Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

1

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

ÍNDICE Glossary

4

Introduction

7

Sustainability and the Circular Economy

8

Environmental impacts of production The circular economy Strategies for the circular economy Assessment of lifecycle and design for circularity

Best practices guide for the circular economy in the home sector

9 11 14 15

The Circular Economy from the APIMA associates’ perspective

18

Best practices for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

30 32

Process optimisation

34

APIMA - Associação Portuguesa das Indústrias de Mobiliário e Afins

Reducing the use of virgin raw materials

36

Extending the useful life of products

40

AUTHOR Samuel Niza, Circular - Consultoria em Sustentabilidade Lda.

Collaboration, product-service systems, and marketing for sustainability

44

PROMOTER

Best practices - State of the Art

ASSISTANT Manuela Ribeiro, The Choice March 2021

The European Green Deal and its future impact on the home sector

49

Roadmap for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

52

Annexes

67

I – Potential environmental impacts associated with the materials used in the home sector II – APIMA associates survey

67 69

circular-cs@circular-cs.pt www.circular-cs.pt

2

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

3

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

GLOSSARY

GLOSSARY

Landfill

Environmental externalities

Place set aside for final disposal of waste generated by human activities. A place that is safe and technologically prepared to serve as the destination of unsorted waste that cannot be recycled and cannot currently be reused in any other way.

A decision or activity’s collateral environmental effects on those who did not take part or benefit from that decision or activity. Their nature can be negative when generating costs for other agents (atmospheric pollution, degradation of water resources, sound pollution, etc.) or positive when other agents benefit from them, albeit unintentionally

Natural capital

Greewashing

Natural capital is the stock of natural assets (forests, rivers, beaches, seas, oceans, soil, air, water and many more) that provide a series of benefits (ecosystem services) directly or indirectly.

This is the process of advertising a false image or providing misleading information about a product or a company, giving the wrong impression that they are “green”. These products or companies are frequently advertised associated with names like “green” (hence greenwashing), “carbon-free”, or “ecological”.

Product lifecycle

Environmental impact

The set of phases associated to the product lifecycle, from the extraction of raw materials to the production, transport, use and end-of-life..

A change in the environmental conditions and/or elements present in the environment resulting from human activities. This may be in the form of pollution (of the soil, water, and air), destruction of natural environments, reduction of individuals or extinction of species, increasing global temperature, acidification of the oceans, ecosystems essential to life becoming compromised, etc.

Green public procurement

Acquisitions by public entities governed not only by the economic value of the acquisition but also by environmental and social costs. The National Strategy for Green Public Procurement 2020 (ENCPE 2020) is a complementary instrument for environmental policies that privilege the definition of technical specifications for several priority goods and services which already have European Union GPP (Green Public Procurement) criteria.

Incineration

Waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials, with or without recovery of the generated heat.

Ecodesign

Hypocarbonic industry

A methodology that systematically integrates environmental considerations into the process of designing products (defined as goods and services). The main goal of ecodesign is to develop products that contribute to sustainability by reducing their environmental impact throughout their lifecycle and other requirements such as functionality, quality, safety, cost, ease of production, and ergonomics and aesthetics.

An industry with low or zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Product environmental footprint

The environmental footprint of a product is the result of an analysis of its lifecycle.

This consists of a systemic analysis and recording of the environmental impacts throughout all the phases of its lifecycle.

Ecoefficiency

A management strategy that seeks to combine economic and ecological efficiency to produce more at a lower price with fewer resources, less waste, and a lower environmental impact.

4

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Recycling

Any recovery operation, including reprocessing organic materials, through which the waste’s constituent materials are once again transformed into products, materials or substances for their original purpose or other purposes. This does not include energy recovery or reprocessing materials that are used as fuel or in filling operations.

5

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

INTRODUCTION GLOSSARY Non-renewable resources

Natural resources that once consumed cannot be regenerated in a timeframe that could sustain their consumption rate. They are the result of prolonged processes in the lithosphere. Mineral resources are included in these resources.

Renewable resources

Natural resources capable of regenerating themselves sustainably over a short period of time.

Ecolabel

A system associated with a certification aimed to 1) promote products with a low environmental impact throughout their complete lifecycle (thus contributing to efficient use of resources and a high level of environmental protection); 2) provide consumers with guidance about these products through simple, precise, accurate and scientifically established information on the environmental features to which an ecolabel was assigned.

Industrial symbiosis

Physical exchange of materials, energy, water, or waste between industries to achieve competitive advantages (e.g., cost reduction in waste treatment and cost reduction in acquiring virgin raw materials)

Sustainability

Capacity to presently meet our needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. A holistic approach that takes environmental, social, and economic dimensions into account recognises that these should all be considered a whole for sustainable prosperity. Thus, business sustainability consists of the company’s ability to manage its activity and create value in the long term while creating social and environmental benefits.

Recovery

Any operation in which the main result is to transform or prepare the waste to deliver a useful purpose, hence substituting other materials.

6

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Through this guide, the Portuguese Association of Furniture and Related Industries (APIMA), as a business association aimed at promoting the competitiveness of the Home Sector in Portugal, intends to show that the sector has already adopted a variety of sustainability practices in Portugal and that there is still a long way to go in many associated companies to become part of a truly circular economy.

This guide acts as supporting material for APIMA associates to learn about their position in terms of sustainability and the route they can take to make their businesses more eco-efficient and profitable in an increasingly competitive market and a social and political system increasingly demanding in environmental terms.

This guide is divided into five main sections. First, it highlights the major environmental impacts associated with the industry and describes how the circular economy can respond to these impacts and which tools can be used to support this reaction.

The second section is dedicated to presenting the results of a survey to APIMA associates, making it possible to understand their position in the sector regarding sustainability and the circular economy.

Next, it proposes ten strategies to promote the circular economy in the home sector and gives examples of best practices by APIMA associates and other international cases. This section also generically analyses the status of strategy choices (where we are) and the potential to be harnessed through these (where we can get to).

In the fourth section, the trends in European sustainability policies are presented, showing the need of the sector’s businesspeople preparing for the circular economy and anticipating its implementation.

In the last section it is presented a reference framework for the future (roadmap), allowing APIMA companies to assess their current position and the available routes to position themselves as champions of sustainability and the circular economy.

7

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

SUSTAINABILITY AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Sustainability and the Circular Economy An article that analyses what Portuguese companies are focusing on for 2021 places the environment and sustainability at the frontline, saying that the “plans of companies from different sectors include energy and digital transition, but the circular economy’s demands have spread to all industries.”1 This trend shows that many companies are aware of the importance of environmental issues for current and future customer generations. But more and more companies are becoming aware that their activity has environmental consequences, negatively impacting the company sooner or later, even if only on its image.

In the furniture industry, environmental issues such as climate change inevitably affect one of its most important resources, which is wood. The more extended periods of drought, irregular rainfall, and pests’ incidence have severe consequences on the availability of raw materials. Therefore, sustainably managing these resources is crucial, and the industries that depend on them must not shy away from playing an active role in this management.

Organisations are beginning to realise that meeting the minimum environmental conditions is just not enough. They now accept that “continuous improvement” in the environmental sector is essential for a global cause and presents competitive advantages when investing in the profitability of their production processes from an eco-efficiency point of view – i.e. simultaneous environmental and economic gains.

Environmental impacts of production As with any industry, the production activities associated with the Home Sector have environmental impacts. It is no coincidence for the EU to have included this industry’s products within the group that require a definition of specific environmental criteria, whether for a possible certification of their environmental performance with the European ecolabel or for the guidance of the green public procurement on products in this industry.

Defining the criteria to develop an ecolabel2 linked to furniture and to support public procurement of these products3,4 was preceded by an assessment of the sector’s potential impacts. These included the following environmental impacts: Loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and degradation because of unsustainable forest management and illegal logging; Resource depletion due to the use of non-renewable resources, such as metals and fossil fuels to produce plastic; Impact on landscape and destruction of habitats because of mining operations; Surface and groundwater pollution because of the use of hazardous substances that can be released during production, use or disposal;

Donatello S., Moons H., Wolf, O., 2017. Revision of EU Ecolabel criteria for furniture products. Final Technical Report, 28443 EN, doi:10.2760/59027 https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC105558/jrc105558_furniture_euel_tr_sci-4-pol-30.01.2017.pdf 4 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/toolkit/furniture_GPP_product_sheet.pdf 2

3 1

https://www.dn.pt/dinheiro/o-que-vai-dominar-as-apostas-das-empresas-em-2021-ambiente-e-vencedor-13213205.html

8

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

9

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

SUSTAINABILITY AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Greenhouse gas emissions because of energy consumption in the production of different materials; Emissions of volatile organic compounds because of the use of organic solvents; Packaging waste; Waste resulting from the early replacement of furniture due to a lack of repair options, low durability, ergonomics, or furniture not suited for its purpose.

SUSTAINABILITY AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The circular economy To achieve sustainability, the progress depends, at least in part, on reducing inputs into the economic system (extraction of natural resources), on the one hand, and the consequent reduction of outputs (emissions and waste), on the other.

This linear economic system must progressively move towards a cyclical system based on safeguarding the environment’s features. Therefore, a circular economy is an economy where there is a significant reduction of inputs and outputs from and to the environment while at the same time assuring that economic activity, social welfare and quality of life are maintained or even increased.

Herman Daly (1990)6, summed up the terms for sustainability quite simply:

This is the result of a linear economy, based on increasing extraction of natural resources, where products are used and then thrown away as waste. In this economic model, value is maximised based on successive increases in extraction and production.

