3 Questions on Regulate, Repair, Redesign with Stephan Schaller In this 3-question interview, CSCP Senior Expert Stephan Schaller makes the case for bringing repair back, not just as a sustainable choice, but as a smart business opportunity. If you could change one thing about the way we design, use or repair products tomorrow, what would it be? Product longevity is completely underestimated. At least in some product categories I would love to see products that are more or less designed to live forever; that are timeless, functional and aesthetically appealing and can be inherited, passed on or sold if not needed anymore. In product categories with higher innovation cycles, I would like to see more modularity and future thinking: What might be a future product feature that I can take into account today already (and build interfaces for it)? Modularity is in itself a desirable feature as it allows for easy repair and maintenance and upgrade-ability. But this is now more than this “one thing” – sorry for that! For generations, repairing things was an integral part of everyday life. What will it take to bring it back? At first glance we “simply” need to reverse cost and resulting price structures. We used to repair more because resources were more precious and expensive relative to labour, not necessarily because we loved repairing things. Interestingly, people spending free time in repair initiatives (as I do myself) seem to have rediscovered resources as something valuable and worth preserving, regardless of the fact that the market pricing system suggests otherwise. Or as some people put it (rightly): market prices do not tell the full truth. They often neither reflect scarcity nor associated social and environmental costs. So, let us use the very same policy instruments that determine our current market prices and consistently gear them towards sustainability. If we take a closer look into the EU Circular Economy Act, we already see a lot of initiatives that will support a greater market and price shift towards repair—and it embodies many of the characteristics of a successful master plan: supply, demand, transparency, minimum quotas, and more. From this perspective bringing back repair into people’s lives as a company is not a “nice to have” anymore, but increasingly a market requirement and a strong business case. What conversation do you hope participants will still be having after leaving the Regulate, Repair & Redesign sessions? Currently, the introduction of many regulative packages seems overwhelming for some companies. They seem to lose sight of the underlying aim: Turning linear products and business models into more circular ones. I am very interested in listening to the experiences of pioneers who believed in circular economy as part of their business way before it became compulsory. Maybe we can learn that trying to closely align your business with societal and planetary needs, plus implementing common transparency standards already covers 95% of upcoming regulatory requirements? A second aspect I’d hope to highlight is the need for partnerships: In a circular economy we cannot solve and do it all by ourselves – and it’s not always about competition. We will explore a number of interesting and unconventional alliances that formed around the idea of promoting a circular society. I am sure there will be lots of eye-opening moments and inspirational ideas to further discuss and follow-up with. Join Stephan Schaller at the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026. Register here to secure your spot! To explore the full Circular Week 2026 programme, please visit the dedicated page. For all other questions, please contact Nils Kreft.