Easier Together: Zirq Solutions’ Ecosystem Approach to Recycling Insulin Pens

The case describes how the Danish company Zirq Solutions, a subsidiary of Norwegian NG Group, brought circular economy thinking to the pharmaceutical industry. Under CEO Thomas Morch and the inventive CTO Jesper Vinther Dueholm, Zirq Solutions established the only industrial process in the world capable of recovering materials from used medical pens (to inject insulin or for fertility treatment) – and recycled them to make new products. Encountering multiple roadblocks on the journey towards establishing the new circular business model, they found that the best way to overcome them was partnerships.

1.Provide a realistic view of the typical challenges encountered during the development of circular business models. 2.Understand the role that partnerships and ecosystems play in resolving these challenges. 3.Illustrate and discuss the role played by company innovation and legislation in the recycling of materials to make new types of products.