The rate of consumption of renewable resources cannot be greater than their regeneration rate – for example, deforestation cannot be greater than forestation; The consumption rate of non-renewable resources cannot be greater than the rate that the development of alternative resources can provide for the same role – i.e., if there is a renewable resource that can replace a non-renewable resource, then the former should be chosen; The pollution rate cannot be greater than the pace at which natural systems can absorb it – because currently, the environment does not have the ability to “receive” and “process” all the generated emissions and waste.

Naturally, the way industrial processes and business models are organised nowadays make it harder to instantly cut down on the use of resources, generally and without disruption. Therein lies the need to find alternative ways that allow for a transition in that direction. The concept of the Circular Economy aims to take its place as a transition vehicle towards a more sustainable society.

5

https://eeb.org/publications/80/product-policy/51266/report-on-the-circular-economy-in-the-furniture-sector.pdf

10

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

6

Daly, H. E. 1990. Toward Some Operational Principles of Sustainable Development. Ecological Economics 2:1-6.

11

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

SUSTENTABILIDADE E ECONOMIA CIRCULAR

The Circular Economy can be described as a regenerative system where resource inputs, waste production and emissions, and energy losses are minimised through deceleration, reduction and closure of material and energy cycles. Reducing the magnitude of material and energy flows’ between the environment and the economy involves a more continuous flow circulation within the economy, reducing the current environment dependency.

Raw materials

So, the circular economy is based on three principles7, which contribute to sustainability conditions:

Preserving and enhancing natural capital

1.

Carefully selecting the required natural resources and choosing, whenever possible, technologies and processes that use renewable resources or have better performance.

Optimising resource efficiency

2.

The remanufacturing, remodelling, and recycling design ensures that the components and materials’ economic value lasts longer in circulation.

Promoting an efficient economic system

Design

Recycling

Waste

Circular

Reducing the damage caused by the industrial activity to human needs, such as food, mobility, shelter, education, health, and entertainment.

And managing environmental externalities such as soil use, air, water and noise pollution, the release of toxic substances, climate change, for example, through compensation mechanisms8.

3.

Production, Remanufacturing

Economy

Distribution

Collection

Consumption, use, reuse, repair

Diagram 1 – Circular Economy

https://www.cfas.uk/fira-blog/furniture-circular-economy/ Medidas que visam compensar impactos ambientais negativos, nomeadamente projetos de reflorestação ou de promoção e conservação da biodiversidade.

7

8

12

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

13

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

SUSTAINABILITY AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

SUSTAINABILITY AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Strategies for the circular economy The Portuguese policy for Circular Economy is regulated since 2017, by the Council of Ministers Resolution No. 190-A/2017, which approved the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP). Based on the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) proposal, the CEAP presents the 10 strategies that economic activities can follow to make our economy circular: Refuse (or prevent); Rethink; Reduce; Reuse; Refurbish; Remanufacture; Repurpose; Recycle and Recover.

The Finnish Fund for Innovation (Sitra), which has been a staunch supporter of the circular economy, in turn, suggests the following business models in its Guide for a Circular Economy in SME9:

Circular supply chains Designing durable products that are easy to repair (e.g., modular).

Using recyclable materials in production.

Recycling and recovery Collecting and recovering materials from end-of-life products and reusing them in production.

Effectively putting these strategies into practice means being familiar with the product’s lifecycle and its environmental impacts and, therefore, designing the product according to environmental criteria (ecodesign), as explained below.

Assessment of lifecycle and design for circularity Product lifecycle assessment (LCA) – the method used to study the environmental or carbon footprint of products and develop environmental product declarations (EPD) – helps to determine improvement opportunities in environmental terms:

Sharing Platforms Developing solutions that provide higher use of capacity (of products and equipment).

The product environmental footprint (PEF) is a method for measuring performance in terms of sustainability, developed by the European Commission in association with companies and experts in sustainability. The PEF makes it possible to determine all the relevant environmental impacts and the pressures on natural resources caused by a product. Its calculation considers the products’ entire lifecycle, from the raw material’s acquisition to the end-of-life.

Product as a service Offering customers, the possibility of using the product against a subscription or service usage fee instead of buying the product itself.

Offering customers, a predefined service with a certain level of quality guaranteing a specific result.

The carbon footprint is the method used to determine a product’s climate impact. Throughout a product’s lifecycle – from the raw material’s extraction to its recycling or disposal – the relevant impacts for the climate appear in the form of greenhouse gas emissions. The product’s carbon footprint helps to identify, analyse, and use the proper measures, reduce or (ideally) altogether avoid these impacts.

Extending the useful life of products Providing repair and maintenance services to extend the useful life of the products already on the market.

Improving product performance by upgrading the current components to more recent ones.

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a standard document that provides information on a product’s potential impact on the environment and human health. The EPD is produced based on Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) calculations and provides a quantitative base for comparing products and services. An EPD is usually valid for 5 years.

Reselling products that have reached their end of useful life to second-hand or third-hand markets.

Taking back and restoring or improving the product’s original function and reselling them.

9

https://www.sitra.fi/en/publications/circular-economy-business-models-manufacturing-industry/

14

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

15

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

SUSTAINABILITY AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

For circular economy strategies to be put into practice effectively and in an integrated fashion, we need to plan and rethink how industrial processes, products and the supplyconsumption chain are designed. The principles associated with ecodesign make it possible to plan and structure company practices to improve its life cycle phases.

Lifecycle assessment is a critical support tool for ecodesign and for improving the companies’ environmental performance.

Toni Grilo, an important designer of furniture and decorative products, believes that “it is essential to have greater collaboration between companies and designers: before simply designing a product, creative minds can contribute at the root of the project and even in the company or factory’s modus operandi”. “Design means conceptualising, projecting.

An experienced designer can help to map out the entire process.”

Speaking of his own experience, in particular, Toni Grilo acknowledged that: “Fortunately, I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to the actual factory organisation for some clients and, in other cases, to review the production process because some features were going to be changed. For example, this was the case with Sofalca10, a black cork producer for 50 years, whose factory produces insulation panels for the construction industry. During the construction industry crisis from 2008 to 2010, when much less insulation was sold, we reflected on what could be done in terms of design and reviewed the company’s entire business. Then, I challenged the company to produce cork components for furniture or architecture, but components that were “in plain sight” and not hidden inside the walls.

The conception change meant changes in the material itself and in the production. That’s what I believe design is. I then started designing quality furniture products that could be sold internationally. Sofalca is now a leader in cork furniture sales”.

The strategies for minimising environmental impacts through design and LCA are summed up in Table 1.

PHASE

STRATEGY

Extraction

Selecting low environmental impact materials

Processing

Reducing the use of materials and energy

Production

Optimising production techniques

Transport

Optimising the distribution system

“Another case I can refer to is a metalworking company that decided to create a furniture brand, but with concerns on the choice of materials, the quality of the product and the working conditions of the craftspeople. For example, we decided that no chemicals could be used to manufacture the product, such as chrome-plating or painting. We chose to use “pure” metals (steel, aluminium, brass) and designed an ecological treatment. We avoided gluing by using mechanical joints to attach other materials to the metal, such as wood and marble.

When you look at the product, you don’t see that, but Ricardo Lucas, the businessman, and I know that we contributed significantly to the circular economy at Riluc11.”

Toni Grilo challenges the so-called market trends, believing they are hardly favourable for companies’ profits and could even have negative environmental consequences. Grilo argues that different companies should make different products using timeless logic. On the one hand, this means that the workers must constantly produce different products, with potential losses in profitability and, on the other, customers tend to get rid of products that are no longer “in fashion”. “We have to design durable products, not only in terms of the materials they’re made of but also in their actual conception and design, their style. Take the example of the Vitra case, which is a reference to modern, contemporary design. That couch that all architects like to add to the decoration will always be there because it’s an icon. You don’t change what’s good.”

Reducing the impact during the product use

Use

Product-as-a-service

Extending the useful life

Optimising the useful life of products

End-of-life

Optimising and reducing the products' end-of-life impacts

Grilo also believes in designing for maintenance and repair: “It’s imperative to plan, to have a team of designers thinking about the collections; designing pieces that are common to different items of furniture, making production more profitable. If a piece of furniture is to be thrown away, then it should be easy to unscrew its leg or wheel. And using low technology too, more basic things. I like to think back in time when there were people who could repair anything. This intention of extending the life of products is fundamental and, if you have complex parts that use complicated technology, it’s harder to repair them.”

Table 1 - Eco-design strategies

Despite environmental issues being virtually absent from study plans on design courses in Portugal and, consequently, ecodesign being underdeveloped in the country, some designers have already incorporated a few ecodesign strategies into their professional work. The following paragraphs present the views of one of these designers.

16

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

“In my opinion, we have to rewind a bit and make production costs lower and simpler.

Factories are becoming more and more automated, and then we have fabulous carpenters who know how to use their hands like nobody else but who have no work. The carving, the leatherwork, we are short of people to do this in Portugal. We have this know-how, this traditional culture, but it will vanish in a few years. And I find that very troubling. Curiously, now when we go to New York, we see a resurgence of small carpenters and design studios that produce things more traditionally.”

10

https://www.sofalca.pt/ 11 https://www.riluc.com/

17

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The Circular Economy from the APIMA associates’ perspective A survey carried out among the APIMA associates helped us learn about their views on sustainability and circular economy. We collected 33 answers, which results are described in the paragraphs below.

