Objective of the Tool
The Circular Ecosystem Value Wheel helps organisations analyse how value is created, circulated, and captured across the broader ecosystem supporting a circular business model. The tool enables companies to map the actors involved in different lifecycle stages, identify their activities and resources, and understand how value flows between them. It supports organisations in designing circular solutions that rely on coordinated ecosystem collaboration rather than isolated firm-level initiatives.
What the Tool Is
The Circular Ecosystem Value Wheel is an ecosystem mapping tool used to visualise how value is generated and circulated across multiple actors involved in circular product lifecycles. It structures ecosystem analysis around lifecycle stages such as raw material sourcing, production, distribution, use, collection, refurbishment, and recycling. It helps organisations identify which actors participate in these stages, what resources and activities they contribute, and how value is created and captured through collaboration.
When to Use the Tool
The Circular Ecosystem Value Wheel is particularly useful when organisations are designing or scaling circular business models that depend on ecosystem coordination. It can be used when companies are:
Mapping ecosystem actors involved in circular value creation
Designing reverse logistics or recovery systems
Building partnerships for refurbishment, reuse, or recycling
Understanding value distribution across the circular ecosystem
Preparing collaborative pilots or ecosystem experiments
Identifying gaps or bottlenecks in circular value chains
How to Use the Tool
Step 1 – Start with the ecosystem value proposition: What is the value proposition that is binding all the actors of the ecosystem?
Step 2 – Identify Ecosystem Actors: Map the actors participating in each lifecycle stage, including suppliers, manufacturers, logistics providers, repair partners, recyclers, and digital infrastructure providers.
Step 3 – Identify Activities: Define the key activities each actor performs within the lifecycle stage.
Step 4 – Identify Resources: Identify the resources required by each actor to perform these activities.
Step 5 – Analyse Value Creation: Examine how value is created by each identified actor to support the ecosystem.
Step 6 – Analyse Value Capture: Identify how each actor captures economic, environmental, or strategic value.
Step 7 – Identify Ecosystem Gaps: Analyse missing actors, weak connections, or coordination challenges.
