butterfly & elephant, the investment company of GS1 Germany, is investing in the Munich-based start-up hey circle. The company develops reusable shipping packaging and a digital solution for tracking its use. The aim is to reduce waste and CO₂ emissions in online retail and promote the circular economy in the shipping process.
Standardisation as the basis for targeted savings
The hey circle system combines robust, reusable shipping boxes and bags with a software solution that documents circulation, savings and CO₂ emissions. Each piece of packaging is marked with a unique GRAI (Global Returnable Asset Identifier). This allows the movements of individual containers to be tracked and the savings achieved to be calculated precisely.
In addition, hey circle uses GTIN (formerly EAN) to uniquely identify different types of packaging and manage inventory across locations. The application of GS1 standards creates a common database and facilitates integration into existing logistics processes. ‘The use of GS1 standards such as GTIN and GRAI enables us to uniquely identify packaging and transparently record sustainability data. This makes the circular economy measurable and applicable for companies,’ says Doris Diebold, founder and managing director of hey circle.
According to hey circle, reusable packaging reduces waste by around 94 per cent, CO₂ emissions by 76 per cent and packaging costs by 53 per cent compared to disposable cartons (source: Ökopol study and comparative calculations by hey circle).
The accompanying software automatically records these values and makes them available for ESG reporting. This provides companies with a data basis for integrating environmental indicators into their sustainability reports.
Market position and cooperation
hey circle works with over 90 corporate customers and has tens of thousands of packaging units in circulation. Collaborations with parcel service providers support the further development and integration of reusable models into existing logistics networks. The investment by butterfly & elephant marks another step towards spreading the use of reusable packaging solutions in mail order and establishing data standards as the basis for sustainable logistics processes. ‘hey circle makes sustainability scalable. The team combines ecological responsibility with economic strength. Our investment promotes a model that uses GS1 standards to bring sustainable innovation to existing value chains,’ says Benjamin Birker, Managing Director at butterfly & elephant.
press photographs:
2. Reusable shipping packaging in various sizes from hey circle - Image rights: hey circle
3. Doris Diebold, founder of hey circle - Image rights: hey circle
4. Benjamin Birker, Managing Director butterfly & elephant - Image rights: butterfly & elephant
Contact presse:
GS1 Germany GmbH
Tassja Wagner
Manager Corporate Communications
Stolberger Straße 108 a, 50933 Köln
Phone: +49 170 7009027
E-Mail: tassja.wagner@gs1.de
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