Responsible Resource Management in Remanufacturing—Framework for Qualitative Assessment in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Through the remanufacturing process, obsolete, broken, and end-of-use products are brought to “a like new condition”. Remanufacturing is an example of implementation of circular economy at a company level. There are few studies on responsible resource management in a remanufacturing process. This paper contributes to this research gap by presenting a two-layered framework, which uses the maturity model theory, and it allows for a quick scan of a remanufacturing process. First, in the descriptive layer of the framework we define five maturity levels with regard to responsible resource management. We analyze water, emissions, energy, and materials, and describe relevant responsible resource management practices, which we link with maturity levels. We also design the relevant self-assessment tool which utilizes the existing expert’s knowledge of a company. Then, in the prescriptive layer of the framework, we propose a method for the identification of the maturity gap, and areas for improvement. We develop a procedure for prioritizing the measures, which shall be implemented in order to achieve a higher level of responsible resource management in a remanufacturing company. The framework is tested in small and medium-sized enterprises from the automotive industry.