Insights from the CircularPRO Global Challenge Winners

The CircularPRO Global Challenge took place last month and proved to be more than just a competition—it was a true test of skill, strategy, and sustainability, and a huge success overall. Over 1,150 participants from 75 countries faced off in the CircularPRO simulation, managing two brands in a fiercely eco-conscious market. They needed to make critical decisions to balance profitability with sustainability by redefining product features, reducing carbon footprints, and meeting customer demands for greener solutions.

Here, we spotlight the top three winning teams from the challenge and their experience participating in the challenge. 

1st Place: Team MoMentum (SPI 297)

Ivo Cremers & Thomas Fransen, Technical University of Eindoven, Netherlands

What made you decide to enter the CircularPRO Challenge?

Last year, while studying Sustainable Innovation at the Technical University of Eindhoven, we enrolled in a course centred around the MarktStrat simulation. We really liked the simulation then, so we signed up for the CircularPRO Challenge.

What did you think of playing the CircularPRO simulation?

Playing the CircularPRO Challenge was very exciting. Seeing our profits and ecological performance increase even more each round was very exciting, as it validated our decisions.

What did you learn about circular economy principles for marketing?

It is important to target one segment. Creating a product which is perfect for one segment will give significantly higher results than a product that is mediocre for 2 segments. It is important to look at what aspects of the product are important to the consumer.

What did you find the most challenging about the simulation?

It was hard to find the preferred values for the product parameters. The simulation only gave the ranking of the products, from which the preferred values could be determined. For example, by looking at the performance parameters of the top ranked product in a segment, the preferred parameters could be determined.

Can you share any key takeaways or lessons learned during the simulation?

Constantly developing your products is one of the most important aspects of the simulation. Targeting a product on a single segment is also very important. When you target segments that value sustainability, it is also important to put resources into sustainable initiatives.

As a top performer, what advice or tips for success would you give other participants playing CircularPRO?

It is important to first get a good idea how the simulation works. It is also important to read about the three segments. And find out what their needs are.

What aspect did you enjoy the most of the simulation?

The development of our products to the needs of our targeted segments. Seeing our budget rise exponentially.

Did you find the simulation was useful in bringing to life circular economy principles for business? If so how?

The simulation not only rewarded economic performance but also the ecological performance of the company. This is something that could be implemented into real life business. As it would greatly motivate companies to become more sustainable.

Anything you learned from the simulation that you think will help you in your career? If so what?

For us, a takeaway lesson was that it is important to not only look at the sustainability side of products but also at what your target group wants in a product. With this, it is important to keep developing your product to keep up with the changing needs of your customers and the improving products of other companies.

2nd Place: Team zillwest (SPI 287)

Phat Dang Tan, High School for the Gifted, Vietnam

What made you decide to enter the CircularPRO Challenge?

"I am a senior at High School for the Gifted in Ho Chi Minh City. As years go by, I have decided my path to be a financial analyst. As a result, I have been trying to get myself familiar with the concept of economic terms and principles, especially through contests aiming to enhance both the general and specialized knowledge of finance."

What did you think of playing the CircularPRO simulation?

"Initially, I would not think that I would make it this far, as I only took part in a few business case contests in Vietnam but did not gain any recognition or prizes. However, as I dived deeper into the contest and its visions, I developed a more composed attitude towards the challenges and realized that all it would take is hard work and earnestness to research more about the knowledge involved."

What did you learn about circular economy principles for marketing?

"One marketing strategy related to circular economy I learned from the contest is to engage your customers on the idea of sustainability. However, businesses have to engage customers on what the customer segments demand most. By doing so, businesses can further enlarge their profit and later promote a circular economy model in the future."

What did you find the most challenging about the simulation?

"As I glided through the simulation, I did not really have any serious problems with the challenges. Nevertheless, at times, I would find it moderately testing how to balance your money on manufacturing and marketing strategy in order to allocate the money spent across generations. You have to properly prioritize the choices and be extremely careful to be successful."

Can you share any key takeaways or lessons learned during the simulation?

"I learned how to change the price of the products in order to gain more attention among the different generations and how to increase the company’s market share and make some financial profit. I also learned how to advertise the products based on their aim and specialty, thus raising our ratings and beating other opponents."

As a top performer, what advice or tips for success would you give other participants playing CircularPRO?

"I would say be aware of what you are doing. Consider the outcomes as many times as possible. Get yourself accustomed to the terms and principles so that you can gain a huge advantage over the other contestants."

What aspect did you enjoy the most about the simulation?

