The IMPACT method – TNO and Beter Bed
Circularity is currently receiving a lot of attention and one of the lines of action is to add design for circularity of new, improved products. There is a risk, however, that only (scarce) resources and materials will receive attention. Thinking of this, TNO wanted to develop a valuation method that pays attention to both circularity and sustainability. In that process, TNO came across Beter Bed and noticed they shared the same interest in having a method for evaluating circularity. Beter Bed wanted to improve the design of its beds to a more circular one. The case was developed in parallel with TNO’s own project and to accomplish the new bed design, TNO and Beter Bed worked together with Veldeman Bedding (Belgium), the supplier and designer of the beds on which the IMPACT method was successfully tested.
Valuation method IMPACT
With IMPACT (Integrated Method of Sustainable Product Assessment for Circular Transition) the saving on resources, the reduction of the impact on people and the environment, and the reduction of external economic losses are made visible for a new, more circular product. The IMPACT valuation method is a tool for producers and retailers in various sectors to innovate their products in a circular and sustainable direction. It expresses in figures what savings can be made on resources during the manufacturing process, the degree to which new products are less of a burden on people and the environment, and thirdly, what the economic effects are.
TNO is currently looking for investors, focusing on the manufacturing industry. The application of the IMPACT method represents great potential particularly for circularity valuation of products that combine several different materials in the assembling process.
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