Driving sustainability

Think circularity –
act together

Returnable bottles, reusable cups and second-hand clothing all embody the same principle: products which are not simply thrown away but remain in circulation. Something which is returned, treated, and remains in use.

The circular economy takes this simple principle and applies it to industry. On this basis products are developed to have a long service life, materials are reused, and there is consideration of added value beyond the first use. Circular Valley is a scheme in the metropolitan region of Rhine-Ruhr within which these kinds of ideas are being developed and translated into practice.

The circular economy starts with collaboration

The methods via which added value is generated are changing. Efficiency, resource conservation and durability increasingly represent success factors in this respect. In light of this, Vorwerk is approaching circularity as an opportunity for strategic business growth as well as innovation – and is working on designing products to ensure that they can be used for as long as possible, can be disassembled more easily, and the materials can be more effectively reused.

The more stakeholders along a value chain collaborate towards this change of emphasis, the more successful it can be. That is why Vorwerk is participating as a member and founder of Circular Valley. The company has been involved since the initiative was founded, serving as a host, promoter and active partner at events, in projects and in dialogue with young businesses.

Within the Circular Valley framework many start-ups have developed several exciting concepts in recent years – from digital solutions to traceability of materials, to new processes for conditioning of plastics, to business models which offer products as a service and thereby prolong their service life. Other young companies are working on innovative recycling technologies for composite materials or developing platforms that return industrial waste materials to the circular economy. Circular Valley creates a space in which these kinds of ideas can be tested with industrial partners at an early stage and brought to market-readiness.

The annual Circular Valley Forum in Wuppertal exemplifies this aspiration; it recently brought together more than 1,200 decision-makers under the banner of “Action across Borders and Industries”. The event was focused on concrete questions from entrepreneurial practice: How can products be designed to have longer service lives? What materials deliver quality as well as resource efficiency? How can business models be created to be both ecologically and economically convincing?

Achieving progress through collective experimentation

Since 2021 Vorwerk has been inviting start-ups to translate their ideas into practice at its production site in Laaken, Wuppertal. The exchange this facilitates is not useful only to the newer companies; it also gives Vorwerk an early look at new approaches, and the opportunity to integrate the resulting insights into its own strategic development.

Dr. Thomas Stoffmehl, CEO of the Vorwerk Group: “We have specifically anchored sustainability as a growth driver in our Strategy 2030. That means we need to be picking up on new ideas early and developing them in collaboration with other visionaries.”

Innovation emerges from discussion

Circular Valley brings together people who are working on solutions for a functioning circular economy. Start-ups, industry and research gather here to make direct connections – in dialogue, in workshops and in joint projects. Ideas become concrete applications, and contacts turn into partnerships.

The participants’ own words demonstrate how important this discussion is for implementing new approaches.