Open AccessArticle

Proposal for a Circular Product Development Model Applied to Packaging

Samuel João

Marcell Mariano Corrêa Maceno

and

Aliny Kelly Antonelo

Production Engineering Post-Graduate Programme, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba 80060-000, PR, Brazil

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sustainability 2025, 17(1), 206; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010206

Submission received: 17 September 2024 / Revised: 26 November 2024 / Accepted: 28 December 2024 / Published: 30 December 2024

(This article belongs to the Section Sustainable Products and Services)

Download

Browse Figures

Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

Adopting the circular economy can drive significant cultural and organizational changes, providing important benefits such as cost improvement, innovation, new market opportunities, quality improvement, market acceptance, and legal compliance. This paper proposes a circular product development model for packaging to integrate circular economy principles into the traditional product development process. Firstly, a systematic literature review was made to identify relevant guidelines, strategies, practices, and initiatives related to circular economy and product development and understand how they could be integrated into the stages of the product development process. These circular practices, initiatives, and strategies were incorporated into the Rozenfeld model, creating a Circular Product Development Model proposed in this study (C-PDM). This model was tested through a case study in the packaging industry located in the Curitiba region—Brazil, identifying the opportunity to incorporate 18 circular practices into the product development process. The study concludes by highlighting the potential contribution of this model to the packaging market, particularly in supporting the circular development of products, thus aligning with the broader goals of sustainability and economic efficiency.

Keywords:

circular economy; product development model; package

1. Introduction

The linear economy is driven by consumption and operates on a linear flow based on extraction, production, use, and disposal, requiring large amounts of natural resources. This excessive consumption of natural resources can compromise the needs of future generations, demanding efforts toward a more sustainable economy [1,2,3,4].

Thus, the Circular Economy (CE) emerges, characterized by being restorative and regenerative [1,5]. The circular economy focuses on dissociating economic growth from the consumption of natural resources, striving to maintain the highest level of utility for products and materials while regenerating ecosystems and employing practices such as reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling [1,5].

Institutions, especially industries, have directed CE practices to the Product Development Process (PDP) to systematically increase environmental performance and take advantage of the transition benefits. This includes adopting methods that make it possible to integrate circular strategies, tools, and metrics for product development [4,6,7,8,9].

The product development process seeks to meet customer needs and expectations, taking into account technological constraints. The PDP is essential for pursuing and implementing the CE [5]. However, it demands adaptations to link circular practices, organizational processes, and products [2,4].

Products aim to meet market needs. However, they are complex and evolve constantly [4]. Each type of product has specific characteristics that require tailored approaches. For example, an appliance has different environmental needs than a piece of clothing. To effectively comply with regulations and meet consumer expectations regarding sustainability, designers and developers must be prepared to review and adjust their strategies. This involves considering the particularities of each product and the ongoing need to update their processes [10].

It is worth noting that all products, goods, and services generate environmental impacts, whether related to the consumption of natural resources or the emission of pollutants into the air, water, and soil [4,9]. This is the case for packaging, generally composed of paper, cardboard, plastics, glass, wood, and metal. For many years, the amount of discarded packaging after use has been increasing significantly and attracting attention [9,11]. Packaging plays an essential role in the economy, with functions including transportation, storage, food preservation, protection, and communication, helping producers to recognize their brands and distinguish their products [11].

Given the relevance of the topic and as a way of integrating the circular economy into companies, we propose a circular product development model be applied to packaging.

The current theme also presents a literature gap regarding the lack of comprehensive circular product development models. In other words, most studies address CE practices in certain phases and stages of the product development process in depth but in isolation [12,13]. Another point is that traditional product development models, although comprehensive in their stages, do not address circular economy practices [14]. Furthermore, when there are attempts to address circular practices, their findings are superficial and do not explain how to integrate circular practices into the stages of product development, which is a novelty of this work [11].

Few comprehensive product development models address circularity in packaging development in the current literature [8]. Furthermore, these approaches are specific and often developed case-by-case, depending on product applications. This is because products such as packaging are generally designed to meet market demands, perform different functions, and align with recycling strategies. Consequently, developing product development models focused on packaging that integrate the circular economy is seen as necessary.

2. Methodology

The methodology used in this work is organized into five steps: (1) research into the circular practices obtained from the articles and documents analyzed in the SLR; (2) link between circular practices identified in step one and the phases of product development models (PDM); (3) selection the reference product development model; (4) presentation of the proposed Circular Product Development Model (C-PDM); and finally (5) application of the C-PDM in a case study.

2.1. Research into Circular Practices

The Systematic Literature Review (SLR), based on Conforto et al. (2011) [15], was used as a method to identify circular practices and initiatives, as well as the product development phases and stages related to them [4,5]. The adoption of the Conforto et al. (2011) framework is because it provides a clear process structure with steps that ensure the reproducibility of results [15].

This framework comprises input or planning, processing, and output or analysis. The problem, strings, databases, period, and inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined in the first step. These definitions are presented in Table 1.

The systematic literature review began with a total of 1567 articles. After removing seven duplicates, the number was reduced to 1560. The exclusion of articles available only in English led to a decrease to 1430 articles (Figure 1).

In the sequence, an analysis of the titles and abstracts of the 1430 articles was conducted, aiming to identify those that presented a product development model, structural framework, or a product development process with clearly defined stages. In general, most of the articles mention circular practices. Consequently, this analysis resulted in the selection of 126 articles (Figure 1).

Finally, an analysis of the full content of the 126 articles allowed us to select only those that presented a framework, a defined structure, or processes with stages in addition to circular practices. Thus, 83 relevant studies were reached (Figure 1).

Additionally, the SLR protocol was expanded to Google Scholar to explore documents in addition to the Scopus findings, such as guidelines and standards (Table 2). The Google Scholar database offers various sources that may not be available in Scopus, and it is considered an efficient engine for finding grey literature [16,17] n Action Plan for the CE, and Ellen Macarthur Foundation (EMF).

The main documents obtained from SLR are presented in Table 2, encompassing, on the one hand, the findings of Google Scholar and, on the other hand, an article closely related to the objective of this research. The other documents that complete the list of 83 findings are not presented in Table 2, as these studies address CE practices in certain phases and stages of the product development process in-depth but in isolation [5]. However, all documents are used for the analysis. It is worth mentioning that the complete list of documents found in SLR and analyzed is available in João and Maceno (2021) [5].

Guidelines, practices, initiatives, and strategies were analyzed to identify the relationship and understand which stages of the product development process could be integrated, considering the articles and documents in the SLR that addressed the theme of CE (Table 3).

Furthermore, when the search restricted the findings applied to packaging, a similar grouping was performed, presented in Table 4.

These relationships served as a basis for constructing the circular product development model focused on packaging proposed in this study.

2.2. The Reference Product Development Model

The circular practices and initiatives identified in the literature were integrated into a selected reference product development model. A literature review of existing traditional product development models was necessary for selection. However, Oliveira et al. (2018) conducted a similar review and proposed a development model for digital books through a product development literature review and interviews with experts [18,19].

