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what is the circular economy?

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Re: what is the circular economy?

Unread postby americandream » Wed 24 Jun 2015, 23:30:43

Steady state capitalism is not feasible for one reason, amongst many others. This one is fairly straight forward though.

Limits to accumulation.

Capitalists are continually adding to their numbers and in order that such a process continues indefinitely to allow for natural wear and tear in the system, accumulation must have infinite capacity. Such capacity is supported by infinite resource access as well as market availablity.

Capitalists are constantly consolidating thereby removing accumulation from circuit. Once again the above forces come into play.

There are no circular modern economies anywhere in the world. Cuba perhaps come closest to the circular principle for obvious reasons but certainly not Germany.
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Re: what is the circular economy?

Unread postby Graeme » Thu 25 Jun 2015, 20:48:14

€ trillions benefit from Europe's circular economy

Europe can create an annual net benefit of €1.8 trillion by 2030 if it applies circular economy principles says a new report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, produced in conjunction with McKinsey and the Endowment Fund for Environmental Economics and Sustainability (SUN).

The study provides new evidence that a circular economy, enabled by the technology revolution, would allow Europe to grow resource productivity by 3.0 percent annually and generate as much as €0.6 trillion per year by 2030.

In addition circularity would produce €1.2 trillion in non-resource and externality gains, bringing total annual benefits to €1.8 trillion.

In 2012 the average European used 16 tonnes of primary materials while 60 percent of discarded materials were either landfilled or incinerated and only 40 percent were recycled or reused.

The new report analyzed mobility, food and the built environment and concluded the current linear path in these sectors costs Europe €7.2 trillion a year. Of this, resource costs are €1.8 trillion, household and government expenditure are €3.4 trillion and externalities such as traffic congestion, CO2, pollution and noise are an additional €2.0 trillion.

"The circular economy represents a tremendous opportunity for Europe. With its system-wide perspective, [it] has the potential to help us make better decisions about resource use, design out waste, provide added value for business, and proceed along a secure route to society-wide prosperity and environmental sustainability for future generations. Most importantly, under the right rules, the circular economy can shift the economic mix to increase the number of jobs at the same time," said Philips CEO Frans van Houten.

As the European Commission considers its circular economy strategy, the report authors point out that in 2012 the region lost 95 percent of its primary material and energy value because Europe generally uses materials only once.

"The economy is undergoing profound transformation as the technology revolution reaches scale. This report has shown that by applying circular economy principles we can catalyze this change, achieve a real system shift, and open a new era of growth and development, decoupled from resource constraints," added Ellen MacArthur.


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Re: what is the circular economy?

Unread postby Graeme » Wed 01 Jul 2015, 19:14:57

ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION LAUNCHES CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has released ‘Delivering the Circular Economy’, an actionable toolkit for policymakers wishing to make a transition to the circular economy.

The toolkit complements the foundation’s recent ‘Growth Within: A circular economy vision for a competitive Europe’ report, which explores how the circular economy could look, with a ‘how-to’ guide for policymakers aiming to embark on the circular economic model described in the earlier report.

Funding was provided by the Swiss philanthropic institution, the MAVA Foundation, and the report includes contributions from the Danish Business Authority and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. Analytical support was provided by the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment and NERA Economic Consulting.

In addition to explaining ‘Why the circular economy matters’, the report includes a case study of the toolkit in action in Denmark, and provides a ‘step-by-step methodology’ including 11 tools, which aim to:

assess a country’s circular economy starting position, define its ambition level and select focus areas;
systematically screen for circular economy opportunities, identify barriers that limit these opportunities and analyse policy options to overcome these barriers;
and assess economy-wide implications.


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Re: what is the circular economy?

Unread postby Graeme » Thu 23 Jul 2015, 19:05:00

NETHERLANDS AT HEART OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY INNOVATION

In an announcement earlier this month, 25 organisations have launched a program that solidifies the Netherlands as a country at the heart of circular economy business innovation with a focus on the opportunity provided during the Dutch presidency of the European Union in 2016.

Circular economy activity is growing globally, but business innovation and collaboration has been especially prolific in certain regions, including the Netherlands. The organisations committed to the program are varied and include KPMG, Rabobank, the Association of Water and the City of Amsterdam.

The programme aims both to accelerate circular economy collaborations and initiatives in the Netherlands and to export best practices around the world on a national level. The programme has been initiated by Circle Economy, who envision the group building upon the current circular initiatives and developing an even stronger coalition of businesses, scientists and civil servants in the country.


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Re: what is the circular economy?

Unread postby vox_mundi » Thu 15 Jun 2017, 13:09:45

Taking Circular Economy To the Next Level

In a new special issue of Yale's Journal of Industrial Ecology, leading researchers make the case that it is time to take the circular economy discussion and analysis to the next level.

With the concept gaining traction globally, five experts write in the lead editorial, there is a growing urgency for shared understandings, a common language, and hard examinations of the complexities and opportunities in the circular economy.

Such discussions, they write, must tackle three fundamental aspects of the circular economy:
1. the challenge of increasing the scale of circularity efforts beyond individual initiatives;
2. the magnitude of potential environmental benefits and impacts in the context of material flows, resource use, and product design; and
3. opportunities for innovative business models, institutional change, and informed policy action

"As the circular economy gains worldwide attention and as implementation spreads, challenges and tradeoffs are emerging," said Reid Lifset, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Industrial Ecology and co-author of the editorial. "Industrial ecology is well-placed to provide insight and guidance on the environmental and resource implications of this emerging framework."

Highlights of the 25-article issue include: (Open Access, Full Articles)
- A provocative examination of whether circular economy activities might promote more production, and thus trigger a "circular economy rebound"
- Assessments of the challenges to circular strategies posed by hazardous materials, including arsenic in treated wood
- Estimates of the current level of circularity in the economy and of the feasibility of running the economy on recycled materials
- A description of why it is critical to address social and institutional forces when promoting circularity
- Product design methods and challenges in a circular economy
- A proposal for circular economy metrics for products
- A rigorous study of how much recycled material actually goes to industry
- Challenges and potential for recovering tantalum—a conflict resource—from e-waste


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