Of the companies surveyed, 85% have up to 100 employees, 30% have 10 to 50, and 30% have 50 to 100 employees. 21% of the companies are over 30 years old, and 45% are 10 to 30 years old. Only 9% are young companies, up to five years old.

Over 70% of the companies had not yet taken any step towards measuring their environmental impacts.

Only one of the companies has an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system, while another company is in the run for that same certification system.

85% of the entrepreneurs try to take environmental and cost factors into account when investing in equipment or services. They are willing to embrace a compromising solution, which might not be the solution with the lowest cost or the minimal environmental impact.

15% placed the equipment’s cost or service upfront, regardless of the environmental impact.

18

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

FROM THE APIMA ASSOCIATES’ PERSPECTIVE

How many employees work in your company?

33 answers

30,3%

Between 1 to 10 employees 15,2%

Between 10 to 50 employees

Between 50 to 100 employees

Between 100 to 200 employees

30,3%

24,2%

More than 200 employees

21,2%

How old

15,2%

is your company?

33 answers

9,1%

45,5%

9,1%

Does your company have an environmental management system in place?

Between 1 to 5 years

Between 5 to 10 years

Between 10 to 30 years

Between 30 to 50 years More than 50 years

Yes

81,8%

No 18,2%

33 answers

What is the average durability of your products?

33 answers

19

APIMA

54,5%

Up to 5 years

From 6 to 15 years

From 16 to 25 years 24,2%

18,2%

More than 25 years

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

FROM THE APIMA ASSOCIATES’ PERSPECTIVE

Over 90% of the entrepreneurs who answered the survey say they have heard of the circular economy (CE) concept and after receiving the CE definition, 64% said to believe that their companies are already adopting some strategies in that area.

However, only one company believes that the CE is central to their activity, while 12% believe that the CE is at an advanced stage, with clear awareness among their employees.

Additionally, 27% believe there is some awareness among its employees, 33% are exploring ways to integrate the CE into their activities, and 18% intend to learn more about the CE before beginning to put it into motion.

FROM THE APIMA ASSOCIATES’ PERSPECTIVE

If your company must make an

investment on equipment or service, which factors weigh most on choosing the best solution:

The cost The solutions that result in a lower environmental impact

84,8% 15,2%

33 answers

Have you heard of the Circular Economy concept?

33 answers

The Circular Economy can be defined as the transition from a society that prefers disposable and waste to a society...

9,1%

A compromise solution, i.e., a solution that might not be the lowest cost or the minimal environmental impact, but rather a combination of the two factors

Yes No

90,9%

30,4%

Yes No 63,6%

33 answers

Very advanced - It’s central to what we do

At what stage do you think sustainability and the circular economy are in your company?

33 answers

18,2% 33,3%

Advanced - The employees are clearly aware of this subject Improving - There is already some awareness among employees

12,1% 27,3%

Taking the first steps – we are exploring ways of integrating the principles of the circular economy into the company We heard about this strategic concept, and we are interested in learning more We still don’t know what the circular economy is We think that the principles of the circular economy do not apply to our company

20

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

21

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

FROM THE APIMA ASSOCIATES’ PERSPECTIVE

FROM THE APIMA ASSOCIATES’ PERSPECTIVE

In terms of current practices:

Please indicate which options apply to your company 33 answers

6 (18,2%)

8 (24,2%)

5 (15,2%)

20 10

15 (45,5%)

18 (54,5%)

15 (45,5%)

20 (60,6%)

23 (69,7%)

20 (60,6%)

APIMA

Use recycled cardboard for packaging

Reuse waste wood in other ways

Have an energy production system using renewable sources

Produce briquettes or granules for heating made from waste

Have a dust extraction system Have an air conditioning system in production Have a biomass boiler

Contract the collection of waste for recycling

Have dry filter booths Contract the collection of sludge from finishing processes

Have own WWTP

Contract wastewater collection

Use recycled materials collected from beaches or oceans

Use substitutes for animal hide Use hide from animals slaughtered for food consumption

Use natural sheets of wood

Use recycled materials in the product

0

1 (3%)

23

Use water-based finishing products

Over 70% subcontract companies for complementary production activities.

Use FSC certified wood

Use wood-based products

Around 80% use traditional practices in their production processes, with craftspeople on their staff or subcontracted;

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

1 (3%)

7 (21,2%)

Around 50% use water-based finishing products and recover the waste material from cutting in biomass boilers;

APIMA

7 (21,2%)

11 (33,3%)

Around 60% use certified wood and recycled materials in their products and have dry filter booths and dust extraction systems in their factories;

22

14 (42,4%)

16 (48,5%)

Around 70% contract to have their waste collected for recycling, and 40% contract the collection of sludge from finishing processes for treatment;

22 (66,7%) 19 (57,6%)

20 (60,6%)

Around 80% use wood-based panels to manufacture their products;

30

26 (78,8%)

More than half of the companies produce durable products (with expected durability of over 25 years);

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

A ECONOMIA CIRCULAR NA PERSPETIVA DOS ASSOCIADOS DA APIMA

In terms of practices most directly associated to CE, the panorama in the companies that answered the survey (Table 2) is as follows: The strategies used mainly by companies in terms of sustainability and the CE are the use of raw materials with sustainability certification, the use of recycled materials, the focus on repairing and recovering products, design for product modularity, increased recycling of materials in the company and the use of waste heat; The strategies that companies, in general, have not yet adopted but intend to adopt in the future include redesigning products to reduce the waste associated with them, leasing factory equipment, which is underused in other companies, sharing equipment underused in their own company, working with the supply chain to reduce waste, remanufacturing some products, and using renewable energy; The strategies that entrepreneurs generally believe do not apply to their own companies are supplying the product as a service (renting or leasing) and creating a product take-back system for their customers.

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

FROM THE APIMA ASSOCIATES’ PERSPECTIVE

We already do this

We intend to start doing this in the future

We don’t think this solution applies to our company

Blank answer

Reducing the use of virgin raw materials

11

11

8

3

Using raw materials with sustainability certification

21

10

-

2

Using recycled materials

20

6

4

3

Working with the supply chain to reduce/manage waste

13

16

1

3

Focusing on the repair and recovery of our products

14

10

7

2

Remanufacturing some of our products

7

14

10

2

Redesigning products to reduce waste: to facilitate dismantling for repair or the separation of materials at the end-of-life

9

20

2

2

Modular design of our products

15

7

8

3

Increasing materials recycling in the company

21

10

1

1

Providing the product as a service (product rental/leasing)

2

7

22

2

Refurbishing products to be sold as second-hand

6

14

11

2

Using waste heat

13

10

7

3

Using renewable energy

11

14

4

4

Product take-back system

3

10

15

5

Sharing underused equipment

1

17

10

5

Leasing factory equipment underused in another company

2

20

7

4

Table 2 – CE practices used by APIMA associates by type of practice. (unit: number of answers)

24

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

25

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

FROM THE APIMA ASSOCIATES’ PERSPECTIVE

FROM THE APIMA ASSOCIATES’ PERSPECTIVE

Also, according to the entrepreneurs, the main factors that motivate companies to focus Our sustainability 18 (54,5%) on sustainability and CEstrategy were the potential to enter in new markets, the companies’ The existing environmental legislation 13 (39,4%) internal strategies of sustainability, and customer expectations.

12 (36,4%)

Cost reduction

Customer expectations The increasing restrictions on the supply of raw materials for our business

8 (24,2%)

17 (51,5%)

PROCESS PHASE

What are the main reasons that led/could lead your company to The possibility of higher future profits 4 (12,1%) focus on sustainability and the circular economy?

The potential of entering new markets 33 answersReducing waste and avoiding disposal in landfills

8 (24,2%)

Cost reduction 0

Customer expectations The increasing restrictions on the supply of raw materials for our business

23 (60,7%)

5

10

13 (39,4%) 12 (36,4%) 15

8 (24,2%)

18 (54,5%) 20 17 (51,5%)

The potential of entering new markets Reducing waste and avoiding disposal in landfills

25

We use more wood-based products and melamine and less wood;

23 (60,7%)

Acquisition

14 (42,4%)

4 (12,1%)

Fluctuations in resources' prices

We only keep stock of raw materials of products which are more demanded;

We buy raw materials in predetermined quantity;

4 (12,1%)

The possibility of higher future profits

of raw materials

8 (24,2%)

Keeping up with our competitors

0

MEASURES ADOPTED

14 (42,4%)

4 (12,1%)

Fluctuations in resources' prices Our sustainability strategy Keeping up with our competitors The existing environmental legislation

When asked about the measures they had taken in the different phases of the process to reduce production costs, the answers from the entrepreneurs were diverse. Table 3 shows some of these answers.

5

10

15

20

We have implemented a more effective management system that allows checking stock on time; We make large orders ahead of time and store; We acquire materials only when we have an order;

25

More accurate management of production needs, mainly influencing the reduction of extraordinary purchases. Apart from reducing production downtime costs, this measure also centralised purchases at more regular rhythms.

The main constraints that companies believe to exist in adopting sustainability measures and the CE are the costs associated with innovation and the lack of information on these strategies.

Which factors do you believe are making the adoption of sustainability measures and the circular economy in your company more difficult?