Among the traditional product development models, Oliveira et al. (2019) [18] observed different approaches with emphasis on other areas according to the specialty of each author investigated. The authors listed all the steps of the models and submitted them for validation by the experts selected. As a result, a list of 44 stages was defined, grouped into 13 phases and three macro phases that address the entire product development process. They addressed several development models, but the reference model developed by Rozenfeld et al. (2006) was one of the most cited, presenting excellent coverage in its phases and stages [18,19]. The Rozenfeld model [23], widely used in the product development literature, has shown substantial similarity with the product development model addressed by Ulrich and Eppinger (2008) [14], which is another PDM widely used and cited in the literature. Furthermore, the Rozenfeld model was often found in the documents selected by the SLR in this study. Thus, the reference product development model proposed by Rozenfeld et al. (2006) was chosen to integrate the circular strategies, practices, and initiatives deprecated from the literature [23].

2.3. The Circular Product Development Model (C-PDM)

In this step, the guidelines, circular practices, initiatives, and strategies analyzed in Section 2.2 were integrated into the phases and stages of the macro phases of Pre-development, Development, and Post-development of the Rozenfeld model. The proposal for integration is detailed in Topic 3, Results, encompassing all phases of the reference product development model, from Strategic Product Planning (SPP) to Product Withdrawal (PW).

2.4. The Case Study of Company X

A case study was conducted to test the application of the C-PDM. The company is a packaging company located in the metropolitan region of Curitiba, Brazil. This company manufactures packaging for various uses and companies in different activity segments.

Field visits and meetings with manufacturing company representatives focused on packaging made from polymers, paper, and steel. Participants included the authors of this research, the CEO, and managers from the manufacturing and commercial areas. The initial visit aimed to present the C-PDM and discuss its application to actual demand. In the sequence, visits were made to map the PDP of the company. After that, a semi-structured form was created using Google Forms and sent to the organization, which was directed to the coordinator and a research analyst. The data collected during the visits and by the forms were used to compare to the C-PDM. Finally, feedback was provided with opportunities to implement circular practices and to adapt the company’s PDP towards a circular product development process (C-PDP) structure.

3. Results

3.1. Proposal of the Circular Product Development Model (C-PDM)

The circular product development model proposed in this research considered integrating practices and as many circular strategies as possible during the phases and stages of product development (Figure 2).

The C-PDM (Figure 3) uses two distinct approaches at the beginning of the process. These approaches refer to two process flow alternatives, and the development team must choose the one that best fits their organization’s reality. The proposal aims to cover the different realities of processes and organizations, from companies developing products on demand based on already-defined concepts to those that seek to adopt innovation throughout the process, especially in the early stages of development.

To assist in the choice, it was defined that the first alternative refers to the development flow focused on “innovation” in which the tools of Design Thinking (DT) and the steps of the reference PDM are employed, which can be adopted from the beginning, that is, already in the SPP and PP phases. The DT was adopted because it presents an approach that stimulates thinking and dealing with problems in search of new ideas and solutions, focusing on empathy, collaboration, and experimentation [24]. The DT tools enable innovation processes [25], which can be accelerated considering the joint use of sustainable approaches, such as CE practices.

The second alternative refers to the development flow oriented to Make-to-Order (MTO), which is when the development occurs specifically to serve a client that generally already has a concept of the product developed. In this case, the initial stages of SPP and PP are replaced by preparing a commercial proposal obtained from drawings, samples of already developed products, and specifications provided by the customer.

The main difference between the two alternatives is in the initial stages. Throughout the process, starting from the CP phase, the activities and process steps are similar, joining the two flows.

In general, the model uses the circular economy strategies and practices recommended by the European Union’s Action Plan for the Circular Economy [22], the Guide CIRCit Norden [20], circular practices and strategies for product development by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation [21], and circular economy practices obtained from the SLR.

The circular economy strategies and practices became part of the phases and stages of the pre-development (PreDMP), development (DMP), and post-development macro phases (PostDMP) of the reference product development model (Rozenfeld model) [23]. The integration proposal is presented and detailed in the sequence, comprising all phases of the reference PDM, from Strategic Product Planning (SPP) to Product Withdrawal (PW).

3.2. Circular Practices Applied for PreDMP

The pre-development focuses on the SPP and PP [4]. It has activities like defining the scope and describing the intended outcomes, product constraints, timelines, activities and resources, budget, market analysis, supplier development, and analysis of emerging technologies [4,14,23]. It is worth noting that the decision on which circular strategy to adopt should generally occur in the early stages of the PDP [9,20,26,27,28,29,30,31]. Ulrich and Eppinger (2008) [14] state that adopting circular strategies should occur in the initial design and development stages, starting from the planning phase and extending to the system-level design (Figure 4), similar to the conceptual project phase in the Rozenfeld model [23].

It is important to highlight that integrating circular practices and strategies in the early stages of the product development process is a priority, as they typically account for around 80% of the product’s total environmental impact throughout its lifecycle. In other words, it is understood that incorporating circular and sustainable solutions in subsequent phases of the PDP is more challenging, which consequently impacts efforts to improve the environmental performance of new products [10,31,32].

In this context, Table 5 presents the circular practices linked to the pre-development macro phase. The legend used in this table describes the steps of the Rozenfeld model.

Industrial symbiosis (Cascading): cascading is characterized by the reassimilation of waste as material resources in production processes [33]. This practice is one of the principles of a circular economy, and it is related to the planning phase [4,32,33]. It needs a study to analyze which waste materials can be utilized, as well as their characteristics and requirements [18,33]. The waste to be reassimilated can originate from the production process of the company implementing the practice or from other companies. In the latter case, the partner company must be located close to the company receiving the waste [4].

Product-Service System (PSS): The PSS can be adopted when: (i) the product is sold, and the manufacturing company offers the customer additional services that help maintain the product’s functional performance; (ii) the customer pays for the availability or use of the product without owning it; and (iii) the customer pays for the outcome but does not take possession of the product [4,20]. Some benefits of adopting PSS include improvements in product design, extending the product’s lifespan, and employing circular strategies [4].

Sharing: part of the reuse strategy is sharing, which works through exchange actions. In this situation, the customer acquires a second-hand product, reducing end-of-life product disposal and maximizing its lifespan. However, reuse and sharing strategies may change the consumption profile, requiring consideration during the product design planning stages [4,10].

Laws and certifications analysis: this refers to identifying legislation, standards, regulations, and certifications. Environmental legislation aims to protect the environment through rules applied to products on the market, as well as to producers and consumers [4,10]. It deals with good practices, obligations, and duties for pollution and product disposal [4].

Functionality of products: several products can be considered waste even before reaching the end of their useful lifespan due to planned and perceived obsolescence. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the ability of the product to perform its function, i.e., evaluating aspects such as usability, useful lifespan, and aesthetics, among others. In this context, it is important to direct product design towards durability, as well as to increase the level of circularity and improve its environmental performance [4,10].

Circular strategies analysis: It is essential to adopt several circular design strategies simultaneously, avoiding losing the focus on product function [4,10,20].

Trade-offs related to circular strategies and practices: trade-offs can be applied when using and implementing circular strategies and practices. In other words, trade-off analysis is essential to identify the impacts of one choice on another and consequently identify compensations and losses arising from them [4,10].

Economic feasibility analysis: this makes reference to controlling and monitoring the product costs and the definition of product price. This means that this practice helps analyze the market’s willingness to buy a circular product [4,20,34].

