Building a circular economy through partnerships

The circular economy is a matter of great strategic importance to V-ZUG. Our vision of “closing the circle” aims to secure the transition from today’s recycling landscape to a completely circular economy. We want to use resources for as long as possible in the highest possible quality. But how can we achieve this transformation? If we are to create a circular economy and hit the net zero targets set for the whole of society by 2050, we will need to forge partnerships. Only together can we develop systemic solutions that generate true added value for society.  

V-ZUG works with various stakeholders, for example in the new “Circulus” project. This flagship project is backed by four years of funding from Innosuisse and is being led by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). Its aim is to find real and tangible ways to transform Switzerland’s mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and metal industries into a circular economy. This project brings together the forces of science and research: in addition to the ZHAW, the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons (FHGR), the Swiss Institute for Entrepreneurship (SIFE) and the Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne (SIPBB), the project benefits from the involvement of Thermoplan, Bystronic, the startup Almer, Planzer Synergistics and V-ZUG as implementation partners. Led by Daniel Frost, Intrapreneur Circular Economy at V-ZUG, we are supporting the project with an annual financial contribution and through the work of various V-ZUG employees.  

Our aim for “Circulus” is to build on the circular economy factory that we piloted in 2023 for washing machines by mapping it in a model that covers the entire value chain. We are using simulations and computations to discover what would happen if we put specific circular business models into practice. In keeping with the “R-strategies” of the circular economy, we want to refurbish old appliances where possible, or take them apart and reuse individual components. If we are unable to reuse individual materials, the goal is to keep them recirculating for as long as possible and in the highest possible quality. Any remaining recyclable materials are sent to the most suitable recycling stream. All this shows that circular business models require close cooperation between various stakeholders: customers, suppliers, business and technology partners, and recycling companies. In the first year of the project, the FHGR brought together various V-ZUG stakeholders in workshops to explore how the R-strategies and the business models could be implemented.

The process of taking back old V-ZUG appliances is an important step in keeping an appliance and its components in the production cycle. As part of the “Circulus” project, we used simulations from ZHAW to study the backwards logistics of a washing machine, analysing what happens when a customer returns it and how this can be optimised. Other partners involved in the project include the company Sanitas Trösch, which sells and services V-ZUG household appliances. These market partners will play an important role when it comes to backwards logistics. Together with the SIBPP and the recycling company Thommen AG, we also subjected the disassembly process to further scrutiny. We filmed the process of taking apart a washing machine using augmented reality glasses from Almer. This will help us to make the steps involved in disassembly more efficient in the future. 

And finally, together with the FHGR, we are identifying what economic, environmental and social added value – known as the triple bottom line – can be achieved with circular business models. “I am already excited to see what the simulations can tell us about the value generated by the circular economy,” says Frost. In the coming years of the project, more business models will be probed and we will test out what happens when we apply these principles to other product categories. The simulations currently in use are gradually being refined with additional variables in order to give the most realistic results possible. The universities will keep analysing the findings generated by the corporate partners and make them available to the economy and society at large.