"I really took pleasure in the fact that the simulation always gave you detailed analysis of your performance after each year. With the statistics and evaluation it demonstrated, I could gain the advantage to perform better in the next years."

Did you find the simulation useful in bringing to life circular economy principles for business?

"After the contest, I found that not only did the contest deliver the participants the knowledge of circular economy principles."

Anything you learned from the simulation that you think will help you in your career?

"I felt like I developed a more incisive mindset after the contest. Specifically, before each move and decision, I would, again and again, consider all the aspects involved and try to evaluate them holistically. I wouldn’t let my subjective, ego-based view interfere. After all, it is all about the soft skills that I gained throughout the competition—be careful with your choices, and leverage everything you’ve got to yield the most desirable outcome."

3rd Place: Team TBIRDS (SPI 265)

Isabel Aluzzi & Ana Walters, Thunderbird School of Global Management

What made you decide to enter the CircularPRO Challenge?

"I am currently a student at Thunderbird School of Global Management, and one of the classes I am taking this semester is ‘Circular Economy’ with Professor Shirley-Ann Behravesh. She has been teaching us about all of the elements of building a circular economy successfully and encouraged all of us in the class to register for the challenge."

"I decided to participate in the CircularPRO Challenge as a direct result of my coursework
in Circular Economy."

What did you think of playing the CircularPRO simulation?

"I thought the CircularPRO simulation was interesting and exciting to take part in! The simulation was easy to navigate and understand. The resources given up front were very helpful in forming our strategy and completing the simulation."

"CircularPRO simulation was a rewarding experience to participate in. The simulation was
user friendly and adaptable, to discover meaningful results."

What did you learn about circular economy principles for marketing?

"There are so many components to creating a circular economy, so you can decide to market individual components such as zero carbon emissions or only using recycled materials, or you can market the idea of circularity as a whole, which not all audiences will fully understand. A company can take steps towards being fully circular, but what they choose to market should be based on what the customer segments care most about."

"The circular economy principles of marketing highlighted the critical role of strategic decision-making in ensuring business success."

What did you find the most challenging about the simulation?

"At times, I found it difficult to balance the implementation of new sustainable initiatives while also maintaining a solid financial situation within the company. Although I wanted to implement all initiatives and change all product features right away in year one, I had to spread it out over the five years. Being able to prioritize and be patient were very important for the business to be successful."

"The most challenging discovery during the simulation was each decision made directly
affected the surplus."

Can you share any key takeaways or lessons learned during the simulation?

"I learned that it is important to continuously implement more sustainable initiatives, even though some customer segments may not care about circularity. You can move towards a circular business model while also focusing on elements customers care more about, such as productivity or price."

As a top performer, what advice or tips for success would you give other participants playing CircularPRO?

"I would advise other participants to read through all the reference materials thoroughly before beginning the decision-making process. Also, focus on the customer segments, as that determines the most important marketing initiatives."

"A key piece of advice for success in the CircularPRO Challenge is that collaboration plays a crucial role."

What aspect did you enjoy the most about the simulation?

"I enjoyed the fact that you can view the results after each year and see which strategies are working well and which are not. This allowed me to learn in a hands-on way through trial and error."

"I enjoyed the process of exploring how to navigate the simulation and gaining an understanding of how each decision influenced the outcome."

Did you find the simulation useful in bringing to life circular economy principles for business?

"I found the simulation useful in bringing circular economy principles for business to life. Many of the principles I’ve learned in class—such as recycling materials, reparability, and reducing carbon footprint—were present in the simulation."

"The simulation was useful for gaining knowledge in the circular economy principles for business. I grow my knowledge within resource management and sustainable decision making to best benefit the business."

Anything you learned from the simulation that you think will help you in your career?

"I was able to practice thinking long-term over multiple years, balancing new initiatives while still improving business finances and operations. Another key takeaway was learning to market based on what the customer cares about, not necessarily what the company is doing."

"The knowledge I gained from the simulation will be invaluable in my future career. It demonstrated the significance of every decision and its direct impact on business outcomes."

The winners were awared Amazon gift cards ranging from $100 - $700 in value. Congratulations to these top performing teams for their accomplishments!

Launch Your Own CircularPRO Challenge!

Are you ready to create a similar, dynamic experience into your learning programs? Implement a sustainability competition like the CircularPRO Global Challenge and watch your learners thrive in a dynamic, competitive environment. It’s an exciting way to foster innovation, teamwork, and practical problem-solving skills. Contact us today to schedule a demo and explore how CircularPRO can elevate your training experience!