33 answers

Lack of information on the subject Environmental legislation

Costs associated with innovation Volatility of the prices of the raw materials

7 (21,2%)

Financial risks associated with an investment in new solutions and equipment Inefficient current waste management system making it difficult to recover materials that could be used as raw materials

26

Lack of professionals with Practices expertise APIMA Best in the area in Portugal

Expectation of low customer take-up of new business models

20 (60,6%)

We have acquired a cutting optimiser, and we reuse waste;

Wood sawing

12 (36,4%)

9 (27,3%)

17 (51,5%)

5 (15,2%) 7 (21,2%) 4 (12,1%) 7 (21,2%)

The company is working increasingly less with solid wood, opting to use wood-based products, which means a focus on cost reductions is needless in this specific area; We use automatic disconnectors.

8 (24,2%)

Limited human resources in the company Lack of information on the subject Lack of professionals with expertise Environmental legislation in the area in Portugal

Limited human resources in the company

We subcontract;

6 (18,2%)

Difficulty in obtaining funding for the acquisition of new technologies

Costs associated with innovation Expectation of low customer take-up Volatility of the prices of the raw materials of new business models Financial risks associated with an Customer demand for more investment in new solutions and equipment sustainable products Inefficient Wecurrent believewaste there management have been no systemsignificant making it difficult to recover materials obstacles to the adoption of that could be the used CEas inraw the materials company Difficulty in obtaining funding for the acquisition of new technologies 0

17 (51,5%)

7 (21,2%)

20 (60,6%) 12 (36,4%) 12 (36,4%)

6 (18,2%)

2 (6,1%) 5

8 (24,2%) 10 9 (27,3%)

15

20

Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector 5 (15,2%) 4 (12,1%)

27

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

FROM THE APIMA ASSOCIATES’ PERSPECTIVE

PROCESS PHASE

FROM THE APIMA ASSOCIATES’ PERSPECTIVE

MEASURES ADOPTED

PROCESS PHASE

We try to reuse cutting waste as best we can;

Investment in mixers that save on solvents;

We subcontract;

Our products don’t have finishing, or else we use water-based varnishes;

We try to optimise production management to minimise cutting waste;

Regrouping colours and reducing colour offers;

We use a panel saw with a digital cutting optimiser;

Sheet cutting

1. Launch an information system that determines the approximate quantity of chemicals needed for each order;

Use of CNCs for sheet cutting; We are in the process of implementing the Kaizen method

Finishing

Development of new software for direct export of of cutting measures from relational algorithms;

Larger booths heated with management/grouping by type of finish; Reusing the solvents as thinners; Using higher quality products that are better for the environment.

Investment in edge banders; We subcontract; Acquisition of CNC for stone;

Staff training;

Increased workload in all CNC machines;

Products are sent pre-assembled, ready to use;

Focus on acquiring equipment with lower energy consumption.

Recycled cardboard packaging - substitute wood with recycled honeycomb cardboard;

Final assembly

Training;

Team specialisation according to tasks; Rotating teams so that the employees can learn from each other;

Use of metal bolts and clamps instead of wooden dowels; 1. Introducing a workstation through ERP (management software) for closer management of production times;

Assembly

2. Redefine the layout; 3. Improve stock management;

Acquisition of a new version of the optimiser for all panel saws.

Machining

MEASURES ADOPTED

Use fixing systems instead of gluing;

2. Using IT support tools;

Optimising assembly techniques

3. Identification of each element on orders with numbers corresponding to the drawings’ numbering, which helps assembly;

Standardisation of packaging with cardboard and labelling;

Use fixing systems instead of gluing;

Shipping the product

Improved company layout and more efficient lighting.

to the final customer

We are setting up a system for more efficient control of shipments; Reduce the use of plastics in packaging; Use of cardboard and recycled materials; Optimisation of routes and grouping;

Training;

We make the most of the available space.

Subcontracting;

Carpentry

Redefining the carpentry layout; Use of sanders with suction and reusing the sawdust in the boiler;

28

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Table 3 – Production cost reduction measures adopted by APIMA associates (selection)

29

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

Best practices for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector An analysis of the survey results, complemented by interviews with some APIMA associates, lead to the following conclusions:

Based on a set of strategies for the circular economy and ecodesign, and an analysis of best practices, we outlined 10 strategies that should be adopted in the home sector to promote the circular economy in the factory and outside.:

The companies in the sector are SMEs, and over half have been operating for decades.

BUSINESS MODEL

They do not see the relevance of carrying out assessments to learn the environmental impacts of their business, most likely because they believe to know them already and have taken steps to reduce these.

Optimising

On the other hand, they reveal that they still need to learn more about the circular economy to implement it; they also believe that there is still a lack of information on the subject. However, as we can see from the survey results, several companies have already implemented strategies that contribute to the circular economy, even if unaware of this effect. Mainly, it’s because the circular economy strategies are a resumption of old habits from times when resources were not so readily available, and it was customary to use them sparingly.

Collaborating and sharing

STRATEGY Reducing

Sharing

Product-service

Product-as-a-

system

service Repair and

The results presented by the companies concerning the optimisation of their processes reveal that, although it is being done mainly on a cost optimisation basis, it very often results in environmental improvements. Reusing waste materials to the benefit of the company, reducing or eliminating the use of synthetic solvents, subcontracting specific tasks, and avoiding the acquisition of machinery used sporadically, for example, clearly show that positive measures for the environment can and should be associated with cost reduction measures.

maintenance

Extending the useful life

Modularity and Upgrading

Remanufacturing

for sustainability

30

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

31

APIMA

Increasing production efficiency, using fewer resources Preferring renewable materials and energy Developing solutions to increase the use of equipment and product capacity Selling the service that the product provides Providing repair and maintenance services to extend the useful life of products already on the market Producing products where modules can be added to or removed from, as necessary.

Improving product performance through upgrading the existing components with more recent components.

Recovering and restoring or improving the product’s original function

Recycling

Using recycled and recyclable materials in production

Recovery

Recovering waste materials (e.g., using sawdust in boilers, using subproducts as raw materials)

Communication

Promoting the circular economy when referring to the company’s best practices

Material recovery

Marketing

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

In the following paragraphs, we present cases where strategies were applied to the home sector in APIMA associated companies and other international cases.

The company’s strategies are highlighted in each case, using icons from the previous table.

A. Brito13, is a company founded in 1970 that is mainly dedicated to exports. The company specialized in modular equipment and developed an industrial layout capable of producing hundreds of different models from the same component base.

Having this in mind, the company invested significantly in process optimisation “with more efficient production and non-production equipment and staff, mainly in terms of senior technical and administrative staff and duly organised and structured industrial facilities. The synergies created between these two factors made it possible to provide the company with the expertise and know-how it needs to meet the current political and environmental demands.” An example of this is that they now use mixers that reduce solvents and focus on intelligent warehousing, which increases process efficiency and, therefore, leads to environmental savings.

Process optimisation The planet limits determine that technological developments and best practices in the 21st century must guarantee that the resources lead to productivity benefits. The circular economy is geared towards converting the current inefficiencies in production and consumption chains into economic value and environmental benefits.

Companies must be eco-efficient in managing energy, raw materials and auxiliary materials through best practices and more efficient equipment.

To optimise means to ensure the optimal performance of a machine, a company, an action, creating more favourable conditions or making the best possible use of them.

Environmental optimisation means ensuring this optimal performance in consumption and use of material resources, energy, and water. The more optimised the process, the less waste, and the lower production costs.

Zagas14 is a company over 70 years old that has always used solid wood and natural oils to produce its furniture. For the company, sustainability “is more than a trend, it’s a responsibility and thus conducts its research to offer its customers more sustainable solutions”. Apart from focusing on “more natural” materials, the company invested in process optimisation in production and made the most of the waste resulting from these processes. In the words of Albano Silva, company CEO: “We reuse waste wood for burning, on the one hand, to use in the boiler to heat the company and, on the other hand, to heat water for the presses. Our starting point is cutting costs and optimising as much as possible. For example, sometimes leftover parts are used to make interior pieces for the furniture, using a type of particleboard we make for this purpose. And they can always be used to make briquettes to heat the company.”

Albano Silva believes that companies would benefit from collaborating in the commercial utilization of this waste: “one of my ideas is to finance a master’s thesis or doctorate someday to analyse the potential of reusing the waste from companies related to furniture. In this part of the country, lots of people have wood stoves, fireplaces, or salamander heaters, and this could be a way to reuse waste that is close at hand.”

AM Furniture12, founded in 1962, is essentially an exporting company that is deeply concerned about improving and assessing its quality, social and environmental practices.

This concern reflects the significant amount of certifications the company has obtained, such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, NP 4427, PEFC and FSC – chain of custody.

Striving towards continuous improvement, AM Furniture has adopted a zero-waste policy in its facilities, reusing and recovering all waste. Leftover materials are used, for example, to produce production support equipment or structures.

12

https://amfurnituregroup.com/

32

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Zagas also focused on design to optimise furniture distribution: “We use bolts and clamps instead of wooden dowels so that the furniture can be disassembled during transport. For two reasons: the first is that we can transport more items each time, and the second has to do with the tax benefits of certain countries when sending disassembled furniture that is assembled and packaged by local companies.”

13

https://www.aabrito.com/

33

APIMA

14

https://www.zagas.pt/

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

Reducing the use of virgin raw materials

More recently, Ferreira de Sá launched a 100% sustainable hand-tufting collection, the Circular Collection, combining regenerated raw materials, like the Econyl17, a regenerated nylon thread. The nylon comes from fishing nets and hotels’ used carpets.

Another way of contributing to the productivity of resources is to focus on reusing waste from other processes. In fact, a large amount of discarded waste are materials with some value that is lost when it is disposed of in industrial or sanitary landfills.

