What makes the circular economy go 'round

What makes the circular economy go 'round

On April 22, 1970, millions of people across the United States erupted in massive coast-to-coast rallies to show their support for environmental sustainability. Over the next forty-five years, Earth Day became an annual reminder of the challenges we face on a planet with scarce resources; but it also provides an opportunity to celebrate an opportunity to redefine and build new models of engagement between people, planet and profits. There are two demographic shifts occurring over the next 15 years that highlight this dichotomy between challenge and opportunity. First, our global population will reach 8 billion people. During that time, the ranks of the world’s middle class will also swell by 3 billion. While a growing global population and rising middle class are cause for celebration, these demographic shifts will also create greater economic demand for more cars, air conditioning, electronics and other consumer goods.

The European Environment Commissioner, with whom I spoke briefly during a recent circular economy conference in Brussels, estimates that the world will need three times more resources in 2050 than we use today if we continue along our current linear extraction-production-consumption model in place today. This model can be easily summarized:  take, make, waste.

But there is an alternative model that holds great potential to put our global economy on a more sustainable track – the circular economy model.

On Earth Day 2015, I ask that we imagine a system without waste: where resources get used (and reused) to their full potential; innovative new services give us what we really want; and unexpected partnerships keep the system moving. Sounds like utopia – great in theory, but is it practical?  The truth is that elements of a more circular economy are already emerging today. By taking a systems approach to find efficiencies and eliminate waste, purveyors of the circular economy are on their way to realizing what could be a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity.

And I’m more convinced than ever that three simple suggestions can help us all make this transition sustainably and profitably.

Grow the recycling infrastructure

In order to ensure that the embedded value of produced goods isn’t literally thrown in the trash, we need to build a more robust global recycling infrastructure. Aluminum is a great example: according to Alcoa, 75% of aluminum produced since 1888 is still in circulation today.  We need more examples like this.

Meanwhile, the tech sector only recovers about 15% of its products and that has to change. We need more robust e-waste collection efforts globally – and that will take working together as an industry and with governments and local communities to build out the infrastructure. Businesses and consumers need to do more, but they want it to be easy. That’s why we created the Dell Reconnect partnership with Goodwill® to provide free, convenient drop-off recycling of any brand of electronics at more than 2,000 participating locations around the U.S. The infrastructure here in the U.S. is better developed and we need to take more advantage of it. But in other parts of the world, the infrastructure doesn’t exist. That’s one reason we’ve partnered with the U.N. Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to create awareness and encourage new recycling facilities in the developing world.

Incubate innovation

We’re already seeing how innovative business models that take advantage of “spare capacity” are transforming the economy. Airbnb, Uber and other sharing sites turn us into entrepreneurs, getting more out of the unused time in our house, car, and more. In these cases, mobile computing, cloud services and other powerful technology solutions are making these new business models both practical and scalable.

In fact, technology is the backbone of this innovation and entrepreneurism. By way of example, the treasure-trove of data created by the Internet of Things will reveal hidden potentials, while increased access to the compute power needed to analyze the data will make it easier for entrepreneurs to innovate. This is already happening where organizations like Pecan Street Inc are helping accelerate the commercialization of Smart Grid technologies by serving as an incubator and sharing their data and insights with the broader market.

 We must work together

Transitioning to a more circular economy won’t happen in silos.  It will only happen with significant collaboration. We need to encourage this collaboration. Within industries, across industries and across borders, we need to look at how collaboration can create shared value so all participants benefit. This will mean re-examining what we consider “waste” and re-thinking existing business processes.

For instance, is your waste someone else’s treasure?  How do we create an ecosystem where similar and different industries are trading waste?  As an example, Dell and its suppliers are already buying wheat straw – the waste after the harvest – from Chinese farmers and turning that into packaging in a process that uses less water and energy than traditional cardboard.

Many of the previous examples are not possible if we do not have a little trust in each other and a willingness to look at how we can all benefit. We need to put a new lens on our approach to business processes and production – a lens that keeps in mind that materials are an investment, not a waste product.

 

 

I think just to being we must work together

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Mary Winter

Partnering with organizations to identify stellar legal talent.

8y

It is pitiful how much American waste! You go girl!

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Andres Traslosheros, MJ, LLM

International Senior Legal Counsel

8y

Very interesting!!

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Michelle Turner

Experienced Legal Counsel and Business Executive

8y

Excellent article, Trisa. You continue to do such great work at Dell, leading by example and sharing your learning.

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John S. Hamalian

Innovation | Change | Transformation

8y

Very well said, Trisa. If we all do not start taking a circular, sustainable approach to everything we do, personally and professionally, then we are dooming ourselves and our ancestors to a dark, plundered world. Solving these types of socio-economic issues is the perfect catalyst to engage the energy, passion and intelligence of our young people in solving problems using innovative methods. Unleash the creativity inside! I do believe there is an enormous potential to bring the power of management concepts such as Lean thinking to help solve these complex challenges. As you said, "This will mean re-examining what we consider 'waste' and re-thinking existing business processes". I'd like to explore this more and help bridge the private, public and civil society sectors for collaborative transformation.

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