Recently, our CEO and Founder, Joost de Kluijver, sat down with Circulee for their Stronger in Circles series. A platform dedicated to the innovators, founders, and industry leaders actively turning circular economy concepts into real-world progress.
Since founding Closing the Loop in 2012, Joost has been on a mission to prove that e-waste reduction isn’t just an environmental obligation; it is a powerful driver for customer engagement and business value.
In his conversation with circulee, he broke down what is currently holding circular tech back, the mechanics of our One for One model, and the critical need to change the way the industry communicates sustainability.
Here is a look at the core themes from his interview.
Redefining Circularity as Common Sense
When Closing the Loop started over a decade ago, the concept of a “circular economy” in electronics was virtually unknown. However, Joost noted that the core philosophy has always been less about trendy buzzwords and more about foundational logic.
For too long, circularity has been treated as a niche subject or sidelined as a purely “green innovation.” Joost pointed out that viewing waste reduction merely as a compliance issue misses the bigger picture. Instead, he sees the circular approach as a business actualization of basic principles, “don’t be wasteful and try to leave things better than you found them”.
Rather than being an obligation, circular thinking is one of the most positive, customer-centric ways for a company to improve its value and maintain its license to operate.
The Value and Simplicity of "One for One"
At the heart of Closing the Loop’s impact is the One for One service. Joost emphasized the intentional simplicity of the model, “One for One is simple. Period. It means that when a company sells you a new device, it matches that sale with the recycling of an end-of-life device (or: one device added to the market leads to one device removed from the market)”.
The end-customer doesn’t have to take any extra steps, as the selling company seamlessly integrates the service into the sale, while Closing the Loop handles the complex back-end logistics of collection.
By focusing collection efforts in countries within the Global South, such as Ghana and Uganda, Closing the Loop has helped create safe, formal employment within the informal waste sector, collecting over 8 million devices to date.
The service is now reaching a scale where it will help fund Africa’s first facility capable of extracting metals from electronic waste.
Breaking Out of the Sustainability Echo Chamber
One of the most significant challenges Joost identified in the circular tech space is reaching the broader market. Currently, circular consumption appeals heavily to a niche audience. To drive real change, he believes the industry must cross over into the mainstream.
“Selling a green service to green brands” said Joost. To create success outside of the sustainability bubble, the industry needs to change the way it talks about “green” initiatives, moving away from the negative, guilt-driven lenses of compliance and responsibility that have dominated the conversation for the last 15 years.
When brands utilize the One for One model, it becomes a unique selling point. It allows tech brands to turn their positive stance on waste reduction into an immediate, understandable result for their customers, driving genuine engagement and branding value.
A Message to Circular Innovators: Leverage the Market
Joost’s advice for sustainable IT innovators is simple, leverage the commercial world instead of fighting it. Education alone isn’t enough. Sustainable businesses must master market dynamics to actively create demand for circular solutions, bridging the gap between customer-centricity and sustainability so everyone benefits.
Want to learn more about how your organization can turn e-waste reduction into a powerful tool for brand engagement and ESG success? Discover how our One for One service works today.