The advantage of this raw material is that it can be recycled infinitely without losing properties. Therefore, it significantly contributes to reducing global warming by up to 90%, compared to raw materials made from oil.

Darono18 is a textile furniture and decorative products company founded in 2013. Its products are entirely handcrafted, using manual looms and techniques based on knots used by fishermen to work and recover fishing nets.

Magna Natura15 is The Cork Magicians Company trademark set up in 2013. It produces furniture, ecological coverings, and decorative items.

From an industrial symbiosis perspective, Magna Natura uses cork as the raw material for its products, which is waste from the cork industry.

The materials used in the products’ design - such as pouffes, nets, rugs, pillows, or swings – come from production surplus from European industries, such as a fibre made up of polyester and viscose.

Fernando Américo, company director, explains: “We’re using a subproduct that can’t be used for the cork industry or other products. It’s generally ground, even if it’s new, and then we upgrade it, recovering that cork. Although we use cork in its purest form, we can give it an elegant look”.

According to Catarina Carvalho, one of the brand founders: “Our focus, which is the brand’s essence, is working with textile waste. In other words, everything we make is based on a braid made from textile production surpluses. It’s upcycling. We recover materials that would have been thrown away and turn them into a braid, treated in a way so that it can also be used outdoors”19.

On the other hand, cork production in cork oak forest is strongly associated with preserving biodiversity: “Cork is the essential element in our products, as it is also associated with the ecosystem maintenance”.

But the company does not intend to stop just there: “In another project that we’re developing, we’ll be using other discarded materials, such as wood, steel and iron. We’ll collect these products, for example, from construction worksites - parts of light fittings, wood from beams and flooring, etc. We’ll recover, refurbish and use them in new products we’re going to design.”

Other international examples of the focus on productivity and sustainable use of resources are: ChopValue20 collects used bamboo chopsticks from restaurants in Canada and the USA and transforms them into sheets of wood used in furniture and home decoration collections. According to the founders, over 32 million chopsticks that would have ended up in landfills were transformed into new products for the home sector since 2016 and sold, some to restaurants that supply used chopsticks.

Fernando Américo acknowledges that Magna Natura is not aiming to position itself “in the more traditional markets because it’s already filled with good companies and excellent solutions”. Adding that: “We’re positioning ourselves in markets that value sustainability, such as the UK or Germany.”

Stolab21 in Sweden that created product lines called New Life created and designed using leftovers or waste from manufacturing processes from other products it makes, which would otherwise have been discarded or incinerated.

Cork Magicians is also firmly in favour of the collaboration between companies to make the most of equipment and employee specialities (see section Collaboration, product-service systems). To this end, Magna Natura prefers subcontracting other companies for the different production phases of its furniture. .

Emeco22 in the USA was founded in 1944 to manufacture light chairs for the US Navy, resistant to corrosion and fire, and torpedo proof (!). Currently, its policy includes constantly innovating and exploring ways to use industrial and municipal waste and sustainably produced materials to create and build furniture. Its confidence in its environmental policy led the company to start to measure and publish the carbon footprint of its products.

Tapeçarias Ferreira de Sá16, is one of the oldest and biggest companies producing luxury rugs in Europe. According to the company communication channels, “ecological and sustainable raw materials, non-polluting chemicals and a vast recycling process are used” in their production. The company prefers to use natural materials produced responsibly like the New Zealand wool, sustainable and biodegradable wool following the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), Mohair fibres (biodegradable), botanical silk - a natural, biodegradable thread with the EU Ecolabel stamp, as well as other materials.

https://www.econyl.com/ 18 https://darono.pt/ 19https://www.altominho.com.pt/2021/01/22/darono-transforma-lixo-textil-em-produtoseco-amigos/ 20 https://chopvalue.com/ 21https://www.stolab.se/en/ 22https://www.emeco.net/ 17

15

https://www.magnanatura.com/ 16 https://ferreiradesa.pt/

34

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

35

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

Extending the useful life of products The main goal of the circular economy is to maximise the time that products, components, and materials are in use. Ideally, the aim is to achieve an uninterrupted cycle that takes advantage of the unexplored value potential in the traditional value chain.

LBF – Lino Barros e Ferreira Lda. is a company that has been in operation for over 50 years.

It designs products that are assembled using fixing systems instead of gluing for easy replacement of damaged parts. The company also focuses on optimising sheet cutting, acquiring equipment with lower energy consumption, using sanders with suction (and consequent reuse of the sawdust in the boiler), and reusing solvents as thinners.

The old economic model has focused on building products and selling them, thus encouraging buyers to keep buying. The new circular model includes creating durable products that can be repaired, ensuring that natural resources are used more efficiently.

Speaking about the company’s strategy, Daniel Barros said that “all the investments we’ve made in the last five years have taken sustainability into account. We try to make the most of the resources we have. Using sawdust in the boiler is just one part of this. We currently have 600sqm of solar panels, and we intend to increase this area”.

Extending the useful life of products or their components is achieved by focusing on reusing, repairing, remanufacturing, or repurposing (parts or components into new products). When these options are no longer possible or profitable, the materials used in the products should be separated and recycled to be used in new products.

On the products, Daniel Barros said that “concerns about the issue of durability are longstanding. If a customer has any problem with the components in our products, we guarantee that these can be easily repaired or replaced. This possibility was increasingly developed when we reached the international markets. We tried to maintain the possibility of repairing damaged components, but this proved to be very costly. Bringing a piece of furniture from abroad for repair is expensive, logistically speaking. So, we started to further develop the feature of replaceable parts in all our furniture.”

Recycling

“We tell our clients (shop owners, professionals) about the advantages of durability and the possibility of replacement; they’re given training on this, precisely so that they can argue and sell based on these arguments and these features. If this is used as a sales argument or not, we don’t know. But I do know of customers who bought furniture years ago and still go to the shop for replacement parts. I know they don’t even ask if this is possible; they simply assume the part is replaceable. So, I believe that this opportunity is somehow expressed to the final customer”.

End-of-life

Renovating/ Remanufacturing

Reusing/ Redistributin

Maintaining/ Extending

JLC24 is a company working in the interior decoration industry specialising in designing and producing collections of classic and contemporary furniture, lighting, and decorative products. It also has its own collection of fabrics.

Sharing

Most of JLC’s furniture is custom made, meeting customers’ needs. However, the company is considering preparing a collection with modular parts, which would allow for a phased acquisition of the products in that collection or parts of them.

As a complementary activity and whenever necessary, JLC takes back furniture to be refurbished and sold in a dedicated area.

Diagram 2 – Strategies for extending the useful life of products and components (Adapted from Lemille, 2019)23

23

https://issuu.com/makingit/docs/makingit_26_web

36

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

24

https://www.jlc.pt/

37

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

International examples also demonstrate some of the best practices adopted to extend the useful life of products and components: SERIP25 has been in the manufacturing business for 60 years, creating and developing luxury decorative lighting. Over the last decade, it has exported to over 90 countries, mainly to professionals in the decoration area, Designers, Architects, Contractors and Hospitality.

The English company, Benchmark26 which makes wooden furniture, developed a take-back system where customers can return their used products. The products are then remodelled, refitted, or donated by the company to charity.

In recent years, the company has focused on developing mechanisms for document dematerialisation, drastically reducing its dependence on physical resources by prioritising digital methods instead of paper.

Similarly, IKEA, the furniture multinational, recently introduced its “Second Life” project. A preliminary assessment of the IKEA furniture that the customer wants to get rid of is held on an online tool, then the customer delivers the assembled product, the IKEA staff assess it on site to confirm the offer, and the customer gets a refund card with the agreed amount to spend at the shop.

As this company has a long history, changing and reducing the use of these resources has been gradual, adopting new procedures and using tools to further reduce this dependence.

According to the company, “virtual reality is here contributing to speed up this change, with the emergence of digital document storage systems in the cloud, for example, which provides greater flexibility in implementing these internal goals.”

Etsy27, an online marketplace for home sector products, has a section on its website with over 6000 posts solely dedicated to refurbished furniture, making it an essential outlet for selling these products with significant market potential, particularly among the younger generations.

A Technical & Quality Department has been established to monitor production closely, assuring quality, avoiding waste, recycling, and reusing all materials used in the manufacturing process. Using durable materials, such as glass and bronze, also reduces the environmental impact that the production “of our type of product could have in the short or medium term.”

“Also, regarding the product and its manufacture, the exclusive use of LED lighting in our products, which is a more efficient energy technology, cheaper and more durable, has a clear impact on a more efficient use of existing resources, while increasing industry competitiveness and contributing to a more sustainable economy.”

At the end of the manufacturing process, the company believes that packaging is another essential element for an effective reduction in environmental impacts: “The use of recycled material such as OSB for packaging is an excellent alternative, over any other material, because it provides security, robustness, a dedicated image and, at the same time, the possibility of being reused by the final consumer.”

25

https://www.serip.com.pt/pt/home

38

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

26

https://benchmarkfurniture.com/sustainability/

39

APIMA

27

https://www.etsy.com/

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

Collaboration, product-service systems, and marketing for sustainability

The circular economy is used and promoted beyond the factory. It is applied by collaborating and adopting new business models and promoted by making sustainability activities public.

A good example of the potential under this new business model is FLOOW228, a company that developed an online business-to-business sharing platform that allows companies and institutions in any area of activity to share their underused assets. Through this platform, companies and organisations can share equipment, waste, materials, services, facilities, and staff with other organisations, with financial, environmental, and social benefits.

