Circular Economy

To meet the challenges caused by an increased demand for sustainably sourced raw materials, limited natural resources and climate change, a shift towards the circular economy is becoming more crucial than ever. Therefore VITO helps authorities and companies switch to life-cycle thinking and develops circular business models.

Karl Vrancken

Research manager Sustainable Materials

+32 14 33 58 92

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What to do when your vacuum cleaner breaks down

Replace it or repair it? We've looked into the economical feasibility of 4 repair strategies.

repairing_products_infographic.pdf(4.57 MB)

What is a circular economy

The circular economy is much more than a recycling economy or a sharing economy. It's both, and more. Here is how we see it.

Our vision

The transition to a circular economy will require changes in the way we live our lives. It will create new patterns of interaction between people, and change the way that we produce, own, use and re-use products. Together with our partners, the industry and governments we want to be the driver of this transition in Flanders and Europe.

Learn about the circular economy

We are convinced that we can accelerate the transition towards a circular economy by sharing our knowledge in an easily accessible manner. This is why we developed an exciting board game called Risk & Race and helped develop the online application The Circulator. Would you like to learn more about the circular economy as a (future) company director or policy manager? If so, this is the place to be.

We are noticing that the term ‘circular economy’ is easily and quickly adopted and used by many actors. And it’s precisely because the term ends up in the mainstream in this way that it is important to remain critical, to engage in debate, to continue evaluating whether we are on course to the right goal. We must prevent our current habits from simply getting a new circular label.

Karl Vrancken

Research manager Sustainable Materials - VITO