Remanufacturing towards NetZero

Remanufacturing could help businesses achieve their NetZero targets, according to the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN).

“The remanufacturing market in Europe was valued at €11.5 billion in 2015 (by Research&Markets). This is expected to grow, and indeed even more so in, and in response to, these unprecedented times. Remanufacturing offers the opportunity for manufacturers to increase the security of their supply chains, gain competitive advantage in the market, reduce their CO₂ emissions and increase their corporate social responsibility,” said the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN).

“The UK is committed to becoming NetZero by 2050 - traditional industries, such as manufacturing, will need to expand their activities to include NetZero initiatives to meet this target. Remanufacturing – defined as ‘Returning a product to at least its original performance with a warranty that is equivalent to or better than that of the newly manufactured product’ – could be one method to help achieve this.”

As virgin resources become more expensive and scarce, remanufacturing becomes an attractive option for manufacturers to build resilience into their supply chains. This concept of taking a perceived “end of life” product and reintroducing it into the supply chain is known as the circular economy and represents a large opportunity to retain the value of a product beyond its original lifespan.

“Brands such as Caterpillar have already successfully introduced remanufacturing into their business models allowing them to offer the same high-quality products to their customers at reduced costs and with a shorter downtime. Overall, including remanufacturing as part of daily business offers the opportunity to yield both economic and environmental benefits, as costs associated with transporting and processing raw materials are avoided,” added KTN.

Remanufacturing is already an established practice in sectors such as automotive. More recently, examples of its adoption can be seen in other industries such as furniture, medical, energy and more.