Remanufacturing is proposed as a strategy to develop circular business models to manage resource loops in the future circular economy (CE). If remanufacturing is to occupy a central role in the CE it needs to be considered from a series of complementary and synchronous business activities. Thus, the aim of this article is to investigate how such an integrated perspective can drive sustainable value creation within the context of remanufacturing business models. This is explored through three business cases: Philips Healthcare Refurbished Systems, Siemens Wind Power, and Orangebox. This ‘integrated view’ considers remanufacturing activities according to: product design and development; remanufacturing processes; value chain design and management; and marketing and consumer/user relationship. The research question asks, ‘Can an integrated perspective drive sustainable value creation in remanufacturing contexts?’ To answer this, the research maps a set of triple-bottom-line indicators across the chosen cases. The work contributes to the field by mapping a set of business mechanisms (e.g. warranties, service approaches, partnerships) that can be utilised to co-develop necessary activities in unison for a successful remanufacturing approach. In certain cases, remanufacturing has the potential to add to the triple-bottom-line through such an integrated approach. However, each of the firms are investing in remanufacturing predominantly for profitability and market protection measures and therefore environmental and social components of the triple-bottom-line must be proactively considered.

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Urbanisation and climate change are urging cities to chart novel paths towards sustainable futures. Many cities are turning to the alluring 'circular economy' (CE) concept to guide this redirection. The CE concept re-imagines how flows of resources moving through economies might be 'closed'. Here, we explore this new 'circular city' agenda by asking: How are cities adopting CE as a strategy?. We found that political leadership, building adaptable future visions, using experimental approaches (such as living labs), developing contextual knowledge about resource use, and engaging with diverse stakeholders to be important. However, we also expose that there is a lack of consensus on what a circular city constitutes and a need to further untangle the how and why of the circular city concept. The research contributes to the field by outlining emergent cases, identifying a set of common policy strategies, conceptualising a circular city and identifying areas for future research.

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The aim of this article is to explore how ecodesign dilemmas contribute to a firm's ecodesign evolution. The article achieves this through empirical research into a process of ecodesign decision-making in a single firm. The study spans a timeframe of nine years. The article describes how recognising and dealing with ecodesign dilemmas fuels cycles of learning, leading the firm towards business model innovation. The study classifies a unique set of ecodesign dilemmas: hierarchies; tensions; contradictions; and oversights. Through this classification, we show how firms need to adopt a unified approach combining operational (ecodesign principles approach), tactical (ecodesign management processes) and strategic actions (business model innovation), to systematically manage ecodesign dilemmas. To support this, the article presents a framework describing key actions for operational, tactical and strategic ecodesign decision-making and the types of ecodesign dilemmas typical to each approach. Through this study, we show that the business model is critical to inform effective ecodesign decision-making and illustrate how design can drive firms towards sustainable change, from the bottom up.@en

In the face of growing sustainability challenges, pressure on businesses to decouple environmental impacts from growth is mounting. New sustainable business models can be a systemic driver for change in industry and the wider business innovation literature suggests that strategic design approaches can be at the heart of business model innovation. One such approach, service design, involves solving problems through a service response, which unlocks value for each stakeholder in a value chain. Nevertheless, the value of service design to sustainable business is still often overlooked. Through a literature review and five illustrative case studies this paper systematically analyses how businesses can leverage service design for sustainable business model innovation. The research highlights how service design can support sustainable business model innovation by uncovering strategic as well as operational synergies between these complementary fields.@en

Redistributed manufacturing is an emerging concept which captures the anticipated reshoring and localisation of production from large scale mass manufacturing plants to smaller-scale localised, customisable production units, largely driven by new digital production technologies. Critically, community-based digital fabrication workshops, or makespaces, are anticipated to be one hothouse for this new era of localised production and as such are key to future sustainable design and manufacturing practices. In parallel, the concept of the circular economy conceptualises the move from a linear economy of take-make-waste to a closed loop system, through repair, remanufacturing, and recycling to ultimately extend the value of products and materials. Despite the clear interplay between redistributed manufacturing and circular economy, there is limited research exploring this relationship. In light of these interconnected developments, the aim of this paper is to explore the role of makespaces in contributing to a circular economy through redistributed manufacturing activities. This is achieved through six semi-structured interviews with thought leaders on these topics. The research findings identify barriers and opportunities to both circular economy and redistributed manufacturing, uncover overlaps between circular economy and redistributed manufacturing, and identify a range of future research directions that can support the coming together of these areas. The research contributes to a wider conversation on embedding circular practices within makespaces and their role in redistributed manufacturing.

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