 ). Notably, food and beverage manufacturing accounts for 19% of this waste ( Eurostat, 2025 ). In 2023, Ireland generated 835,000 tonnes of food waste ( EPA Ireland, 2025 ). The brewing sector alone produces over 170,000 tonnes of spent grain yearly ( DAFM, 2025 ), much of which ends up as low-value animal feed or waste, intensifying resource inefficiency ( Teagasc, 2022 ). When such organic waste decomposes in landfills, it releases methane, a GHG with 84 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, exacerbating climate change ( EEA, 2025 ). Circular Solution Circular Food Co , a participant of the 2025 CIRCULÉIRE Venture Accelerator, transforms food industry by-products and surplus like spent grain into high-value, plant-based ingredients for the bakery, meat, snacking, and nutrition sectors. The company collects surplus from Irish producers, uses thermal dehydration to retain flavour and nutrition, and analyses functionality to create fibre-, protein-, and antioxidant-rich products. Their process diverts waste from disposal, enabling brands to meet ESG targets with upcycled ingredients that enhance taste and nutrition without new cultivation. Climate Impact Circular Food Co delivers substantial environmental benefits through upcycling, preventing landfill methane emissions and avoiding emissions tied to virgin resource production. Their ingredients offer near-total reductions: 100% in water use and 99% in land use, alongside 25% lower carbon footprints compared to conventional alternatives ( Circular Food Co, n.d. ). Upcycling closes nutrient loops, curbing demand for new production and mitigating climate impacts. To date, the company reports diverting over 200 tonnes of food waste, averting roughly 320 tonnes of CO₂e emissions while achieving over 70% resource efficiency with minimal extra water or energy. Replicability Food loss and waste exact a heavy economic toll, costing the global economy roughly USD 1 trillion annually ( UNCC, 2024 ). The EU Waste Framework Directive mandates Member States to cut food waste by 10% in processing and manufacturing by 2030 ( European Commission, 2025 ). Upcycling unlocks value from this waste stream, tapping into a €132 billion opportunity across the chain ( European Commission, n.d. ). Companies like Circular Food Co exemplify how to valorise waste and meet ambitious 2030 targets. Similar initiatives include: UpGrain , a Swiss company, which upcycles brewers' spent grain into protein- and fibre-rich ingredients for snacks and baked goods, saving CO 2 and disposal costs. Agrain , a Danish company, which converts spent grain into nutritious flour using proprietary technology, saving 24-44 kg CO 2 per 100 kg and 2 m² land per kg compared to traditional flour. Well Spent Grain upcycle brewer's spent grain into sustainable and delicious snacks. Read the CIRCULÉIRE case study on Well Spent Grain here A Note on By-Products & End of Waste A by-product is a residue left over from the production of another product. In Ireland, Regulation 27 of the Waste Directive sets out the circumstances in which a material can be considered a by-product and not a waste. It is essential you notify the EPA to determine if your material satisfies the criteria of a by-product. The EPA will confirm if it can be categorised as a by-product or if it must be categorised as a waste. If the substance is classified as a waste then it may need to achieve End-of-Waste status via Article 28 of the Waste Directive to be kept in use as a resource. ALL CASE STUDIES

627efed7-ef6a-4a14-ba3c-f06944ff4f80 CIRCULÉIRE NON-MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: ASBETER WEBSITE: ASBETER.COM SECTOR : BUILT ENVIRONMENT PUBLISHED: 26 NOVEMBER 2025 TAGS: CIRCULARECONOMY, ASBESTOS, SUSTAINABLECONSTRUCTION, HAZARDOUSWASTE, CIRCULARMANUFACTURING, BUILTENVIRONMENT, GREENBUILDING, WASTEMANAGEMENT, CLEANTECH, INNOVATION, CONSTRUCTION, MATERIALRECOVERY The Challenge Asbestos-cement products are one of the most persistent legacy hazards in the built environment, combining high health risks with difficult end‑of‑life management. Asbestos refers to a group of naturally occurring mineral fibres formerly prized for their durability and heat resistance. Throughout the twentieth century, these qualities led to the widespread use of asbestos in building materials for the likes of roofing, cladding, and pipes. ( World Health Organization, 2024 ). Exposure to airborne asbestos fibres causes fatal diseases, including lung and larynx cancer and mesothelioma, leading to over 200,000 deaths annually worldwide ( World Health Organization, 2024 ). Despite bans in many countries, global asbestos mining continues, with around 1.3 million tonnes produced in 