Where regular CIRCO Tracks help individual companies develop a circular vision and identify new business opportunities, Value Chain-Tracks set entire product chains in motion. From furniture to mounting frames for solar panels — this approach connects chain partners, drives collaboration, and helps even the most fragmented links to develop a joint circular strategy. The goal: prevent products from ending up as waste and instead build a well-designed, sustainable reuse chain.
Value Chain-Tracks in a nutshell
A circular economy requires closed chains. That is why every Value Chain-Track starts from one central question: how do we prevent a product from ending up as waste at the end of its life?
“Through our regular CIRCO Tracks, we have built an extensive network and know exactly which companies to bring together to close a chain. A Value Chain-Track often builds on that foundation. We started with around ten companies, but the group willing to take initiative at chain level keeps growing. More and more parties are discovering their role in the chain. Collaboration makes circular business more feasible and more attractive.” — Bas Hillerström, CIRCO Trainer.
Bringing (fragmented) chains together
The solar energy sector involves many different parties, resulting in a highly fragmented chain. Solar panels reach the market through various routes — and leave it just as differently. That makes reuse a real challenge. How do you get companies to consider alternative routes, rather than simply discarding products?
“We need to build a national reuse chain. Getting products to market is like a highway, but getting them back is a dirt track. We need to work towards a highway for returning and reusing products,” says Niels van Olffen, Director of Stichting ZonNext.
Luuk Eeftink of Sunbeam adds: “A well-functioning reuse chain requires cross-sector collaboration and clear agreements. You need to build systems in which you can both compete and cooperate, while keeping a viable business model intact.”
Value Chain-Track in action: solar mounting systems
Curious about how a Value Chain-Track is structured and what goals and challenges come with it? Watch the video below for a behind-the-scenes look at our chain approach for solar mounting systems. Discover the process, and hear from the CIRCO Trainer and participating parties about their experience of the collaboration and the impact of our approach in building a circular chain.
One method, applicable across products
“The fact that this collaborative chain approach works is clear from the number of circular chain initiatives that CIRCO Value Chain-Tracks have already produced. I see a lot of potential ahead. This approach is not just suitable for solar mounting systems, it works for other products too. We have already done it for solar panels and furniture, and we are now organising one for inverters as well. A Value Chain-Track is an excellent starting point for setting up circular chains and keeping materials in the economy,” says CIRCO trainer Bas Hillerström.
Ready to take the next step towards reuse and circularity with your chain? Check your local CIRCO Hub and join one of their Tracks.