Drivers to product circularity: the circularity of the product can be improved when adopting and specifying drivers in the planning phase. In other words, it is necessary to analyze (i) features related to the product and market, (ii) management features, (iii) sustainability issues, and (iv) other features like creativity and organizational culture [4,20].

3.3. Circular Practices Applied for DMP

DMP involves the phases of informational project, conceptual project, detailed project, production and product preparation, and product launch. Within these phases, actions occur, such as developing the product’s target specifications, selecting the best design, defining systems, subsystems, and components, defining processes and resources, producing a pilot batch, as well as activities related to launching the product [4,14,35].

In this context, Table 6 presents the circular practices linked to the development phase. The legend used in this table describes the steps of the Rozenfeld model.

Defining circular goals: these goals must be identified and analyzed, considering the product strategy [4,36]. The circularity goals must appear in the initial PDP phases and steps in official documents such as work instructions and procedures [4,37].

LCA and circularity evaluation: the use of circularity evaluation and LCA is useful to obtain environmental comparisons in order to assist life cycle information and support decision-makers [4,18,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47]. The combination of LCA and circularity indicators is essential in decision support because life cycle assessment provides a comprehensive analysis of products, encompassing impacts on human health and ecosystem quality. On the other hand, circularity indicators can assist in the pursuit of improvements in resource use and consumption [4,48].

Design for reuse: this strategy makes reference for the product and components easy to clean and assists in actions in product use. This design must be made before other actions like remanufacturing, maintenance, recycling, recovering, and updating, and it shares practices such as using durable and robust components and materials [4].

Design for recycling: this deals with the application of reprocessing practices. We can quote various examples like (i) the use of recyclable materials; (ii) the use of packaging that can be easily recycled; (iii) the use of materials that can be easily separated; (iv) the adoption of packaging materials with well-known and efficient recycling processes, and with an established market for waste assimilation; (v) the consideration of materials’ toxicity; and (vi) the application of design for modularization to facilitate the separation of product parts and their disassembly [4].

Defining sustainable processes: the production processes need to be designed and implemented with efficient technologies to reduce waste and improve resource utilization [4]. An example is using sensors and automated processes to minimize losses in production processes.

Design for remanufacturing, maintenance, and reconditioning strategies: these strategies aim to ensure that products and their components achieve operational conditions equal to or better than those of similar new products. They also reduce obsolescence and facilitate the processes of disassembly and reassembly of the products [4].

Using materials with durability and robustness: when choosing packaging materials, priority should be given to those with quality, robustness, and durability, as well as those that have a long lifespan and do not degrade during multiple transport [49].

Specifying circular materials (bio-based materials): this involves using natural, biodegradable materials that decompose completely and quickly. Additionally, it includes adopting waste identified as resources and materials from recycling processes [4,49,50]. It is worth noting that one necessary action is the elimination of the use of scarce, toxic, and hazardous materials for humans [4].

Preparation of manuals: this involves the preparation of instruction manuals for the use, maintenance, training, and disposal of the product. Additionally, these documents should provide information on the expected lifespan of the product, guidelines for proper use and handling, and details on locations and addresses for obtaining replacement parts [4].

Product tests and approvals: this pertains to product quality testing, including physical, mechanical, hardware, and software tests. Additionally, it is important to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and legislation identified in earlier stages of the product development process [4].

Using circular materials and sustainable technologies for pilot batch production: technologies from Industry 4.0, such as 3D printing or additive manufacturing using biodegradable, recycled, or recyclable materials, can be considered [51,52,53]. Furthermore, it is important to evaluate the feasibility of reselling products and components produced during testing and validation.

Technical support services for circular products: this involves providing maintenance and repair services for products, as well as offering replacement parts [4]. In other words, these technical assistance services tend to extend the lifespan and circularity of products, provided that prior actions were considered in the product design, such as design for repair and maintenance and product modularization.

Aspects of circularity in transport and distribution processes: this refers to actions such as optimizing transportation routes, reducing the mass and volume of products, and maximizing the use of space in transport vehicles. Additionally, it is important to encourage the adoption of more efficient transportation systems. For example, maritime and rail transport should be prioritized over road transport [4].

Other circular aspects: In addition to the various circular practices presented related to the DMP, some important aspects should also be considered during this phase, including the following: (i) Given the possibility of digitization in product development, it is preferable to create digital prototypes instead of physical ones [4]; (ii) it is important to avoid the use of material mixtures. Material mixtures complicate reuse and especially recycling processes, leading post-use products to require disposal for less valuable purposes [4]; and (iii) it is important to reduce the use of materials in packaging, in line with the concept of dematerialization, eliminating the application of coatings and paints on packaging, and adopting the reuse of packaging for consumer goods [4].

3.4. Circular Practices Applied for PostDMP

The PostDMP aims to follow up on the product’s performance in the market and during production. It includes customer service and technical assistance satisfaction research activities soon after the product’s launch in the market, monitoring the technical and economic performance of the product and process, and sales and environmental impacts throughout the product’s useful life. Moreover, the prediction of product discontinuity, which begins in the development macro phase, effectively occurs when the product no longer fulfills its technical, financial, and strategic functions due to end-of-life, declining financial performance indicators, or issues associated with the brand and image. Finally, the production of products, spare parts, and technical support is concluded, and the activities focus solely on receiving and delivering the products from customers.

In this context, Table 7 presents the circular practices linked to the development phase. The legend used in this table describes the steps of the Rozenfeld model.

Monitor impacts, experience, and consumer perception: the follow-up step aims to generate opportunities for improvement. It monitors impacts related to user perception regarding requirements such as functionality, cost-effectiveness, repairability, and durability, including developing behavioral and market research to verify consumer acceptance [18]. It may include statistical data analysis and consolidation tools, and the literature has already covered consumer behavior research [54].

Collecting data on the product’s usage behavior and performance throughout its life cycle will help uncover latent design errors, improve the product, and add customer demands to upcoming deliveries and developments.

In the design for the share strategy and adoption of PSS systems, the use of systems to record and monitor consumer behavior and performance should be considered. This control reduces damage during the use phase, preserving human safety, the environment, and product life. However, the user must be aware that they are being watched and consider the risks associated with product non-acceptance and customer monitoring, for example.

Circular aspects of product discontinuity: actions such as reverse logistics, reuse, recycling, and proper packaging must be contemplated [18].

3.5. Case Study Results

Aiming to take advantage of the know-how of an organization specialized in packaging development and evaluate the C-PDM, the PDP of a manufacturing company was analyzed. The sequence includes the company’s characterization, the mapping and analysis of the PDP, and the diagnosis of its relationship with the C-PDM proposed in this research.

3.5.1. Characterization of the Company X

The research was applied to a company that manufactures industrial packaging used for the protection, transportation, and storage of different products, acting in various segments such as food and beverage, metalworking, automotive, construction, pulp and paper, textile, steel and aluminum, furniture, pharmaceutical, agribusiness, white goods, and ceramics. Since 2001, Company X emerged from the need to develop and provide packaging solutions in the national and international markets. It is located in the Curitiba Metropolitan Region, Parana, Brazil, and it has a manufacturing park of approximately 13,000 square meters, with 80 employees.

