Editorial Will Parsons
The shape of sustainability: a billion dollar question
The circle, the loop, the cycle, has long been the accepted emblem of a sustainable process or practice. Never-ending, eternal and uninter- rupted, it is self-sufficient, self-fulfilling and whole... All sounds rather new age, doesn’t it? However, the circle is more than an emblem of the ideal, it is increasingly being posited as a model not just for businesses processes and practices, but for the very economic system they are part of.
In fact, the humble loop has been rolled into the spotlight in recent months by organisations such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, as momentum for a ‘Circular Economy’ contin- ues to grow.
The benefits are clear. Designing for end of use allows for reprocessing/remanufacture of raw materials. A shift in perceptions of owner- ship would mean the manufacturer essentially leases the consumer everything from hairdryers to helicopters, taking them back at end of use and providing an ‘upgrade’ as the materials are fed back into manufacturing. The result? Less virgin material needed, less embedded energy, lower carbon emissions and a massive reduc- tion in waste. However, it isn’t necessarily the environmental reasoning that’s most compelling – and here I’m concentrating on the ‘Business’ in Sustainable Business – it’s the economics.
Because it’s easy to forget, it’s not only materi- als and energy that are captured in closed loop systems… it’s money.
Recently I met with a specialist waste compa- ny and, over lunch, became increasingly slack- jawed at the figures quoted. My chin didn’t hit the table however, until £1bn was mentioned. Most shocking was what that figure repre- sented: the estimated precious metals value in circuit boards shipped abroad in WEEE waste. One billion pounds.
A billion quid that the man eating lunch across the table from me could extract. A billion quid that would be shared with the waste contractors or manufacturers responsible for that WEEE waste. A billion quid that, though he and others like him could start extracting it now, is leav- ing our domestic economy, our own financial loop, as waste product.
However, change is challenging. Creating it, even more so. But altering existing, rigid, linear processes through gradual, incremental change is neither good enough, nor fast enough. What’s needed is a seismic shift in the way we view resources, including waste, and the eco- nomic reserves they represent. What’s needed is a revolution. And, if there’s one shape cus- tom-made for revolution, it’s the circle.
Find out more at
www.resourcerevolution.net
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