DLL, a global provider of asset-based financial solutions, has been chosen as the winner of the Alliance Trust Award for Circular Economy Investor. The award is 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 notable contributions to driving circular economy principles. CEO, Bill Stephenson: “Receiving this award is a groundbreaking milestone for our company and an immensely great honor. It’s a valuable motivation to continue our efforts to contribute to the circular economy, thereby creating business value for our partners, the environment and our company.”

The Circular Economy Investor Award is granted to organizations in the investment sector that provide financial backing for the circular economy to become mainstream. 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 the planet, marrying environmental goals with those of driving commercial success.

DLL is encouraging the transition to circular-focused business models by offering innovative and effective financing solutions that enable customers to use rather than own their assets. The judges were especially impressed by this commitment and the fact that DLL is driving change towards the circular economy built on innovative financing solutions and the process of educating its partners about the importance of moving from the ‘take, make, waste’ linear model to the circular model of use and reuse. Through its Life Cycle Asset Management (LCAM) program, DLL encourages its customers to expand the full technical life of their equipment via remanufacturing and refurbishing.

“We could not have won this accolade without the energy and in-depth knowledge of our people, dedicated LCAM team, and the efforts and ingenuity of our partners,” says Rob van den Heuvel, Senior Vice President Global Asset Management at DLL. “At DLL, we believe that innovative financial solutions enable our partners to take up the challenge of the circular economy, and we are delighted to see an increasing number of companies recognize that this new way of doing business is both commercially profitable and sustainable. With our partners, we highlight the potential business opportunities of managing and trading second and third life equipment, thereby actively pushing for refurbishment and remanufacturing. To date, DLL has provided 1.2 billion euros of second life financing in several industries.”

DLL, a fully owned subsidiary of Rabobank Group, provides LCAM services 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 and are expected to account for 20% of the firm’s portfolio by 2020.

Financing solutions are essential to facilitate mainstream adaptation of remanufactured or refurbished assets, as they provide customers the assurance that these assets will perform technically as well as economically. As such, DLL’s second and third life financing empowers its partners 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 positioned to manage their materials and product life cycle processes, thus enabling the smartest use of resources and the development of circular methods.

“Our customers today want to buy a sophisticated service rather than own an asset. This is driving a revolutionary shift to a more service-based economy,” says Bill Stephenson, CEO, DLL. “Servitization is facilitating this transition. Accordingly, DLL is moving its value proposition from financing assets to providing solutions and services. In line with this movement, DLL is expanding its services in terms of providing partners in-depth asset data and market knowledge that give them insights into the usage of assets throughout their complete lifecycle. This enables our partners to operate more cost-effectively and empowers them to design their closed loop processes more efficiently. This all leads to greater profits, increased customer satisfaction and a much more positive impact on the environment.”

The Circular Economy Investor Award was presented to DLL COO Carlo van Kemenade as the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting took place in Davos on January 19.