Resource Efficiency
EHOLDER VALUE nies
resource constraint require us to re-think the whole of the linear economy and move to a more circular one, one that promotes a closed loop philosophy where waste is all but eliminated, resources are conserved and growth becomes vastly more sustainable.
The fact is that there are many real life examples of successful closed loop or near closed loop processes in action already. Nike, for example, crumbles old sports shoes to make sports courts and running tracks; simple, genius. Desso in Holland has developed carpet tiles that are fully closed loop, 100% recyclable into new carpet tiles; a near zero waste, perpetual use of resources model in action.
Some circular economy advocates hold that the transition to circular must be fast tracked. In fact, even efficiency gains merely represent continuous improvements to an unsustainable linear process rather than part of a new way of thinking; a sort of bandage to system that needs to be rebuilt. Even recycling is simply prolonging the linear wasteful process rather than planning waste out from the onset.
But practical reality precludes these efforts from fulfilling the requirements in the near term as we transition to a more resource aware society. The politics of compromise across industries and geographies will ensure that the transition is slower than hoped. That is not to say that the process will not happen; only that it will inevitably be evolutionary as larger corporations embrace and incorporate circular thinking.
In the meantime, investment in sustainability will continue to include the linear ideas of recycling and increasing efficiencies, particularly with respect to resources. In fact, it is the seemingly new found awareness of resource constraint that is driving the move from linear to circular.
SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT
ultimately discarding residual waste and unused goods. It is an unsustainable Take Make Dispose model.
Our system is focused on maximising production in order to meet the demands of consumption in a rapidly growing economy.
Materials used, energy consumed and waste created are necessities and by-products of the productive goal. It is an inefficient process that fails to maximise the benefits of the multitude of resources and energy required to keep the system operating.
To be clear, the sky is not falling. We are not suddenly running out of resources. Even rare earth minerals are more common than their title suggests. But the issues at play are daunting and they are in our near future.
Newer economic theorists believe that the realities of
Many believe that the popular sustainability acronyms (ESG, SRI and the like) that pervade the investment community are new. While environmental, social, responsible, ethical and governance in whichever combination you choose may be new concepts to some of the investment community, policy makers and business leaders have been keenly aware of their implications for decades, if not more.
In the US, the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorisation Act of 1987 (SARA) created the Toxic Release Inventory. It is referred to as the “right to know” legislation for its requirement to audit and report on all toxic environmental releases. It followed several pieces of legislation in the US but was the first that required companies to publicly disclose environmental data. That was 25 years ago.
Increasing volumes of emissions data flowed from companies following the SARA legislation. From this process, companies gradually began to voluntarily release more information through corporate sustainability reports.
49 entrepreneurcountry
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