Circular X Accelerator (CXA)

ongoing

Advanced circularity strategies including sufficiency (reuse, refuse) and regeneration have not yet scaled up in business practice. More support is needed to accelerate this transition. The goal of the Circular X Accelerator (CXA) is to develop and scale advanced circular business models. Such business models have the potential to achieve significant environmental impact improvements compared to simply selling products. ERC Circular X pioneered research on experimentation with advanced circular business models. The project developed 3 open access databases covering over 300 business examples, focused on (1) circular business model experimentation, (2) sufficiency and (3) regeneration in business, plus several circular business tools tested and used by business, such as the “Circular Experimentation Workbench”, “Road Ahead Tool” and “Circular Rebound Tool”. These tools and databases are brought together into a “circular business experimentation lab approach”. Advancing the lab idea, the aim of this Proof of Concept (PoC) project is to develop the CXA as an ongoing entity, to be tested in the PoC. The CXA aims to accelerate the uptake of advanced circular business models in business practice, which includes regenerative and sufficiency-oriented business approaches and scaled up approaches. The PoC project will therefore investigate, test and validate the CXA approach in different settings with 5 Work Packages: 1. Investigate the appetite for advanced circular business tools with different user groups in different context 2. Investigate the best knowledge transfer strategy for advanced circular business innovation approaches. 3. Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the CXA 4. Clarify the competitive positioning of the CXA 5. Determine the best form and potential partnerships for the CXA. Advanced circular business innovations are not sufficiently scaled. The CXA will be scrutinised as a vehicle to accelerate these topics in practice.