Samenvatting

Philips strives to make the world healthier and more sustainable through innovation, in both advanced and emerging markets. There are major differences between these worlds, also in healthcare. This is mainly the result of the limited resources in the emerging countries and the lack of availability of highly qualified doctors, which makes it impossible to monitor all the patients for possible diseases (such as pneumonia). For this reason Philips is exploring how to improve this situation by catering for less trained staff with new propositions which will offer decision support. When innovating Philips brings together different disciplines in a sustainable way. This was also the reason for Philips to collaborate in this research assignment. Various departments within Philips were affiliated with the research, notably Philips Design, Philips Research and the Sustainability department (especially for the section circular economy). Philips wants to provide a sustainable solution for the screening and triage of patients by means of the development of a new product.

Given the limited resources in emerging markets and the goal to reduce the number of environmental impacts, it is important that the developed smart health measurement device has a long lifetime, and the life cycle of the product is closed (adhering to circular economy principles). This asks for a circular business model. The current business models are based on the traditional linear consumption pattern. The future of the linear consumption pattern is insecure, because of the rising demand of resources and the increasingly affluent population. Next to this the shift to a more sustainable society is a reason for doing business in a more circular way. A circular business model focusses not only on selling products, but on the whole service around the devices. During the whole lifecycle of the smart devices the manufacturer or provider will be involved and provides service for the good use and maintenance of the products. This system-based approach is an important part in the circular business model for screening and triage devices. The circular economy can be described as a model which replaces the ‘end-of-life’ concept with restoration. It promotes the use of renewable energy, eliminates the use of toxic chemicals (which impair reuse) and aims for the elimination of waste through the superior design of materials, products and systems. There are many building blocks for the development of a circular business model, in particular for the smart screening and triage devices. This report explores Bakker’s five concepts, each useful for the development of a circular business model: the classic business concept (durability devices), the hybrid concept (indispensable service), the gap exploiter concept (local dealers), the access concept (new way of ownership) and the performance concept (pay-for-performance). In addition, this report explores the value creation sources and end-of-life circular
stages of The Ellen MacArthur Foundation. There are four sources of value creation which are part of the building blocks: the power of the inner circle, the power of circling longer, the power of cascaded use and the power of pure cycles. These four together are a solid base for a circular business model and for this reason are part of the research.

Finally, the aspects of The Ellen MacArthur Foundation butterfly focus on all the circular stages (broken, upgrade or end-of-life) of the smart devices. These stages include many aspects, for example: maintenance, reuse/redistribute, refurbish/remanufacture and recycling of the technical materials. These aspects make it possible for Philips to develop a circular and long-term business model. In the longer run Philips wants to expand their business in Africa, starting in a few key countries like Kenya. For this reason it is important to develop a long-term relationship with all the stakeholders and provide a circular business. All these building blocks for the development of a circular business model are described more in detail in this report and are concluded in the final circular business model for the smart health measurement devices.