2023 ( UNEP, 2024 ). Many countries still rely on landfilling asbestos-containing materials, which locks future liability into the ground and occupies scarce disposal capacity. Asbestos-cement products remain a persistent legacy issue in Ireland’s built environment, where many pre-2000 buildings still contain asbestos materials posing serious public health risks ( Health and Safety Authority, 2017 ). Despite being banned since 2004, asbestos fibres continue to threaten workers and residents during refurbishment or demolition activities unless tightly controlled ( OHSS, 2025 ). Ireland’s asbestos waste is classified as hazardous and requires special handling and disposal at EPA-licensed facilities. However, domestic landfill capacity for asbestos is limited, often requiring export or transfer to facilities overseas ( EPA, 2021 ). Ireland is currently preparing for the EU Asbestos Directive’s implementation in Dec 2025, which will further strengthen exposure limits, monitoring, and training requirements to improve worker safety ( EHS International, 2025 ) A Circular Solution Founded in 2018 in the Netherlands, Asbeter developed its AC Minerals process and commercialized it in 2022 to safely treat asbestos cement by alkaline dissolution ( Asbeter, 2024 ). The AC Minerals process involves breaking down asbestos cement waste by shredding and milling it into small fragments inside a sealed environment with water. The resulting slurry is then heated below 100C which creates a chemical reaction in which the asbestos fibres chemically transform until they are completely neutralized and no longer pose a hazard ( BBC Future, 2024 ). The process recovers valuable raw materials such as calcium silicate and calcium carbonate from the treated waste, which can then be reused in industries like cement and concrete manufacturing. This innovative technique aims to safely and effectively transform hazardous asbestos waste into reusable materials, addressing a major challenge in global asbestos disposal ( Asbeter, 2025 ). This approach offers a promising alternative to hazardous asbestos landfill, enabling recycling into circular construction inputs, reducing landfill reliance and health risks. Climate Impact Asbeter was issued an end-of-waste certificate by the Dutch Environment Agency ( DCMR, 2023 ) and the independent testing agency, Det Norske Veritas, also issued a verification statement confirming that their process completely dissolves asbestos fibres from asbestos-containing materials, resulting in an asbestos-free residue ( DNV, 2023 ). Asbeter plans to build a plant capable of processing 25,000 tonnes a year, growing to 75,000 tonnes a year ( BBC Future, 2024 ). By safely neutralizing asbestos fibres and producing a non-hazardous residue, the AC Minerals process eliminates the need for hazardous asbestos waste landfilling. If implemented in Ireland, a similar solution could significantly reduce the environmental risks associated with asbestos disposal while keeping valuable mineral materials in circulation. Moreover, by making the waste safe, it could substantially lower the high shipping and remediation costs currently required to transport hazardous asbestos waste off-island for disposal, leading to economic and environmental benefits through more local processing and circular reuse. Replicability The green building materials market was valued at USD 285.89 billion in 2024, projected to grow by 8.5% annually through 2030 ( Grand View Research, 2025 ). Asbeter’s method illustrates a replicable circular economy solution to manage legacy asbestos waste while producing low-carbon construction feedstock for the built environment’s transition ( Asbeter, 2024 ). Addressing asbestos is critical: asbestos exposure accounted for 78% of occupational cancers in the EU in 2019, with approximately 70,000 workers still exposed today ( European Commission, 2022 ). This underscores the urgent need for safe and scalable asbestos waste management solutions. Another company working on a circular solution for asbestos is Thermal Recycling in the UK. The company uses high-temperature processing to convert asbestos cement into inert mineral materials, achieving end-of-waste status and enabling reuse. ALL CASE STUDIES

