There are companies across the entire globe modifying the way they conduct business due to climate change, scarcity of resources, and the desire to become environmentalists. The former take-make-dispose system, where raw materials extracted, removed, converted to products, and discarded, is neither good for the earth nor sustainable for profits.
Circular economy is a system designed to alter our understanding of the growth process by decoupling economic activity and consumption of finite resources. The idea of the circular economy that materials, products, and resources should be utilized to their maximum before discarding or reusing them.
Companies that adhere to the principles of the circular economy do not only do it because it is good for the environment; it is a performance of being ahead of the pack. These are the major concepts that any business must know and apply in its daily operation.
Ensure that there is no waste and pollution in the first place.
The circular economy is based on the concept of waste and pollution design out. The companies should not wait till the product finished to handle the waste but prevent its creation in the first place. In order to do so, you have to reconsider the way of designing products, selecting materials, and manufacturing them.
An example is modular product design, where a certain part can altered or updated and thus the product will have a longer life. This has demonstrated by companies such as Fairphone with cell phones that easy to dismantle and repair and reduce the amount of electronic waste. The production process and the disposal of the closed-loop production using non-toxic materials also reduce pollution.
We must also shift toward beginning-of-life innovation by abandoning the unfortunately circularity-inducing end-of-pipe approaches. When made to think, it makes engineers, designers, and strategists think of how to dispose of waste prior to its occurrence.
Continue using goods and materials.
Another relevant aspect of the circular economy is the concept of keeping products and resources in circulation. This is a concept of creating a lasting thing with the help of fixing, cleaning, reusing, refurbishing, and recycling. Companies reduce their usage of new resources and minimize environmental effects by ensuring that goods remain in circulation.
There are several ways through which this can done by companies:
- Product-as-a-service models:
Product leasing models allow companies to lease and retain property. This provides the manufacturers with an incentive to produce items that are durable and repairable. An example of this is the case of Philips, which provides the option of lighting as a service: the customers buy light, not the bulbs.
- Repair and refurbishing schemes:
Patagonia and IKEA are the companies that provide repair services and buy-back programs to ensure that the products last longer and consumers become more loyal to the brand.
- Recycling and recovering of materials:
With closed-loop recycling systems, it ensures that the metals, plastics, and textiles constantly used to manufacture new products, which reduces wastage and expenses. The value chain involving suppliers to consumers must cooperate ensuring that all commodities given a new use.
Restore Natural Systems
Conventional industrial systems tend to damage the environment, whereas the circular economy aims at replenishing natural systems. This philosophy does not simply seek to reduce harm; it also seeks to reestablish ecosystems and increase natural capital.
Companies can contribute to regeneration through such activities:
- Production using renewable sources.
- Favoring regenerative agriculture that enhances soil health and biodiversity.
- Composting as well as the recovery of the bio-based materials, which reintroduce significant nutrients to the biosphere.
- Just to give an example, Interface, a global flooring company, has manufactured carbon-negative tiles of carpeting using recycling and bio-based materials in an endeavor to repair harm inflicted on the environment.
A truly circular economy requires the use of renewable resources and energy. This involves relying on renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar, and biomass to run production and operations and ensuring that the resources availed a manner that does not pollute the environment. Installing renewable energy sources will not only reduce the carbon emission but will also help us to better equipped for the fluctuating fossil fuel markets.
An example is Apple and Google, who have already transitioned all of their activities to renewable energy, leading the pack in sustainability in the industry. Businesses also must consider that the materials they use can reused. As an example, bioplastics such as the use of wood and natural fibers, which can found in sources that are sustainable, can used to close material loops more easily than fossil-based plastics.
Conclusion
The circular economy is not only an environmental movement but also a business strategy of creating future-proof businesses that are resilient. Reinventing the design, production, and management of products through their lifecycle can enable companies to tap new sources of value and cut disastrously on waste and environmental impacts.
Circular principles, including designing out waste, maintaining material in use, natural system regeneration, and using renewable energy, can enable organizations to balance profitability and sustainability. Other than enhancing efficiency, it builds brand reputation, fuels innovation, and delivers rising consumer and regulatory demands of responsible operations.
After all, switching to the concept of the circular economy is not a choice; it is the only possible way to be competitive in the long term. By doing what they can today to incorporate circular thinking into their approaches, not only will they be able to save the planet, but they will also be able to ensure a more sustainable and successful future for the generations to come.