In several shapes, sizes, and thicknesses, these packages are produced in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) or high-density polyethylene (HDPE). They can be pigmented or transparent, printed or not, and customized according to the customer’s needs.

Finally, Company X’s processes are revised and periodically audited by the International Standard Organization (ISO) certifying agencies. They are part of a Quality Management System (QMS) specified by the ISO 9001:2015 standard [55].

3.5.2. PDP Mapping

Company X’s PDP comprises 18 steps (Figure 5). The process begins with capturing market opportunities and prospecting for new products (step 1) in the commercial area, engineering, or R&D.

3.5.3. Diagnosis of the Relationship Between the PDP of Company X and the Theoretical C-PDM

Table 8 and Table 9, detailed in the sequence, compare Company X’s PDP with the C-PDM proposed in this research. Table 8 evaluates the models’ applicability in the following items: type of application, flow orientation (innovation or traditional), and understanding of the traditional phases of development. Meanwhile, Table 8 analyzes the circular practices present.

In the first analysis, the PDP Company X mapped is the make-to-order (MTO) development flow, considering the Company X characteristics. In this case, products are elaborated without the concern of developing different alternatives since the customer requests one that is already defined, and this can also restrict the adoption of circular practices in these phases. To minimize these restrictions and maximize the opportunities for the adoption of circular practices and initiatives in the PDP of Company X, one suggestion is to adopt an alternative and innovative flow, which consists of the use of Design Thinking (DT) tools during the initial phases of development (SPP, PP, IP, and CP), to help in the creation of new propositions and concepts, which may involve the organization’s employees, customers, and end users of the product.

When analyzing the organization’s documents, it was noted that they do not comprise circular practices and initiatives. However, we found examples of adopting circular practices during the first meetings with the organization and by the answers obtained using the form. A list of identified circular practices and initiatives is presented (Table 9).

Seven circular practices, already adopted by company X, were identified and are contemplated in the C-PDM, representing 28% of all the practices in the model of this research. In other words, there is space for the organization to explore the feasibility of adopting another 18 circular practices, as shown in the column “Opportunity” (Table 9).

Concerning traditional development activities, both models also present the presence of the phases of (i) SPP and PP due to the adoption of project management practices; (ii) CP when analyzing the technical availability of developing the new product; (iii) DP, when checking the financial feasibility, from the detailing obtained about resources, specifications, and necessary investments; (iv) PPP, when creating the registration of items in the system, operations, control plans and layout; and, finally, the phase of (v) MPI, when monitoring the production of the product and at the customer, measuring product performance and satisfaction. According to the available documents, the Company X PDP does not include the LP and PW phases. This last absence is because the organization supplies its products to other industries, which will use the packaging for transportation, storage, or conservation until it is finally used and discarded by the end user.

The engineering/R&D area does not conduct research for trend analysis and development of new products to be launched on the market. Consequently, Company X has a PDP called Make-to-Order (MTO). It comprises the initial planning activities by triggering the Engineering/R&D team to analyze the technical and commercial feasibility and prepare a commercial proposal to meet the customer’s needs. In other words, the customer requests an already defined concept product by sending samples manufactured by competitors, drawings, similar products, and specifications. This explains the absence of the LP phase.

Finally, it was concluded that the C-PDM is aligned with the reality of the company, both in terms of the MTO flow and the understanding of the circular practices already adopted by the company. The C-PDM presents high comprehensiveness and adaptability of activities, allowing the application to other products and segments, including packaging. The existence of the alternative flow, oriented to innovation and with the application of Design Thinking (DT), enables the execution of circular practices from the initial stages of development, indicating the exact moment to be employed. Moreover, the C-PDM aims to integrate and describe the circular practices at an operational level of activities and for each of the phases of the product development process, providing the formalization that was missing in the PDP of Company X.

However, we understand that the C-PDM is still theoretical and needs to be adapted to each application and mainly tested in each case.

4. Conclusions

The C-PDM comprises two flow alternatives. The first alternative follows the steps of traditional PDP, the make-to-order, commonly used by the packaging manufacturing industry, starting from the conceptual project. The second alternative uses design thinking tools as a creative method to propose new ideas and solutions from the early stages of development.

The development team chooses between the flow alternatives based on the reality of each organization and product. However, it is argued that adopting flow with design thinking increases the opportunities to maximize circular practices.

The Rozenfeld model was the starting point and basis of the circular product development model created in this research. The reference model does not contemplate steps and activities related to circular economy practices. This is because the topic of CE was not yet common when the Rozenfeld model was created. However, this model is widely used in the literature, being considered comprehensive in terms of the number of steps and activities and adaptable for various applications. Consequently, for this reason, it was selected.

Circular guidelines, strategies, practices, and initiatives, which have emerged significantly since 2016 and have been growing over the years, were derived from scientific articles and the literature or technical documents related to the topic. Therefore, they were identified and addressed in the phases and stages of the Rozenfeld model.

In all, 25 circular practices were integrated into the phases and stages of the Rozenfeld model. Most of them were addressed in the initial stages of development, that is, in the macro phases of pre-development and development. This occurred because the early stages of the PDP typically account for about 80% of the product’s total environmental impact throughout its life cycle. In other words, incorporating circular and sustainable solutions in the later stages of the PDP tends to be more difficult, impacting efforts to improve the environmental performance of new products.

Considering the importance of leveraging market know-how, a case study applied to a packaging manufacturing industry evidenced the affinities and opportunities when the organization’s PDP was confronted with the proposed C-PDM.

Finally, we can highlight the opportunities created by adopting circular practices and initiatives related to the product development process’s initial phases related to the design thinking flow. An example is the adoption of circular product market research, a practice indicated in the stages of SPP. However, the organization has yet to adopt it.

Limitations and Future Work

This work presented the use of LCA and circularity evaluation, tools widely employed in the literature, as circular practices to be adopted during conceptual design [40,56,57]. However, other tools, both derived or not derived, from these two have been developed and could be explored as possible alternatives to the tools cited in the presented circular model.

Product-Service Systems (PSS), considered in the literature as a way to support the transition to a green economy, are presented. Among the possible PSS models, the result-oriented model is cited as the most sustainable [58]. However, some studies suggest that this practice should be applied cautiously and that more discussions on the topic are necessary.

This research tested the application of C-PDM in a packaging industry, but the suggestions for changes to the company’s PDP are still under study and are part of future projects. In this sense, the need for future studies focused on reviewing existing PDPs and implementing adapted PDPs based on C-PDM is highlighted to obtain a C-PDP. Still within the scope of the case study, presented as a limitation of this research, there needed to be feedback from the researchers about the diagnosis of the company studied.

Finally, we understand that the C-PDM can be adapted to other physical products since the packaging industry commonly adopts the “make-to-order” process. This can expand the opportunities for the application of the C-PDM. Therefore, we suggest the application in other organizations and other physical products for future studies.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, S.J. and M.M.C.M.; methodology, S.J. and M.M.C.M.; validation, S.J. and M.M.C.M.; formal analysis, S.J. and M.M.C.M.; resources, S.J. and M.M.C.M.; data curation, S.J.; writing—original draft preparation, S.J., M.M.C.M. and A.K.A.; writing—review and editing, S.J., M.M.C.M. and A.K.A.; visualization, S.J., M.M.C.M. and A.K.A.; project administration, S.J.; funding acquisition, S.J., M.M.C.M. and A.K.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study, the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data, the writing of the manuscript, or the decision to publish the results.

