Global Compact International Yearbook 2016

Perception: The top priority is the economy and jobs,
especially in times of austerity
Reality: The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude
Juncker, has said he wants to focus on jobs and growth, and
rightly so. There are a number of routes to get to a destination,
but the end result will be the same. Jobs and economic
growth are no exception, and one possible route to achieve
this ambition is growth of the circular economy.
Life Cycle
Thinking
Globally, Innovate UK claims resource-efficiency measures
could add $ 2.9 trillion to the economy by 2030, with returns
on investment of more than 10 percent. There are also major
job opportunities. WRAP and Green Alliance recently identified
that more than 200,000 jobs could be created in the United
Kingdom if circular economy activities continued to grow.
In a recent report, the World Economic Forum and the Ellen
MacArthur Foundation also identified that a shift in reusing,
remanufacturing, and recycling products could lead to more
than half a million jobs being created in the recycling industry
across Europe.
Perception: If the environment is on the agenda,
shouldn’t the top priority be climate change?
offers are sheltered from these fluctuations. Walter Stahel,
originator of the circular economy concept, recently said that
if a businessman suggests opening a manufacturing plant to
make money, you should counter that they can make five
times as much from opening a remanufacturing plant.
Greater circularity can also benefit existing manufacturers.
Rolls-Royce, for example, is known for the “power by the hour”
service model, and Caterpillar is known for its remanufacturing
arm, Cat Reman. More recently, Jaguar Land Rover embedded
circularity into its design and assembly process and is using
50 percent recycled aluminum in some of its latest car models.
Considering that cars are so reliant on aluminum, a high-value
material, it makes economic sense to use recycled content.
Perception: The circular economy may be the latest
buzzword, but my business has been steady for years,
why change now?
Reality: It was only 10 years ago that we would happily rent a
video and turn pages of a newspaper. Now online streaming
and internet news prevail. Many businesses that were once
leaders have disappeared as new trends have emerged, such as
internet shopping and digital technologies. Business as usual
is not always the safest path. The companies that prioritized
short-term profits rather than future-proofing themselves
ultimately paid the price. The sooner that businesses understand
ways in which to adapt to change, the less is the risk
of a hard blow.
Reality: The circular economy could go a long way toward
helping reduce carbon emissions. According to a recent report
by the Carbon Trust, Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer
Network, and Coventry University, remanufacturing typically
uses 85 percent less energy than manufacturing; on a global
scale, it has the potential to offset more than 800,000 tons of
CO 2
emissions per annum.
And remanufacturing is just one component of the circular
economy. In its first phase between 2005 and 2009, WRAP’s
Courtauld commitment – a voluntary agreement aimed at
improving resource efficiency within the UK grocery sector –
avoided 3.3 million tons of CO 2
-equivalent emissions, equal
to an airplane flying around the world half a million times.
Liz Goodwin became CEO at WRAP in 2007, having joined
in 2001 as the first Director of Materials Programme.
Under Liz’s leadership, WRAP has been at the forefront in
helping to create a more sustainable world, to the benefit
of the environment, economy, and society. One of WRAP’s
leading areas of work is preventing and tackling food waste.
Through ground-breaking voluntary agreements, such as the
Courtauld Commitment, and behavior change campaign,
Love Food Hate Waste, this work has helped reduce UK
household food waste by 21 percent. Originally published in
the Sustainable Business section of The Guardian.
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Global Compact International Yearbook 2016