The Circular Economy
A more realistic approach to understanding our lives and the systems in which we live is urgently required. We must adopt an ecological stance relative to where we find ourselves. "Ecological" referring not just to the planet, but to "the set of relationships existing between any complex system and its surroundings or environment" [Webster] — That is, to all the systems in which we live.
The Circular Economy as widely understood is a vision for business developed out of an ecological stance on the environment. Adopted by many transnational organizations and governments, and especially championed in Europe, this understanding seeks to align business activities with the realities of limited resources and climate change.
Proponents of the Circular Economy seek to rethink and retool how business is done, fundamentally changing our relationship with natural resources.
An outline and schematics are presented below the following critique.
Critique of The Circular Economy
There are sound and important criticisms of the Circular Economy that must be understood. For example:
Circular is not always better. The objective must be clear, and then the question posed: Does this instance of circular further that objective? If the objective is carbon reduction, the question would be: For this item, broken or not, in this place, where is carbon principally emitted? In usage, or in manufacturing? Reuse does not always reduce carbon.
Another question could be posed: In this instance, what is the highest and best objective — carbon reduction or some other ecological or social benefit (e.g., making a low cost good available to a secondary market)?
The Circular Economy, as widely understood, principally addresses climate change. Under-emphasized or not addressed at all are, for example, the deleterious effects on individuals, society, politics and culture of an economy driven by consumption, and of privileging maximizing shareholder value.
It is a consummate understatement to note that these are material concerns relative to developing a culture of repair. Objectives and information must inform implementation of the Circular Economy.
A starting place for critiques: Zink, T. and Geyer, R. (2017), Circular Economy Rebound. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 21: 593-602.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a standard bearer for the Circular Economy vision.
From the website:
The Circular Economy:
Looking beyond the current take-make-dispose extractive industrial model, a circular economy aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits. It entails gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources, and designing waste out of the system. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural, and social capital. It is based on three principles:
Design out waste and pollution
Keep products and materials in use
Regenerate natural systems
In a circular economy, economic activity builds and rebuilds overall system health. The concept recognises the importance of the economy needing to work effectively at all scales – for large and small businesses, for organisations and individuals, globally and locally.
Transitioning to a circular economy does not only amount to adjustments aimed at reducing the negative impacts of the linear economy. Rather, it represents a systemic shift that builds long-term resilience, generates business and economic opportunities, and provides environmental and societal benefits.
The model distinguishes between technical and biological cycles. Consumption happens only in biological cycles, where food and biologically-based materials (such as cotton or wood) are designed to feed back into the system through processes like composting and anaerobic digestion. These cycles regenerate living systems, such as soil, which provide renewable resources for the economy. Technical cycles recover and restore products, components, and materials through strategies like reuse, repair, remanufacture or (in the last resort) recycling.
There's a world of opportunity to re-think and re-design the way we make stuff. 'Re-Thinking Progress' explores how through a change in perspective we can re-design the way our economy works - designing products that can be 'made to be made again' and powering the system with renewable energy. It questions whether with creativity and innovation we can build a restorative economy.
“There's a world of opportunity to re-think and re-design the way we make stuff. 'Re-Thinking Progress' explores how through a change in perspective we can re-design the way our economy works - designing products that can be 'made to be made again' and powering the system with renewable energy.”
See below for the schematics corresponding to the above text.
For more on the basics of the Circular Economy, see : Intro to the Circular Economy, Ellen MacArthur Foundation Education Resources.
For yet more, see the Ellen MacArthur Foundation section of Resources for Educators / Classroom Materials.
Repair is a fundamental component of the Circular Economy
"A vision of a sustainable electronics industry that does not rely heavily on reuse or other lifetime extensions is difficult to conceive (Fitzpatrick, 2015). Unlike traditional recycling methods, reuse strategies—like repair—conserve embodied energy, materials, and water. Moreover, reusing electronics makes more efficient use of scarce materials, it reduces the transportation required to put a product back into use, and it can provide jobs and opportunities within local communities."
The Empowering Repair CO.Project Report evaluating non-commercial repair activity worldwide, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, October 2016
Image and text credit: Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Repair requires far fewer resources than recycling to conserve resources.
“We are the Inner Circle of the Circular Economy”
Restart Project TEDx talk
The high-level schematic below compares resource flow in our current largely linear economy, with resource flow in a circular economy. The sizes of the circles in the circular economy represent the respective relative resources required by that process to reincorporate material into the flow of resources — re-use consumes the least incremental material, recycling requires the most incremental material.
This schematic is presented in an in-depth discussion of applying circular economy principles to consumer packaging: "How to Bridge the Gap Between the Packaging Sector and Circular Economy", by Monia Niero. Published 16 September 2016 with a grant from The Carlsberg Foundation. Monia Niero is a researcher at the Technical University of Denmark, Department of Management Engineering, QSA Division.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation Schematic
Image and Text Credit: Ellen MacArthur Foundation
This graphic demonstrates several things:
• There are two defined material flows - biological and technical
• There are two categories of customers - consumers (biological materials) and users (technical materials)
• In the technical cycle, the closer the loop is to the user, the more profitable the action. Thus repairing products is a more profitable action than, say, recycling.
For information about the above graphic and more, see: Ellen MacArthur interview
Additional Graphics Expanding on the Above Concept:
Image Credit: Circular Economy Lab. For information about the above schematic and more, see: http://circulareconomylab.com/circular-economy-framework/
Image Credit: Athesis Group, a private consultancy in sustainability for business. For information about the above schematic and more, see: https://www.anthesisgroup.com/circular-economy