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Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 46 – 51

The 24th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering

Product life cycle planning for sustainable manufacturing: Translating

theory into business opportunities
W. Haanstraa*, M.E.Toxopeusa, M.R.van Gerrevinkb
a
University of Twente, Faculty of Engineering Technology, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands
b
Van Gerrevink BV, P.O.box 520, NL-7300 AM, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +31-53 489 4516; E-mail address: m.e.toxopeus@utwente.nl

Abstract

Implementing sustainability principles of the circular economy and associated transitions tend to transcend the boundaries of individual
businesses. This calls for a shift in traditional sustainability thinking by transitioning from business-oriented sub-optimisation to collaborative
value chain optimisation. This paper proposes a framework to support companies in this transition by visualising the different relations in a
morphological matrix to encourage the selection of the most appropriate principles for the specific industry context. The framework is evaluated
in an industrial case with multiple stakeholders resulting in a feasible closed material loop.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 24th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 24th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering

Keywords: sustainable business models; life cycle development; circular economy

1. Introduction support industry in their transition towards a circular economy

in section 4. To illustrate the application of the proposed
The circular economy [1] is an emerging paradigm in the framework, an industry case study is described in section 5.
field of sustainable development that has attracted the attention This paper closes with reflection and conclusions in section 6.
of governments and organizations across the world. Fueled by
success stories, it is widely regarded as a promising concept to 2. Circular economy
allow for more sustainable economic development in a
changing socio-economic landscape which faces resource The main concept of the circular economy, the principle of
scarcity. The interpretation of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation regenerative design, can be traced back to Stahel [3]. More
has become the de facto standard regarding this subject over recently, the Cradle to Cradle philosophy of Braungart and
the last few years. McDonough [4] and the Ellen MacArhur Foundation are
However, it appears that industry has not yet widely commonly identified as the driving forces behind the circular
implemented the principles of the circular economy for economy:
sustainable manufacturing [2]. Therefor this paper proposes a ‘Circular economy is a global economic model that
framework to support implementation of these principles for decouples economic growth and development from the
identification of business opportunities in specific industry consumption of finite resources. It distinguishes between and
contexts. separates technical and biological materials, keeping them at
The relevant principles of the circular economy are their highest value at all times. It focuses on effective design
discussed in section 2. In section 3 it is argued that the and use of materials to optimize their flow and maintain or
implementation of the principles of the circular economy in increase technical and natural resource stocks. Provides new
industry is complex due to multidimensional aspects of the opportunities for innovation across fields such as product
problem. This leads to the proposition of a framework to design, service and business models, food, farming, biological

2212-8271 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 24th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering
doi:10.1016/j.procir.2016.12.005
 W. Haanstra et al. / Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 46 – 51 47

interested in physical products. In a product lifecycle, these

materials are accumulated during production and will continue
their respective cycles at the end-of-life. From a resource
perspective, a product can therefore be seen as a collection of
materials which are temporarily retained in their respective
cycles. When a product’s life is extended, the resource
efficiency for functionality increases, i.e. less material is
required for the same amount of function. This efficiency
improvement can be achieved by increasing the functional life
of systems, products, and components through maintenance,
repair, reuse, refurbishment and remanufacturing efforts.