References

Ellen Macarthur Foundation What Is a Circular Economy? Available online: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview (accessed on 31 May 2024).
Pinheiro, M.A.P.; Seles, B.M.R.P.; De Camargo Fiorini, P.; Jugend, D.; Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, A.B.; da Silva, H.M.R.; Latan, H. The Role of New Product Development in Underpinning the Circular Economy. Manag. Decis. 2019, 57, 840–862. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Shevchenko, T.; Cluzel, F.; Yannou, B.; Shams Esfandabadi, Z.; Ranjbari, M.; Saidani, M.; Danko, Y. Completing the Design for Product Circularity Toolkit with Hierarchical Computation of Circularity Maturity Diagram and Redesign Circular Strategies. J. Clean. Prod. 2024, 437, 140742. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
João, S.; Maceno, M.M.C.; Antonelo, A.K.; Lacerda, M.T. Proposal for the Integration of Circular Practices into the Product Development Process Focused on Packaging. In Proceedings of the 11h International Workshop Advances in Cleaner Production, Florence, Italy, 15 July 2022; pp. 217–226. [Google Scholar]
Joao, S.; Maceno, M.M.C. Aspects of Circular Economy for Packaging Development: A Review. In Proceedings of the 10h IWACP, Ferrara, Italy, 11 November 2021; pp. 362–369. [Google Scholar]
Lugnet, J.; Ericson, Å.; Larsson, T. Design of Product–Service Systems: Toward An Updated Discourse. Systems 2020, 8, 45. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Van Dam, S.; Sleeswijk Visser, F.; Bakker, C. The Impact of Co-Creation on the Design of Circular Product-Service Systems: Learnings from a Case Study with Washing Machines. Des. J. 2021, 24, 25–45. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Paiano, A.; Gallucci, T.; Pontrandolfo, A.; Lagioia, G.; Piccinno, P.; Lacalamita, A. Sustainable Options for Paints through a Life Cycle Assessment Method. J. Clean. Prod. 2021, 295, 126464. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Mesa, J.A.; González-Quiroga, A. Development of a Diagnostic Tool for Product Circularity: A Redesign Approach. Res. Eng. Des. 2023, 34, 401–420. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
ISO/TR 14062; Environmental Management—Integrating Environmental Aspects into Product Design and Development. ISO: Geneva, Switzerland, 2004.
De Koeijer, B.; Wever, R.; Henseler, J. Realizing Product-Packaging Combinations in Circular Systems: Shaping the Research Agenda. Packag. Technol. Sci. 2017, 30, 443–460. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Landi, D.; Gigli, S.; Germani, M.; Marconi, M. Investigating the Feasibility of a Reuse Scenario for Textile Fibres Recovered from End-of-Life Tyres. Waste Manag. 2018, 75, 187–204. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Baumer-Cardoso, M.I.; Ashton, W.S.; Campos, L.M.S. Measuring the Adoption of Circular Economy in Manufacturing Companies: The Proposal of the Overall Circularity Effectiveness (OCE) Index. Circ. Econ. Sustain. 2023, 3, 511–534. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Ulrich, K.T.; Eppinger, S.D. Product Development and Design, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Education: New York, NY, USA, 2008. [Google Scholar]
Conforto, E.C.; Amaral, D.C.; da Silva, S.L. Roteiro Para Revisão Bibliográfica Sistemática: Aplicação No Desenvolvimento de Produtos e Gerenciamento de Projetos. In Proceedings of the 8° Congresso Brasileiro de Gestão de Desenvolvimento de Produto, Porto Alegre, Brasil, 12 September 2011; pp. 1–12. [Google Scholar]
Haddaway, N.R.; Collins, A.M.; Coughlin, D.; Kirk, S. The Role of Google Scholar in Evidence Reviews and Its Applicability to Grey Literature Searching. PLoS ONE 2015, 10, e0138237. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Barrie, J.; Schröder, P. Circular Economy and International Trade: A Systematic Literature Review. Circ. Econ. Sustain. 2022, 2, 447–471. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
De Oliveira, F.R.; França, S.L.B.; Rangel, L.A.D. Challenges and Opportunities in a Circular Economy for a Local Productive Arrangement of Furniture in Brazil. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2018, 135, 202–209. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Oliveira, F.R. Estratégias de Economia Circular: Do Desenvolvimento de Produtos Em Arranjos Produtivos Locais Às Experiências Internacionais; UFF: Niteroi, Brazil, 2018. [Google Scholar]
CIRCit Norden Guidelines for Circular Product Design and Development. Available online: https://circitnord.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Guidelines-for-circular-product-design-and-development.pdf (accessed on 31 May 2024).
Ellen Macarthur Foundation Upstream Innovation: A Guide to Packaging Solutions. Available online: https://emf.thirdlight.com/file/24/h_Pf1MahttEqT6h_OwchCrKU2/Upstream%20Innovation.pdf (accessed on 31 May 2024).
European Commission A New Circular Economy Action Plan for a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe. Available online: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0098 (accessed on 15 June 2024).
Rozenfeld, H.; Forcellini, F.A.; Amaral, D.C.; de Toledo, J.C.; da Silva, S.L.; Alliprandini, D.H.; Scalice, R.K. Gestão de Desenvolvimento de Produtos: Uma Referência Para a Melhoria Do Processo, 1st ed.; Editora Saraiva: São Paulo, Brazil, 2006. [Google Scholar]
Skalli, D.; Charkaoui, A.; Cherrafi, A.; Shokri, A.; Garza-Reyes, J.A.; Antony, J. Analysis of Factors Influencing Circular-Lean-Six Sigma 4.0 Implementation Considering Sustainability Implications: An Exploratory Study. Int. J. Prod. Res. 2024, 62, 3890–3917. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Bonini, L.A.; Sbragia, R. O Modelo de Design Thinking Como Indutor Da Inovação Nas Empresas: Um Estudo Empírico. Rev. Gestão Proj. 2011, 2, 3–25. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Buyle, M.; Galle, W.; Debacker, W.; Audenaert, A. Sustainability Assessment of Circular Building Alternatives: Consequential LCA and LCC for Internal Wall Assemblies as a Case Study in a Belgian Context. J. Clean. Prod. 2019, 218, 141–156. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Eberhardt, L.C.M.; Birgisdóttir, H.; Birkved, M. Life Cycle Assessment of a Danish Office Building Designed for Disassembly. Build. Res. Inf. 2019, 47, 666–680. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Marrucci, L.; Daddi, T.; Iraldo, F. The Integration of Circular Economy with Sustainable Consumption and Production Tools: Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda. J. Clean. Prod. 2019, 240, 118268. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Minguez, R.; Lizundia, E.; Iturrondobeitia, M.; Akizu-Gardoki, O.; Saez-de-Camara, E. Fostering Education for Circular Economy through Life Cycle Thinking. In Product Life Cycle—Opportunities for Digital and Sustainable Transformation; IntechOpen: London, UK, 2021. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Neramballi, A.; Sakao, T.; Willskytt, S.; Tillman, A.M. A Design Navigator to Guide the Transition towards Environmentally Benign Product/Service Systems Based on LCA Results. J. Clean. Prod. 2020, 277, 124074. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Vanegas, P.; Peeters, J.R.; Cattrysse, D.; Tecchio, P.; Ardente, F.; Mathieux, F.; Dewulf, W.; Duflou, J.R. Ease of Disassembly of Products to Support Circular Economy Strategies. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2018, 135, 323–334. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Hegab, H.; Shaban, I.; Jamil, M.; Khanna, N. Toward Sustainable Future: Strategies, Indicators, and Challenges for Implementing Sustainable Production Systems. Sustain. Mater. Technol. 2023, 36, e00617. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
