Circular insights #21

What we’ve been reading and watching

Redefining purpose

We’re noticing lots of blogs, media articles and briefing papers, wondering what the post-pandemic ‘new abnormal’ will look and feel like. We’ve highlighted the different approaches taken by global corporates in previous newsletters. Some are ‘going the extra mile’ to look after their suppliers, employees and customers. However, others are treating all those stakeholders as they tend to treat our planet’s resources and ecosystems – as disposable.

Mona Bitar, a partner with consultancy EY, published a blog, reflecting on a webcast with CEOs from big businesses: The CEO Perspective: How is COVID-19 defining business purpose?  Will this matter in the long-term? Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, summed it up in the webcast, “Employees, customers, partners and communities will remember how we treated them during this time.”  However, you might question whether some of the companies mentioned in the article have a purpose beyond profit…

Build back better

On 28 April, Harald Friedl, CEO at Circle Economy, invited two leading circular economy advocates and thinkers to discuss the current government and economic responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Ken Webster (Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Exeter University) and Alex Lemille (consultant with Anthesis, and one of Peter’s co-founders from the African Circular Economy Network) share their thoughts on how circular, inclusive approaches could help us ‘build back better’. 

Harald summed up the discussion by highlighting that the circular economy is a new leadership message for the present times which we should share with our networks. He then asked Alex and Ken to give three words that world leaders should hear to prepare for a post-Covid world. Alex suggested three themes: “Protect the commons, humans are the key to everything, and ‘last longer’ as there is only one planet”. Ken followed Harald’s request to the letter: “Circulate don’t extract”.

Watch the recording on YouTube: Post Covid Leadership: build back better – how circular economy will play a role

With great power comes great responsibility

Businesses are already expected to be more transparent. As the Guardian reveals in this article about Fashion Revolution’s newly-released 2020 Fashion Transparency Index – only 40 per cent of brands disclose even their top-tier suppliers. This is the fifth annual edition of the index. This year it reviewed 250 of the world’s largest fashion brands and retailers and ranked them according to how much they disclose about their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts.

National Geographic – Is a world without trash possible?

National Geographic’s March 2020 magazine included a big feature on the circular economy: Is a world without trash possible? The vision of a “circular economy”—where we use resources sparingly and recycle endlessly—is inspiring businesses and environmentalists alike.  It’s now available online.

The article includes ‘An X-Ray of the Global Economy’ – National Geographic’s redrawing of the Sankey diagram from Circle Economy’s Circularity Gap Report.  As the article says: “Every year we transform more than 100 billion tons of raw material into products. Less than a quarter becomes buildings, cars, or other long-lasting things. Less than 10 percent cycles back into the economy. The circular economy movement aims to increase that number and reduce the enormous amount of waste.”

There are sections on metals, clothing and food – it’s well worth a read.