2

Company B needs certain equipment 3

Company A registers the equipment it does not use 100% of the time and defines its availability

1

Before buying any equipment, Company B searches the platform and finds that Company A has precisely the equipment it needs.

By assessing the reality of companies in this industry, it is clear that these are the strategies less embraced by the APIMA associates. An extremely high potential for improving practices and economic returns in this area has yet to be explored.

Collaboration – making equipment and teams more profitable Company B contacts Company A and if they 4 agree on the terms the agreement is signed and company B pays via platform.

Effective collaboration in the value chain of the home sector is vital for establishing a circular system. Many companies acquire large machinery or equipment, which, due to market changes or even internal organisation dynamics, have utilisation rates far lower than their capacity.

6

As Fernando Américo, from the Cork Magicians (Magna Natura) pointed out: “there are many very well-equipped carpentries with good machinery that is idle or underused.

It’s a pity there are so many machines that cost hundreds of thousands of euros and are only used for two hours a week when they could be operating 24 hours a day.”

Adding, as an example: “In Portugal, we could replicate what was done in Italy, setting up organisations to provide services to associates or cooperative members. In the case of CNC, for example, they are working 24/7.”

By working collaboratively, Company A gains extra income, while Company B saves on costs, and so both save energy and avoid CO2

5

Company A sends or provides the equipment to Company B

Diagram 3 – How the FLOOW2 sharing platform works.

However, the director acknowledges that regarding surface finishing and cutting, this is already exercised in Portugal: “there are companies that provide lacquering services, and there are metalworking companies that provide plasma cutting services for sheet metal. It is an excellent example of how companies can be developed on a collaborative approach”.

28

40

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

https://www.floow2.com/

41

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

Selling services, not products The business model that substitutes ownership of assets for payment based on a licence to use is fundamental to the circular economy. Companies that produce and sell goods should start positioning themselves as service providers through lease contracts instead of selling ownership of the assets. This business model has long been used in furniture rental for events, but it could be extended to any furniture category (residential, offices, hotels). In the first phase, the target audience for this business model is mainly people on short-term apartment leases (students, for example), but the benefits of the user licences could easily be extended to any customer as soon as the market expands.

The North American market already has different options for this business model. Brook Furniture Rental29 has three service alternatives for family homes, offices, and students: renting individual furniture items, furnishing rooms, or furnishing and decorating an entire house. The company offers the house furnishing planning service and, to ensure customer satisfaction, exchanges the furniture or accepts returns during the first week of the contract.

Feather30, founded in 2017, focuses on renting durable, quality furniture, which means that customers can enjoy the quality and design even in short-term residential leases.

Feather also intends to offer customers who cannot buy a specific type of furniture the opportunity to use it. To this end, the company offers rental plans for 3 and 12 months, renewable, and allows the customer to buy the furniture at the end of these periods.

Through this strategy, companies reduce waste production associated with renting cheaper alternatives, not built to last, and make their assets profitable.

Communication – informing customers and other stakeholders on best practices Another meaningful way for companies to promote the circular economy is to use communication and marketing to publicise their sustainability practices. Communication techniques have developed in the sense of sharing experiences, emotions, and goals with the consumer. In this way, companies who present themselves as promoters of a more sustainable environment capitalise on reinforcing competitive positioning.

Some companies, like the Italian Natuzzi31, the Norwegian Vestre32 or vel_you33 from the Belgian group Veldeman that presents itself as the manufacturer of the “first environmentally friendly sleeping system”, have done this in an exemplary manner.

A visit to these companies’ websites shows how the message on sustainability and the circular economy can play a significant role in a company’s communication.

29 32

https://www.bfr.com/ 30 https://www.livefeather.com/ 31 https://www.natuzzi.com/eco-sustainability.html#1 https://vestre.com/about-vestre 33 https://vel-you.com/

42

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

43

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE HOME SECTOR

BOAS PRÁTICAS DE ECONOMIA CIRCULAR NA FILEIRA CASA

Best practices - State of the Art

The home sector involves industries that have traditionally contributed to sustainability, whether through the materials they use, such as wood (a renewable resource) or metals (materials that can be permanently recycled), or because some traditional practices are maintained.

The assessment on sustainability and circular economy practices used by APIMA associates made it possible to conclude that various best practices are used throughout the industry, and there are several examples of suitable combinations between cost reductions and environmental benefits.

However, associates still look upon certain strategies for the circular economy apprehensively, leaving lots of room for improvement and taking advantage of their benefits. The table below shows a generic analysis of the current situation and the potential yet to be tapped on each circular economy strategy among the associates.

STRATEGIES

WHERE WE ARE

WHERE WE CAN GET TO Optimisation (reducing the use

Most of the companies have not taken any steps to measure the environmental impacts associated with their activities.

Knowing the environmental impacts

44

APIMA

Environmental issues are practically absent from the designers’ course syllabus in Portugal, having consequences on the options taken in product design.

of resources)

The companies’ transparency concerning the impacts of their activities is a requirement that is becoming increasingly widespread in all industry sectors. In addition, knowing the impacts prepares the companies for potential issues associated with these impacts, mainly due to changes in environmental policies. Assessing and reporting the environmental or carbon footprint of the products and providing and publicising environmental product declarations are ways of demonstrating this transparency and could become a competitive advantage in specific markets.

Some associates have installed solar panels in their facilities, which has made it possible to reduce the non-renewable component of the energy needed to run the companies.

Several associates have shown their concern about the excess packaging they must use to ensure the integrity of their products when they are distributed.

This concern also comes from the type of materials available in an optimal quality-price ratio, very often implying the use of plastics..

Although environmental issues are discussed more and more throughout news media, any choice in designing a product to reduce a particular environmental impact could have consequences on other environmental impacts. Awareness of the environmental criteria requires expertise and experience. Training in ecodesign is critical to help designers make the best choices and know where to look for more information to support their decisionmaking.

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

The associates have adopted measures to optimise manufacturing processes and have succeeded in reducing production costs while achieving low levels of waste or resources.

45

APIMA

It is possible to restrict further use of non-renewable (e.g., melamine) and toxic (e.g., formaldehyde) solutions in product manufacture.

A study of innovative and alternative solutions to plastic and excess cardboard in packaging could be costly for one company alone. However, it could be accomplished through collaboration between the associates, involving university research centres and technological centres (research and innovation projects).

A crucial part of the sector’s indirect environmental impacts is associated with the extraction, processing, and production of the raw materials. From the standpoint of continuous improvement and extended responsibility, the companies should monitor supplier practices - mainly through supplier assessment matrices - raising awareness to the need of adopting less impactful processes and requiring more often environmental certification for the materials.

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

BOAS PRÁTICAS DE ECONOMIA CIRCULAR NA FILEIRA CASA

BOAS PRÁTICAS DE ECONOMIA CIRCULAR NA FILEIRA CASA

Repair

Cooperation

Product-as-a-service

Several companies in the sector use subcontracting to carry out speciality work. Some companies subcontract the tasks in the different stages of the manufacturing process for their products and are themselves the only ones responsible for the product design,marketing and distribution.

It would be desirable to increase the number of companies that perform specialised work and therefore ensure the profitability of costly equipment, which in some cases ends up having utilisation rates much lower than its capacity.

Some companies working for the sector only provide certain speciality services, such as lacquering or plasma cutting.

To make the most of the existing machinery’s potential, it is possible to develop a platform inspired by Floow2 for APIMA associates and other companies in the sector.

Except for furniture rental for events and offices, there are no solutions that we know of for furniture rental for flats and houses in the country.

APIMA associates believe that adopting a system of product rental instead of sale is not a viable solution for their business.

46

APIMA

and maintenance

From a collaborative point of view, companies could organise themselves into cooperatives to buy equipment that they could all use (e.g., CNC) and even provide services to other companies outside their own cooperative.

Modularity and upgrading

Remanufacturing

The product-service system is one of the focuses of the European plan for the circular economy (see The European Green Deal and its future impact on the home sector). The international cases described demonstrate the effectiveness of this business model for the home sector.

However, the business model in most companies – sale to shop owners and not to the final consumer – makes the relationship with the final consumer almost non-existent, thus discouraging repair, upgrading, and take-back services. Therefore, there are still very few examples of companies that do so.

In the sector it is common the use of particleboard and and materials highly recyclable, such as metals.

Recycling

Anticipating the EU focus on promoting this model, an economic and financial analysis could be performed on the sector’s business model in Portugal. This study could assess different kinds of product-service systems to change current commercial practices from a cost-benefit perspective.

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Many of the APIMA associates already use several strategies to help extend the useful life of their products: development of assembly and maintenance guides, modular design and even take-back for the restaurant segment.

47

APIMA

Although it is a way of reusing residual wood, the composition of particleboard includes certain chemical products (such as formaldehydebased resins) that could have consequences on human health.

The distance between the companies and the final customers can be reduced by using digital media. Along the same lines as the strategies adopted by certain manufacturers in other sectors (e.g., electrical and electronic equipment), the companies in the home sector could create platforms for communicating directly with the final customer: the customer registers on the company website, creating a direct means of communication with it, acquiring new parts, requesting repair services, buying new products against the take-back of old ones, etc.

The companies in the sector could set up an organisation that takes back furniture and other items, sending them to be restored at associated companies and sold in second and third-hand markets. The gained revenue could be used to organise awareness-raising events in the sector and promote research and innovation projects to solve everyday problems.

