If you work in investment recovery, you’re already on the front lines of sustainability. Your daily decisions about redeploying, reselling, refurbishing, and responsibly recycling surplus assets translate into measurable Scope 3 reductions, avoided waste, and real dollars returned to the business. This post curates recent, credible case studies—from aerospace to chemicals to logistics—and translates them into IR playbook moves you can use right now. It also tees up what you’ll see in Westminster, CO at the 2025 IR Conference & Trade Show, Sept. 21–24.

This article draws on your submitted draft “Nothing Succeeds Like Sustainability Success: Industry Case Studies,” adapted specifically for the Investment Recovery Association audience.

Why these case studies matter to IR

Across industries, leading programs share a pattern IR teams will recognize:

• Design for recovery (specify materials, fasteners, and documentation that make assets easy to repair, resell, or recycle).

• Reverse-flow logistics at scale (tech-enabled routing, vendor take-back, buy-back & renew programs).

• Market development (lining up qualified buyers and processors before the surplus shows up).

• Credible metrics (tie redeploy/sale/recycle outcomes to CO₂e, diversion, and avoided procurement).

Below, each case includes “IR takeaways” to help you translate strategy into action.

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1) Lighter parts, lower fuel, higher reuse: Airbus & additive manufacturing

Airbus has expanded 3D-printed (additively manufactured) parts across programs, noting that weight-reduced components cut fuel burn and CO₂ during operations. Their 2023 press update highlights weight savings as a pathway to lower emissions; the oft-cited rule of thumb is that 1 kg saved over an aircraft’s life can avoid ~25 metric tons of CO₂, underscoring the operational value of lightweighting.

IR takeaways

• Build a “make-to-maintain” pipeline: partner with engineering/MRO to 3D-print spares on demand, reducing obsolete inventory and stockouts.

• Qualify recyclers for AM feedstocks (e.g., Ti-6Al-4V swarf, nylon powders) so scrap becomes future material—not landfill.

• Track avoided new-buy and weight-related fuel savings as IR impacts, not just sales proceeds.

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2) Routing waste out of the system: UPS ORION & UPSNav

UPS’s ORION optimization and the UPSNav navigation layer have delivered material savings: ~10 million gallons of fuel and ~100,000 metric tons of CO₂ avoided annually, alongside time and cost improvements.

IR takeaways

• Apply the same thinking to reverse logistics: optimize routes for asset pickups, core returns, and end-of-lease retrievals to cut miles, fuel, and cycle time.

• Include route-efficiency KPIs (miles/asset, pickups per route) in vendor scorecards for e-waste, scrap metal, and returns.

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3) Turning tires and take-backs into new products: Ecore (SEAL Award 2023–2025)

Ecore’s closed-loop model transforms used truck tires and post-consumer flooring into high-performance surfaces. Their Buy Back & Renew program and supplier circularity scoring helped them secure SEAL recognition again in 2025.

IR takeaways

• Put vendor take-back and buy-back clauses into standard terms for flooring, PPE, packaging, pallets, and IT hardware.

• Pilot a “renew before you buy new” policy for facility refreshes—Ecore’s approach shows how post-consumer material can feed new product lines.

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4) Designing materials for circularity at scale: Dow (six SEAL awards, 2024)

Dow earned six SEAL Business Sustainability Awards for silicone innovations that improve performance and enable more sustainable product life cycles.

IR takeaways

• When sourcing MRO consumables, spec materials with longer service life or refurbishability; IR can then recover higher-value remnants or remainders.

• Document extended-life impacts (fewer change-outs = less surplus created) as part of your annual IR value story.

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5) Powering facilities with renewables—and repurposing sites: Amazon

Amazon reports achieving its goal to match global electricity use with 100% renewable power in 2023, remaining the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy; independent reporting also notes a 3% YoY emissions decline in 2023.

IR takeaways

• Coordinate with energy/procurement on PPA-enabled site transitions (e.g., decommissioned land repurposed for solar), aligning surplus disposition with site redevelopment timelines.

• Add energy-sourcing notes to IR project closeouts so sustainability teams can link asset actions to facility-level emissions narratives.

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6) Byproduct to feedstock: OxyChem chlorine recovery

At OxyChem’s La Porte, TX site, recovering chlorine byproduct from VCM production for use at other sites diverted >10 million pounds from incineration and cut ~14,800 tCO₂e, while reducing TRI air emission transfers by ~2 million pounds.

IR takeaways

• Map internal “waste-to-product” matches across plants (e.g., solvents, catalysts, resins, metals).

• Write inter-plant transfer playbooks: ownership transfer, quality specs, safe transport, and liability.

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7) Closing the loop on PP at scale: PureCycle (PLASTICS 2025 winner)

PureCycle’s dissolution purification of post-consumer polypropylene (PP) helps remove color/odor/additives and produce high-quality resin usable across fiber, injection, and thermoforming applications—recognized by the Plastics Industry Association in 2025.

IR takeaways

• Segment plastic scrap streams (PP, HDPE, PET) early; match them with advanced recyclers that pay premiums for clean, single-polymer bales.

• For packaging/consumables, spec PCR-ready designs (mono-material, labels/inks compatible with recycling) to boost your scrap value later.

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8) A circular exit for organics: LIFE Waste2Protein

Europe’s LIFE Waste2Protein demonstrated a modular insect-protein plant that bred ~300 tonnes of black soldier fly larvae, fed by ~20 tonnes/day of supermarket biowaste, with 25–42% lower CO₂ than traditional feed. It won the 2024 LIFE Award for circular economy and quality of life.

IR takeaways

• Add organics diversion to your IR scope for cafeterias, distribution centers, and food operations—value = avoided disposal + offtake revenues.

• Pre-qualify BSF or composting partners near your sites; set contamination thresholds and bin logistics in the contract.

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Your IR playbook: 10 actions to run this quarter

1. Run a material audit of top surplus streams (by weight and value); tag each for redeploy > resale > repair/refurb > recycle.

2. Build a vendor matrix that includes take-back/buy-back programs (flooring, pallets, PPE, IT, packaging, batteries).

3. Route optimization for reverse flows: use telematics to raise pickups/route and lower miles/asset.

4. Inter-plant swaps: publish a quarterly “internal marketplace” for parts, catalysts, and consumables before buying new.

5. AM-ready spares: qualify 3D-printed replacements for hard-to-source parts; track avoided new-buy and scrapped stock reductions.

6. PCR-ready packaging: standardize to mono-material designs to raise recovery value; pair with advanced PP/PE outlets.

7. Organics diversion pilots at food-handling sites; measure avoided disposal cost and emissions

8. Byproduct valorization: for each waste profile, define at least one feedstock customer (internal or external).

9. Scorecards & clauses: add circularity KPIs and take-back clauses to new contracts (flooring, fixtures, uniforms, crates).

10. Reporting glue: attribute IR outcomes to CO₂e, landfill diversion, and avoided procurement so your value shows up in ESG/finance decks.

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See it live at IR’s 2025 Conference & Trade Show

The Westminster program features IR-centric sessions on metal recycling value, e-waste data protection, AI for IR, and real-world case studies you can bring home to your organization. Join us Sept. 21–24, 2025 in Westminster, CO.