a07b0cfe-6da8-4cbf-9ea5-b5b19b22683e CIRCULÉIRE NON-MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: HEALTH BEACON WEBSITE: HEALTHBEACON.COM SECTOR : HEALTHCARE, MEDTECH, PHARMACEUTICALS PUBLISHED: 14 JULY 2025 TAGS: REUSE, RECYCLING, MEDTECH, PHARMACEUTICALS, MEDICAL WASTE, HAZARDOUS WASTE The Challenge Approximately 16 billion injections are administered globally eac h year ( WHO, 2024 ). Unfortunately, not all needles and syringes are properly disposed of ( WHO, 2024 ), posing a danger of injury and infection as well as potential reuse of an unste rilised product. Single-use products, such as injection needles and syringes, are popular due to the risk of transferable / infectious diseases plus the high cost and time-consuming process of sterilisation ( Collier, 2011 ). However, massive amounts of plastic packaging, single-use tools, and diagnostic devices emit greenhouse gases (GHG) when incinerated or while decomposing in landfills and oceans ( Greene, Skolnik & Merritt, 2022 ). In fact, healthcare systems are responsible for 4%–5% of the emissions of GHGs worldwide ( Rodríguez‐Jiménez et al., 2023 ). The Circular Opportunity Single-use medical supplies account for roughly 80% of the industry’s carbon footprint in terms of production, transport, usage, and disposal ( Greene et al., 2022 ). Medical supplies, like many other common household items, were made of reusable metal, fabric, and glass in the past, with little to no plastic used in their production or packaging ( Johns Hopkins, 2023 ). Currently, almost all medical supplies, including surgical masks, syringes, and surgical tools, are wrapped in or made of plastic ( Johns Hopkins, 2023 ). As a matter of fact, 85% of global medical waste is comprised of discarded materials that are disposable rather than reusable, despite only 15% of it being hazardous ( Greene et al., 2022 ). A sustainable healthcare system is one in which products are developed for longevity and circularity while also ensuring device reliability and patient safety. The Circular Solution in Practice HealthBeacon is an Irish digital therapeutics company that develops products for patients to manage injectable medications at home. The HealthBeacon Injection Care Management System monitors medication adherence and persistence by providing medication management reminders, safe and sustainable sharps disposal devices, educational resources, and artificial intelligence (AI) operated data analytics. The company is presently operating in 17 countries, primarily across Europe, North America, and the United Kingdom. Peer reviewed evidence published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy revealed that patients using this technology improved injectable medication adherence by up to 26% (Glynn, 2020) . HealthBeacon and Novartis Ireland are collaborating to use the HealthBeacon Green Labs to develop a platform that will offer quick and easy innovative sustainability solutions for Novartis patients ( Novartis Ireland, 2022 ). The first step of this partnership is supplying reusable sharps bins to rheumatology, dermatology, and neurology patients. Smart technology reminds patients to take their medication and alerts them when their sharps bin is almost full. The full sharps bin is then collected from the patient’s home, sanitised, and returned to the patient for reuse, ensuring an environmentally friendly and safe service for patients ( Novartis Ireland, 2022 ). Replicability According to a report by Grand View Research, Inc., the global home healthcare market is estimated to reach USD 747.b billion by 2030 ( GVR, 202 4 ). From 2022 to 2030, the market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.21% ( GVR, 2022 ). The increase of chronic illnesses such as respiratory diseases, kidney disorders, and diabetes is driving up demand for home therapeutic devices. HealthBeacon has an excellent opportunity to capitalise on this thriving market and expand its business. The collection and sustainable disposal of injectable sharps is a significant step towards tackling the global challenge of sustainably managing medical waste and assisting pharmaceutical companies in adopting more sustainable waste management practises. A few initiatives worth noting in the circular medical devices sphere include: Tympany Medical, a CIRCULÉIRE new venture, is a Galway-based medical technology company that produces reusable endoscopes. The ReMed project, a collaboration between Loughborough University and the University of Leeds, aims to identify the barriers to the circular use of medical devices and develop sustainable solutions. ALL CASE STUDIES

2a208ad2-ef29-48f1-a9e7-818bcb4789e1 CIRCULÉIRE MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: GREENIT WEBSITE: GREENIT.IE SECTOR : ELECTRONICS PUBLISHED: 23 JULY 2025 TAGS: REMANUFACTURE, REFURBISH, REPAIR, WEEE The Challenge Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is the world's fastest-growing waste stream ( ILO, 2014 cited in WHO, 2024 ). Global e-waste production soared by 82% between 2010 and 2022 to reach a record 62 million tonnes ( UNITAR, 2024 ), a growth rate nearly six times faster than that of the world's population. To put this in perspective, that volume of e-waste could fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks, roughly enough to form a bumper-to-bumper line encircling the equator ( UNITAR, 2024 ). Yet only 22.3% of the WEEE was formally collected and recycled ( UNITAR, 2024 ). Large amounts of resources are utilised throughout the life cycle of electronic equipment, including mining, manufacturing, transport, retail, consumption, and disposal ( Meidl, 2023 ). An estimated 31 million tonnes of metals were embedded in e-waste in 2022, with a value of US $91 billion, including US $19 billion in copper, US $15 billion in gold, and US $16 billion in iron ( UNITAR, 2024 ). WEEE is often incinerated, dumped in landfills, or exported to developing countries at end-of-life ( Meidl, 2023 ). When e-waste is improperly recycled, it can release up to 1000 different chemical substances into the environment, including known neurotoxicants such as lead, leaving pregnant women and children particularly vulnerable ( WHO, 2024 ). In 2020, an estimated 580 MtCO₂e (Megatonnes of CO 2 e) were emitted by WEEE ( Singh and Ogunseitan, 2022 ), which is equivalent to the CO 2 emissions from 153 coal-fired power plants in one year ( EPA.gov , 2024 ). Extracting valuable materials from e-waste is essential to avoid further environmental degradation. E-waste management globally prevents 93 MtCO₂e emissions in the form of refrigerants in temperature exchange equipment (41 MtCO₂e) and through the lower greenhouse gas emissions obtained by recycling metals versus mining (52 MtCO₂e) ( UNITAR, 2024 ). The Circular Solution Remanufacturing is one of the 10 R-strategies of a circular economy. A remanufactured product uses parts from a discarded product in a new product with the same function ( Potting et al, 2017 ). Importantly, a remanufactured product must perform at the same level or higher than the original product, and it must have a warranty of the same or longer duration ( Tant et al., 2018 ). Remanufactured products are disassembled, all components are cleaned, reassembled, tested, and repaired as needed ( Tant et al., 2018 ). GreenIT , an Irish SME and CIRCULÉIRE member, offers high-quality remanufactured laptops to the mainstream consumer as well as public sector bodies. Their preowned remanufactured laptops have been restored to a like-new condition, inside-and-out, through comprehensive testing, repair and updating of hardware and software components. The laptops go through the BSI (British Standards Institution) Kitemark certified Circular Remanufacturing Process where preowned laptops are inspected, disassembled, restored, re-assembled, tested and finished, meaning that every laptop must meet or exceed the quality and performance of new products ( BSI, 2023 ). GreenIT source laptops through a diverse network including corporate trade-ins and electronic recycling programmes. If deemed suitable for remanufacture all data on the laptops is securely erased, and key components such as the hard drive, memory, battery, and motherboard are tested for functionality. Any defective or outdated parts are replaced with new or refurbished components. The laptops are cleaned, and cosmetic damages, such as scratches or dents, are repaired. If necessary, they may be repainted or reskinned. The operating system and drivers are freshly installed, and the laptops undergo rigorous final testing to ensure they operate good-as-new. To guarantee their reliability, every GreenIT remanufactured laptop comes with a 3-5 year extended warranty, and cost up to 40% less than a new version of the same laptop ( GreenIT, 2024 ). In 2024, the Republic of Ireland’s Office of Government Procurement (OGP) launched a new ‘first-of-its-kind’ framework for public bodies to acquire remanufactured laptops ( Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, 2024 ). The contract was granted to GreenIT who tendered as the lead entity in a consortium with Circular Computing , a UK-based company that specialises in the remanufacturing of enterprise-grade laptops ( Pepper, 2024 ). The contract is valued at up to EUR €30 million and aligns with the circular economy objectives outlined in the Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027 ( DCEE, 2024 ). Green Public Procurement is the process by which public bodies aim to procure goods, services and works that have lower environmental impact throughout their life cycle as compared to goods, services and works with the same primary function that would otherwise be procured ( DCEE; OGP, 2024 ). Climate Impact Approximately 60,000 remanufactured laptops could be procured by public bodies throughout the four-year term, extending the life cycle of the laptops and minimising WEEE generation ( Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, 2024 ). Purchasing a remanufactured laptop instead of a new one saves around 310 kilogrammes of CO 2 e ( Yuksek et al., 2023 ). Moreover, remanufacturing laptops can decrease energy consumption during manufacturing by up to 80% by eliminating raw material extraction and processing ( Yuksek et al., 2023 ). Furthermore, remanufactured laptops save about 190,000 litres of water per laptop due to the absence of primary resource extraction and refinement, and new product component production ( Maalouf et al., 2015 ). The Irish Government estimate the contract will equate to a reduction of 19 million Kgs CO 2 , preserve 72 million Kgs of mined resources and save 11 billion litres of water ( Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, 2024 ). Replicability Ireland’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is EUR €506.30 billion ( Central Statistics Office, 2024 ). The annual public sector purchasing accounts for 10% to 12% of the country’s GDP ( DCEE; OGP, 2024 ), which represents a significant portion of economic activity and demand. As a result, Ireland’s public sector has the capacity to drive the procurement of more resource-efficient, less polluting goods, services and works within the marketplace. This is a great advantage for companies who embed circular principles into their business models when competing for government tenders. A noteworthy example is: Evolve , a CIRCULÉIRE Member, are an independent technology-driven supply chain solution that streamlines the sourcing of remanufactured green auto parts for automotive businesses. In 2022, An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force, saved the equivalent of 38,477 Kg of CO 2 by acquiring 551 reclaimed vehicle parts of various makes and models from Evolve ( Fleetcar, 2023 ). ALL CASE STUDIES

6e96babb-4ff6-4283-bfea-ea288304e089 CIRCULÉIRE NON-MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: LOGITECH WEBSITE: LOGITECH.COM SECTOR : ELECTRONICS PUBLISHED: 16 OCTOBER 2025 TAGS: DESIGNFORCIRCULARITY, EWASTE, RIGHTTOREPAIR, PRODUCTDESIGN, SUSTAINABLETECH, LIFECYCLEASSESSMENT, CONSUMERELECTRONICS, CIRCULARDESIGN The Challenge Consumer electronics are traditionally designed to meet the immediate needs of the user by making life simpler or more convenient. However, this approach has contributed to a growing global problem: electronic waste, or “e-waste”. Electronics are among the fastest-growing waste streams globally. Since 2010, the amount of e-waste created per year has risen by 82% ( UNITAR, 2024 ). In 2022, the world generated a record 62 million tonnes of e-waste, which would fill 1.5 million 40-tonne trucks, roughly enough trucks to form a bumper-to-bumper line encircling the equator ( UNITAR, 2024 ). Modern electronics are often designed with complex, miniaturised components and composite materials, making disassembly and recycling difficult ( UNITAR, 2024 ). Most products lack design features that support recyclability, especially for rare and critical raw materials. As a result, valuable elements like lithium and neodymium are frequently lost during processing ( UNITAR, 2024 ). Research shows that extending the use of electronic equipment has clear environmental benefits. Extending the life of phones, for example, from 2 to 3 years reduces their carbon footprint by between 23 and 30 per cent, depending on whether repairs are required or not ( Cordella et al., 2021 ). A UK study revealed that extending the life of devices (such as phones, tablets and laptops) by 50% would reduce the amount thrown away by 24%, over ten years ( Lysaght, 2023 ). Recognising this, policymakers are beginning to act. The European Union’s 2024 Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation requires manufacturers to ensure products are more durable, repairable, and recyclable. This signals a shift from conventional design, which prioritises only the first user, toward circular design, which considers the needs of multiple stakeholders: initial users, second-hand buyers, repairers, recyclers and more. By extending product lifespans and reducing material and energy use, circular design tackles waste at its source. Importantly, this approach also aligns with consumer expectations. Surveys indicate that 70% of consumers are interested in buying durable, maintainable products ( Capgemini, 2021 ). Spending on sustainably marketed products is rising rapidly. Over the past five years, sales of such products have grown by 28%, compared with 20% growth for products without sustainability claims ( McKinsey, 2023 ). Consumers also increasingly value repairability. More than half (54%) of consumers say they