De Oliveira, F.R.; França, S.L.B.; Rangel, L.A.D. Princípios de Economia Circular Para o Desenvolvimento de Produtos Em Arranjos Produtivos Locais. Interações (Campo Gd.) 2019, 20, 1179–1193. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Pieroni, M.D.P.; Marques, C.A.N.; Moraes, R.N.; Rozenfeld, H.; Ometto, A.R. PSS Design Process Models: Are They Sustainability-Oriented? Procedia CIRP 2017, 64, 67–72. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Shahbazi, S.; Jönbrink, A.K.; Jensen, T.H.; Pigosso, D.C.A.; McAloone, T.C. Circular Product Design and Development: CIRCit Workbook 3. 2020, pp. 1–44. Available online: https://orbit.dtu.dk/files/210455223/WB3_CIRCit_double.pdf (accessed on 31 May 2024).
Acerbi, F.; Taisch, M. Towards a Data Classification Model for Circular Product Life Cycle Management. In Product Lifecycle Management Enabling Smart X; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 2020; pp. 473–486. [Google Scholar]
Maceno, M.M.C.; João, S.; Voltolini, D.R.; Zattar, I.C. Life Cycle Assessment and Circularity Evaluation of the Non-Medical Masks in the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Brazilian Case. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 2023, 25, 8055–8082. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Kamp Albæk, J.; Shahbazi, S.; McAloone, T.C.; Pigosso, D.C.A. Circularity Evaluation of Alternative Concepts During Early Product Design and Development. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9353. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Longo, S.; Cellura, M.; Cusenza, M.A.; Guarino, F.; Mistretta, M.; Panno, D.; D’Urso, C.; Leonardi, S.G.; Briguglio, N.; Tumminia, G.; et al. Life Cycle Assessment for Supporting Eco-Design: The Case Study of Sodium–Nickel Chloride Cells. Energies 2021, 14, 1897. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Polverini, D.; Miretti, U. An Approach for the Techno-Economic Assessment of Circular Economy Requirements under the Ecodesign Directive. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2019, 150, 104425. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Talens Peiró, L.; Polverini, D.; Ardente, F.; Mathieux, F. Advances towards Circular Economy Policies in the EU: The New Ecodesign Regulation of Enterprise Servers. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2020, 154, 104426. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Rio, M.; Khannoussi, K.; Crebier, J.-C.; Lembeye, Y. Addressing Circularity to Product Designers: Application to a Multi-Cell Power Electronics Converter. Procedia CIRP 2020, 91, 134–139. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Schulz, M.; Niero, M.; Rehmann, L.-M.; Georg, S. Exploration of Decision-Contexts for Circular Economy in Automotive Industry. Procedia CIRP 2021, 98, 19–24. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Shoaib-ul-Hasan, S.; Roci, M.; Asif, F.M.A.; Salehi, N.; Rashid, A. Analyzing Temporal Variability in Inventory Data for Life Cycle Assessment: Implications in the Context of Circular Economy. Sustainability 2021, 13, 344. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Vimal, K.E.K.; Kandasamy, J.; Gite, V. A Framework to Assess Circularity across Product-Life Cycle Stages—A Case Study. Procedia CIRP 2021, 98, 442–447. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Wagner, G.A.; Bologna Pavlik, J. Patent Intensity and Concentration: The Effect of Institutional Quality on MSA Patent Activity. Pap. Reg. Sci. 2020, 99, 857–899. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Lonca, G.; Muggéo, R.; Imbeault-Tétreault, H.; Bernard, S.; Margni, M. Does Material Circularity Rhyme with Environmental Efficiency? Case Studies on Used Tires. J. Clean. Prod. 2018, 183, 424–435. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Ellen Macarthur Foundation Circularity Indicators: An Approach to Measuring Circularity. Available online: https://susdi.org/doc/CE/Circularity-Indicators_Project-Overview_May2015.pdf (accessed on 1 June 2024).
Shahbazi, S.; Jönbrink, A.K. Design Guidelines to Develop Circular Products: Action Research on Nordic Industry. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3679. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Acerbi, F.; Taisch, M. A Literature Review on Circular Economy Adoption in the Manufacturing Sector. J. Clean. Prod. 2020, 273, 123086. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Zabaniotou, A.; Kamaterou, P. Food Waste Valorization Advocating Circular Bioeconomy—A Critical Review of Potentialities and Perspectives of Spent Coffee Grounds Biorefinery. J. Clean. Prod. 2019, 211, 1553–1566. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Andler, R.; Valdés, C.; Urtuvia, V.; Andreeßen, C.; Díaz-Barrera, A. Fruit Residues as a Sustainable Feedstock for the Production of Bacterial Polyhydroxyalkanoates. J. Clean. Prod. 2021, 307, 127236. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Da Silva, R.C.; Puglieri, F.N.; de Genaro Chiroli, D.M.; Bartmeyer, G.A.; Kubaski, E.T.; Tebcherani, S.M. Recycling of Glass Waste into Foam Glass Boards: A Comparison of Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycles of Boards with Different Foaming Agents. Sci. Total Environ. 2021, 771, 145276. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Steenis, N.D.; van der Lans, I.A.; van Herpen, E.; van Trijp, H.C.M. Effects of Sustainable Design Strategies on Consumer Preferences for Redesigned Packaging. J. Clean. Prod. 2018, 205, 854–865. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
ISO 9001; Quality management systems—Requirements. ISO: Geneva, Switzerland, 2015.
Cruz Ugalde, J.D.; Talens Peiró, L. Circularity Scoring System: A Product Specific Application to Lithium-Ion Batteries of Electric Vehicles. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2024, 205, 107546. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Scheepens, A.E.; Vogtländer, J.G.; Brezet, J.C. Two Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Based Methods to Analyse and Design Complex (Regional) Circular Economy Systems. Case: Making Water Tourism More Sustainable. J. Clean. Prod. 2016, 114, 257–268. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Bech, N.M.; Birkved, M.; Charnley, F.; Laumann Kjaer, L.; Pigosso, D.C.A.; Hauschild, M.Z.; McAloone, T.C.; Moreno, M. Evaluating the Environmental Performance of a Product/Service-System Business Model for Merino Wool Next-to-Skin Garments: The Case of Armadillo Merino®. Sustainability 2019, 11, 5854. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]

Figure 1. Filtering and selection process of articles from the Scopus database.

Figure 2. Integration of circular strategies into the PDM.

