Start a circular economy business project

Last updated: 26 March 2026
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Guidance and resources to get started

If you’re an internal circular economy project champion, business owner or part of a venture, here’s some guidance and resources on how to start a circular economy project in your business.  

Stage 1: Develop a project idea 

Step 1: Reflect on where you are 

The best place to start is to zoom out and reflect on your current business practices.  

Suggested activity: As a starting point, think about the concept of circular economy through the lens of value leakage. Value leakage could be things like waste, underutilisation of products or assets, and loss of the relationship to the customer once the product is sold.  

You might want to visually map out your value chain and start to identify: 

  • Where is value leakage currently occurring in your organisation / supply chain?
  • What is linear about your current model/ product / practice?
  • Where does value leak out of the business in terms of material? (For example, what is disposed of before it can reach its full potential)
  • Where and how do you connect / interact with customers?
  • Do you use your organisation's assets to their full potential?  

Through doing this process, identify current pain points as these could also be opportunities to add value.  

A few more ideas for activities:  

Step 2: Explore and gather inspiration of circular approaches 

Now, do some research to explore what opportunities there are to create and retain more value in your business or supply chain.  

Have a look into things such as: 

As part of your research, explore what circular economy strategies or business models might be most applicable to your organisation.   

For some more inspiration: 

Step 3: Ideate 

Now, the fun part! Work with your team or organisation to explore what strategies are possible to design out waste and expand the lifespan of resources. 

Design thinking tools and frameworks are designed to support creative problem solving and foster the ideation process in a human-centred and collaborative way.  

Try some of these activities below to get started:  

Avoid siloed thinking by inviting people from across business functions / roles in the organisation to an ideation workshop, using the activities mentioned above. 

Other tools and resources for developing a circular project idea: 

Stage 2: Prioritise and define 

Now it’s time to take the most feasible idea and define what it looks like in more detail, so that you can turn it into a project.  

Step 1: Design thinking tools that support prioritisation 

If you’ve completed the ‘Brainstorm Sudoku’ or other ideation activity, refer back to the top 1-3 voted ideas and take that into this next step.  

Gather together a group of people from various business functions / roles to a workshop and prioritise your circular ideas.  

The Concept Selection tool is a great design thinking method which can help you prioritise your circular ideas based on desirability, feasibility, viability and the principles of the circular economy.  

Step 2: Develop a project plan

To take your circular idea forward into further development, it will be important to develop a project plan to help define the scope and identify the people and resources needed to bring it to life.  

Try this Project Planning Template in MIRO to help you get started.  

You might also want to complete the Circulab Circular Business Canvas which helps you define your idea with a systems thinking mindset.  

Stage 3: Pitch your idea  

Once you have a defined and researched your circular idea, here’s how you can approach getting internal buy-in for it.  

Templates and tools to present your idea

The Ellen MacArthur has a great resource on developing your CE pitch. They also provide The a great glossary that can help you communicate CE concepts 

Tips on what to highlight in your pitch

The benefits of investing in Circular Economy business projects

As mentioned in the study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Financing the circular economy: Capturing the opportunity (2020), “the circular economy delivers on climate and other ESG goals, while offering new and better growth opportunities.”  

In the Planet Ark Circularity in Australian Business 2023 Report, they highlight these benefits on implementing circular economy within Australian businesses: 

  • Reducing costs
  • Increasing efficiency
  • Aligning with public opinion about sustainability
  • Aligning with expectations about corporate sustainability
  • Addressing resource availability
  • Improving consumer trust
  • Increasing profits / revenue
  • Identifying innovation and product opportunities
  • Improving customer engagement / retention
  • Reaching new customers/ markets
  • Improving staff engagement
  • Improved brand equity
  • Increasing visibility and collaboration with supply chain  

For some additional resources: 

The risks of inaction for your business

The World Economic Foundation has developed a guide to help CEO’s navigate climate risk.  

In the report, The Cost of Inaction: A CEO Guide to Navigating Climate Risk, the WEF highlight these risks of climate inaction: 

  1. “Rising climate risks are already impacting the global economy and the business case for collective action is clear.”
  2. “Physical risks of climate change are becoming material for businesses, putting significant value at risk.”
  3. “Transition risks for businesses are also significant.”
  4. “In a scenario of accelerating climate action, unprepared companies risk significantly higher cost pressure from carbon pricing or comparable regulation.”
  5. “Corporate inaction also comes at a cost: there is a clear business case for adaptation and a better case for mitigation than most might think.” 

Showcase other circular success stories

To see what best-practice looks like, the CEBIC have highlighted several businesses who are living examples of circularity and also showcase several projects they have funded. 

CEBIC Case studies:  
  • Yume: a platform where businesses can manage, sell and donate surplus food stock that may otherwise be wasted.
  • Rentr.: an all-in-one clothing rental platform that offers customers an alternative to fast fashion.
  • Remote Repairs: extending the life of outdoor equipment and clothing – lengthening the time before items need to be replaced. 

For a more global perspective, these organisations are also leading the way in circular economy:  

  • Circl: A building in Amsterdam's Zuidas district, designed and constructed aligned to circularity principles.
  • Kalundborg Symbiosis: Seventeen public and private companies partnered together to create the world's first industrial symbiosis, where leftover resources from one company become a new resource for another.
  • HP Brazil & Sinctronics: A robust reverse logistics scheme designed to recover and create value from end-of-use electronic equipment. 

If you’re looking for more case studies, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation also highlights businesses who are leading examples in the circular economy.