Identifying Cost Drivers in Circular Business Model Planning: Insights from an Explorative Interview Study

A growing awareness of sustainability and stricter legal requirements are forcing industrial companies to transition from linear to circular value creation systems. Circular business models are considered essential for keeping products and materials in circulation, and for using resources more efficiently. However, concrete business planning, particularly the economic evaluation of such models, has received little attention in research so far. In the initial planning stages, reliable approaches for estimating the key cost factors for implementation and operation are often lacking. To address this issue, an exploratory interview study was conducted with ten industrial companies introducing or implementing circular business models. A total of 50 cost drivers were identified and categorised under two main headings (investment and operating costs) and 18 subheadings. This structured overview enables companies to consider relevant cost drivers at an early stage and develop realistic business cases. Furthermore, the study provides a foundation for the stronger integration of financial considerations into future research and design approaches within the circular economy. This publication results from a research project funded by the Leading-Edge Cluster, its OWL, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MWIKE NRW). The authors are responsible for its content.