Formulate ambitions & call for proposal

High performance with regard to the circular economy starts with defining a clear ambition for your procurement project. Build on the ambitions and policies of your organisation and refine them for the product group you are procuring. For instance, are you aiming to reduce the use of raw materials, or do you want to maximise the value of residual flows?

CircularIQ has developed a model to support this process. This model – illustrated in the figure below – represents five possible circular objectives for procurement projects (A to E). A choice for one or more objectives leads to various possible strategies (for example A1 to A5). Find an objective and a strategy that fits the product group you want to procure. On the basis of these objectives you can measure the impact of your procurement once the contract has been awarded.

Five possible circular objectives, including possible related strategies, as defined by CircularIQ. Source: CircularIQ (2018)

A lot of calls for proposal are mainly based on technical specifications with the client dictating the required product specifications. If you want to make your specifications more functional, you must begin by thoroughly exploring the deeper needs of your organisation. The use of functional specifications opens up opportunities to reach innovative and often more circular solutions. These innovative solutions were not prescribed but they do better fit the client’s needs.

For example, in your search for a healthy office environment you can either opt for a technical specification (“an office of 2,500 m2 with measures X, Y and Z”) or use a functional specification (“a healthy working environment for 500 employees”). Functional specifications allow contractors to include the most recent developments and use their own creativity to fulfil the client’s needs.

In veel sectoren wordt op dit moment gewerkt aan de transitie naar een circulaire economie. Steeds meer marktpartijen hebben eerste ervaringen en zijn al aan de slag. Vanuit de Rijksoverheid worden steeds meer richtinggevende strategieën opgesteld, die richting geven aan het meer circulair maken van een bepaalde categorie. Denk bijvoorbeeld aan de strategie Naar een circulaire kantoorinrichting of de strategie duurzaam_inkopen_door_de_rijksoverheid_-_naar_een_circulaire_categorie_catering.