Figure 3. Circular Product Development Model (C-PDM) structure. Legend: SPP = Strategic Product Development; PP = Project Planning; IP = Informational Project; CP = Conceptual Project; DP = Detailed Project; PPP = Preparing de Product Production; LP = Launching of the product; MPI = Monitoring and Product Improvement; PW = Product Withdrawal.

Figure 4. Product development stages, according to Ulrich and Eppinger’s PDM (2008) [14].

Figure 5. Company X’s product development process.

Table 1. Protocol for the systematic literature review.

Item	Description
Problem	Which articles address circular development models?
Strings and search strategies	“product development” OR “product development model” OR “new product development process” OR “product design” OR “industrial design” OR “PDP” OR “new product development” OR “design for X” OR “DfX” OR “design for X”	AND	“circular economy” OR “circular* design” OR “circular* product” OR “circular economy” OR “sustainab* design” “circular design” OR “circular product” OR “ecodesign” OR “sustainab* design” OR “framework”
Period	2000 and 2024
Database	Scopus
Inclusion Criteria	Articles that present phases, stages, practices, initiatives, strategies, and tools of the circular economy (CE) in the product development process; articles available published in open-access journals or by subscription; articles in English
Exclusion Criteria	Articles where circular economy and product development (PD) are not the main topics; articles that are unavailable or duplicated.

Table 2. List of the main documents found in the SLR.

N°	Documents	Type	Objective
1	Oliveira et al. (2018) [18,19]	Article	It presents a proposal to identify and incorporate circular economy strategies into product development in local production arrangements.
2	Guide CIRCit Nord Project and product development [20]	Guide	It presents a set of strategies, guidelines, and circular practices applied to product development.
3	Ellen Macarthur Foundation (EMF) [21]	Document	It presents circular practices and strategies for product development.
4	European Action Plan for the CE [22]	Document	It presents guidelines, strategies, and initiatives for adopting the circular economy.

Table 3. Literature findings and their relationship to stages of product development, guidelines, circular practices, initiatives, and strategies for physical products.

Circular physical products		Ellen Macarthur Foundation [21]	Oliveira et al. (2018) [18,19]	CIRCit Norden Guide [20]	Action Plan (UE) [22]	Other Authors (Articles)
	Guidelines, practices, and initiatives	Designing for the elimination of waste and residues: adoption of natural, biodegradable materials and composites of total and quick decomposition that present low value for the economy and precede the need for repair, reuse, and recycling; keeping the products and materials in use for longer: products are designed to increase their useful life, to be modular, of easy disassembly to facilitate repairs, improvements, and upgrades. Examples: (a) projecting products and structures for repairs and maintenance that ensure their use for longer, justifying the purchase and making consumers loyal; (b) extending the product lifecycle through strategies of sharing and maximizing usage. In this way, the change occurs in the consumption profile; it regenerates natural systems by designing waste for use as resources to preserve and regenerate the soil. Examples: (a) avoid the use of non-renewable resources, such as fossil fuels; (b) use the waste from a cattle farm as a resource for the production of biogas and fertilizers that help the soil of crops.	Focus on product life cycle; define sustainable processes; new material alternatives; redesign; environmental certification; establish partnerships with organizations and stakeholders; survey the specifications, characteristics, by-product variables, and their incorporation into the production process; compare environmental performance; foresee the reuse of systems and their components; consolidate specifications based on life cycle; foresee prototypes with renewable materials; use efficient technologies; foresee environmental impacts; elaborate statements regarding the extension of the useful lifetime and optimization of performance, in addition to guiding the correct use and handling; monitor impacts, experiences and the perception of consumers during use; reuse, reuse, and recycle materials and products; think about reverse logistics and adequate packaging; internal or external reuse.	Easily accessible replacement of defective components; easy to disassemble in a non-destructive manner; primary focus on functionality, quality, and performance; provide manuals and documentation; design in modular construction; use digitization solutions, ICTs, and the Internet of Things; use durable and robust components and materials; consider toxicity and other environmental aspects of materials; make it easy to identify materials and other relevant information; minimize the number of different or incompatible materials; design using recyclable and recycled materials; design with renewable materials; design for reduced energy consumption and renewable energy use; make spare parts and component exchange easily accessible; easy to clean the product and components; investigate current and future laws and regulations; design standardized components on different products and models; design standardized tools required on various products and models; use joints and connectors that can be easily opened and closed; components and spare parts available and easy to find on the market; easy to inspect the product and components; make interchangeable parts and components readily available; standardized design tools required common to different products and models; think about support activities during operation.	Facilitate repair and prevent obsolescence; promote industrial symbiosis, tracking, and digitization; eco-design, design for durability, repairability/repair, upgradeability, maintainability, reuse and recycling, and waste treatment; durability; reduce obsolescence; resource and waste reduction; ecosystem restoration, use of biodegradable and compostable materials; recycled materials as a resource; eliminate waste; product and waste treatment, recovery, and recycling; use of biodegradable and compostable materials; and product-service system (PSS) business model solutions.	Extend the useful life of products based on exchanges; acquire a second-hand product instead of buying a new one; avoid discarding product parts as waste and adopt a sharing strategy, maximizing its use; think about disassembly, separation of components, and information about the chemical content, for example; think about remanufacturing to define disassembly, cleaning, reassembly, and testing processes; restoring products to operational conditions similar to or better than new products; reduce consumption of natural resources, energy, and pollutant emissions; explore ways to use low-value materials in recycling as resources, such as glass; foresee Design for Environment (DfE) and Design for “X” (DfX).
	Strategy	Share, maintain/prolong, reuse/redistribute, renew/remanufacture, recycle, cascade, and regenerate.	Reuse, remanufacture, repurpose, and recycle.	Upgrade, cascade, reuse, recycle, recover, remanufacture, repair/maintain, reuse, refurbish/renew.	Reuse/sharing, repairability, recycling, digitization/virtualization, recovery, reuse.	Reuse, recycle, remanufacture.
	Stages	Early (design) stages of product development.	All stages of product development.	Focuses on the early stages of design and development but can be applied to later stages, such as testing and production.	Product development, business models, public policies, and global partnerships.	Product and business model development.

Table 4. Literature findings and their relationship to stages of product development, guidelines, circular practices, initiatives, and strategies for packaging.

