Towards a Circular Economy
Will implementing Circular Economy strategies help us reach Net-Zero?
The answer lies in the many ways circular economy aims at tackling global challenges!
What is circular economy?
Circular economy means redefining the ways of production and consumption by eliminating waste by extending the lifespan of materials. It is based on three principles, and all are driven by design:
- Eliminate waste & pollution
- Circulate products & materials
- Regenerate natural systems
What is the need for a Circular Economy?
We need to go a few decades back when the “throwaway” culture took a U-turn and started to understand the relevance of circular economy. In the 1950s, the advent of mass production and lower material cost led to a considerable reduction of product prices, which even made ‘repairing’ not cost-effective. The number of materials and products considered disposable started growing, taking over most of the items that we own nowadays. Moreover, the change in people’s mindset, cultural shifts and fast-paced lifestyles also played an essential role. Consumerism and boredom have replaced utility since then, which has resulted in landfills full of single-use plastics, low-cost textiles, and food waste, among other materials made by finite resources. Yearly we extract around 90 billion tons of natural resources to create what we consume; the current production system is shockingly wasteful, and the consumption is ethically mindless!
Have you wondered why your laptops are designed to become less useful with time? Or where do all the mobile phones you bought till now have ended up into?
The existing linear economy is based on the take-make-waste model. Companies want to sell more, trying to persuade us to buy the latest product, replace the one that’s broken or no longer supported, and discard it because it is not worth keeping it, which is a complete waste of natural resources and a waste of money. 45% of global CO2 emissions come from the manufacture, consumption, and disposal of products and materials through land management and the production of food and goods.
Contrary to the linear economy, materials are continuously cycled back to provide inputs for new products and services in the circular economy business model. The intention is to change our relationship with products delivering the highest value it can, for as long as possible, and to produce no waste. Circular economy approaches propose the design of products for multiple uses:
- easy repair and maintenance and easy disassembly
- manufacturing products from non-toxic, renewable, recycled and recyclable materials
- finding efficient methods to recover materials after their first life and prepare them for their following uses
- creating viable business models of leasing or renting products to consumers to use resources more productively
What does it mean for businesses, producers & manufacturers?
Adopting circular economy strategies opens the door to new business lines, cost reduction, potential business growth, and a better environmental impact. Circular approaches have benefits for the company, its customers and associated stakeholders. By producing high-quality, durable and repairable products, businesses can improve customer experience, build trust in the brand and lead to loyal customers. Here are a few examples.
What does it mean for the economy?
The global environmental crisis is a wake-up call to change our system of production and consumption. Adopting circular business model means tackling climate change and biodiversity loss while addressing critical social needs. It shifts the onus more towards the businesses so that there is some accountability of the waste generated. The companies are redefining their model through Life Cycle Assessment, Reverse logistics, localised Circular Supply Chain, Product as a Service model, Open Source Innovation, emerging technologies like IoT, IoB, Blockchain and many more circular strategies which eventually impacts the economy.
The desire for a better, kinder and greener future is nudging us to rethink circular ways of producing and consuming so that we can co-exist with nature. We at Around Zero, help businesses adopt circular economy strategies to reduce their environmental impact and address Scope 3 of Net Zero. Read our blog here, which defines the 3 Net Zero Scopes. Get in touch with us to discuss more at hello@around-zero.com.
Excited to share that we are now part of the ‘Ellen MacArthur Foundation community’!
This blog was co-authored by Ana Guerrero and Vinishree, both are the co-founders of Around Zero.
