Circularity at Airbus: How SecondLife Cuts Waste and Costs

Circularity at Airbus: How SecondLife Cuts Waste and Costs

From Circularity.fm by Patrick Hypscher

March 31, 2026 · 48 min · Episode 92

About this episode

This episode discusses how Airbus's SecondLife platform reduces waste and costs through a reuse marketplace for industrial assets.

How can a reuse marketplace for unused industrial assets reduce costs and waste at scale? In this episode, Nathalie Clement, Amanda Fiorillo, and Bernd Schmid from Airbus Defence and Space explain how Airbus built SecondLife, a digital platform where employees trade unused equipment. In three years, 160 tons of waste were avoided and 1,600 tons of CO₂ were saved. What you'll hear in this episode: • How Airbus structured a three-step reuse strategy: internal marketplace, external resale and supplier buyback, and donation as a last resort • Why the financial case is central: a 150% ROI over three years and €1.5 billion in asset value exchanged internally • How KPIs turned a pilot into a scalable system across the company Featured in this episode is also Heiko Tullney from Indeed Innovation as co-host. This is the final episode of the Irresistible Circular Business series, produced in partnership with Indeed Innovation, the global design and innovation firm pioneering the circular economy.

People in this episode

Host: Patrick Hypscher

Guests: Nathalie Clement, Amanda Fiorillo, Bernd Schmid

Topics covered

  • reuse marketplace
  • cost reduction
  • waste management
  • circular economy
  • industrial assets
  • sustainability

Keywords

  • Airbus
  • SecondLife
  • reuse strategy
  • waste reduction
  • CO₂ savings
  • ROI
  • circular business

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Airbus Defence and Space, Indeed Innovation

Products: SecondLife

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