10 Things You Need to Know about the Circular Economy

1. 10 Things You Need to Know about the Circular Economy

2. A functioning circular economy could be a practical solution to the planet's emerging resource problems. Here are 10 facts you should know.

3. 1. Why do we need one? • The circular economy is touted as a practical solution to the planet's emerging resource scarcity. Reserves of key resources such as rare earth metals and minerals are declining, while exploration and extraction costs for materials are increasing. Today's 'take-do-discard' linear economy approach results in massive waste, according to Richard Girling's book Rubbish! published in 2005, 90% of raw materials used in manufacturing become waste before the product leaves the factory, while 80% of manufactured products are discarded within the first six months of their useful life . This, coupled with growing tensions around geopolitics and supply risk, are contributing to the volatility of commodity prices. A circular economy could help stabilize some of these problems by decoupling economic growth from resource consumption.

4. 2. It's more than just recycling • While substituting secondary materials for primary materials may offer a partial solution, recycling offers limited appeal as its processes are energy-intensive and generally degrade materials, leading to continued high demand for virgin materials. The circular economy goes beyond recycling, as it is based on a restorative industrial system aimed at eliminating waste. This graphic from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation shows how recycling is an 'outer circle' of the circular economy, requiring more energy than the 'inner circles' of repair, reuse and remanufacturing. The goal is not just to design for better end-of-life recovery, but to minimize energy use.

5. 3. The celebrities scream it • The notion of a circular economy was first touted in the 1970s by environmental scholars John T Lyle and Walter Stahel, but it only became a reality when former sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur established the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2010 to champion the concept. . Since then, the foundation has been highly influential in making it resonate with world leaders, global corporations, and academic institutions. Since then, various celebrities have supported the circular economy and its related principles from cradle to cradle. Brad Pitt is a member of the founding circle of Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation, while fellow actors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, and Will.i.am are all vocal supporters.

6. 4. The economy accumulates • The business case for a circular economy is compelling. McKinsey's analysis estimates that the shift toward circularity could add $ 1 trillion to the global economy by 2025 and create 100,000 new jobs over the next five years. Under the 2020 Vision of the Circular Economy of the Waste and Resources Action Program, the European Union (EU) could benefit from an improved trade balance of £ 90 billion and the creation of 160,000 jobs. Manufacturers are more likely to reap the benefits faster given their reliance on raw materials: McKinsey argues that a subset of the EU manufacturing sector could achieve net material cost savings of up to $ 630 billion per year for 2025.

7. 5. Business leadership • Ground-level innovation in this field is driven by large corporations that are piloting business opportunities based on leasing, product performance, remanufacturing, and extended lifecycle thinking. These companies have the power to effect change more quickly, given their geographic reach across global supply chains, and their efforts are likely to accelerate with the emergence of a company-led collaboration platform, the Circular Economy 100. Yes Well the circular matchmakers economy also depends on With the participation of SMEs, uptake in this sector remains limited. A recent survey of almost 300 small businesses in England, France and Belgium found that almost 50% had not heard of the concept.

8. 6. Government intervention • Expanding a circular economy internationally will likely require government support. A coordinated approach from world leaders to introduce positive legislative drivers, such as waste prevention goals and incentives around eco-design, to promote products that are easier to reuse, remanufacture and disassemble would be welcomed by many. Some countries are already starting to act: China has created CACE, a government-backed association to foster circular growth, while Scotland has published its own circular economy plan. In a very significant move, the European Commission's circular economy framework, released next month, is expected to introduce higher recycling targets and a ban on landfills of recyclables in all 28 EU member states.

9. 7. It will change the way we consume • Our relationship with the products and services we buy could be radicalized under a circular economy. What if we don't buy the goods we use, but instead privilege access and performance over property? The contractual "pay-as-you-go" agreements associated with smartphones, for example, could be extended to standard products like washing machines, clothing, and DIY equipment or maintenance service. Philips, Kingfisher Group and Mud Jeans are already testing product-as-a-service models, which would make us users rather than consumers. Such a change would not only allow companies to retain ownership of the product to facilitate repair, reuse and remanufacturing, but could result in producer liability obligations being extended to users as part of the purchase agreement.

10. 8. New skills, please • Making the transition to a circular economy will be complex, as it requires a systems-level redesign and an urgent need for new skills, not only within STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), but in all creative disciplines for design, advertising. and digital. At a higher level, systems thinking and modeling are likely to come to the fore to help build the right frameworks and guide behavior change. On a more practical level, various organizations such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Circular Economy Australia are conducting educational outreach work with universities and secondary schools.

11. 9. Expect interruptions • One of the main enablers will be disruptive innovation for sustainable development goals, where cutting-edge technology and design will generate new circular business models, displacing existing markets and creating new ones. The companies leading this agenda are realizing that they will have to alter their own models from within or risk being altered. Questions are also being raised about intellectual property, disclosure agreements and competition laws as companies collaborate to brainstorm and co-create. The benefit of being the first to act can be costly and the perceived level of risk can be a hindrance.

12. 10. The UK is 19% circular • The 2010 weight-based material flow analysis by the Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP) estimated that one fifth of the UK economy is already operating in a circular fashion. 19% is related to the weight of the domestic material input (600 million tons) that enters the economy compared to the amount of recycled material (115 million tons). Future WRAP projections predict that this figure could rise to almost 27% by 2020, if 137 million tons of material were recycled from a direct material input of less than 510 million tons.

13. About Us • At Circular Matchmakers, our passionate team is driven by a strong commitment to sustainability and the smooth functioning of all stages of the supply chain, especially when it comes to circular services in industrial applications. We actively qualify, select, improve and match the best companies in the industries we serve. • Website - https://circularmatchmakers.eu/