Fifty companies, four years, thirty workshops, ten barriers identified: the results of the Applied Circular Sustainability Innovation Booster could be told in numbers. The real insight from those four years is this: the circular economy rarely fails because of technology. It fails because of a lack of partnerships, legislation that still reflects linear thinking and business models that nobody has tried before.
The systemic question behind the circular economy
From 2021 to 2024, the booster programme, funded by Innosuisse and led by the Institute of Product Development and Production Technologies (IPP) at the ZHAW School of Engineering, supported more than fifty Swiss companies in their transition from linear to circular business models. Among them were major companies such as Mammut, AMAG, Stöckli and Planzer Transporte, as well as young start-ups including Kuori and Rheiazymes.
Fifty pioneers of the circular economy came together over the course of more than thirty workshops. Together, they identified ten key barriers, ranging from regulatory frameworks and new business models to material cycles that need to be closed.
“In our programme, we look for ideas that are not only attractive to an individual company, but also have the potential to transform an entire industry or even whole sectors,” says Adrian Burri, who led the booster. He also emphasises the importance of being able to track and certify material cycles seamlessly beyond the boundaries of individual companies.
Adrian Burri
Head of the Applied Circular Sustainability Innovation Booster, Head of the Institute of Product Development and Production Technologies, ZHAW School of Engineering
“The Open Innovation Challenge provided the spark that led to the establishment of a cross-company association in the medtech sector.”
The role of the ZHAW as an entrepreneurial university
For the ZHAW, the booster demonstrates what is meant when the university describes itself as an “entrepreneurial University”: an institution that not only teaches entrepreneurial thinking, but also that puts it into practice and transfers it within society.
The IPP headed up a consortium comprising seventeen partner organisations, ranging from ETH Zurich and other universities of applied sciences to the Impact Hubs in Basel, Bern and Zurich. The task was not to research and describe the circular economy, but to support companies directly in implementing it through two-day sprints and discussions with experts from four specialist fields.
Three companies, three circular solutions
Mammut set out to make its climbing ropes entirely circular, including a take-back scheme for used ropes. The booster’s support led to the Close the Loop campaign. “The biggest benefit for us was having the opportunity to focus completely, without being distracted by e-mails or other projects, and to use this time specifically to drive our project forwards,” says Sophie Renot, Innovation Manager at Mammut.
The fashion label Neumühle was also looking for a material from which a complete winter jacket could be produced while remaining fully recyclable. Using the plastic PA6 and working together with the recycling partner Aquafil, the company succeeded in establishing a closed material loop, an achievement that was recognised with the German Ecodesign Award.
The most far-reaching impact was seen in the medtech sector. More than twenty companies from the medtech sector jointly examined open questions relating to the selection of materials, logistics and the approval of secondary materials. “The Open Innovation Challenge provided the spark that led to the establishment of a cross-company association in the medtech sector,” says Burri. The challenge gave rise to the Go Circular in Life Science alliance.
What the booster was unable to solve
Four years on, the most significant of the ten identified barriers remains unresolved. Current legislation does not support the circular economy. In many cases, it still stipulates that certain products must be incinerated after use rather than recycled. Individual companies have little influence over this situation, and legislative reform does not currently rank highly on the political agenda.
Another finding also emerged: established companies find it harder to transition to circular models than start-ups, which can plan their structures from scratch. Large companies seeking to make the switch are more likely to reach the limits of their own business models.
Thinking circularly requires a willingness to fail
The booster provided the initial impetus. What happens next now depends on the companies themselves. For Adrian Burri, one insight goes beyond the individual projects: the circular economy cannot succeed without pioneers who are allowed to fail, nor without structures capable of turning unsuccessful attempts into the next idea. Whether Switzerland has enough of them remains to be seen.
Adapted from Lessons Learned Over 4 Years of Boosting Swiss Circular Economy, March 2025, Applied Circular Sustainability
