Circular Product Development Framework Enhancing Extended Producer Responsibility – A Medical Device Case Study

The healthcare industry, a significant contributor to carbon emissions, faces increasing pressure to reconcile environmental sustainability with delivering high-quality patient care. A shift from linear production is necessary for the transition to the Circular Economy. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, which consider the environmental performance of products throughout their lifecycle, hold great promise for driving this circular transition. Under EPR, product development must take a comprehensive life-cycle perspective, which includes manufacturing, pricing, product use, end-of-life disposal and remanufacturing processes. This study introduces the concept of ‘Circular Product Development’, which integrates circular economy principles to reduce the carbon footprint within the healthcare supply chain and mitigate the bullwhip effect. Circular product development aims to consider how products are designed, used and managed after use to minimise waste and environmental impact, in line with Circular Economy Goals (CEGs). Through a synthesis of literature analysis and qualitative analysis using a case study, this paper develop a new framework promotes the adoption of circular product development strategies to shift away from linear consumption patterns. Additionally, it takes a holistic approach to comply with the European Commission’s Council Directive 93/42/EEC on medical device standards and considers Conformité Européenne (CE) certification to ensure consumer safety during the circular transition.