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Improving data collection across the value chain is an important first step . Digital tools , such as the Internet of Things ( IoT ), allow businesses to harvest accurate baseline performance data to identify operational strengths and weaknesses . Tracking material and product data throughout their lifecycle should feed into this ; knowing where and how products are made and processed after use can help to reduce risks , waste , and costs . Leveraging this insight at the point of specification and design will ensure whole life costing is better informed and allow businesses to consider how a product ’ s end of use requirements can become more sustainable . For instance , is there scope to reconfigure , reuse or recycle the product effectively ?
In the building sector , this approach is readily adopted in offsite manufacturing . Here , business operations focus on driving high-level productivity whilst minimizing waste and emissions . Building components are cut to size through precision manufacturing to limit offcuts or inaccuracies that would require more energy to fix or replace parts . To achieve circularity , new rental modular building solutions are typically produced from existing stock that is reused and reconfigured to meet the new demand . For example , modules once used to create a medical discharge facility could be repurposed as classrooms or offices . Operating in this way allows circularity to be invested across the supply chain with organizations able to lease sustainable buildings on a short- or long-term basis .
Moving to a circular business model will also require products to be redesigned for greater longevity , and necessitate an assessment of materials or products that can be refurbished or remanufactured successfully . This goes hand in hand with supplier engagement . Businesses should consider building circular supply chains , which invest in low-emission , reusable materials , assets , and practices across an interconnected network of suppliers , consumers and partners . In offsite manufacturing , this is achieved by investing in materials such as plasterboard , which is comprised of recycled and recyclable matter , and collaborating with partners that recycle by-products . For
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