2.3. Cascading

A hypothetical ‘perfectly circular’ product, cycles the same

amount of resources indefinitely in order to keep fulfilling its
function. In practice however, indefinite cycling of resources is
impossible due to material degradation mechanisms or the
Fig. 1. The Circular Economy ‘butterfly’ diagram (modified from [1]).
imperfect nature of material separation and reclamation during
recycling. At a product’s end-of-life, its materials are usually
feedstocks and products. It establishes a framework and
of diminished quality and restoration of original material
building blocks for a resilient system able to work in the longer
properties is often infeasible. In cascading, resources that
term.’[1]
cannot be reasonably recovered for direct reuse are reutilised,
The circular economy can therefore be interpreted as a
but for another, often less demanding purpose. The cascading
collection of multiple complementary principles. The
principle can be seen as a form of repurposed reuse with a focus
appropriate selection and application of these principles
on resource value maximisation and loss avoidance. It is one of
strongly depend on the problem context. In order to identify the
the main principles surrounding the Blue Economy [5].
most appropriate match, the circular economy is rationalized
Examples of symbiotic cascades can be found in industrial sites
by dividing into its elemental principles. These principles can
where neighbouring plants utilise each other’s by-products as
be used as business development tools in the framework
resources instead of discarding them.
described in section 4.
2.4. Renewable energy use
2.1. Closing material loops
Energy is required throughout the lifecycles of many
In the principle of closing material loops, two distinct cycles
products. Consumption of energy may have an adverse effect
can be identified: A biological and a technical cycle, both of
on resource depletion or on the environment, depending on the
which should be regenerative in nature. When combined, they
source and delivery method. Energy sources that are
form the basis of the traditional circular economy
replenished over human timescales are considered to be
interpretation, which is emphasised in the commonly used
renewable. The use of renewable energy avoids the
butterfly diagram (Fig. 1).
consumption of depletable resources such as fossil fuels. Even
The biological cycle closes through the earth’s ecosystems
though renewable energy is considered to be inherently non-
and uses biological waste as nutrients to sustain itself. Because
depletable, these sources remain limited with regard to their
‘waste equals food’ in the biological cycle, any material losses
local and temporal availability (e.g. wind and solar energy
(i.e. through degradation, the use of consumables or discarded
performance are dependent on the prevailing weather
products) are allowed, as long as they are metabolised by the
conditions). Furthermore, emissions that result from the
planet’s ecosystems.
consumption of renewable energy may still have an adverse
The technical cycle consists of technical materials that
impact on the environment, e.g. the combustion of biofuels
cannot be metabolised through biological ecosystems. It
may still cause harmful emissions into the atmosphere.
consists of technical, often artificial materials. A closed
technical cycle requires recovery and recycling of these
2.5. Performance economy
materials to avoid leakage from the technical cycle into
biological ecosystems, which results in resource loss and
For certain products, end-users may not be interested in
potential adverse environmental impact. Unlike the biological
ownership, but in access to functionality [6]. This insight
cycle, a completely closed technical loop does not allow for any
encourages a transition from the development of physical
leakages.
goods to the creation of product service systems [7] and the
shift from product ownership to utility based business models.
2.2. Functional life extension
Functional abstraction [8] can be used to identify a product’s
functionality and demand fulfilment on different levels of
In the circular economy, the metabolistic cycles apply
primarily to materials, whereas consumers are mostly
48 W. Haanstra et al. / Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 46 – 51

abstraction, which can be beneficial in the identification of oriented business models, companies tend to consider
opportunities for the creation of product service systems. themselves at the center of a product lifecycle or value chain.
An economy that is not defined by product sales but demand These three aspects; the ambiguous nature of sustainability,
fulfilment is often called a performance economy. By focussing the complexity of sustainable development and the paradigm
on product access instead of ownership, consumers can expect shift that is required for a transition towards a circular
a lower cost for market entry. Companies may find new roles economy, form a multidimensional and complex challenge.
and niches in emerging business opportunities that are Traditionally sustainability improvements were more
accompanied by new economic models [9]. Additionally, focused on benefits for the company than on the product
product service systems can also be used to maintain control lifecycle. A paradigm shift is necessary that places the product
over the product lifecycle through ownership rights or lifecycle at the center instead of individual companies. This
contractual obligations which can be beneficial in governing paradigm shift shows parallels with the introduction of the
material loops or creating incentives for functional life Helionistic model proposed by Copernicus in the 16th century,
extension. stating that the earth was not the center of the solar system but
to just one of the planets circling the sun, as illustrated by fig
3. Problem statement 2.

The circular economy offers a response to sustainability

issues such as resource scarcity. The intention of sustainable
development is commonplace in corporate social responsibility
statements of many businesses. Even though this goal can be
easily formulated, e.g. in the definition of the Brundtland
commission [10], its fulfilment often remains undetermined as
sustainability is difficult to measure. For example, how can
sustainability be quantified when it needs to account for an
entire range of environmental, resource related and social
concerns? Even focusing on just the environmental aspects
requires subjective and context dependent weighing factors to
combine the different effects. Regarding social aspects, a
consensus to methodologically determine the impact seems to
be lacking. This inherent ambiguity makes sustainability hard
to quantify, especially when multiple aspects, such as the triple
bottom line of people, planet and profits [11] are taken into
account simultaneously.
Secondly, the practical implementation of sustainable
developments can be a complex challenge. Although the theory
of circular economy promises many evident opportunities for a
more sustainable world, its practical implementation in
industry may not always be straightforward. The initial state of
the problem is often unclear as the starting point for business
development often requires an inventory of Fig. 2. Paradigm shift towards life cycle engineering.
multidimensional and pan-organizational aspects. Industrial
situations tend to be complex due to extended stakeholder Similar aspects were acknowledged by Jeswiet [13] in his
networks [12]. Closing loops for even single products is definition of life cycle engineering: ‘LCE are engineering
complicated by the multitude of components, parts and activities which include the application of technological and
materials, each with their own, often different, lifespans and – scientific principles to manufacturing products with the goal of
cycles. Not to mention that extensive product portfolios are protecting the environment, conserving resources, encouraging
likely to further increase complexity. As the scopes of economic progress, keeping in mind social concerns, and the
lifecycles are broadened and more complex aspects are taken need for sustainability, while optimizing the product life cycle
into account, the problem of sustainable development becomes and minimizing pollution and waste.’ Umeda et al. mention life
increasingly irreducible. cycle planning as a systematic and strategic method to
Finally, it is difficult to describe how the transition from a concurrently design and plan for entire product life cycles [14].
linear to a more circular economy should take place [2]. Even After discussing several methods, tools and case studies
if it is possible from a theoretical viewpoint, for individual regarding this topic, Umeda acknowledges the issue of
companies it comprises a complicated problem. For a clarifying the relationship between the life cycle strategy
company, it is close to impossible to become circular on its (product concept, life cycle option & business option) and
own. Other companies and stakeholders will always be external factors in the product life cycle.
involved, either by supporting the transition or by impeding the The application of life cycle engineering and planning
process due to opposing interests. In common ‘linearly’ seems like a logical and promising approach to bridge the
apparent gap between the current limitations of the circular
 W. Haanstra et al. / Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 46 – 51 49