Increasing recyclability of the materials used in the home sector’s products is possible if the products are designed in a way that simplifies material separation (e.g., different kinds of wood, different kinds of metal, etc.), making it possible to send these materials to places where they can be recycled or recovered.

Ease of separation also means that some parts can be reused for new products, thus avoiding waste.

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

BOAS PRÁTICAS DE ECONOMIA CIRCULAR NA FILEIRA CASA

Several APIMA associates recover the wood waste (from cutting) produced in their facilities.

The most common way to reuse this waste is for burning in boilers, making it possible to use that heat to produce heating in their facilities and for operating equipment that uses steam.

Recovery

The reuse of production waste could be increased: 1. Through collaboration (creating a scale effect and thus reducing the costs of individual management of this waste); 2. By developing research and innovation projects that assess new solutions to reuse waste.

This waste is also reused for other purposes, such as in the furniture’s interior parts (e.g., supports for shelves and drawers or the production of wood filler).

The European Green Deal and its future impact on the home sector In late 2019, the European Union launched the new European Green Deal34, a growth strategy to turn the EU into an equitable and prosperous society, with a modern, competitive economy that uses resources efficiently. The goal to be achieved by 2050 is a society with zero net emissions of greenhouse gases and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use.

One of the elements in this new deal includes “mobilising industry for a clean and circular economy”. To this end, the EU has launched a new industrial strategy for an ecological and digital Europe that is competitive worldwide35. The EU believes that the initiatives known as industrial alliances had good results for the battery, plastic, and microelectronics areas, particularly in managing the waste generated by these products. The intention is to extend this idea to other fundamental areas of activity and technologies, mainly through alliances for low-carbon industries, cloud computing services, and raw materials. Naturally, all these initiatives will directly or indirectly affect the home sector.

The companies should announce what they do and their concerns regarding sustainability on their websites and their social media accounts. It is increasingly common for corporate websites to have a section devoted to sustainability.

Marketing for sustainability

Communication of sustainability and circular economy practices is still very much in its early stages among APIMA associates.

Other companies make sustainability their motto, and their websites are developed on this topic, giving customers the feeling that they’re contributing to sustainability by buying these products.

The strategy of disclosing best practices, associated with the creation of platforms where customers can be registered, as mentioned above, makes it possible to create a company image of transparency and attracts a growing wave of customers who have environmental concerns.

In addition, this communication serves as a vehicle to promote the circular economy, boosting its development in the country.

However, it is essential to distinguish green marketing from greenwashing, ensuring that the communication is not abusively used by presenting practices that are not carried out appropriately.

34 35

48

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PT/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52019DC0640 https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/european-industrial-strategy_en

49

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL AND ITS FUTURE IMPACT ON THE HOME SECTOR

Another important EU initiative under the scope of the Green Deal was the launch of a new version of the Circular Economy Action Plan36, which outlines the establishment of sustainability principles and other suitable means of regulating the following subjects:

THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL AND ITS FUTURE IMPACT ON THE HOME SECTOR

The “Circular Economic Opportunities in the Furniture Sector”37 document produced by the European Environmental Bureau, a strong EU partner in environmental issues (as it is the largest network of environmental NGOs), presents instrument package scenarios to lead the sector to contribute to the circular economy. These instruments include:

Improve product durability, reusability, upgradability, and reparability, addressing the presence of hazardous chemicals in products and increase their energy and resource efficiency;

Extended producer’s responsibility: according to this legal instrument, producers are responsible for the products’ entire life cycle, including their end-of-life. France has already adopted this mechanism for furniture. In Portugal, this instrument is already being applied to end-of-life vehicles, used tyres, electrical and electronic waste, plastic, metal, and glass packaging, used batteries, packaging for medicines and plant protection products, used lubricating oils and paper.

Increase recycled content in products while ensuring their performance and safety; Enable remanufacturing and high-quality recycling; Reduce carbon and environmental footprints; Restrict single-use and prevent premature obsolescence;

Determining the compulsory nature of specific ecodesign measures in terms of durability, repairability and recyclability.

Ban the destruction of unsold durable goods;

Including mandatory criteria in public procurement that promotes the reuse and acquisition of remanufactured home sector products.

Promote “product-as-a-service” or other models where producers keep the ownership of the product or the responsibility for its performance throughout its lifecycle;

Tight restrictions on the use of potentially hazardous chemicals, mainly due to the constraints they place on the potential reuse or recycling of the products in the future.

Mobilise the potential of digitalisation of product information, including solutions such as digital passports, tagging and watermarks; Reward products based on their outstanding sustainability performance, mainly by linking their high-performance levels to incentives.

According to this plan, priority is given to product groups identified in certain value chains, such as electronics, ICT, and textiles, as well as furniture and high impact intermediary products such as steel, cement, and chemicals.

36

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:9903b325-6388-11ea-b735-01aa75ed71a1.0022.02/DOC_1&format=PDF

50

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

The same document also suggests creating a voluntary Green Furniture Mark, aimed at providing consumers with access to a simple means of assessing the circularity of the product, using a previously established approach, like the used for energy efficiency, rated from A to G. Beginning at a basic level of eco-design requirements (G) up to a circular ‘excellent’ level (A).

Bearing in mind the historical developments in European environmental policies regarding a series of product and sectors, adopting measures such as these for the furniture sector is a natural step that entrepreneurs must be prepared for or indeed anticipate.

37

https://eeb.org/publications/80/product-policy/51266/report-on-the-circular-economy-in-the-furniture-sector.pdf

51

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Roadmap for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector The following roadmap is a support tool for analysing and planning the best practice measures in companies to benefit the circular economy. Companies can assess the development state of each measure or define a time horizon to implement them, thus creating a working basis to plan the company’s sustainability strategy.

Current situation

Measures

To be mplemented in 6 months

To be implemented in 1 year

To be implemented in the medium term

MANAGEMENT Management System, Environmental Footprint and Environmental Accounting Implement an environmental management system Certification of the environmental management system according to ISO 14001 or EMAS. Obtain a licence to use the European Ecolabel Matrix of the analysis of the suppliers’ environmental performance Environmental product declarations Product environmental footprint

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA

R&D Promote or integrate projects with technological centres and universities (to develop sustainable solutions in the scope of the circular economy) Complete digitalisation of administrative processes Use IT tools for the design, the models, and the prototypes

Commercial Rent equipment hours on underused company equipment Rent equipment hours from underused equipment in another company Selling product services through rental or leasing Outsource specialities (CNC, cutting, specialised carpentry…)

Energy Conduct energy audits

Prefer energy sources that minimise harmful emissions during the pre-production, production, distribution, and utilisation stages

Company environmental footprint

Prefer energy microgeneration (ex. solar panels, biomass boilers)

Develop a Sustainability Budget (Cost-Benefit of investments in sustainability)

Product carbon footprint

52

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Company carbon footprint

53

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA

Monitoring process efficiency Regularly monitor the material and energy productivity of products (shipped product weight / raw material acquired; the weight of shipped product/ energy used)

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA Ensure that incompatible materials can be separated easily Prefer materials with a smaller carbon footprint (less energy in their production means less energy in their transport)

Monitor waste production and management costs

Prefer materials with a low water footprint (less water in their production)

Monitor water consumption separately

Prefer to use materials/ subproducts from other industrial processes (industrial symbiosis)

Calculate the use of materials and the generation of waste by process/company section

PRODUCT DESIGN / DEVELOPMENT Materials Prefer abundant, renewable resources Prefer recycled and recyclable resources Prefer sustainably produced resources

Minimise the use of materials in product development Choose durable materials that assure the performance and useful life of the product Minimise material variety in the product and its components Use compatible materials in the same product (to not compromise its recyclability)

APIMA

Choose compatible recycling materials and fixing systems Choose light materials and components Use more resistant materials for parts that are more subject to wear and tear or damage Avoid using permanent, nonrenewable materials (e.g., metal) for temporary functions Eliminate the use of toxic and carcinogenic products

Prefer single-material products

54

Prefer materials that need no additional surface treatment or painting

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Minimise or eliminate the use of heavy metals such as nickel, chromium, zinc, etc.

Prefer alternatives to leather tanned with chromium, such as naturally tanned leather, Ultrasuede or other synthetic fabrics.

Use environmentally certified fabrics (examples of low impact resources) Use cotton from sustainable production

55

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA

Minimise the amount of fabric used in the product

Assess the possibility of using natural fillings or those that are biodegradable/ easily recycled.

