100 Ideation Cards for Circular Economy Transition
Choose a card type (People, Planet, Profit, Progress)
Ask the What If? Question and get ideating in 1 minute per card!
What does it do?
A provocative set of cards designed to help businesses, policymakers, and innovators break free from linear “take-make-waste” thinking. The deck provides 100 radical “What If” scenarios that challenge existing assumptions about ownership, labor, and value creation.
- Challenge Business Models: Imagine shifts from selling products to “Lease-Only” or “Product-as-a-Utility” models.
- Anticipate Policy Shifts: Simulate the impact of “Resource Depletion Taxes” or mandatory “Right to Repair” laws.
- Redesign Labor and Skills: Explore retraining programs for waste management staff and the integration of “Circular Economy Assessors” into corporate boards
- Address Supply Chain Risks: Identify how to manage the “winners and losers” of the transition through “Golden Parachute” funds or national insurance schemes.
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Also available on Miro for remote team collaboration
When to use it
This tool is most effective during strategic planning or innovation phases when a team needs to move beyond incremental sustainability improvements. Use it when:
Developing Long-Term Strategy: You need to align your organization with 2030 or 2040 circularity timelines.
Stress-Testing Innovations: You want to see if a new product can survive “Recyclability Stress Tests” or meet “Disassembly Score” requirements.
Engaging Stakeholders: You are hosting “Reverse Supply Chain” forums or co-creation sessions with SMEs and end-users.
Navigating Disruption: Your industry is facing material scarcity or the “inevitable failure of the linear economy”.
How to use it
STEP 1
Select a Theme: Choose a pillar based on your workshop goal (e.g., choose Profit to explore new finance mechanisms like “Circular Credit Scores”).
STEP 2
Draw a “What If” Card: Read the provocative scenario aloud to set the stage for radical thinking.
STEP 3
Review the Impact & Example: Each card explains which adoption challenge it solves (e.g., managing the cost of big circular transition) and provides a concrete example. to ground the idea.
STEP 4
Ideate Solutions: Brainstorm how your organization would respond if that scenario became a legal mandate or a market reality.
STEP 5
Map the Timeline: Determine if the idea is a short-term “Policy Sandbox” experiment or a long-term systemic shift for 2040.
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