would prefer to repair their electronic equipment rather than replace it ( Bruce, 2021 ). However, the cost of repair is the biggest deciding factor ( Higginbottom, 2024 ). If the repair is just as expensive as the new item, then why bother? This underscores the need for repairs and aftermarket parts to be affordable and accessible. Taken together, these factors highlight that e-waste is not merely a by-product of technological progress; people want change. Advancing circular design is therefore essential to minimise waste, conserve resources, and respond effectively to both regulatory pressures and evolving consumer expectations. The Circular Solution Logitech is a global manufacturer of computer peripherals, such as mice, keyboards and headsets, shipping around 3 million products per week to over 100 countries ( O’Mahony, 2021 ). Its products are used by 71% of the world’s 500 largest companies, and feature in one in three meeting rooms and desks worldwide ( Logitech, 2025 ). When operating at such a scale, circular solutions can offer huge positive impacts. Logitech recognises that many of the most effective opportunities to reduce a product’s environmental impact occur during early-stage development, when fundamental design and material choices are made. Consequently, the company has integrated circular design principles across its entire product development process ( Logitech, n.d. ). Logitech achieves this through a deep understanding of its products and their impacts. Teardowns are performed to analyse each part, the materials used and how these parts are assembled ( Logitech, 2025 ). Insights from these analyses feed into life cycle assessments (LCAs) ( Logitech, 2024 ). This is a systematic analysis of a product’s material sourcing, production, distribution, use and disposal to understand and quantify the carbon emissions associated with each step. Currently, 84% of Logitech’s products have independently verified LCAs ( Logitech, 2025 ), providing detailed insights into their environmental impacts. This drives data-driven decision-making to target the most impactful hotspots ( Logitech, 2024 ). Logitech's Product Teardown Process Logitech has also developed an internal Circularity Assessment Tool. This measures the comparative circularity of product designs while aligning with stakeholder views, regulatory trends, and industry best practices ( Logitech, 2024 ). This uses a semi-quantitative scoring system to evaluate factors like longevity, reuse, and recyclability, which helps development teams identify improvement opportunities and implement more sustainable solutions ( Logitech, 2024 ). This evidence-based circular development has driven several tangible outcomes, including: Materials: 78% of products now use post-consumer recycled plastics ( Logitech, 2024 ). Manufacturing: the MX Creative Console replaces painted finishes with microtextures, improving recyclability while giving a premium surface finish ( Logitech, 2024 ). Product Design: Steel reinforcing plates have been removed from keyboards to reduce carbon-intensive material use ( Logitech, 2023 ). End of life: In the US, Logitech has partnered with Staples to take back end-of-life products in exchange for a 25% discount voucher ( Logitech, n.d. ). These circularity initiatives both complement and enhance the user experience. Logitech aims to foster emotional attachment between users and their devices so they keep them for longer and repair them when they break ( Logitech, 2024 ). Transparency is another key aspect: LCA results are displayed on Logitech’s product packaging, empowering consumers to make more informed purchasing decisions ( Logitech 2025 ). Logitech is advancing design for repair. For example, the G733 headset features detachable ear pads and headband strap with easily replaceable internal parts such as battery and microphone ( iFixIt, n.d. ). The Logitech Repair Hub , developed in partnership with iFixIt, provides multilingual step-by-step repair guides for common problems on 20 popular products and offers direct sales of replacement parts. For the G733, replacing the battery for €25 ( iFixIt, 2025 ) instead of the entire product for €160 exemplifies how repair can extend product lifetimes while saving costs. By making repairs accessible and affordable, Logitech is reducing barriers to circular product use and empowering consumers to participate in the circular economy. Climate Impact The data-driven decision-making in Logitech is having a positive impact on their products. For example, the second generation of the Wave Keys keyboard implemented post-consumer recycled plastics, a redesigned circuit board, a redesigned frame, paper packaging and was manufactured with