Marjaana adds: “Even for purely business to business companies, changes in consumer preferences do not happen in isolation and will still eventually impact their business. Customers in all sectors are expecting solutions that deliver sustainable outcomes. As an example, mapping how to develop one-off product sales into services would result in more sustainable outcomes. This may also lead to re-occurring revenue streams, longer customer relationships and predictability for businesses.”
First steps in the circle
For companies considering the switch to a circular business model or those already on the way, an incremental approach can often lead to noticeable results in the short term.
Jyri continues: “It’s a good idea to start by considering what are the pain points that you feel should be fixed? What are the universal inefficiencies that you have in your processes? What would be the new customer engagements if you changed the way you are doing things? Many companies are often surprised by how easy the first step is just to remove the obvious inefficiencies all around them. For example, why are there lights on in the meeting room when nobody’s there? Why is there air conditioning in a certain room? Why do we still throw all sorts of reusable items in the garbage? Start with the low hanging fruits and then go further. Figure out what can be fixed and take the most cost efficient ones first. Usually there are so many things that can be done. Over a longer period, a company can begin to build a strategy towards circularity, which is aligned with their business.”
In the future, business models adapted to reflect the circular economy are expected to gain a competitive edge.
Jyri adds: “There are many forerunners in Finland and Europe already that have shown that a circular approach can be profitable and make good business sense. Most companies are doing something but there is a large variation in their level of change. Usually companies are just on the first steps, with programmes to diminish waste production, for example. Others are piloting new business models. Some companies are already at the upper level, meaning that they have implemented circularity in their strategy and operational model, bringing it to all of their processes and functions.”