Week 7: Circular Economy and Sustainable Markets
(60 min)
(i) Session Information
Assessment links: Group Presentation (20%, due Week 11-12) | Final Exam (15%,
due Week 12)
Learning outcomes: LO3
Quick Review (3 min)
Complete this self-check individually. Use your lecture notes if needed.
Concept Confident Note
? s
Three principles of circular economy (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Yes / No
2013)
Inner loops vs outer loops on the butterfly diagram Yes / No
The six ReSOLVE levers (McKinsey and EMF, 2015) Yes / No
Difference between biological and technical material cycles Yes / No
Setup (3 min)
Welcome to Part III: Sustainable Markets and Operations. From this week onward,
tutorials focus entirely on your own assigned company to build your Group
Presentation (20%, Weeks 11-12).
Today your group applies two circular economy frameworks to your company. By
the end, you will have both a butterfly diagram analysis AND a ReSOLVE gap
analysis — two sections of your presentation's LO3 content (35% of grade).
Open your company's sustainability report now. Look for sections on waste,
recycling, packaging, energy, or resource efficiency.
Groups Company Sustainability Report
1-4 Vietcombank [Link] > Sustainable Development
5-8 Hoa Phat Group [Link] > Sustainable Development
9-12 Vinamilk [Link]/en/sustainable-development
13-16 Unilever Vietnam [Link] > Sustainability
17-20 Heineken Vietnam [Link] > Sustainability
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Activity 1: Framework Application (24 min)
Step 1: Butterfly Diagram Analysis (12 min)
Find 4 initiatives from your company's sustainability report that relate to material
flows (waste reduction, recycling, reuse, refurbishment, energy recovery). Classify
each by loop position on the butterfly diagram.
Company Initiative Cycle Loop Specific Loop (e.g. Value
(Biological / Position Reuse, Recycle, Retained
Technical) (Inner / Refurbish) (H / M / L)
Outer)
Using glass bottles Technical Inner Reuse High
for purified water
Reusing printer Technical Inner Reuse High
cartridges and
office supplies
Collecting and Biological Inner Regenerate High
reusing rainwater
for irrigation
Issuing debit cards Technical Outer Recycle Medium
from 100%
recycled plastic
Key Finding
Is your company mostly in inner loops or outer loops? What does this pattern mean for
value retention?
Glass Bottles for Water: Vietcombank utilizes purified water stored in
glass bottles for multiple reuses, which helps conserve water resources and
minimizes environmentally harmful single-use plastic. In circular economy
principles, keeping a product in its original state for reuse is the loop that
retains the highest value.
Reusing Office Supplies: The bank frequently reuses printer cartridges,
printing paper, and pen refills to limit replacements and reduce
environmental waste. These represent inner technical loops that extend the
lifecycle of materials and components.
Rainwater Collection: This initiative involves the biological cycle by
proposing to collect and reuse rainwater for floor cleaning and plant
irrigation, returning natural resources to the local ecosystem. Full
implementation is planned starting in 2026.
Recycled Plastic Cards: Vietcombank launched the eVerlink international
debit card made entirely from 100% recycled plastic. This is considered an
outer loop because the original plastic waste must undergo industrial
processing to be transformed into a new material, retaining less original
value than direct reuse.
These initiatives demonstrate that Vietcombank is prioritizing "inner loops"—
focusing on direct reuse over recycling—to maximize resource efficiency within its
internal operations.
This pattern indicates that Vietcombank is achieving High Value Retention. In
circular economy theory, the "inner" the loop, the more value is preserved.
Preservation of Embedded Energy: By prioritizing reuse (inner loop)
over recycling (outer loop), the bank avoids the high energy and labor
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costs required to break materials down and remanufacture them.
Utility Maximization: Initiatives like reusing office supplies and glass
bottles keep products in their highest-utility state for the longest possible
time.
Operational Efficiency: This strategy directly supports the bank's "Green
Operation" goals by reducing environmental waste and optimizing the use
of existing resources across its system.
Key Takeaway: By staying in the inner loops, Vietcombank maintains the
integrity and utility of its resources with minimal environmental intervention,
leading to superior resource efficiency compared to a strategy focused solely on
recycling.
Step 2: ReSOLVE Gap Analysis (12 min)
For each ReSOLVE lever, identify what your company currently does and rate how
well they use it. Cite evidence from the sustainability report.
Rate each lever: 0 = Absent, 1 = Weak, 2 = Partial, 3 = Strong.
ReSOLVE Your Company's Rating (Strong / Partial / Evidence (report
Lever Activity Weak / Absent) section or page)
Regenerate
Share
Optimise
Loop
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Virtualise
Exchange
Now connect both frameworks: which ReSOLVE levers would move your company
from outer loops to inner loops? The butterfly diagram shows WHERE value is lost.
ReSOLVE shows HOW to fix it.
Current Outer- ReSOLVE Lever Proposed Inner- Trade-off (What Your
Loop Activity to Shift Inward Loop Strategy Company Gives Up vs
Gains)
Break (5 min)
Activity 2: Presentation Section Drafting (17 min)
Step 1: Draft Your LO3 Presentation Content (17 min)
(i) Building Your Presentation
Draft the circular economy section of your Group Presentation. This is LO3 (35% of
presentation grade). The rubric rewards: "Evaluates ReSOLVE strategies with trade-off
analysis" and "proposes optimal management option mix with evidence."
Part A -- Slide content (5 min):
Plan one presentation slide that combines both frameworks.
Slide Element Your
Content
Slide title
Visual: What framework diagram will you show? (butterfly with your data, or
ReSOLVE bar chart)
Key data points to display on the slide (max 4)
One-sentence takeaway for the audience
Part B -- Verbal delivery draft (5 min):
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Write what you will SAY for this slide — talking points, not notes to read. The
presentation is 15 minutes total; this section gets ~3 minutes.
Talking Point Your
Content
Opening: What circular economy challenge does your company face?
Analysis: What did the butterfly diagram and ReSOLVE reveal?
Recommendation: What is the most impactful circular strategy shift, with
trade-off?
Part C -- Peer rubric check (4 min):
One member presents the talking points aloud (2 min). The rest score against the
LO3 rubric:
LO3 Rubric Criterion (35% of grade) Score One Specific
(H/M/L) Improvement
Evaluates ReSOLVE strategies with trade-off
analysis
Proposes optimal management option mix with
evidence
Critiques applicability of approaches to company
context
Rotate: a second member presents if time allows.
Quick Share (5 min)
2-3 groups share their company's top circular economy recommendation and the
trade-off involved. Class discussion: which industries face the toughest circular
economy transitions? Why?
Before Next Class (3 min)
* Building Your Group Presentation
Today's butterfly diagram and ReSOLVE analysis form your LO3 section (35% of
presentation grade). Next week (Week 8) adds sustainable procurement (ISO 20400)
and supplier assessment — another required section. Bring today's tables to Week 8
as a reference.
(i) Preparation
Listen to the NotebookLM audio for Week 7 before next class.
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