Magazine_BEAST_2017_Edition_8_complet

#Science | Green
65
Economics show that remanufactured objects
are 40% cheaper and create considerably less
externalised costs than similar new objects of
the same quality.
The speed of loops directly reduces
environmental impairment: doubling the servicelife
of objects halves resource extraction and
waste volumes as well as production and sales
volumes. In saturated markets, the speed of loops
has no impact on stocks, only on GDP. In order
to maintain their revenue base, companies will
need to shift their business model from revenue
in sales to revenue in utilisation services and
object-take-back for reuse.
To promote sustainability, political leaders should
develop a holistic view focused on changing
framework conditions, such as non-taxation
of human labour and non-subsidies for energy
consumption. The circular economy is regional,
labour-intensive and part of a general trend of
intelligent decentralisation, like micro-breweries,
3-D-printing, urban farming and robotised
manufacturing – Industry 4.0. The environmental
and social advantages mentioned are a result of
the circular economy, not its driver.
Can cradle-to-cradle models be applied to all sectors? Which elements are
easily transferred from one field to another?
We can distinguish three fundamentally different types of objects.
Food, water and oil – resources which are consumed; sufficiency solutions
and reuse cascades are the main business models available. These resources
are used in an economic context but are not manufactured objects. Water
use is especially important for there is no alternative resource.
Infrastructure and buildings – the built environment – are “sitting ducks”, of
functional nature and with a long service-life. Increasingly, they are recognised
as key part of resilient communities and cultural heritage.
Mobile manufactured objects are subject to fashion and technology changes.
Publicity makes the difference between objects. There are tools – objects
used to make money in a systems context – and toys of the consumer
society – objects to satisfy emotions and status value, used as stand-alone.
For objects of the built environment and tools, service-life extension is a
natural to preserve value and, like operation and maintenance services, is
best done locally by professional fleet managers. OEMs selling performance,
such as Xerox, Caterpillar, Michelin and Rolls-Royce, fleet managers, such as
railways, airlines and armed forces and specialised SMEs today constitute the
knowledge pool of the circular economy. To advance the circular economy
rapidly, this economic and technical knowledge has to shift from fleet
managers and SMEs to all classrooms and boardrooms, in order to ensure
that all students leaving academic and vocational education are familiar with
the opportunities offered by the circular economy.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
RESOURCES
MANUFACTURING
RECYCLING
WASTE
CONSUMPTION & USE
BEAST MAGAZINE #8