On May 10, 2026, Germany will have used up all of its sustainably available resources for the entire year. This is according to calculations by the Global Footprint Network. If the entire world population lived the way we do, we would need nearly three Earths. By using methods to improve resource efficiency and conservation, we can push this date further into the future. This is good for the climate and the environment, but also for Germany’s raw material security and competitiveness.
A key starting point here is companies and the products and services they manufacture and offer. Many measures can help reduce resource use or make it more efficient. More efficient machines and a production process that generates less waste are examples of this. Companies can make an even greater contribution by committing to the concept of the circular economy, as enshrined in the Circular Economy Act.
In the traditional linear product lifecycle, the stages of production and use are followed only by disposal, meaning that the resources used are lost once and for all. In the circular economy, however, the goal is to use resources for as long as possible. The groundwork for resource-efficient production, use, and reuse is laid as early as the planning and design phase. Products should last as long as possible and be easy to repair or refurbish. At the end of their life cycle, products should be used as completely as possible as a starting point for new products. Resources are no longer lost but are circulated within a loop.
The VDI has developed the VDI 48XX series of guidelines to provide guidance for companies seeking to improve their resource efficiency and conservation. Methodological foundations, principles, and methodological specifications for assessing resource efficiency and conservation across the entire life cycle of products and processes, taking environmental impacts into account, form the foundation of this set of guidelines. Building on this, further application-oriented standards in the series address key life cycle stages of a product, identify potential areas for improvement, and present practical measures for embedding and achieving resource efficiency and conservation within companies. The volunteer experts from industry, academia, and civil society continuously update and expand the series.
Product Development as the Key to Resource Efficiency
One current project is the development of VDI 4821, which will address the critical phase of the product lifecycle known as product development. During the product development process, a product’s function, operating principle, design, and materials are defined. Decisions are made regarding technical, economic, and environmental product characteristics—and thus regarding manufacturing methods, recycling processes, and similar aspects. This phase determines approximately 85% of manufacturing costs and resource usage.
In addition to its standardization activities, the VDI has been providing expertise to small and medium-sized enterprises and startups for over 16 years through its Center of Excellence for the Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (VDI ZRE). Because knowledge is the foundation for resource-efficient practices, the VDI ZRE offers training courses, an online learning platform, and a wealth of freely accessible information on its website. The VDI ZRE also provides support during implementation by offering information on funding opportunities and tools such as decision-making aids, checklists, and calculation tools. With the involvement of the VDI ZRE, there are various networking opportunities where representatives from companies, government agencies, politics, and associations can exchange ideas on specific aspects of the circular economy and resource efficiency. After all, resource conservation and efficiency require team players. Only by working together can we ensure that Earth Overshoot Day comes a few days later next year.
Author: Gudrun Huneke
(text source: VDI 05/2026)
Thousands of per- and polyfluoroalkyls are referred as PFAS. Their dirt-, grease- and water-repellent non-stick properties are used in home, camping, outdoor and clothing textiles, kitchen applications, food packaging, sports and household items - and the list could go on and on.
Because they are not biodegradable, they are also known as “Forever Chemicals”. This means that they remain in the environment and accumulate in living organisms via food, drinking water and dust if they are not excreted immediately.
PFAS are suspected of damaging the liver as well as the hormone and immune system and are disrupting the metabolism. Worse still, they are suspected of impairing fertility and causing cancer. It is not easy to see if products contain PFAS as there is (still) no mandatory labeling.
A prohibition of PFAS has been under discussion at EU level since 2023. As a pioneer, the French National Assembly in Paris passed a law on 4th of April 2024, which will restrict the production, import, export and sale of certain products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from 1st of January 2025. One year later, from 2026, the use of PFAS in cosmetics and most clothing will be forbidden. This ban is to be extended to the whole textile industry by 2030.
Outside the EU, the US outdoor outfitter REI Co-op has also announced that it will ban PFAS from its textile products from autumn this year. [Source: Kunststoff-Web of 18.04.2024]
Why does this also affect fluoropolymers and what does this mean for plastics processing industry?
The production of PTFE can also generate PFAS. This is why the regulation of fluorinated plastic polymers is being in discussion despite resistance from concerned industry, as they can cause significant environmental pollution over their entire life cycle from production to disposal. Bans or legal restrictions on PFAS would accelerate research into more environmentally friendly alternatives.
Big companies such as 3M have announced that they will stop the production and use of fluoropolymers, fluorinated fluids and all PFAS-based additives by the end of 2025 to avoid possible lawsuits. [Source: Kunststoff-Web of 21.03.2024]
Substitution of fluoropolymers - Are there existing substitutes?
Fluoropolymers can be replaced in their application by a selection of suitable alternative plastics and with the help of additives if, for example, the exact place of use, the required chemical resistance, the temperature stability and the physical properties are known.
We will be pleased to help you to substitute your fluoroplastics with alternative polymers and appropriate additives, so that the application purpose and function are largely unaffected.
Of course, such solutions do not lend themselves to all businesses. In general, however, it helps to deal consistently and with foresight with the changing effects of the crisis. According to the experience of many companies, it is worthwhile to have the following points in mind at an early stage:
Permanently review your business model, your strategy, your product range and your customer and supplier structure. New business ideas, the further development of your products, a mix of existing and new customers and the term of your supply contracts are relevant here.
Protect yourself against supply bottlenecks or payment defaults. Regularly check the creditworthiness of your contractual partners along your value chain. Ask your Chamber of Industry and Commerce for lists of debtors in which companies in default or threatened with insolvency are listed ex officio.
Implement an early warning system for your own company. Ensure a clear division of responsibilities in your company: Who is responsible for what, who reports to whom and how often? To always know the state of affairs, you need regular updates on business developments.
Watch out for warning signs: Is a previously reliable customer paying his bills at the last minute? Caution is particularly important in the event of sudden changes in payment behavior.
You should also keep an eye out for anything unusual with your suppliers: Does your supplier change his payment terms without notice, does he deliver late or only in inferior quality? Start looking for alternative suppliers in an early time.
(text source: DIHK 04/2021)
In the view of the VDI, recycling must be considered from the outset in the design of plastic products - in the sense of circular value creation. The International Plastics Trade Fair K 2019 in Düsseldorf, which starts today, is also characterised by the circular economy, in which the topic of recycling is embedded.
According to the VDI, the most important thing in the development of new plastic products is recycling-friendly design. As early as the design stage of products containing plastics, developers and manufacturers must take into account the fact, that they can be dismantled as purely as possible after use in order to recycle them efficiently.
Thinking about recycling starts with the design.
According to the Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act, products must be suitable for proper, harmless and high-quality recycling as well as for environmentally friendly disposal. To achieve this, the following questions should be clarified early in the design process:
- Can a recyclable thermoplastic be used?
- Can plastics be used for the planned product in a single type? Can plastics
used for the planned product be sorted by type?
Optimal recycling because of sorted plastics.
If plastic products are made from sorted plastics, they can be recycled better and more efficiently at the end of the product life cycle. Contaminated polymers, on the other hand, cannot be recycled economically in this form. The alternative for them is chemical recycling, means returning them to their original monomers.
In the opinion of the VDI, the costs of a product's life cycle must also become a decisive purchasing criterion for consumers in the private sector in the future. Only in this way can an economical use of resources be achieved.
(text source: VDI 16.10.2019)
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