FEATURE Cawleys
A perfect logistical
partnership for a circular world
networks, reverse logistics focuses on the process of returning goods from the consumer to the point of origin for replacement, refurbishment, recycling, redistribution or clean disposal.
A circular economy needs robust infrastructure to manage the backwards fl ow of materials, and logistics companies are perfectly placed to manage this. Since the industrial age, economies around the world have relied on
a ‘take, make, waste’ model of consumption. Resources and materials are used to create a product, and at the end of its life – or when it’s no longer needed – the product and its valuable inherent resources are simply thrown away. T is is not a sustainable way of doing things and one that couldn’t be further from our own ethos here at Cawleys. As a leading-edge waste management and resource effi ciency
business, we passionately believe that the solution is a transition towards a circular economy, where resources are used and reused for as long as possible to keep them in the cycle of consumption. T is is not only benefi cial to the environment – which no longer has to provide increasingly scarce resources to create products, nor bear the brunt of their disposal through landfi ll or incineration – but it makes good business sense, too. Companies adopting circular economy principles benefi t from resilient value chains and signifi cant cost savings. In Europe alone, these savings are estimated at €600bn with a further €1.8 trillion in economic benefi ts. But there are challenges involved in this. Managing a circular
economy can be complex – there are a lot of moving parts, not to mention legislation barriers and, of course, the task of preserving the value of materials throughout the cycle, in order to make it all fi nancially viable in the fi rst place. This is where reverse logistics come in, presenting a valuable
opportunity for logistics companies and warehousing operations to play a critical role in the circular economy transition. Where ‘forward logistics’ is concerned with assembling materials for manufacturing, then delivering the end product to consumers via retail or business
6 ALL THINGS BUSINESS Anna Cawley
Director of Customer Services Cawleys
Logistical opportunities It is a key step in capturing the value of end-of-life goods and enabling the reuse and recycle pillars of the circular model, and since logistics companies already operate with the minimisation of resources in mind, their aims are squarely aligned with the main principles of circularity. For companies that make and sell products, and
which are perhaps new to the concept of circularity, reverse logistics can be seen as an unnecessary expense, generally because the costs involved are not as clearly visible as those involved in traditional forward logistics. While reusing and recycling
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