renewable energy ( Logitech, 2025 ). These steps reduced the second generation's emissions by 37% compared to the first, which equates to 310 tonnes of CO 2 per 100,000 units ( Logitech, 2025 ). Logitech’s emissions are highly dependent on its manufacturing and material suppliers. More than 99% of Logitech’s emissions are Scope 3 ( Logitech, 2024 ); 60% of which are from materials and manufacturing, and a further 25% are from the use of the products (i.e. the energy consumed by the devices) ( Logitech, 2024 ). The direct contribution of the different carbon reduction initiatives can be quantified. The transition to renewable energy of their suppliers saves 79 thousand tonnes of CO 2 emissions per year, post-consumer recycled plastic saves 25 thousand, and low-carbon aluminium saves 13 thousand( Logitech, 2024 ). Of all the materials used in their products and packaging, about one-third contains recycled content, and a further quarter is renewable natural materials ( Logitech, 2024 ). Across all programs, this saved roughly 140 thousand tonnes of CO 2 emissions in 2023 ( Logitech, 2024 ). You would need a forest roughly four times the size of Killarney National Park to capture a similar amount of CO 2 (Based on 3.5tCO 2 sequestered per hectare of native woodland per year ( Teagasc, 2025 ) and area of Killarney National Park = 10,236 hectares ( Discover Kerry, n.d. )). Logitech highlights how data-driven decision-making in product development enables lower impact and more circular products. Replicability Shift produces modular, easy-to-repair devices such as smartphones and speakers made with circularity in mind. Fairphone creates phones and audio devices that are easy to repair and built to last. iFixIt is spearheading the right-to-repair movement and is working with major tech manufacturers to improve the repairability of their devices. They also provide repair guides, parts and tools to break down barriers to repair. Refurbed offers a range of refurbished technology, such as mice, keyboards and headsets, giving them a second life. Google’s Pixel Watch 4 is assembled with screws and seals instead of glue, making it more repairable. iFixIt rated its repairability a 9/10 and called it “the first mainstream smartwatch to make repairability cool.” ALL CASE STUDIES

Discover key insights into advancing a circular economy within Ireland’s MedTech sector. This page introduces CIRCULÉIRE’s “Unpacking the Circular Innovation Opportunities for Ireland’s MedTech Sector” guide, designed for industry leaders, policymakers, funders, and innovators seeking best‑practice strategies to drive sustainability and circularity in medical technology. Learn how circular design, resource efficiency, and innovation can shape the future of MedTech in Ireland. Button Button Button

ab85e4a6-f838-4371-b1cb-0cee6b3a87ef CIRCULÉIRE NON-MEMBER CASE STUDY COMPANY: THE NATIONAL MANUFACTURING INSTITUTE SCOTLAND (NMIS) WEBSITE: NMIS.SCOT SECTOR: RESEARCH SERVICES PUBLISHED : 29 JANUARY 2026 TAGS: CIRCULARMANUFACTURING, REMANUFACTURING, MATERIALEFFICIENCY, NETZERO, INDUSTRIALINNOVATION, DIGITALPRODUCTPASSPORT, SERVITISATION, MANUFACTURINGSKILLS, VALUERETENTION, SUPPLYCHAINRESILIENCE In the second week of September 2025, a delegation of CIRCULÉIRE members and staff was invited to Glasgow, Scotland, by Zero Waste Scotland to meet Circular Economy Industry Pioneers and Stakeholders from the Scottish Ecosystem. On Tuesday, September 9 th , our delegation visited the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, a publicly funded initiative that champions and derisks innovation in the manufacturing industry. This case study is part of a special series to transfer knowledge and learnings to Circular Economy Pioneers in the Irish Ecosystem. The Challenge Scotland’s economy runs almost entirely on virgin materials; 98% of the materials it uses come from freshly extracted resources. In 2018, this added up to 21.7 tonnes per person, nearly twice the global average (Circle Economy et al., 2022) . This “take, make, dispose” approach is costing the planet. Worldwide, the extraction and processing of materials account for half of all greenhouse gas emissions and over 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress ( UNEP, 2019 ). The situation is getting worse; in 2018, 9.1% of materials were recirculated globally ( Circle Economy, 2018 ), but this figure has since fallen to just 6.9% in 2025 ( Circle Economy, 2025 ). Scotland contributes to this impact; it imports significant quantities of materials and goods while also extracting fossil fuels domestically, which makes the country’s true carbon footprint 42% larger than what occurs within its geographic borders (Circle Economy et al., 