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Building A Circular Economy - And Why It Is So Important

27th June 2022

Our current lifestyle utilizes 60% more resources than the Earth can provide - and creates too much waste. This means that we are using about 1.6 Earths, and by 2050, with rising global temperatures, population and consumption, this “overshoot” could get to 3-4 Earths!

In our current economy, we take materials from the Earth, make products from them, and eventually throw them away as waste – the process is linear.

Around the world, businesses, governments and consumers increasingly recognize the challenges that are being caused by a ‘take-make-dispose’ approach to production and consumption. In 2019 alone, over 92 billion tonnes of materials were extracted and processed, which contributed to almost half of global CO2 emissions. The resulting waste included plastics, textiles, food, electronics and more, and is taking its toll on the environment and human health.

In a circular economy, by contrast, we stop waste being produced in the first place, and switching to this form of economy is widely considered to be the way forward.

But, what is a circular economy?

It is based on three principles, driven by design:

  • Eliminate waste and pollution

  • Circulate products and materials (at their highest value)

  • Regenerate nature

(As per the Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

It has been found that transitioning to renewable energy “can only address 55% of emissions. The remaining 45% comes from producing the cars, clothes, food, and other products we use every day.”

Therefore, it’s not enough to transition to renewable energy. We also need to tackle carbon emissions tied to all that we create, buy, use and dispose of.

In a circular economy, things are made and consumed in a way that minimizes our use of the planet’s resources, cuts waste and reduces carbon emissions. Products are to be kept in use for as long as possible, through repairing, recycling and redesign – so they can be used over and over again.

“At the end of a product’s life, materials that are used to make it are kept in the economy and reused wherever possible,” the European Parliament has explained.

How do we go about it?

Consumers, businesses and governments must all make changes.

Ways to create fewer emissions include shifting to sustainable alternatives, especially for highly in-demand, inevitable products like paper (moving to recycled paper and sustainable stationery, for example), adopting a plant-based diet, buying food locally, as well as flying less often and carpooling.

Homes, offices and other buildings may be designed to have multiple uses. For example, an office space that can be used as a community centre and a night school.

Recycling waste materials into new materials and objects is another step that can be taken. While this process does use energy and create emissions, it drastically reduces the collective global carbon footprint and contributes heavily to a circular economy.

Why is a circular economy is important?

It is an alternative to traditional linear economies where we take resources, produce things, consume them and throw them away, which uses up finite raw materials and produces vast quantities of waste.

India generates 62 million tonnes of waste each year. And globally, a circular economy could unlock $4.5 trillion of value by 2030, a report by Accenture has estimated.

Numerous leading organizations around the world have proven the business case for circularity, having successfully adopted circular business models and leveraging disruptive technologies. However, these have generally been focused on small-scale initiatives or programmes that can be retrofitted into business environments, limiting their ability to really transform, impact and scale. To reach the full potential of a circular economy, much more is to be done.

At Rescript, we help organizations and individuals collectively reduce their carbon footprint through products that are excessively used in homes, offices and schools – paper, and stationery like notebooks, journals, pencils, and pens.
 


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