Circular economy

Our circular economy team can help you to develop and implement an evidence-based circular economy strategy to decrease negative environmental and social impacts, mitigate corporate risk, save costs and drive revenue generation:

• Benchmarking

  Our team can gauge your circular economy performance against industry standards and identify opportunities for improvement.

• Circular economy business models

  Our experts will help you to identify opportunities for circular business models that maximise resource efficiency and minimise waste such as products-as-a-service, product life and use extension and resource recovery. 

• Business modelling and forecasting 

  We can support you to develop a business case for your strategy and make confident decisions through market assessments and by leveraging data to identify the best opportunities for cost savings and improved circularity. 

• Stakeholder and market engagement

  We can work with you to find funding and partners for collaboration as well as helping you to communicate the benefits of a circular approach to your stakeholders as part of our support to implement your strategy.

To measure progress toward circularity, Ricardo’s team can advise which indicators to measure and how to do this. Our experts have experience across many sectors and provide tailored insights. 

• Current indicator assessment

  Our experts use established and proven methods for reviewing and scoring any existing circular economy indicators.

• New indicator identification and testing

  We can conduct a gap analysis and identify opportunities for new and innovative circular economy metrics.

• Short and long-term development recommendations

  Our team can support with the prioritisation, development and implementation of circular economy metrics in practice – including recommendations for the required infrastructure for successful delivery.

Ricardo’s experts have many years’ experience in delivering world-class packaging consultancy. We can advise you on compliance with legislation and how to use it to your advantage.

• Regulatory assessment and compliance including EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility)

  Our experts can determine your compliance obligations against global producer responsibility legislation, and support with horizon scanning to keep up to date with the regulatory landscape. Find out more

• Plastic usage and single-use audits 

  We can confirm how much of your packaging is single-use and the proportion ending up in landfill, recycling plants or energy-from-waste facilities. We can advise on how to reduce your plastic waste and single-use items.

• On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) auditing

  The OPRL scheme accounts for over 95% of packaging placed on the UK market. As a partner of OPRL, we support members to understand their packaging performance against the labelling rules. Read the OPRL case study for more information.

• Sustainable packaging strategy

  We can work with you to develop an effective strategy based on our recyclability assessments that analyse component formats and material choices. We will recommend where improvements can be made including material choices that meet your sustainability and wider packaging goals.

• Packaging supply chain audits

  Our team can identify where recycled content is sourced and the percentage used, helping you to meet your due diligence responsibilities.

Up to 80% of the environmental impact of a product is determined at the design stage. We can support you to improve the circular credentials of the products you place on the market and reduce their embodied impact. Our experts have experience across many sectors and product categories, and can provide tailored recommendations.

• Regulatory assessment and compliance
  Our experts can keep track of the upcoming requirements through the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), and advise how you can stay compliant.
• Product assessments
  We can conduct life cycle assessments (LCA) to assess the environmental and social performance of your products to ensure evidence-led decision making and reduce the likelihood of ‘ecodesign trade-offs’ (where one improvement negatively impacts another aspect).
• Sustainable product strategy development
  We can review your product portfolio, identify hotspot areas and reveal opportunities to improve the performance of your products across their life cycle. This may include incorporating ecodesign principles (such as design for durability or repairability), switching to alternative materials or even setting up a take-back system.

Adopting a circular approach represents a huge opportunity for businesses and successful implementation means embedding it in the culture of your organisation and network. We offer internal or public-facing training tailored to your organisation and sector to facilitate this process. Topics covered can include:

• What is the circular economy?
• Benefits and challenges
• Current and future legislation and policy
• How to measure and report on the circular economy
• Cross-cutting areas
• Case studies

Our circular economy experts work closely with our dedicated waste team to extend the life of resources and find the most sustainable outcomes for waste streams.

Find out more about our waste services

Ricardo’s experts have been offering world-class sustainable procurement solutions for many years. Our knowledge and experience means we are perfectly placed to deliver flexible solutions that fit your needs and legal requirements, helping you to drive adaptable and sustainable procurement.

To find out more about how we can help you to maximise the benefits associated with the circular economy and how we are working with other organisations like yours:

get in touch