2022) . If Scotland wants to cut its environmental impact meaningfully, it needs to rethink how materials are used. Moving towards a circular economy offers a clear path forward. Circle Economy’s 2022 Circularity Gap Report Scotland estimates that adopting circular practices in the manufacturing sector alone could cut the country’s material footprint by roughly 11% and lower emissions by nearly 5%. The Circular Solution The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) is key to reshaping how Scotland makes and uses materials. By helping manufacturers embrace new technologies and innovate with less risk, NMIS is guiding the industry towards a more circular future. The UK government aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2045 to 2050, and NMIS is crucial to this effort. NMIS’s state-of-the-art facility in Renfrewshire is home to their Digital Factory, Manufacturing Skills Academy and Collaboration Hub. They also operate a second site in Renfrewshire and have a presence in Sheffield and North Ayrshire. Operated by the University of Strathclyde and supported by the Scottish Government and other public partners, it serves as a meeting point where innovation and sustainability are combined. The ReMake Value Retention Centre is NMIS’s spearhead project on developing remanufacturing solutions across industries. This £10+ million project focuses on sectors critical to national infrastructure, such as aerospace and power generation, and aims to keep products at their highest value instead of sending them to landfill. Since its opening, NMIS has supported over 700 research and development projects and engaged with more than 2,000 small and medium-sized enterprises. They have also delivered over 365 free training opportunities to help businesses build the skills needed to decarbonise the economy ( HVM Catapult, n.d. ). Climate Impact Around 70% of direct industrial emissions come from the extraction and processing of the basic raw materials ( Bashmakov et al., 2022 ). By remanufacturing parts to their original, or even improved, performance, these emissions stay locked in, cutting environmental impact dramatically. A circular supply chain also reduces costs and lead times while strengthening industrial resilience in critical sectors. NMIS’s ReMake Value Retention Centre is helping companies make this shift to remanufacturing by addressing challenges across technology, business models, policies, standards, culture, skills, and investment. Momentum is building with new EU rules requiring nearly all products sold in the EU to carry a Digital Product Passport (DPP) . A DPP contains detailed data on materials, processes, and emissions. ReMake helps firms not only collect and manage this data but also turn it into value. With a DPP, businesses can interact more effectively with customers, sell approved spare parts, and share repair manuals or service records. ReMake is shifting the DPP from a compliance burden to a tool for monetisation and stronger customer relationships (Munawar, 2025) . ReMake also supports firms in developing new business models. Instead of one-off product sales, companies can move towards servitisation. This allows them to build long-term service relationships backed by remanufacturing and data-driven insights. This business model innovation, backed by technology, can extend product lifecycles, generate recurring revenue, and keep customers engaged (Fitzpatrick, 2025) . The National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland, through ReMake, is helping redesign the future of manufacturing in Scotland and beyond. Replicability Irish Manufacturing Research partners with industry to demystify emerging technologies, de-risk adoption, and deliver real-world impact. They bridge the gap between technology and business, ensuring companies can harness the latest advancements to drive efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. They lead CIRCULÉIRE , a dynamic, cross-sectoral public-private network dedicated to advancing circularity and developing circular business models in Ireland. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Germany is one of the world’s leading applied research organisations. It comprises a network of 75 institutes with an annual budget of €3.6 billion, two-thirds of which is directly funded by industry. They drive the shift to a sustainable, circular economy by developing innovative technologies, strategies, and collaborative solutions that transform industrial practices and support environmental and economic resilience. RISE Research Institutes of Sweden is a major applied research centre for manufacturing competitiveness, sustainability, and digital innovation. ALL CASE STUDIES