DLL has been shortlisted as one of the finalists for the Award for the Circular Economy Investor, part of the 2016 Circulars Awards program, organized by the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders in collaboration with Accenture. The Circulars recognize individuals and organizations from commerce and civil society that have made a notable contribution to driving circular economy principles.

Part of DLL’s vision is to encourage the transition to the circular economy through innovative and effective financing solutions that support its clients. The circular economy offers a new way to maximize the use of the world’s resources and ensures business has a positive impact on people and planet, marrying environmental goals with those of driving commercial success.

“We are thrilled to receive this recognition for our contribution to the drive to the circular economy,” says Rob van den Heuvel, Senior Vice President Global Asset Management at DLL. “In a world with a growing population, it is vital to invent new circular models that make better use of precious natural resources and at the same time underpins innovation and commercial success. It is immensely exciting that through our work in this area and the bold steps taken by our partners, we can see this transition taking shape in front of our eyes.”

The Circular Economy Investor Award recognizes those organizations in the investment sector, which provide financial backing for the circular economy to become mainstream. 

Believing that the best route to change is through innovation and strong, practical support, DLL offers tailored financial solutions to its customers, manufacturers and dealers across nine industries, to develop circular business models that provide second and third product life cycles and profitable, new business revenue streams. With its specialized Lifecycle Asset Management (LCAM) program, it is able to encourage many of its customers to expand the full technical life of their equipment via remanufacturing and refurbishing.

DLL, a fully owned subsidiary of Rabobank Group, manages its LCAM activities in nine industries: office technology, industrial equipment, healthcare, automotive, clean technology, construction, transportation, agriculture and food. DLL’s second life equipment financing investments grew from 1% in 2013, to 5% in 2015. DLL has the ambition to have this percentage grown towards 20% by 2020. 

DLL’s second and third product life financing enables its customers to transition from selling an asset to selling a service, leading to the more sustainable service-based economy. In the latter, manufacturers and dealers are better placed to manage their materials and product life cycle processes, to enable the smartest use of resources and the development of circular methods.

The final winners of the Circulars will be announced at a ceremony at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2016.