Raphael Schranz

The challenge

Industrial sites run on linear flows: materials in, waste out, energy and water bought in. Companies sit side by side, yet rarely use what their neighbours throw away.

What Raphael did

Raphael designed the transformation of an industrial site into a regional Circular Economy Hub built on locally closed loops for materials, energy and water. The concept combines renewable energy, advanced material flow management and industrial symbiosis between co-located companies, with a focus on high-value strategies: reuse, repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing in automotive, construction and recycling.

Results

• Multiple localized loops for construction materials, plastics, spare parts and biomass, plus water reuse
• Energy surplus already achieved through photovoltaics
• A scalable model for circular industrial parks, aligned with EU circular economy policy

The challenge

When recycled polyolefins re-enter the market, buyers need to trust their quality, source, environmental impact and compliance. Traditional audit trails are slow, opaque and fragmented across suppliers and systems.

What Raphael did

In just three days, Raphael worked hands-on with Wastics, one of Austria’s most forward-thinking circular economy startups, to prototype the future of quality assurance. The audit trail became a dynamic, immutable digital asset on the XRP Ledger, carrying environmental metrics (CO₂ savings, water use, energy input), economic metadata (costs, batch sizes, price per kg) and material provenance (origin, treatment, certification status). Smart contracts model the payment flow for polyolefin batches.

Results

• Payments released automatically when verification milestones such as lab analysis or shipping confirmation are met
• Tokenized bonuses that reward top-tier recycled input, and carbon-offset matching directly in the transaction layer
• A Wastics representative certified as Circular Economy Officer (ISO 59004) within the same project
• The foundation for Austria’s first circular economy data and trust infrastructure, transferable to paper, glass and metals

The challenge

A fair and sustainable Europe means advancing six priorities at once, and they pull against each other. Decisions made in isolation create trade-offs nobody planned for.

What Raphael did

Raphael contributed to the Complexity Analysis of the European Green Deal, run by the Dutch Research Institute for Transition (DRIFT) in the EU-funded Shared Green Deal Arena Series. With more than 100 stakeholders from policy, research and industry, he used the X-Curve model and a back-casting approach to map clean energy, circular economy, efficient renovations, sustainable mobility, sustainable food and biodiversity.

Results

• Future scenarios and transition pathways for a European Circular Industrial Economy
• Implementation timelines that make trade-offs and co-benefits between the six priorities visible
• Analysis of feedback loops between energy and food production and consumption
• Data-driven insight that supports evidence-based policy for a climate-neutral, resource-efficient Europe

Read the pathways report ↗ Watch the video ↗

The challenge

Corporate sustainability programmes often fail for lack of structure, depth and execution. Ardon’s value chain spans hundreds of suppliers and customers on several continents, which makes reliable data the hardest part.

What Raphael did

Together with Sustainova, Raphael ran a full Scope 1–3 carbon footprint assessment (all 15 GHG Protocol categories, with data from hundreds of suppliers and customers worldwide), a circular economy and sustainability analysis, an impact assessment and a strategy roadmap. A circular design gap analysis covered the product portfolio (vests, trousers, masks, helmets, fall arrests) with R-strategies focused on reuse, refurbishment and remanufacturing, and short virtual workshops trained suppliers and customers.

Results

• Exact optimization areas identified in Scope 1 and renewable energy opportunities in Scope 2
• 4 key emission hotspots highlighted among the 15 Scope 3 categories
• Roadmap targets: renewable-based electrification by 2030 and product take-back programmes by 2027
• A blockchain-based digital product passport strategy and a blueprint for the future European safety textile industry

The challenge

Construction is one of the largest waste producers, and usable materials are demolished and discarded because there is no easy way to find, trade and reuse them.

What Raphael did

Raphael started with a Circular Economy Session in Vilstal, part of the SocialTech4EU initiative, to build a shared understanding of circular operations, the value proposition of Återbygget Ekonomisk Förening and Industry 4.0/5.0 tools such as BIM models. He then developed a strategic roadmap for reuse, preventive maintenance, renovation, refurbishment and repair, and introduced a digital marketplace for secondary raw materials to bring transparency and verifiable data.

Results

• Waste tied to existing infrastructure virtually eliminated through reuse-based strategies
• Quantifiable reductions in emissions and lower costs across the board
• A digital secondary material market that shows how technology supports environmental sustainability
• New employment opportunities and a sustainability model that can be copied by other industries

The challenge

Used coffee grounds are usually thrown away as waste, although they are a valuable resource. Along a coffee supply chain, that value is lost to the economy and the environment pays for it.

What Raphael did

Raphael designed a tailored training programme for Coffee Resurrect, covering the core principles of circularity (circular design and the slowing, narrowing and closing of loops), industrial symbiosis, biotechnology and cascading cycles, sustainable sourcing and circular product and system design. He also supported the company with consulting: a circular business strategy aligned with its mission, assessments of the environmental benefits, and the identification of new market opportunities and partners.

Results

• Used coffee grounds upcycled into a range of valuable products through strategic partnerships, so no part goes to waste
• Less waste and new economic opportunities for multiple stakeholders
• A replicable circular bioeconomy model that other industries can follow

The challenge

The European Green Deal is often driven top-down, while political apathy and distrust keep communities on the sidelines, even though permaculture initiatives, transition networks and ecovillages already deliver change from the bottom up.

What Raphael did

With the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and ECOLISE, the European network for community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability, Raphael helped co-create strategic parameters that strengthen the role of local communities in the EU’s sustainability transition. The approach is holistic and systemic, takes on biodiversity loss and pollution, and promotes a regenerative mindset in which humans are an integral part of nature.

Results

• Decentralized, community-based action placed on the EU sustainability agenda, led by permaculture initiatives, transition networks and ecovillages
• Support for decentralized funding pools so resources reach community-led projects effectively
• Trust rebuilt between policymakers and communities, with community-led initiatives integrated into the wider Green Deal framework