Julia L.K. Nußholz

Ramboll · Management Consulting

The concept of circular business models has been identified as an important enabler for companies moving towards circular practices. Circular business models help to prolong lifetimes of products and parts through successive cycles of reuse, repair, remanufacturing and closing material loops. To realise economic viability and reductions in environm...

The application of the circular economy (CE) in the building industry is critical for achieving the carbon reduction goals defined in the Paris Agreement and is increasingly promoted through European policies. In recent years, CE strategies have been applied and tested in numerous building projects in practice. However, insights into their applicat...

To reduce embodied emissions and waste in renovation projects, new resource efficient and low waste construction processes are needed. One possible solution to reduce waste at the construction can be made-to-order (MTO) customisation of standard products that are delivered in the right size and quantity. A key construction process in renovation pro...

Today our economy is largely based on linear material flows, and many products, such as electronics, furniture, building materials and textiles, are discarded even when they could still be used. Without urgent action, global waste is expected to increase by 70% by 2060 and global materials use is expected to more than double. We are starting to rea...

Circular business models (CBM) are key for enabling economies that can satisfy needs while staying within planetary boundaries. But CBMs do not create environmental benefits by default! I summarised four years of research on analysing and evaluating CBMs into a CHECKLIST OF THE KEY CONSIDERATIONS TO ENSURE ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND CBM DESIGN.

Buildings are responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. A large proportion of their life cycle impacts derives from emissions embedded in materials. Material reuse has the potential to reduce these embedded impacts, since reused materials often have smaller environmental footprints than primary materials. Institutional settings an...

This chapter contributes to literature on sustainable innovation by critically engaging with the concept of sustainable innovation in business models. Four types of model purported to contribute to sustainability are explored: circular business models, product-service systems (PSS), business models for collaborative consumption, and business models...

The circular economy has been heralded as a potential driver for sustainable development by business, academia, and policymakers. In a future circular economy, new business models are needed that slow, close and narrow resource loops to address key resource and climate challenges. After a phase of excitement and inspiration, an operationalization p...

Buildings are responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, with much of their life cycle impacts resulting from embodied impacts of building materials. One solution to reduce embodied emissions is to use of secondary materials such as by-products and waste materials for producing building materials (in this study referred to as reuse...

Buildings are responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, with much of their life cycle impacts stemming from embodied impacts of building materials. Both at EU and Member State level, circular economy and resource efficiency policies are promoting production of lower-impact building materials with secondary material input. However,...

Guide to using the Circular Business Model Planning Tool to analyze a company's business logic designed for circularity. The guide contains tool for print and use.

This paper presents two case studies of Swedish ICT ‘gap exploiter’ companies to provide a nuanced perspective in the investigation of ICT reuse business models and policies. Gap exploiters are third-party firms that create value through the re-utilization of existing products. While extending product life through the gap exploiter model is promisi...

To aid companies in transitioning towards a circular economy and adopting strategies such as reuse, repair, and remanufacturing, the concept of circular business models has been developed. Although the concept draws on contributions from various academic disciplines, and despite its increasingly frequent use, few scholars clearly define what a circ...

Extending the lifecycle of ICT products through reuse and repair can help reduce environmental impacts in the production and end-of-life phase of these fast moving products and their large waste streams. A major challenge in setting up a sustainable extended value chain for OEMs is developing a business model of compelling value for both the compan...