Circular packages	Guidelines, practices and initiatives	CIRCit Norden Guide [20]	Action Plan (UE) [22]	Other Authors (Articles)
	Guidelines, practices and initiatives	Design for reduced energy consumption and use renewable energy; minimize the weight of components; design with renewable materials; use renewable and bio-based materials; design using recyclable and recycled materials; choose packaging materials that are easy to recycle; consider the recycling rate of packaging; use economically recyclable material; use packaging with a simplified recycling process; avoid composite materials; avoid selecting different types of materials, seek to increase the homogeneity of the material, materials easy to separate, which increases the chances of recycling; Use packaging materials with known recycling technology and a well-established recycling market; Select materials with the most efficient recycling technologies; use durable and robust components and materials: choose the suitable material for the right job. Estimate the strength and rigidity of the packaging; prefer quality, robust and durable, long-life materials that do not degrade during various modes of transport; avoid materials that can wear out, become brittle or faded and discolored; consider the toxicity and other environmental aspects of materials; choose packaging materials that have a less environmental impact; eliminate, reduce, reuse or recycle packaging; eliminate toxic and hazardous packaging material; use standardized packaging; avoid high-quality materials such as aluminum and PVC; use high-quality materials for packaging over aesthetics and marketing; optimize the use of materials in which the lowest quality level of material meets the application without influencing the final quality of the product; reduce material consumption in packaging; eliminate toxic and hazardous materials.	Reduce packaging and packaging waste; establish targets and other waste prevention measures; design for reuse and recyclability of packaging; consider restrictions on the use of materials for specific applications, in particular in alternative reusable products or systems where it is possible that consumer goods can be handled safely without the packaging; consider reducing the complexity of packaging materials, including the number of materials and polymers used; harmonize the selective collection systems referred to, establish rules for safe recycling of food contact materials and plastic materials other than PET; provide accessible drinking water in public places to reduce dependence on bottled water and avoid packaging waste.	Resource reduction; use waste and recycled materials as raw material; design for durability; analyze interactions between components, considering product upgrade and PDP phases; develop products considering sustainable materials to do viable circular actions and to minimize end-of-pipe waste management; optimize the use of resources in processes and products (dematerialize); reduce the mass of plastic, especially fossil-based or non-biodegradable, in the composition of new packaging.
	Strategy	Recycle, reuse.	Reduction of resources and waste, reuse, and recycling.	Reuse, recycle, reuse, cascade, update.
	Stages	Early stages of product design and development.	Pre-development, development, and post-development, focusing on the informational, conceptual, and detailed design stages and the sub-stages of material selection and product review.	Macro phases: pre-development, development, and post-development, focusing on the informational, conceptual, and detailed design stages, as well as the sub-stages of material selection and product review.

Table 5. Circular practices applied to the PreDMP [4].

Circular Practices	PreDMP Steps
Circular Practices	1.1	1.3	1.5	1.6	1.7	2.2	2.3
Cascading	X	X
Reutilization, sharing, and lifespan extension	X	X
PSS	X	X	X	X
Laws and certifications analysis	X
Functionality of products						X
Circular strategies analysis						X
Trade-offs related to the circular strategies and practices							X
Economic feasibility analysis					X		X
Drivers to product circularity						X

Legend: 1.1 Define the scope of Strategic Business Plan review; 1.3 Consolidate technology and market information; 1.5 Analyze company’s product portfolio; 1.6 Propose changes to product portfolio; 1.7 Verify/decide the feasibility of product portfolio; 2.2 Define product scope; 2.3 Risk analysis.

Table 6. Circular practices applied to the DMP [4].

Circular Practices	DMP Steps
Circular Practices	3.5	3.6	4.2	4.3	4.5	4.9	5.2	5.9	5.12	6.2	6.4	7.3	7.5
Defining circular goals	X	X
LCA					X
Circularity evaluation					X
Design for reuse			X	X
Design for recycling			X	X
Defining sustainable processes						X
Design for remanufacturing, maintenance, reuse, and reconditioning				X
Using materials with durability and robustness							X
Specifying circular materials (biodegradable, compostable, and renewable materials)							X
Preparation of manuals								X
Product tests and approvals									X
Using circular materials and sustainable technologies for pilot batch production										X	X
Technical support services for circular products													X
Aspects of circularity in transport and distribution processes												X

Legend: 3.5 Define product requirements; 3.6 Defining product goals; 4.2 Modelling product function; 4.3 Developing alternative solutions applied to the product; 4.5 Analyzing systems, subsystems, and components (SSC); 4.9 Planning manufacturing processes; 5.2 Detailing systems, subsystems, and components, their documentation and configuration; 5.9 Elaborating manuals and instructional materials; 5.12 Testing and homologating product; 6.2 Planning pilot production; 6.4 Producing pilot batch, 7.3 Developing distribution process; 7.5 Developing technical support service.

Table 7. Circular practices applied to the PostDMP.

Circular Practices		PostDMP Steps
Circular Practices		8.1	8.2	9.1	9.1.1	9.2
Circular practices	Monitoring impacts of consumer perception and experience of circular products	X	X
Circular practices	Circular aspects for product discontinuity			X	X	X

Legend: 8.1 Evaluate customer satisfaction; 8.2 Monitor product performance (technical, economic, production, and services); 9.1 Analyze and approve product discontinuation from the market; 9.1.1 Plan product discontinuation; 9.2 Prepare and track product receipt.

Table 8. Comparison between Company X’s PDP and the C-PDM.

Analyzed Items	Company X PDP	C-PDM
Application type	Steel, paper, and polymer packaging.	Steel, paper, and polymer packaging, among other products.
Innovation-oriented flow (Design Thinking)	NA	A
Traditional flow–make-to-order (MTO)	A	A, Optional
Circular practices	NA	A
Phases SPP e PP	A	A
Phases IP	NA	A
Phases CP	A	A
Phases DP	A	A
Phases PPP	A	A
Phases LP	NA	A
Phases MPI	A	A
Phases PW	NA	A

Legend: NA—Not applicable; A—Applicable.

Table 9. Comparison of circular practices between Company X’s PDP and the C-PDM.

Phase	Circular Practices	Company X PDP	C-PDM	Opportunity
SPP and PP	Cascading	X	X
	Reutilization, sharing, and lifespan extension		X	X
	Product-Service System (PSS)	X	X
	Laws and certifications analysis		X	X
	Functionality of products		X	X
	Circular strategies analysis		X	X
	Trade-offs related to the circular strategies and practices		X	X
	Economic feasibility analysis	X	X
	Drivers to product circularity		X	X
IP	Defining circular goals		X	X
CP	LCA		X	X
	Circularity evaluation		X	X
	Design for reuse		X	X
	Design for recycling	X	X
	Defining sustainable processes		X	X
	Design for remanufacturing, maintenance, reuse, and reconditioning		X	X
DP	Using materials with durability and robustness		X	X
	Specifying circular materials (biodegradable, compostable, and renewable materials)	X	X
	Preparation of manuals		X	X
	Product tests and approvals	X	X
PPP	Using circular materials and sustainable technologies for pilot batch production		X	X
LP	Technical support services for circular products		X	X
LP	Aspects of circularity in transport and distribution processes		X	X
MPI	Monitor impacts of consumer perception and experience of circular products		X	X
PW	Circular aspects for product discontinuity	X	X
	Total	7	25	18

Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

João, S.; Maceno, M.M.C.; Antonelo, A.K. Proposal for a Circular Product Development Model Applied to Packaging. Sustainability 2025, 17, 206. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010206

AMA Style

João S, Maceno MMC, Antonelo AK. Proposal for a Circular Product Development Model Applied to Packaging. Sustainability. 2025; 17(1):206. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010206

Chicago/Turabian Style

João, Samuel, Marcell Mariano Corrêa Maceno, and Aliny Kelly Antonelo. 2025. "Proposal for a Circular Product Development Model Applied to Packaging" Sustainability 17, no. 1: 206. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010206

APA Style

João, S., Maceno, M. M. C., & Antonelo, A. K. (2025). Proposal for a Circular Product Development Model Applied to Packaging. Sustainability, 17(1), 206. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010206

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu