Minimising companies' e-waste through circular device management with CIRCULIFE
Start-up CIRCULIFE provides circular management of companies' electronic devices, through which they aim to minimise the e-waste and maximise the (re)use of devices, parts and raw materials. With their innovative tool, they act as the bridge between manufacturers, companies and repairers, creating added value for each party in the chain. Thus, CIRCULIFE's participation in VITO4STARTERS in March this year did not go unnoticed; they became runner-up and so began the collaboration with VITO.
In a regenerative economy, one of the three domains in which VITO wants to make a positive impact, circularity and sustainable resource management are of undeniable importance. This is exactly what CIRCULIFE contributes to: they provide circular management of the entire life cycle of electronic business devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and so on. CIRCULIFE helps companies value, recover, trade and sustainably manage their acquired equipment. In doing so, they contribute to optimising operational costs, but also to corporate ESG compliance, which is becoming increasingly important in European regulations.
CIRCULIFE became runner-up of the VITO4STARTERS competition during FTI Hasselt and in the meantime, the cooperation is a reality.
The whole chain under the microscope: from appliance to raw material
Virginie Versavel, founder and CEO of CIRCULIFE explains how it all started:
‘We ensure in a very simple way that less electronic waste ends up in landfills by getting companies to deal sensibly with the full life cycle of devices. Think of smartphones, laptops and tablets, for example, they are bought in large numbers by large companies, last for two to four years and after that first cycle they are usually just replaced with new devices. I worked for 17 years in large multinationals myself and saw there that there was a lot of room for improvement in the way devices are handled, both as a user (how careful are you with your smartphone or company laptop?) and at the companies themselves in their purchasing policy. That's when the idea for CIRCULIFE was born: what if we now ensure that those devices can have a subsequent life, with others or with the same organisation? And not just as a device per se, but if the device as a whole is no longer usable, its potential as a component or raw material can also be valuable in these times of scarcity and critical raw materials. So, all that is analysed and tracked in our digital platform. We register a device in our system from the moment it is put into use and our software tracks the entire life cycle to take a targeted look at and advise what can be done with a particular device after an initial period of use to avoid it ending up on the e-waste heap and our raw materials becoming increasingly scarce.’
Environmental, economic and social impact
There was a need for a structured system such as CIRCULIFE, because currently even second-hand appliances are still too often ordered ad hoc, without people realising that they are often imported from abroad, thus also increasing the ecological footprint. ‘The CIRCULIFE application brings transparency to this and will then indicate, for example, that there is a local company that wants to get rid of appliances soon, so that a match can be made locally between supply and demand,’ says Virginie.
In addition to an economic and environmental motivation, Virginie has always had a strong social motive that played a part in the creation of CIRCULIFE.
‘The social motivation was very important to us; the digital divide still affects too many people and families leaving them at a disadvantage in the market. We wanted to do something about this. But in addition, we saw that in terms of social employment, too, there is room for improvement regarding repairs. Here, too, we try to contribute with our innovation: where the craft of repairing has been somewhat lost because we are constantly buying new appliances, that sector is now being tapped to do more local repair work. Again, that local aspect is important here, because even for repairs, appliances are too often sent abroad, only to be re-imported. We also wanted to make that better and more transparent with CIRCULIFE,’ Virginie says.
A match with VITO: expertise in methodology and circularity
To create a closed ecosystem where appliances are monitored from first purchase to after use and all parts and raw materials can flow back into the chain separately, a brand-neutral role is very important for CIRCULIFE. ‘VITO has a lot of expertise on sustainability and circular economy that we gratefully tap into,’ Virginie continues. ‘In addition, regulations in Europe are also developing around circularity and repairability of products on the one hand, and mandatory, extensive ESG reporting for many companies on the other. These are also all issues in which VITO has expertise and can support us.
Jeroen Gillabel, Research Team Lead Digital Innovation for Circular Economy at VITO explains: ‘The strong complementarity between CIRCULIFE and VITO lies in the fact that, on the one hand, we have the knowledge of substantiated and objective methodologies needed to calculate and report on the impact of circular strategies such as, for example, reuse or repair of appliances in this case. Besides the methodologies, the data themselves are of great importance. An application like CIRCULIFE requires a lot of background data, e.g. to calculate for one specific case the impact of production, transport, use after first life of an appliance and so on. From our expertise in calculating environmental impact for circular scenarios, we can support CIRCULIFE in this. Currently, we are mainly looking at our complementarity: what does CIRCULIFE still need in terms of development and what is the most suitable way for VITO to integrate these features into their platform? Nils Wuytens, Program Director VITO4STARTERS underlines: ‘The cooperation with CIRCULIFE fits seamlessly with our vision of using technology and innovation to create a more sustainable and circular economy. By leveraging our expertise and methodologies, we can help startups like CIRCULIFE increase their impact and further develop their solutions. This partnership is a great example of how VITO supports companies in turning technological innovations into concrete sustainable applications. Together, we aim to set new standards in circular management and contribute to a regenerative economy.’
First results: transparency and user-friendliness guaranteed
CIRCULIFE has already successfully completed a first case. ‘We had an influx of appliances that could be reused. They were entered, labelled and tracked through CIRCULIFE, and repaired at a local repairer. This goes a long way, because if, for example, only the hard disk of a laptop is still usable, it should be given a separate serial number from the case in which it will end up and serve again. In this way, each component gets a unique serial number, also for further follow-up afterwards. This first case was successful; in fact, the first transaction has already taken place via a PCSW that has given the appliances a follow-up life with underprivileged families. This has shown that our software is user-friendly for repairers and that safe, tracked follow-up can be done at various levels. With this, we hope to open the doors for larger companies to enter our system: transparency is guaranteed.
In addition, CIRCULIFE also guarantees the security of their platform in terms of data privacy and GDPR. ‘All the players involved in this ecosystem are verified and certified and so, with CIRCULIFE, we really offer a secure, unique and user-friendly platform, tailored to large companies and organisations, to manage their equipment in a proactive and circular way,’ concludes Virginie.