economy and the need for a pragmatic approach to sustainable covers a range of possible stages that can occur in a circular
development. Combining the circular economy with the field product lifecycle.
of life cycle engineering can result in a pragmatic framework Organizational aspects of business development are divided
that supports practical sustainable development through in three main categories. The value chain & network category
product life cycle planning. in circular product development consist of different
stakeholders, technologies, know-how and human resources
4. Framework required for practical realization of development. The category
of design & realization encompasses the creation of conceptual
In order to support the matching and implementation of ideas and the consequent actualization of the resulting designs,
sustainability principles with different stages in the product taking into account the practical feasibility of manufacturing.
lifecycle, a framework is proposed. This framework is based on Business & strategy is required for successful LCE solutions,
the combination of morphological analysis and the design strategic and economic viability and the mitigation of risks
metaphor of the ‘problem space’ to provide a backbone for the associated with business model transitions.
implementation of circular principles and sustainable business These three organizational categories of business
development in industry-specific contexts. development are placed on the vertical axis in conjunction with
three sustainability categories (in accordance with the LCE
4.1. General Morphological Analysis definition by Jeswiet, see section 3): Social Concerns,
Environmental Impact and Resource Availability. The
General Morphological Analysis (GMA) [15] is proposed as resulting morphological matrix serves as an inference model
methodology to support the framework. The morphological which represents the problem space of sustainable business
approach is useful for the study of all relevant interrelations development, as depicted in figure 3.
among objects, phenomena, and concepts. It can be used in
exploring all the possible solutions to a multi-dimensional
complex problem [16]. Ritchey identified three interrelated
factors for which GMA is useful: (1) One or more problem
factors are non-quantifiable. (2) The problem complexes are in
principle non-reducible. And (3) the process of going from the
initial problem formulation to a solution is difficult to describe
or document. These three factors concur with the aspects
indicated in the problem statement (section 3).
Instead of dividing a problem into manageable smaller
elements, GMA works backwards from the entire range of
possibilities to allow for all possible solutions. Morphological
diagrams are usually represented as a matrix consisting of
multiple axes.

4.2. Problem space Fig. 3. Morphological matrix for circular development.

A morphological matrix can be used to describe a problem Each square on the matrix represents a relation between two
space, or inversely a solution space, i.e. a design analogy for intersecting aspects of circular development. Additionally,
the entire range of possible solutions that exist within the inference occurs along both axes, across either the product
boundaries of a set of given restrictions. It is a metaphoric space lifecycle or business development activities and their
in which the problem solver represents the states of the associated sustainability impacts. For each inference point, the
problem, from an initial state through intermediate states to a nature of the relation depends on the problem state of the
goal state [17]. According to Goldschmidt, problem spaces subject of study.
apply to ill structured problems, where the route to the goal
state must be discovered, while the goal itself is not entirely 4.4. Application
clear. This corresponds with Ritchey’s third factor for which
the morphological approach is useful as well as the nature of The matrix allows for the implementation of circular
the implementation of circular principles in industry-specific principles (as discussed in section 2) to consider solutions to
contexts (as discussed in section 3). problems that occur at the morphological intersections or
across the solution space of the problem context. The
4.3. Morphological matrix visualization of different relations in a morphological matrix
encourages the selection of the most appropriate principle to
In order to invoke the correct interpretation, the variables on initiate a transition towards a circular solution. Value chain
the axes of the morphological matrix must be matched with the analysis provides insight into the supply chain and which
general context of sustainable business development, as stakeholders are crucial for developing new business models
acknowledged by Umeda [14]. In figure 3 the horizontal axis and collaboration. To assess the current product lifecycle and
potential future developments, the Life Cycle Assessment
50 W. Haanstra et al. / Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 46 – 51

