Today, many companies have ambitious goals related specifically to circular economy and climate impact reductions. These goals require different metrics, that must be integrated both in business, design, and sourcing. Many practitioners given the task lack the knowledge and tools for such integration.
This work illustrates a tool and heuristic for assessing and selecting more circular materials, the “Circular Material Palette Tool (CMPT)”, ) which fulfils needs expressed by large Swedish vehicle OEM and echoed by a number of their suppliers. The CMPT aims to specifically support automotive manufacturers and their suppliers with a focus on choosing vehicle interior materials in the early phases of design and product development.   

The CMPT builds upon four circularity principles: Reduce, Prolong, Regenerate and Close. The principles are divided into several indicators that help assess the circularity. Reduce assesses the usage of resources and emissions during the production and upstream processes for a specific material. Prolong assesses whether a material is reused and the potential for longevity of the material through multiple use -cycles. Regenerate assesses the usage of renewable energy, resources and hinders, such as substances of concern. Finally, Close assesses whether a material consists of recycled ingredients and the potential for a material to be recycled at the end of a component´s functional life. 

The tool enables practitioners to evaluate a material based on these four circular principles and score their indicators in the different levels, green – which represents the highest level of circularity, yellow – middle and red – the lowest level. These different levels are determined by criteria and related thresholds. In that way, the tool facilitates evaluation of a material’s circularity and environmental impact and allows material comparison and choice.
In 2024, the CMPT will be made available in a pilot open-source tool, where OEMs can set up their company-specific palettes based on assessed materials. Moreover, subcontractors and material suppliers can use the CMPT as a means to provide more detailed material data to their customers. In this way, the CMPT can help integrate circular principles into key parts of the value chain.