Method to achieve circular designs of products

Standard Background and Purpose

BS EN 45560:2024, "A Methodology for Circular Product Design," is one of the circular economy standards published by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN/CENELEC). It aims to provide organizations with a systematic approach to integrating circularity into the product design process. This standard emphasizes a life-cycle perspective, optimizing resource utilization efficiency through three principles: minimizing, mitigating, and closing material flows. Reports indicate that approximately 80% of a product's environmental impact is determined during the design phase; therefore, circular design is a key driver for achieving a circular economy. This standard applies to all types of energy-related products (ErP) and can be used in conjunction with the EN 4555X-4556X series standards to assess dimensions such as product durability, repairability, remanufacturability, and recyclability.

---

Key Terms and Core Principles

The standard defines over 60 terms covering circular product design, environment, product resources, recycling, durability, and lifespan extension.

The core principles include: **Narrowing:** Providing the same functionality with less material and energy, such as lightweight design, functional integration, and physical-to-virtual conversion. **Slowing:** Extending product lifespan by improving durability, repairability, and upgradeability, such as modular design, standardized parts, and easily disassembled designs. **Closing:** Reintegrating waste into the economic cycle through strategies such as recycling, remanufacturing, and refurbishment, such as using recyclable materials and designing easily separable structures. These principles are interconnected, and the pros and cons must be weighed during the design process. For example, improving durability may increase material usage or affect repairability; recyclability may be limited by additives.

---

Hierarchy of Material Value

The standard proposes a hierarchy of material value model (Figure 2), which, from highest to lowest, includes: Use less and longer, Use longer, Use again, Recycle, and Energy recovery/landfill. This hierarchy guides organizations to prioritize strategies that minimize value loss. For example, product reuse (such as in the second-hand market) retains more value than refurbishment, and refurbishment is more efficient than remanufacturing. Organizations should choose the appropriate hierarchy based on their business objectives.

---

Standard Framework Comparison Table

Dimensions	Reducing Material Flow	Slowing Down Material Flow	Closing Material Flow
Objectives	Reducing Material Input	Extending Utilization Cycle	Recycling Materials Back to Economy
Typical Strategies	Lightweighting, Functional Integration, Digitalization	Modularization, Ease of Maintenance, Upgrading	Recyclable Design, Remanufacturing, Refurbishment
Key Performance Indicators	Material Strength, Material Usage per Unit Functional Unit	Product Lifespan, Number of Repairs	Recycling Rate, Recycled Material Content
Relevant Standards	EN 45558 (Critical Raw Materials)	EN 45552 (Durability), EN 45554 (Repairability)	EN 45555 (Recyclability), EN 45557 (Recycled Content)
Risk Trade-offs	Potentially Reduced Durability	Potentially Increased Material Costs	Conflict Between Recyclability and Performance

This table summarizes the core differences between the three material flow strategies, allowing organizations to select their focus based on product type.

---

Organizational Transition Requirements

The standard requires organizations to incorporate the circular economy into their vision, mission, and strategy, set specific circular goals (such as "X% of revenue comes from refurbished products"), and establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor progress. The implementation process includes: integrating circular goals, defining business objectives, identifying circular product attributes (such as cleanability, data security, disassembly capability, etc.), constructing a circular design matrix, and deriving design requirements.

For example, for the "refurbishment" business objective, high-priority attributes include **cleaning and sanitizing capabilities**, **data security**, **safe operation**, **disassembly and reassembly**, **modularity**, etc.

---

Circular Product Design Matrix

Figure 5 provides an example matrix that associates 15 circular product attributes (such as user safety, functional performance, material management, life extension, etc.) with 10 business objectives (such as physical to virtual, leasing, repair, remanufacturing, etc.).

The matrix uses dark gray, light gray, and white to represent priorities, helping organizations quickly focus on key design improvement points. For example, for the "parts recycling" goal, key attributes include disassembly capability, modularity, standardization, and durability. When constructing the matrix, organizations can use empirical methods (similar to brainstorming in FMEA) or semi-empirical methods (based on functional analysis) to assign attribute weights to each business objective. Trade-offs and Case Studies The standard emphasizes that trade-off analysis is a core challenge in circular design. Common trade-offs include: Recyclability vs. Material Reduction: For example, ultra-thin aluminum foil saves material but is difficult to recycle. Durability vs. Repairability: Sealed and waterproof designs (such as potting) improve reliability but hinder repair. Performance vs. Cyclicality: High-performance composite materials may reduce recyclability. Case Study 1: Modular Design for Smartphones Fairphone employs a modular architecture, allowing users to easily replace modules such as batteries, screens, and cameras, extending product lifespan (slowing down inventory buildup) and reducing maintenance barriers. However, modularity increases the number of interfaces, potentially impacting reliability and cost. By weighing these trade-offs, Fairphone opted to sacrifice some lightweight design for higher repairability.

Case 2: Appliance Refurbishment Business

. A manufacturer refurbishes returned products and resells them at a discount. The design emphasizes easy-to-clean surfaces, secure data erasure, and standardized tools for disassembly, reducing refurbishment costs. Trade-offs include balancing increased surface treatment costs with refurbishment revenue.

---

Implementation Recommendations

1. High-Level Commitment and Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Circular design requires the joint participation of R&D, procurement, marketing, and supply chain. Establish circular goals and break them down into departmental KPIs.
2. Life Cycle Thinking: Consider all life cycle stages (manufacturing, use, recycling) during the design phase, utilize LCA tools to quantify environmental impact, and identify key trade-offs.
   **Utilize Existing Standards:** Conduct specialized assessments using the EN 4555X-4556X series, such as using EN 45554 to assess repairability and EN 45557 to assess recycling content. **Build a Circular Design Matrix:** For each product category, identify key attributes based on business objectives to create a dynamic matrix as a design guide. **Training and Capacity Building:** Provide circular economy knowledge training to the design team, cultivating skills in modular design, material selection, and disassembly analysis. **User Communication and Feedback:** Provide maintenance guidelines and recycling instructions in product information and utilize digital technologies (such as digital passports) to enhance transparency. **Incremental Improvement:** Start with pilot products and gradually expand. Set phased targets (such as a 30% refurbishment rate by 2025) and review and adjust them regularly.

---

Relationship with Relevant Standards

This standard complements EN IEC 62430 (Environmentally Aware Design), which focuses on a systematic approach to reducing environmental impact, while this document focuses on circularity enhancement. It is also harmonized with international standards such as ISO 59004 (Principles of the Circular Economy) and ISO 59020 (Measurement of Circularity). In terms of assessment methodologies, it relies on the EN 45552-45559 series of standards; for example, durability assessment follows EN 45552, repairability assessment follows EN 45554, and recyclability assessment follows EN 45555.

In summary, BS EN 45560:2024 provides companies with a roadmap to circular design. Through a systematic approach, matrix tools, and trade-off analysis, organizations can significantly improve resource efficiency while maintaining product functionality and safety, contributing to the achievement of global sustainable development goals.