(LCA) approach, already suitable for the environmental Although multiple opportunities, inspired by the principles
impact, should be enhanced with generally accepted methods of the circular economy, are displayed in the problem space
to simultaneously determine the associated social and financial matrix, this paper focusses on two examples. The first example
impacts. consists of issues related to changes in business models
(indicated with E in figure 5). The typical boiler from the case
5. Case study study is already suitable to apply refurbishment as part of the
principle functional life extension. Some parts of the heater
To apply the proposed framework in a practical industry already have a longer technical lifespan as well as the potential
situation, a case study was initiated [18]. Two companies were to be reused. From the matrix it is evident that this solution
curious about the possibilities of the circular economy and influences many different aspects of business development.
participated in the case study. The first company develops and
manufactures domestic boilers, primarily for the West
European market. The other company is a local recycler
situated in proximity to the boiler manufacturer. Both parties
already cooperate on collecting and recycling manufacturing
waste. In a joint effort in this case study, the application of the
principles of the circular economy would allow for a unique
opportunity for a close collaboration with leverage on two ends
of the value chain.
Within the case study, the focus was on a typical gas burning
domestic condensing combined boiler for the Dutch market.
The boiler is used to supply both central heating and potable
hot water. The general lifespan of such boilers is approximately
15 years, with a thermal output between 28 kW and 40 kW.
Manufacturing of boiler components is outsourced, while
assembly is done at the main production location in the middle
region of the Netherlands. The finished products are sold
through wholesale channels to housing associations and Fig. 5. Problem space matrix for the boiler case study.
commercial installation companies. There is no direct sale from
producer to customers. During the 15 years of use, the boilers The second example, indicated with H in the matrix, is
are regularly maintained by installation companies. It is not related to material loops, in particular the cast aluminum heat
uncommon that during the lifespan of the boiler, the building is
exchanger. This essential part represents over 1/3 of the total
owned or occupied by different residents. At the end of life,
mass of the boiler. By closing this loop, the production of
either by wear and tear or by a change in heat demand, the
primary aluminium from bauxite can be avoided, which offers
boiler is replaced by an installation company (see fig 4). The
decommissioned boilers are disposed over a wide range of significant environmental benefits. Furthermore, cast
scrap recyclers, depending on the installation company. aluminum is one of the more profitable material flows for the
recycler.
Since applying the principle of closing material loops is
mutually beneficial to the manufacturer and the recycler, the
cast aluminum heat exchanger is used as a showcase for the
implementation of circular principles by both companies. The
possibilities for reverse logistics were investigated.
Cooperation of an installation company was required to return
decommissioned boilers to the recycler. From multiple
disassembly experiments it became clear that it was
economically feasible to recover the cast aluminium heat
Fig. 4. Simplified linear product chain for the boiler.
exchangers. The application of dis- and assembly knowledge
from the manufacturer yielded a number of valuable insights.
The main research question was to find the opportunities of
Manual non-destructive disassembly was not more expensive
using the principles from the circular economy and life cycle
or time consuming than traditional destructive disassembly for
engineering in the collaboration between both companies. An
some disassembly stages and even resulted in a safer process
LCA and value chain analysis were conducted to obtain the
and higher recycling yields. Vice versa, opportunities for
necessary insights to construct the problem space matrix. The
design for disassembly and recycling for the boiler were
result visualizes the problem space for different aspects of the
identified using the expertise of the recycling company.
life cycle (Fig 5). Each marker in the problem space matrix
Since the manufacturer sources the necessary heat
highlights a specific issue or improvement opportunity in the
exchangers from a supplier, it seemed obvious to ship the
current lifecycle of a domestic heater. Obviously the main
disassembled cast aluminum parts back to the smelter. That
environmental impact is related to the natural gas combustion
would create an interesting possibility to close the material loop
during use of the heater. However, due to the shared interests
within the same value chain. Unfortunately, this turned out to
of the two companies, the case study focusses primarily on the
be more problematic than anticipated, due to the tactical and
material aspects of the product lifecycle.
 W. Haanstra et al. / Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 46 – 51 51

legal constrains in upcycling cast aluminum to general Acknowledgements

commercial specifications.
During evaluation of the case study with both companies, it Special acknowledgement goes to Ruud van der Meide for
became clear that the proposed framework actually did supply the opportunity and support of the case study. The authors
necessary insight in the complexity of the product lifecycle in thank Van Gerrevink B.V. and Remeha B.V. for providing the
relation to the principles of the circular economy. Also the opportunity and close collaboration in this research project. We
problem space matrix showed the different relations and are grateful for the contribution of Jos de Lange.
influences supporting a substantiated selection of the most
promising principles to apply within this product lifecycle. References
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