Optimizing the re-use channel for Wines & Spirits

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‍Constat: against a backdrop of environmental crisis and increasing regulatory requirements, the Wines & Spirits sector is exploring new models. The reuse of glass bottles represents an effective response to reducing waste, while meeting consumer demand for more responsible consumption patterns.

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Objective: to bring together the major players in the sector to test and optimize a model for reusing glass bottles, with the aim of scaling it up. The main thrusts are :

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• Set up a deposit system: develop a re-use system for supermarkets and cafés, hotels and restaurants, supported by partners such as Loop for supermarkets and distributors France Boissons and Richard Vins et Spiritueux for out-of-home sales.
• Economic modeling of scenarios: compare the economic models for single-use and reuse of bottles, to assess the profitability of reuse.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA ): carry out a comparative study of the environmental impact of the two models (single use vs. reuse).
• Consumer study: analyze consumer behavior and expectations with regard to bottle reuse, to assess their acceptability and willingness to participate.

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Results: work began in April 2025, with the aim of launching the pilot project in 2026. This pilot project will test the reuse model under real conditions in supermarkets and catering outlets.

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Partners: the coalition is led by Circul'R and Eco in Pack, with financial support and guidance from Citeo and Adelphe. For the supermarket operation, the coalition relies on the network of Loop, a key player in reuse solutions. For the on-trade operation, it benefits from the expertise of distributors France Boissons and Richard Vins et Spiritueux.

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Identifying antifragility strategies to counter the risks of the linear economy

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A coalition launched in partnership with CEA ISEC, with the support of the Direction Générale des Entreprises (DGE).

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Observation: faced with the challenges of the linear economy, companies need to rethink their strategies to become more resilient and anticipate future shocks. The transition to a circular economy represents a proactive response to current supply chain vulnerabilities, dependence on non-renewable resources and increasing regulatory pressure. Being able to identify the levers of antifragility is thus becoming a strategic imperative.

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Objectives: to meet these challenges, the "Circular Industry" coalition has defined three main areas of work to prepare companies to meet the challenges of the future:

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• Define strategic orientations: identify, through collective intelligence workshops, the strategic orientations to be adopted individually and collectively to ensure tomorrow's leadership.
• Reinforcing skills in circularity: through in-depth webinars and bilateral support, companies will be able to acquire the tools they need to respond to the risks associated with the linear economy.
• Set up operational deployment: after the initial stages of collective intelligence, the following years will be devoted to implementing concrete projects, while preserving the methodologies established upstream.

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Results: by the end of 2025, the work of the "Circular Industry" coalition will lead to :

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• Three strategic notes: addressed to decision-makers in the private and public sectors, these notes will identify the priority risks to be managed and the circular levers to be activated to reinforce companies' antifragility.

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• An influential report: designed to influence decision-makers on the need to integrate the circular economy as a strategic lever for the future of industries, while offering concrete recommendations for a successful transition.

Creating a recycling channel for perfume bottles

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‍Constat: the perfume industry generates a large volume of waste, particularly through single-use perfume bottles. Faced with environmental challenges, regulatory pressure and consumer expectations, it's becoming essential to rethink the life cycle of these cosmetic packaging items.

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Objective: the coalition aims to set up a pilot project to explore the challenges of reusing perfume bottles through several dimensions:

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• Setting up a reuse system: develop a functional system for reusing bottles in partnership with retail outlets, addressing issues relating to supply, points of sale, the customer experience, logistics and technical aspects.
• Economic modeling of scenarios: compare economic models between single-use and reuse, analyzing the financial viability of reuse in the sector.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): produce an LCA analysis report for each scenario (single use vs. reuse) to assess the environmental impact of each option.
• Consumer study: conduct a study on consumers' expectations in terms of reuse, to understand their willingness to adopt this approach and their experience at the point of sale.

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Results: since June 2025, a pilot project has been underway in nearly 200 outlets across France. The results will be revealed in early 2026.

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Enabling banks and insurance companies to finance and ensure the circular transition

‍Constat:

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Financial institutions have a key role to play in a circular economy:

• to direct investments and insurance products towards companies and projects that adopt circular models
• to develop innovative financial instruments that encourage circularity
• to raise awareness among businesses and the general public of the benefits of the circular economy

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But they sometimes have trouble finding their place in this transition:

• the multiplicity of definitions of the circular economy complicates the qualification of a circular project or asset
• culture and knowledge of the circular economy and its challenges are not widely disseminated
• they lack the tools needed to understand and measure the specific risks of circular business models

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Objective:

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To meet these challenges, the coalition will develop tools and carry out practical work on circular economy projects to be financed and insured. Members will have the opportunity to work on concrete cases to collect data on the profitability and risks of circular business models, and produce tools that meet the concrete needs of stakeholders.

