While the majority of business owners and managers are already familiar with a closed-loop economy model, the issue that they have is incorporating this model into their operations. Through proper integration, most businesses would see vast improvements to their production processes. Any business fearing this model should take a moment to review this post as it will provide a breakdown of the most successful way this model has been integrated into production processes throughout the country.

Prior to this, it’s important to understand the value that a closed-loop economy brings to any production process. These models are meant to simulate a circular economy, in other words a production process that eliminates all waste. Rather than producing outputs that require wasting inputs, this model reuses, recycles and repairs anything considered to be waste. Through this upcycling, what would otherwise be considered waste is put back into the production cycle to be used again; creating a closed-loop supply chain.

This model’s popularity has actually seen significant increases in popularity over recent years. In fact, estimates suggest that the model will be worth nearly $4.5 trillion dollars by the end of 2030. Globally, this model would provide immense value to some of the most production heavy parts of the world. However, more domestic based organizations have been able to see some benefits from this model as well. For example, improvements to customer loyalty, public reception and long-term savings as a result of the reduced reliance on external suppliers. This model even contributes to saving raw material supplies, reducing the environmental impact that production can cause.

What Adjustments Need To Be Made?

Prior to successfully operating a closed-loop economy, any organization interested must first establish a closed-loop supply chain. This will require a stark rethinking of specific processes for many businesses. This extends all the way from design to packaging of products. Remember, this model is impossible to accomplish without every input being capable of being recycled in some way that allows it to be reused. Luckily, as more and more businesses do manage to adjust their processes accordingly, raw materials used in these processes are more efficiently saved and reused.

Unfortunately, a country wide adaptation of this model seems impossible, as a majority of companies currently follow a linear economy model. In this model, the raw materials necessary to the design and creation of their products are used only once. No part of these products are capable of being reused, meaning their production process must start fresh when their value has diminished. This model is rather wasteful in comparison of a closed-loop economy. Being able to collect already used inputs and reuse or repurpose them is what allows raw material supplies to remain intact. Understanding the cycle of these models is imperative before integrating them into your business. For more information on how these models are successfully integrated, take a moment to review the infographic paired alongside this post. Courtesy of Quincy Recycle.