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Circular economy

Companies are on the verge of a resource crisis that threatens their core business.

Soon companies – and not just their procurement teams – will bear the consequences of the risks related to resources availability: geological and geopolitical availability of raw materials; competition between industrial sectors and countries; lack of substitution alternatives and recycling potential; and social and environmental impact.

These risks are starting to materialize through sky-rocketing commodity prices, severe supply chain disruptions and pressure from customers, analysts and NGOs, putting companies’ core business in jeopardy. The traditional linear model of “take-make-consume-waste” is looking increasingly untenable. The circular economy has become a business imperative.

 “Data from our CRI report, Circular economy for a sustainable future, indicates that 73% of executives polled agree that a contribution to the circular economy is necessary to achieve long-term financial and competitive goals; only 53% attest to having a circular-economy strategy and only 41% of organizations have integrated circularity metrics into decisions.”

Clément Chenut, Circular Economy Services Leader

Bringing circular economy to life

How we can help

Our circular economy solution helps you move strategically and operationally from a linear economy that can destroy value, to a circular economy that preserves value. We use the principles of a circular economy to create business, consumer and environmental value, by maximizing the use of resources, components and ‘final’ products throughout the value chain and product lifecycle and ensuring the reduction of the production of waste.

Circular economy transition roadmap

Navigate and accelerate your circular economy projects from inception to fruition.

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Lifecyle optimization for aerospace

Designed to accelerate the adoption of circular economy practices in the aviation industry.

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We believe that you can build in circular value across five entry points across the business and product lifetime:

  • Define a sourcing model that is most appropriate
  • Design circular products that minimize their resource footprint and enable revalorization processes
  • Develop product-as-a-service innovative business model to maximize product utilization
  • Extend product life with reverse operations working with existing supply chains
  • Revalorize waste by developing and scaling capabilities and infrastructure to give waste a new life.

We’re already engaging with clients to help them develop their CE roadmap in sectors such as energy, aeronautics, and automotive, and are well-positioned to help companies secure the future of their business and develop a resource and circular economy strategy at scale. Our circular economy solution draws on skills from across the Group, from strategy, technical engineering and data, supported by bespoke tools, frameworks, and value-chain solutions, to make businesses more resilient, more sustainable, and more socially responsible.

Rethink materials, rethink production, rethink supply chains

Clément Chenut, Circular Economy Leader, and Kara Pecknold, VP Regenerative Design, frog, on planetary boundaries and a hero for the next economy.

Listen to the podcast

“Over 70% of a product’s lifecycle impact (economic and environmental) is determined during its design phase.”

Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation  

Client stories

    The BMW Group strengthens its frontrunner position in sustainable supply chains

    Together with Capgemini Invent, the BMW Group drives forward an innovative change, communication, and enablement program that targets more than 1200 purchasers and suppliers to speed up the transformation for sustainable supply chains

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    ArcelorMittal uses data and analytics to pursue energy efficiency

    As part of a consortium with Capgemini Engineering and with the financial support of the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, ArcelorMittal utilizes new models and analytics to review waste heat at its industrial sites as well as potential solutions to recover this lost energy

    Capgemini Engineering
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    European food retailer assumes strategic approach to sustainable packaging

    Together with Capgemini Invent, a European food retailer began the optimization of its private-label packaging to drive clean growth, satisfy new packaging laws and meet increasing consumer expectations

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      Circular economy in action

      Accelerating the future of recycling in Southeast Asia
      Press release

      Accelerating the future of recycling in Southeast Asia

      We are working with Heng Hiap Industries (HHI), a fully integrated plastic recycling company in Malaysia, to design an innovative business roadmap for a new mobile application that rewards and simplifies the process of plastic waste recycling for consumers in their communities.

      Latest Story Image
      Inside story

      Virtuous cycle

      Our involvement in a project to ‘Uberize’ plastic waste recycling in South East Asia.

      Latest Story Image
      Article

      Discussion with Kian Seah, founder and CEO of Heng Hiap Industries

      Moving towards a plastic-neutral society through a circular economy.

      Related insights

      Point of view

      There is no planet B: Preserving global natural resources with a circular economy
      Report

      Races: resources awareness and circular economy strategy
      Point of view

      Intelligent Industry: The rise of circularity
      Report

      Circular economy for a sustainable future
      Read more

      Expert perspectives

      Sustainability

      Why realizing a circular economy requires a holistic approach: 5 key factors to successful circularity

      Clement Chenut
      Jul 17, 2023
      Data and AI

      Creating a circular economy through AI

      Pratyasha Shishodia
      Feb 14, 2023
      Read more

      Meet our experts

      Clement Chenut

      Circular Economy Expert, Group Sustainability Accelerator, Capgemini Invent
      Graduated from Warwick University in 2015, Clement started his career at Atos Consulting in London as a digital strategy consultant before joining Capgemini Invent in Paris in 2019. Since 2015, he has developed a solid experience in leading digital transformation programmes, mainly in the banking and transport sectors. In 2020, Clement was also a member of the core team that enabled the launch of the 5G Lab for the Capgemini Group. In 2021, Clement joins the Sustainability Accelerator of the Capgemini group as the Circular Economy offer Leader in order to increase awareness on sustainability issues and accelerate the development of circular business models.

      Salomon (Sol) Solinas

      EVP: Americas Sustainability Lead
      I’m a corporate sustainability and digital transformation expert, with 25 years’ experience, spanning multiple industries, and the lead for Sustainability in the Americas for Capgemini. My ESG and sustainability expertise includes digital transformation, circular economy, strategic energy management, ENERGY STAR and LEED green buildings, green IT, renewable energy, carbon foot-printing, and environmental metrics/ reporting. I was a founder of US EPA’s ENERGY STAR program and its Director of Strategic Planning.

      Julia Müller

      Head of Sustainability Unit (Germany)
      Julia is a strategist with a passion for sustainability and purposeful business. As such, she believes that sustainable transformation, including implementing circular-economy principles, is a priority. As leader of the Sustainability unit in Germany, she uses her strategic and implementation experience to help clients achieve their sustainability and circularity objectives. Part of Julia’s role is to demonstrate to businesses the steps that will help them realize circularity in their enterprise, and highlight the specific innovations that can be leveraged, to achieve not only their sustainability goals but to also attain competitive advantage.

      Dr. Dorothea Pohlmann

      CTO Sustainability, Capgemini Engineering
      With 15 years at Capgemini Engineering, Dorothea has applied her technical skills in business transformation and technology projects in automotive, manufacturing, e-mobility, energy and utilities sectors. More recently she has focused on sustainability-driven business with a specific expertise in Product Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) in the context of complex systems, wind energy and hydrogen. She is an active speaker at conferences and events on sustainability, and is passionate about the need for more sustainable-driven business impact. She holds a doctorate in laser physics.