Adopting Circular Economy in the Household Appliance industry: an overview of cases

Circular Economy emerged as a tool to achieve sustainable development. The household appliance industry is a promising arena for studying the adoption of Circular Economy. However, literature lacks a thorough systematization of current Circular Economy practices in this industry. Therefore, this study aims to explore how Circular Economy is adopted by the household appliance industry through multiple case studies. Fourteen primary and secondary cases are analyzed, mapping: the 4R strategies of reduce, reuse, remanufacture and recycle; the levers adopted; the role of digital 4.0 technologies as enablers. The analysis confirmed the 4R hierarchy, even though cascading is still not widespread. Servitised business models turn out to be the most used lever. IoT, Big Data & Analytics emerged as enablers especially in the service field. Although preliminary, this exploratory research lays the foundation for a stronger and more systemic understanding of the adoption of Circular Economy in the household appliance industry.