A circular business model for the cassette toilets in the Recreational vehicle branch

Abstract

In the current moment in time, the interest in sustainability is growing. Companies need to transition towards a more sustainable business model. One of the ways to do this is to become more circular.

The circular economy is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and on the continuous reuse of resources. The end goal is to get rid of all the waste and, in this way, get lower carbon emissions.

With the production of built-in products for recreational vehicles, like motorhomes and caravans, Thetford creates much waste together with the rest of the market, such as packaging and recyclable parts. During their operations, they are not conscious of the effect which their operations have.

With the growing interest in sustainability, new laws are coming. The government will levy more taxes for carbon emissions and non-circular business operations. Waste, transportation and raw materials will become more expensive due to these new legislations and other external influences.

Besides this, there is a shifting interest from the end-user to more sustainable options. This creates a pull towards sustainability for Thetford, their customers and their suppliers. If Thetford does not change, this will already affect their business operations in the short term.

This project includes a design approach for a five-year strategy to make Thetford’s cassette toilets circular. The process is done in collaboration with as many Thetford employees as possible and with other designers. From this, I derived as a designer multiple relevant ideas. These ideas are tested within qualitative research with Thetford’s current and future target audience.

Another validation is done based on the direct customer’s interests in sustainability. The last validation is done for the interests of Thetford themselves. This validation is based on the investment costs of Thetford, the effect on the carbon emissions which the ideas have, and the extra revenue for the first five years that Thetford can make.

Based on these three types of validation, a hierarchy is created for all the ideas. To derive a logical strategy from this. Within the strategy, essential and desirable activities are distinguished. To get a better overview for Thetford on which activities it is most important to focus. A timing framework is created based on the mentioned information to create a clear five-year plan for Thetford.

The strategy shows that Thetford needs to start by being more transparent towards its consumers. This transparency is crucial for the trust their consumers have in Thetford. To become more transparent, Thetford needs to be more conscious about its sustainable choices. The second phase of the strategy is about closing the loop. The two main activities for this are switching to recycled plastic and setting up a recycling system. The strategy will be concluded with a refurbishing system to slow the loop in the third phase.

The project concludes with a design evaluation, conclusion, discussion and a personal reflection.