When using a polyester filling, prefer recycled polyester

Design products that can easily be assembled in the place of use

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA

Design for modularity scalability and adaptability Design for the reuse of spare parts Design for durability (mainly to ensure a second use)

Components Use standard, remanufactured components Avoid using components or parts that are not strictly functional Design all the various components for the same durability Allow and ease the separation of parts with different useful lives Use adhesives, labels, surface coatings, pigments that can withstand cleaning during the useful life of the product Use washable fabrics and replaceable covers

Design to ease maintenance Design to easing onsite repair Reduce the weight, optimising the design. Especially when the furniture is frequently moved or travel long distances Using joint systems and elements that are identical to or compatible with the materials and components t o be joined Ensure that the fittings and the fixing elements are easily accessible Ease parts’ replacement, simplifying accessibility and removal

Product Prefer timeless design Prefer multifunctional product design (one product/ several functions)

Ease the removal and replacement of fast-wearing parts

Prefer a modular, reconfigurable and/or multifunctional product design

Ease the removal and replacement of parts that are more likely to be damaged

Design standard parts and components for all products

Ease the removal and replacement of fittings

Design products with components that are easy to replace

56

APIMA

Ease accessibility and removal of parts and components that can be reused

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Minimise the number of fixing element

57

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA Minimise the number of fixing elements that need different tools for removal Use self-tapping screws in polymer components, avoiding the addition of metal components Mark all the plastic materials with identification symbols to help in recycling Place unrecyclable parts in an area from where they can be easily removed and disposed of Ensure fast, safe separation of the plastics from each other and metals, without crosscontamination Include systems for analysis and/or self-analysis of components for maintenance or repair Design to ease component upgrading (replace with more advanced technological components) Design structural parts that can be separated from the visible parts Assure that packaging is as light as possible Use reusable/ biodegradable (zero waste) packaging material Minimise or eliminate the use of plastic in packaging

Design standard parts and components for all products

APIMA

Provide maintenance instructions with the product Provide repair instructions with the product (simplify the acquisition of the repairing material) Design for durability (mainly to ensure a second use) Provide instructions with the product for scalability and adaptability (simplify the acquisition of equipment for these purposes)

PRODUCTION Production organisation Adopt a Cleaner Production strategy (continuous improvement in processes and products to reduce their impacts on health and the environment) Prefer the fewer possible production stages Design production processes to minimise waste and scrap Design the entire operation's layout, ensuring internal recovery of the production waste generated (for energy production, incorporation into the product, etc.)

Ensure the recovery of waste that cannot be recovered internally

Ensure the simplicity, uniformity, and clarity of disassembly instructions

58

Ensure that (dis)assembly can be done using simple tools

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA

Use simulation systems to optimise the parameters of the manufacturing process Monitor manufacturing processes (to continuously improve efficiency)

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

59

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA Design for more efficient use of maintenance materials Design systems for easy recovery of waste materials

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA

Energy Prefer natural lighting Use energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and light systems in the workplace

Optimise component tests Use energy-efficient e quipment in production

Finishes Assess the need to apply surface treatments Prefer surface treatments with lower impact (e.g., water-based) Concentrate pollutants and hazardous materials for easy removal and treatment Monitor the consumption of thinners and cleaning solvents

Assembly/disassembly Maintain stability and placement of parts throughout assembly/ disassembly Minimise the number of tools required for assembly/ disassembly Minimise destructive disassembly and its effects

Ensure accurate power factors for electrical equipment Ensure upgrading and maintenance of motors and engines Use residual heat from processes to preheat other flows in other processes (use of an energy cascade) Allow staff to turn systems off, partially or totally

Water Prefer dry processes

Recirculate the water used in the processes

LOGISTICS Purchases Optimise batch purchase volumes according to needs forecasting (using IT)

Avoid the use of gluing

Minimise the number and duration of separation operations

Matrix of the analysis on the suppliers' environmental performance

Minimise the number of service and inspection tools

Prefer the acquisition of local and/or regional raw materials

60

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

61

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA

Prefer the acquisition of certified wood through the Forest Stewardship Council® certification system and/ or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFCTM)

Warehouse Optimise stock control systems (using IT) Protect products from dirt, corrosion and wear and tear Create a section for returned products so that the material and components can be reused Monitor packaging materials and packaging weight

Unpacking Reuse packaging materials from the raw materials and components acquired

Waste storage Assure waste separation by type and destination Minimise space occupation and ease waste stacking Compress waste that can be compressed (cardboard, plastic, etc., separately)

Prefer means of transport with lower emissions

MARKETING & SALES Marketing - product Announce and publicise environmental certificates and licences (Environmental Management System, Ecolabel, Environmental Product Declaration, etc.)

Disclose the benefits of using wood over other materials such as CO2 sequestration and the contribution of certified production to biodiversity Advertise durability and reliability(warranty) Provide information on the correct use of the product to ensure its durability Advertise ease of maintenance and repair Advertise upgradability and adaptability Advertise the integration and optimisation of functions (components) Advertise the standardisation and compatibility Advertise the product’s modular structure

Advertise ease of disassembly and reassembly

Transport Minimise products' weight for handling or transport

Advertise environmental aspects in catalogues and instruction manuals

Optimise storage of components and parts to be shipped and store products in a compact form

Advertise environmental aspects on the product packaging

62

APIMA

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

63

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA Inform customers on what to do at the product's end-of-life Include labels and instructions for safe handling of toxic materials Indicate the presence of materials that could be toxic or harmful under certain conditions Collect market information on the final customer's consumption habits (direct information via salespeople/ market studies)

Marketing - institucional Develop and publish sustainability reports Use the company website as a significant means of communicating a position with environmental concerns - best practices, product and process certification, events

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA Perform periodic publications in magazines dedicated to the environment, management, and sustainability

Product sales and after-sales service Offer a service that collects used furniture when delivering the new Ease the upgrade of components that can undergo quick changes Create a basic maintenance kit for furniture Increase the product's duration by selling maintenance, cleaning, and restoration services Sell a service – an alternative to product ownership Provide a furniture rental service Provide a furniture leasing service

HUMAN RESOURCES Advertise environmental aspects and initiatives to the benefit of the circular economy in all means of communication, mainly social media Advertise environmental aspects and initiatives to the benefit of the circular economy when participating in sector trade shows Participate in workshops and events about sustainability and circular economy Participate in forums, blogs, online discussion groups related to sustainability issues Advertise the certification of environmental and energy management systems

64

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Training/Awareness Assure regular training for staff regarding sustainability and the circular economy

Train staff to save energy while using equipment

Assure constant awarenessraising regarding best practices (signs, in-house notices, social media, etc.)

Assure designer training on environmental criteria in product design (ecodesign)

65

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

O PACTO ECOLÓGICO EUROPEU E O FUTURO IMPACTO NA FILEIRA CASA

Assure regular training for influencers (architects, engineers, designers) on the benefits of wood products regarding durability, sustainability, and the circular economy

Cleaner production Develop an incentive or award system for best ideas to promote continuous improvements in best practices each year

ANNEX I

Potential environmental impacts associated with the materials used in the home sector MATERIAL

ISSUE/ ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Wood from unmanaged forests or with unsustainable management.

Solid wood

This Roadmap was issued with the support of the following documents: Relatório “Ecodesign Guidelines” do projeto Ecomovel [ecomovel.eu/conteudos/File/ GUIDELINES_ECOMOVEL PT.pdf] Ana Mestre & Tim Cooper (2017) Circular Product Design. A Multiple Loops Life Cycle Design Approach for the Circular Economy, The Design Journal, 20:sup1, S1620-S1635, DOI: 10.1080/14606925.2017.1352686 EFIC, s.d. The Furniture Industry and the Circular Economy - Policy paper.[https://www. pusch.ch/fileadmin/kundendaten/de/Unternehmen/Furniture_Industry_And_Circular_ Economy_Policy_Paper_EFIC.pdf] Barbaritano, Marica; Bravi, Laura; Savelli, Elisabetta. 2019. “Sustainability and Quality Management in the Italian Luxury Furniture Sector: A Circular Economy Perspective” Sustainability 11, no. 11: 3089. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113089

Use of pesticides in forest production.

Wood treatment with flame retardants and fungicides.

Wood-based products (Particleboard, plywood, MDF, OSB)

Resins used to manufacture wood-based products are mainly formaldehyde-based due to their high reactivity and low cost. The United Nations International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies this substance as a carcinogenic agent.

Depletion of non-renewable resources.

Metals (aluminium, stainless steel, iron)

Contamination of water sources during extraction (bauxite for aluminium and iron ore) and dust and noise emissions.

Manufacture: energy consumption, the release of heavy metals, emission of dust, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide.

Surface treatment (galvanisation, painting, lacquering, enamelling): emission of heavy metals and other compounds.

Telenko, C., O’Rourke, J. M., Conner Seepersad, C., and Webber, M. E. (January 13, 2016). “A Compilation of Design for Environment Guidelines.” ASME. J. Mech. Des. March 2016; 138(3): 031102. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4032095

Depletion of non-renewable resources.

Energy consumption.

Use of hazardous substances as additives (stabilisers, plasticisers, or flame retardants).

Plastics

Release of hazardous substances in the production and treatment of plastic waste.

Emission of hydrofluorocarbons (HCFC) that can deplete the ozone layer and have other harmful effects on the environment and human health.

Harmful effects of microplastics in the food chain.

Growing phase (in natural fibres): use of pesticides.

Textiles and leather

66

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

67

APIMA

Production phase (in synthetic fibres): emission of volatile organic compounds into the environment.

Treatment of fibres and hides (to produce leather): emission of colourings, pigments, fungicides (e.g., chromium compounds), chlorinated compounds, brominated flame retardants into water.

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

Upholstery and filling materials - polyurethane and latex foams Coating surfaces used as protection (wood preservation, anti-corrosion, heat resistance) or decoration: colour, gloss, transparency Glues and adhesives (used in assembling furniture)

Packaging

Production processes use hazardous and toxic substances (present in the materials).

Formaldehyde emissions.

ANNEX II APIMA associates survey

Emissions of VOC and toxic substances (mainly heavy metals).

Spillage/waste of liquid and powder finishes.

Emissions arising from metal galvanisation.

Solvent content in glues (VOC emissions).

Other hazardous substances.

Impacts related to material production (e.g., plastics, wood-based products).

Impacts associated with packaging waste.

68

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

69

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

70

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

71

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

72

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

73

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

74

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

75

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector

76

APIMA

Best Practices Guide for the Circular Economy in the Home Sector