Material, component and product flows, production and service processes, and data are increasingly interconnected. As a result, the boundaries between individual cycles become more fluid.

R-strategies are developed for specific components, taking account of their material content and the relevant accessible data. Materials may be used in new applications across sector boundaries. This requires product composition to be traced in accordance with ISO 59040 and the use of safe materials wherever possible, so that toxic substances do not enter the cycles.

Products must be designed for reuse, repair, disassembly and recycling. Their expected service life, innovation and replacement cycles, consumable parts and any materials that cannot be recovered must all be taken into account.

Companies and organisations develop a circular mindset and build the relevant skills and knowledge among their employees. Structures within and across organisations should enable people to put these capabilities to effective use.

Long-term visions take account of current and future legal requirements, logistical conditions, the availability of sufficient quantities, standardisation, and the dynamic evolution of the value-creation system itself.