Circular economy (CE) is an economic system that aims to eliminate waste throughout an entire value chain – including sourcing, manufacturing and use. The automotive industry is responsible for a large share of resource consumption and waste generation, especially with the increasing demand for electric vehicles. By implementing circular economy approaches, such as vehicle sharing, smart charging, refurbishing, repurposing, and recycling, the automotive industry can reduce its environmental impact, save costs, and create new business opportunities. Today, the whole automotive industry is pushing towards a more circular-economy business model.

The 10-R principle in the context of a CE is a model that outlines various strategies to retain the value of resources. Each ‘R’ represents a different approach to preserving value, ranging from refusing to use unnecessary resources, to recovering energy from waste. The 10 Rs can be separated into three groups.

• (1) Design smarter to create short-loop value: Reduce, Refuse, Rethink.
• (2) Extend the lifetime for the middle-loop value: Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Repurpose.
• (3) Employ useful material applications for a long-loop value - Recycle, Recover.

There are already guidelines that can be used for circular product design. For example, the “Design for Environment” guidelines foster a “Recycling Passport” approach aiming to document the percentage of recyclability of the product according to relevant information (weight, material, % recycled, …) provided through a table that lists each component.

Vitesco Technologies is proactively implementing best practices to make its products as sustainable as possible to deliver their share for a better and more sustainable future.