Circularity
Capture the lost margin
Every output can be an input. Stack 3 identifies what's leaving your system without being monetized — physical waste, idle assets, data you're not using. The shift is from disposal to deployment.
After you've built visibility (Stack 1) and stopped the leaks (Stack 2), you have a tight operation. But "tight" isn't the same as "complete." Value is still leaving your system — it's just leaving more slowly.
By-products you pay to dispose of could be inputs for someone else. Equipment that sits idle 70% of the time could generate revenue. Heat that escapes your process could warm your building. Data you collect but don't use could inform better decisions or become a product itself.
Stack 3 asks: what if nothing left the system without being captured? What if disposal became deployment?
The three lenses
Your operation
What's leaving the system uncaptured? Waste streams, by-products, underused assets, excess capacity, knowledge that isn't being leveraged. Map everything that could have value but currently doesn't.
Your environment
Who needs what you're throwing away? Industrial symbiosis — where your output becomes someone else's input — requires understanding the ecosystem around you. What businesses are nearby? What do they need? What markets exist for your by-products?
Your budget
What's the dollar value of the leakage — revenue potential vs. cost avoidance? Some circular opportunities create new revenue streams. Others just eliminate disposal costs. Both matter, but they require different investment logic.
What you're building
A circular value map identifies every potential capture point:
- Physical streams — waste, by-products, scrap, packaging that could be repurposed or sold
- Energy streams — heat, cooling, power that could be recovered or redirected
- Asset utilization — equipment, space, vehicles that sit idle and could generate value
- Information streams — data, knowledge, relationships that aren't being monetized
For each stream, you need: what is it, how much is there, who could use it, what would it take to capture it, and what's it worth? This transforms "waste management" from a cost center into a strategic function.
The milestone
You've completed Stack 3 when you've mapped your value leakage and have active initiatives reclaiming that margin. You're not just disposing of outputs efficiently — you're capturing value from them.
What this unlocks
- →New revenue from former waste streams
- →Reduced disposal costs
- →Closed-loop credentials for tenders and partnerships
- →Verified data for sustainability-linked loans and green financing
- →Relationships with ecosystem partners who need your outputs
The systemic impact
Circularity is the engine of environmental sustainability — closing loops, reducing extraction, keeping materials in use longer. When you capture value from outputs instead of disposing of them, you reduce demand for virgin materials and eliminate waste streams simultaneously. Your margin improvement is the environmental metric. They're not separate things.
Common starting points
The disposal cost
You're paying significant money to get rid of something. Stack 3 asks: is there someone who would pay for this instead?
The by-product question
Your process creates something that isn't your main product. Stack 3 explores whether it could become a product for someone else.
The idle asset
Equipment, space, or vehicles sit unused much of the time. Stack 3 finds ways to generate value during downtime.
The neighbor's need
Another business nearby needs something you have excess of — heat, materials, capacity. Stack 3 builds the symbiosis connection.
What good looks like
A complete Stack 3 implementation means:
- ✓You've mapped all significant output streams and their potential value
- ✓You have at least one active circular initiative generating value
- ✓You've reduced disposal costs or created new revenue from former waste
- ✓You understand the ecosystem around you — who needs what you have
- ✓You can document your circular practices for certifications and financing
You don't need to capture everything. You need to capture the high-value streams and have a system for identifying new opportunities as they emerge.
Common mistakes
Circular before efficient
Building circular systems on top of a leaky operation just means you're circulating waste. Fix the leaks first (Stack 2), then capture what remains.
Ignoring transaction costs
Finding a buyer for your by-product doesn't help if the cost of cleaning, transporting, and selling it exceeds the value. Include all costs in the calculation.
Single-partner dependency
If your circular model depends on one partner taking your output, what happens when they don't need it anymore? Diversify or have backup plans.
Forgetting the information layer
Physical circularity gets attention, but information circularity — using data you already collect to inform better decisions — often has higher ROI and lower implementation cost.
Ready to capture your lost margin?
Start with the free Circularity assessment to identify your highest-value streams, or get the complete toolkit to map and monetize your outputs.
Last updated: January 2026