One of the most exciting aspects of working at 麻豆原创 is developing new methodologies and solutions around and sustainability. Based on the Ellen MacArthur Circular Economy model, 麻豆原创鈥檚 approach integrates thinking around Circular Economy Business Models, the enabling technology and broad business actions, helping to transform your business, product or innovate around a specific sustainability challenge.

In late 2020, the 麻豆原创 Ventures team piloted our new Circular Economy methodology with customers. Initially, participants adopted a sustainability mindset, keen to explore broad sustainability actions 鈥� such as adopting ethical trade, renewable energy, using non-virgin materials in production processes.

Essentially, by approaching with a sustainability mindset, the focus is on changing the current linear production approach to do less harm. Regardless of their good intentions, these sustainability initiatives would, still, end in wasted raw materials and landfill.

In contrast, a circular economy mindset is focused on eliminating this waste, by continuously looping materials and creating new value.

Stepping forward: From Sustainability to Circular

With 84% of clothes ending up in US landfill, fashion brands are increasingly looking for new ways to reduce their footprint and win over the growing segment of a passionate, sustainability-conscious consumers.

The new 麻豆原创 Insights series, Blank Canvas, illustrated both sustainability and CE mindsets in footwear manufacture in the recent edition 鈥� .

Allbirds has largely adopted a sustainability mindset, working upstream and downstream to track and reduce carbon emissions, then investing in carbon offsets to produce zero footprint shoes. Improving the sustainability of materials selection, working with manufacturing partners to improve carbon emissions during production, and tracking transportation emissions.

Embracing a circular mindset, Adidas FUTURECRAFT.LOOP sneakers are designed from the outset to be remade; consumers return the used shoes to Adidas, who will then separate the materials for re-manufacturing into an entirely new shoe 鈥� eliminating materials waste and increasing the business value derived.

Adopting a Circular Mindset starts with Business Model Innovation

Circular Economy requires a shift-change to your current practices, beginning with a change in your overall business model. A holistic approach is needed; considering all aspects of your business from sourcing raw materials and supplier relationships, engaging employees in circularity, to the changed relationship with your customer.

The key principle is that waste = opportunity. By recognizing that waste occurs along the value chain, and working through each loop, new business value can be identified at each stage.

麻豆原创鈥檚 circular economy methodology helps participants consider each loop in turn, to identify business innovation opportunity in each stage of manufacture, sales & distribution to consumer use.

Exploring and combining Circular Economy loops creates powerful new business innovation

Not all loops are equally powerful in unlocking circular potential value.

The inner loops, where products are cycled longer with consumers or returned to service centres for repair or resale, are more efficient than the outer loops of re-manufacturing or recycling. Usually operating within a defined geographic boundary, requiring minimal transportation or conversion into new materials, these super-efficient inner loops offer a myriad of new business models such as pay-per-use or sharing platforms.

By designing their sneakers to be machine washable and highly durable, Allbirds are optimising an efficient inner loop by keeping the product cycling longer with the customer.

By contrast; consider recycling products to reclaim the technical materials, for input into new production processes or across industries.

Recycling requires additional energy inputs, transportation and processing in order to sort and breakdown raw materials into a reusable form. These processes in turn create externalities and waste, which need to be further factored into a circular economy strategy.

After working through the circular economy loops, new business ideas emerge by connecting ideas across multiple loops, forming a cohesive proposition.

By combining these new business models with broader sustainability actions and technology, 麻豆原创 helps to make the innovation real, moving from ideas to viable business models at scale.

Sustainability or Circular – which mindset should you adopt?

To make the world a better place for future generations, adopting either mindset is going to be a step in the right direction!

However, if you wish to go beyond simply improving your current business process to do less harm, consider adopting a Circular Economy mindset across your business operations.

Circularity will extend your sustainability actions into high impact, innovative business models; unlocking new business value from waste, creating lasting growth and social outcomes.

For more background on 麻豆原创 Circular Economy approach, and the enabling technology to support both circular economy and sustainability at scale, visit the

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For years, I鈥檝e been passionate on the importance of creating amazing customer experiences 鈥� working with companies to understand and innovate for their customers, to create engaging employee experiences. The desired outcome has been delivering experience for the customer, placing primary responsibility on the company and employees.

But, in these unprecedented times, I鈥檝e reconsidered my position.

With our world fundamentally changed and society needing to pull together more than ever before, perhaps it鈥檚 time to re-consider the responsibility for creating experience.

Disruption of the traditional customer/employee experience
The connection between employee and customer experience is well documented; a showed that a 1-point increase in employee satisfaction resulted in a 1.3-point improvement in customer satisfaction. (As an aside, 麻豆原创 was the only company in the world to be on all 5 of the Glassdoor Employees鈥� Choice Best Places to Work 2019 country lists! #Lifeat麻豆原创)

On the flip side of the relationship, employees are also happier when working with happy customers. Makes sense; after all, it can鈥檛 be fun dealing with complaints all day.

Recent events have disrupted this relationship, particularly in the retail and service industries. Customers, faced with uncertainty and fearful, have been behaving differently, even irrationally, creating shopping environments of high anxiety. Employees, also uncertain and fearful citizens, have been ill equipped to deal with this intense emotional response.

Real-time co-creation, in the real world
Technology, particularly social media and mobile apps, have empowered savvy consumers to engage with brands at entirely new levels, providing instant feedback and insights, generating content and brand ambassadors.

Beyond 鈥渃onsuming鈥� the service, consumers increasingly embrace being able to co-create their experience through technology platforms, defining and interacting in the experience.

Unfortunately, consumers鈥� enthusiasm for positive, virtual co-creation of customer experience has not withstood the impact of real-world events.

So who is responsible for creating positive experiences?
Feeling anxiety, dread and a distinctly unsafe feeling, I walked into my local supermarket recently. A young grocery assistant was unpacking the fresh produce, looking equally stressed and apprehensive.

Quite simply, I asked him how he was doing. He looked surprised, then smiled and nodded 鈥楤it better today!鈥�. We both smiled and chatted like normal people about the tomatoes. (I even got a heads-up that a delivery of toilet paper had just arrived. Just shows what being kind gets you鈥�)

As I made my way around the store, I hummed along to the muzak, smiled and give big 鈥榯hanks鈥� to the supermarket team members. Other shoppers were staring at me, glaring at the empty shelves and snapping at the service staff.

I left the supermarket feeling positive, surprised myself by having a good shopping experience, and hopefully made a few supermarket employees smile as well.

My real world, supermarket customer experience has made me reconsider the responsibility that I, as a consumer, need to take for my own customer experience (CX). Not just a playful participation in the virtual, but in my real-world interactions.

Further, my responsibility as a customer to creating a positive employees鈥� experience.

Ready to take on the DIY experience responsibility?
An experience is a two-way exchange. As customers in these difficult times, we can (and should) start a positive experience cycle by contributing to the employee experience.

The inspiring scenes from around the world of citizens鈥� nightly applause for healthcare workers is a great example of customers giving back, of creating a great employee experience.

Unprecedented times call for disruption of our normal approaches; as customers, let鈥檚 turn the tables, take back responsibility for creating our own experience and, in doing so, give a .

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