Circular economy startups – startup industries

Circular economy startups for more sustainability – startup industries

Today’s article in our series “Startup Industries” is about a topic that is particularly close to our hearts in the context of sustainability. Circular economy is considered a future-oriented economic model and is used in various industries. Many circular economy startups have already recognized this and are developing exciting innovations in this area. But what exactly is the circular economy and what are the advantages? We would like to answer these questions and also introduce a few exciting Circular Economy Startups.

What is Circular Economy and why is it important?

In traditional, or linear economic systems, resources are handled as if they were unlimited. But since this is not the case, resource scarcity is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. This is where circular economy comes into play. This term refers to an economic model with a sustainable approach, which is designed to conserve resources and treat them sustainably. It is oriented towards reuse and is considered the economic model of the future. That is why many young companies and startups are already following this model.

Circular Economy can be implemented in various ways. The possibilities here range from classic second-hand strategies to rental and leasing models to the reprocessing of products. Above all, it is important to take the Circular Economy approach into account along the entire value chain, e.g., to plan for reuse as early as the product development stage. The first advantage of a circular economy is obvious: the aspect of sustainability. In the meantime, however, sustainable consumer behavior has become such a strong trend that companies with a circular economy model are even better positioned financially than with a conventional business model.

Startup case study: Refurbed

In 2017, Peter Windischhofer, Kilian Kaminski and Jürgen Riedl founded Refurbed in Vienna. The vision behind it was to create a sustainable way to reduce e-waste. The online platform offers used technology such as smartphones, tablets and monitors and operates on a classic second-hand model. The refurbishment process that the devices go through before being resold consists of four steps. First, a complete data cleanup takes place, after which any damaged components are replaced following extensive testing. Now all external signs of use are removed, and then the device is made ready for sale. This process makes the founders’ model not only up to 40% cheaper for the user, but also much more sustainable than a purchase from conventional vendors. In addition, Refurbed plants a tree for every device sold and thus also promotes the reduction of CO2 emissions.

Startup Case Study: FixFirst is the operating system for circular services

We’re a B2B SaaS startup that enables services providers, manufacturers, retailers & more to launch, scale & improve their circular operations, starting with repair & maintenance in the electronics sector. The company FixFirst was founded by Sebastian Daus and Saqib Hanif in Berlin. FixFirst is supported by Bosch, Techfounders and the Bundesverband Deutsche Startups, among others.

Startup case study: Concular and Restado

True to the motto “Reuse instead of wasting”, Restado implements the idea of offering recycled building materials with its solution. In this way, the young company also wants to make the construction industry more sustainable. By offering building materials from deconstruction and transfer, the startup can save emissions and waste and conserve resources. Restado’s partners include the European Union Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform and Circular Berlin. Also active in the field of circular construction is the startup Concular, which is a partner company of Restado.

Startup Case Study: CleanHub

Berlin-based startup CleanHub was founded by Florian Dinge, Joel Tasche and Bosse Roth with the goal of reducing plastic waste. Because of all plastic emissions worldwide, only 9% is recycled. This is where CleanHub wants to find a remedy. The startup collects plastic before it can end up in the ocean and promotes the recycling process on a regional level to efficiently reduce plastic waste. To achieve this goal, CleanHub works with over 100 partner companies, including Foamie and Puremetics, for example. As a result, 1 kg of plastic is collected for every product sold. The startup’s basic principles include not only focusing on non-recyclable plastic, which accounts for 80% of marine plastic, but also using renewable energy in the recycling process. In addition, CleanHub seeks not only to reuse plastic where it is consumed, but also to support local communities in the region. In total, CleanHub has already enabled the recycling of over 430,900 kg of plastic.

Cooperation example: Audi and Made of Air

Also founded in Berlin, the startup Made of Air focuses on the transformation of materials in the areas of mobility, the construction industry and consumer goods. To this end, it produces CO2-negative material from biochar that can be integrated into existing production processes and thus replace less sustainable materials such as plastic or aluminum. In this way, the startup enables companies to make both their products and their value chain emission-free and sustainable.

As a renewable raw material, wood absorbs carbon dioxide through the air and binds it. The problem here, however, is that the CO2 is released again during wood decomposition. This is where Made of Air comes in: The startup extracts biochar from wood waste and uses it to produce a material that permanently binds carbon in a stable form. In doing so, they act in a cycle-oriented manner: Products made from the Made of Air material can be reincorporated into the environment as biochar at the end of their life cycle.

Zu den Partnern von Made of Air gehören unter anderem die Modefirma H&M, die BMW Group und auch der Autokonzern Audi. Mit diesem kooperierte das Startup im Rahmen des neu errichteten Audi Flagshipstores in München-Trudering, welches gemeinsam mit der Volkswagen Immobilien GmbH umgesetzt wurde. Bei diesem Pilotprojekt setzte Audi sich zum Ziel, das ganze Gebäude so nachhaltig wie möglich zu gestalten. So befinden sich z. B. auf den Dachflächen Photovoltaikanlagen. Die Fassade des Gebäudes besteht aus dem co2-bindenden Baustoff von Made of Air. Audi hat bereits in Planung, nach dieser Vorgehensweise weitere nachhaltige Bauprojekte in Deutschland umzusetzen.

An dieser Stelle finden Sie weitere spannende Startups, die mit ihren innovativen Lösungen Mehrwerte für die Kreislaufwirtschaft bieten.

The future of circular economy

In a world where resource scarcity is increasingly becoming a major problem, solutions such as Circular Economy are becoming more and more important. Earth Overshoot Day, the day on which we consume more resources than are theoretically available, occurs earlier every year. If we continue to do business as we do now, sooner or later the limits of the availability of raw materials will be reached. As a result, circular economy systems will and must gradually replace the outdated and insufficiently sustainable linear economy systems at some point. This is also favored by sustainable consumer behavior as a trend. In particular, young companies such as startups are making a major contribution to sustainability here with their innovative ideas.