Concept of circular economy
Sustainable development requires disruptive
changes in the way our societies and
businesses are organized. The circular
economy (CE) model offers a new chance of
innovation and integration between natural
ecosystems, businesses, our daily lives, and
waste management. Find out below the
definition, meaning, principles, advantages,
and barriers to a circular economy model.
The World Economic Forum’s Definition Of
Circular Economy
“A circular economy is an industrial system that is
restorative or regenerative by intention and
design. It replaces the end-of-life concept with
restoration, shifts towards the use of renewable
energy, eliminates the use of toxic chemicals,
which impair reuse and return to the biosphere,
and aims for the elimination of waste through the
superior design of materials, products, systems,
and business models. ”
The Principles Of A Circular Economy
At its core, a circular economy model has the
intention of designing out waste. In fact, a circular
economy is based on the idea that there is no
such thing as waste. In order to achieve this,
products are designed to last (good quality
materials are used) and optimized for a cycle of
disassembly and reuse that will make it easier to
handle and transform or renew them.
In the end, these tight product cycles differentiate
the circular economy model apart from disposal
and recycling, where large amounts of embedded
energy and labor are lost. The ultimate goal is to
preserve and enhance natural capital by
controlling finite stocks and balancing renewable
resources flows.
Following Nature‟s Cycles And Designs
The circular economy model makes a distinction
between technical and biological
cycles.Consumption happens only in biological
cycles, where biologically-based materials (such
as food, linen or cork) are designed to feed back
into the system through processes like anaerobic
digestion and composting.
These cycles regenerate living systems, such as
soil or the oceans, which provide renewable
resources for the economy. By their turn, technical
cycles recover and restore products (e.g. washing
machines), components (e.g. motherboards), and
materials (e.g. limestone) through strategies
like reuse, repair, remanufacture or recycling.
Ultimately, one of the purposes of the circular economy is
to optimize resource yields by circulating products,
components, and the materials in use at the highest utility
at all times in both technical and biological cycles.
All In With Renewable Energies
The last principle of a circular economy has to do
with the fact that the energy required to fuel this
cycle should be renewable by nature, with the
purpose of decreasing resource dependence and
increasing systems‟ resilience. In this sense, this
principle is about developing the systems‟
effectiveness by revealing and designing out
negative externalities.
Benefits Of The Circular Economy Model
Creation of new green industries and jobs
Reduced dependence on importation of raw materials
Avoidance of environmental damage caused by resource extraction
Less pollution entering the earth's life support systems
It is important to decouple economic growth from
resource consumption. The increase in revenues
from new circular activities, together with a
cheaper production by getting products and
materials more functional and easily disassembled
and reused, has the power to increase GDP and
therefore economic growth
According to the „world economic forum„, the
development of a circular economy model,
together with a new regulation (including taxation)
and organization of the labor markets, can bring
greater local employment in entry-level and semi-
skilled jobs..
Another study conducted by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and
McKinsey also concluded on the changes in employment growth
in case of a shift to a circular economy model. The study says that
these new jobs will be created through increases in:
Recycling and repairing practices, where one could add new designers
and mechanical engineers to make lasting and easily disassembled
products and materials at the transformation/production stages;
An increase in new businesses (and niches) due to innovation
processes and new business models;
An increase in consumption and spending by lower prices.
