Rent.Group

Mit Design der Kreislaufwirtschaft zum Durchbruch verhelfen

The Circular Economy Competence Centre Rytec Circular, commissioned by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, reaches a clear conclusion: companies benefit from rental and service based models such as Product as a Service and take back leasing when they embrace circular design. When products return after use, manufacturers gain a direct incentive to make them durable, repairable, and resource efficient. That requires redesigning products from the start.

Rytec Circular shows that even in office furniture, circular approaches can unlock entirely new usage based business models. Their environmental impact could rival major breakthroughs such as PET recycling and battery take back systems. In Germany alone, Boston Consulting Group estimates the circular economy could generate 200 billion euros annually from 2030 onward, equivalent to 5 percent of GDP.

Research by McKinsey, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and the Environmental Economics Foundation suggests that a fully implemented circular economy could increase Germany’s annual growth rate by up to 1 percent, reduce household spending on mobility, housing, and food by 25 percent, and cut carbon emissions in half. Across the economy, this translates into roughly 340 billion euros in additional annual prosperity, surpassing even the scale of Germany’s postwar economic miracle.

Tom Koch is an expert in circular economy and sustainable business development. As Head of Rytec Circular, he helps organisations turn circular business models into economic and environmental opportunities. With a Master’s in International Material Flow Management, he advises companies on product and process optimisation, helping them operate within planetary boundaries and unlock circular supply chains. Rytec Circular is Switzerland’s centre of excellence for the circular economy.