108 5 Result of Analysis and Interpretations
German Quote 62). As stated before it is important to note that this circular economy
approach is only theoretical due to the longevity of products. The end of product
life is expected 10-15 years from now, and the organization has not implemented
a proper concept for the upcoming end of the product life.
To summarize this chapter on the monetary impacts of circular economy im-plementation, it is clear that negative (costs for circulatable material, high R&D
costs) as well as positive (costs for circulatable material, additional revenue) finan-
cial impacts have been identified in the study. While the first aspect, circulatable
material costs, can be positive as well as negative, the second aspect, R&D costs, is
only mentioned in a negative context. Only the third aspect, revenue, has a clear
positive impact. Hence, when looking at monetary impacts, there are more negative
impacts than positive, however it is impossible to tell with the data of this study
if the negative impact is higher than the positive one. To do so, the weighting of
the three aspects need to be known, which wasn’t subject of this study. However,
this is only the monetary perspective and several non-monetary aspects have been
identified which have a clear positive impact on the businesses.
5.2.2 Non-Monetary Aspects of Circular Economy
Trying to find the answer for the question of motivations for engaging in a circu-
lar economy leads not only to monetary aspects, but also to impacts which have
no direct effect on the financial situation of an organization. Data revealed that
organizations see two different non-monetary impacts which both have positive
impacts on businesses. The chapters below provide more details to these aspects,
illustrated in Table 19.
Table 19 List of non-monetary aspects and their impacts for businesses
# Non-Monetary Impact Non-Monetary Sub-Category Effect
1 Competitive advantage positive
2 Reputation Reputation Risk Management negative
3 Reputation Positive Brand Image positive
4 Reputation Brand Trust positive