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Results: ‍

The coalition's work will result in a report to be published in the third quarter of 2025.

Master the principles of circular economy communication

‍Constat: while the circular economy is a strategic priority for a growing proportion of companies, many of them are still finding it difficult to communicate about their commitments. Yet being able to communicate on the circular actions they deploy is becoming a real challenge:

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• In response to regulatory requirements such as the AGEC Act, the Climate & Resilience Act, the Green Claims Directive and the CSRD, France and the EU have taken action to combat greenwashing, requiring companies to be more transparent about the environmental impact of their products and services.

• To seize new business opportunities: as companies invest more and more in circular business models, communication is an essential lever for making these models desirable in the eyes of their various stakeholders (investors, customers, talent) and generating sales from these projects.

• To meet consumer expectations : 75% of French people say they are suspicious of companies' environmental promises, it is essential to re-establish the pact of trust between companies and their consumers. This will require sincere, transparent and evidence-based communication.

• To get out of the "carbon tunnel": corporate communications still too often focus on reducing carbon emissions. To stand out, they must also be able to highlight other benefits such as biodiversity preservation, water saving and resource conservation, thus underlining the overall positive impact of the circular transition.

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Objective: to meet these challenges, the coalition's work will have three main objectives:

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• Building skills: to master the terms, concepts and regulations associated with the circular economy and its communication

• Knowing how to add value to circular offers : to meet the growing expectations of customers, investors and consumers by showing all the positive contributions made possible by the circular transition.

• Stand out from the competition: by mastering the key success factors and mistakes to avoid in order to stay one step ahead of the competition.

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Results: the coalition's work will give rise to a report co-authored with ADEME, to be published in November 2025.

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Creating a channel for re-using cosmetics packaging

‍Constat: faced with environmental urgency, tightening regulatory requirements and growing consumer expectations, the cosmetics industry is being pushed to innovate. Against this backdrop, in December 2023 we launched a coalition of 15 leading cosmetics companies to accelerate on the reuse of packaging for skincare products.

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This initiative meets a triple challenge:

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• Environmental: by reducing single-use packaging and its associated impacts
• Regulatory: by complying with the reuse targets set by the AGEC law
• Societal: aligning industry practices with consumers' growing eco-responsible aspirations

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Objective: the coalition seeks not only to test the re-use model in the cosmetics sector, but also to promote a collaborative approach between brands and distributors to optimize logistics, reduce costs and harmonize standards, thus contributing to greater consumer acceptance and a positive environmental impact.

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Partners: coalition members benefit from the expertise of Arnaud Lancelot, Director of Reinvention at We Don't Need Roads and ex-founder of Cozie, as well as financial support from the CITEO reuse fund.

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Results: Since the end of 2024, an experiment in the re-use of packaging for skincare products has been underway in some forty sales outlets across France. The results of the experiment will be announced at the end of 2025.

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Effectively measure the impact of your circular economy strategy

Constat: the development of the circular economy is accompanied by a need to measure the activities of companies and the flows they mobilize to promote the transformation of their business models towards circular models. However, these face a number of challenges, including:

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• The multiplication and lack of standardization of measurement tools
• Questions about the relevant indicators to select
• The lack of a legal framework and a common language for the circular economy

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Objective: to bring together large companies within a think tank in order to support them in :

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• The operational management of their circular strategy
• Preparing their non-financial reporting to comply with upcoming European and French regulations
• Valuation of the financial and carbon relevance of circular projects

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Results: the coalition's work has led to the publication of an open-source Practical Guide designed to support economic players in measuring circularity.

Aligning point-of-sale communication with environmental imperatives

Observation: the PLV (point of sale advertising) sector is characterized by a critical ecological impact:

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- Extremely short shelf life: an advertisement is usually designed to be displayed for 2 weeks in a store and then thrown away.

- End-of-life management: after use, more than 80% of POP displays, excluding cardboard, are destroyed or incinerated.

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Objective: to bring together all players in the POP value chain (producers, manufacturers, distributors, etc.) to share the opportunities and challenges involved in deploying more responsible POP. One of the main needs identified was to promote eco-designed POP.

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Results: the coalition's work led to the creation of a tool, the "POP Score", which assesses the level of circularity of POP on a scale from A to E.