November sees the return of the Festival of Circular Economy, premiered last year by CIWM. In preparation for the event, Circular caught up with two of the big-name speakers attending.
The Festival of Circular Economy is a major four-day online event giving CIWM members the chance to learn from the experts.
Realising the social, environmental, and economic benefits of a circular economy requires ambitious action, and everyone has a role to play – from governments and businesses to individuals.
The festival will focus on how best to celebrate and support “the global transition to a circular economy through sustainability and resource efficiency”.
As a prelude to the big event, Circular has spoken to two of this year’s high-profile speakers – Dutch-born sustainable business guru Marga Hoek, and highly respected UK environmentalist Tony Juniper.
Marga Hoek is one of the world’s best-known authorities on how companies can operate sustainably, and make the transition from the linear economy to a circular one.
The circular approach is underpinned by companies with a passion for problem-solving.
A former CEO of several private and public organisations, as well as head of the Dutch Sustainable Business Association, she is one of the top 30 new management thinkers on the planet, according to ranking organisation Thinkers 50.
Her published work includes New Economy Business, which won international acclaim for its vision of a sustainable, circular economy. Her latest book, The Trillion Dollar Shift, focuses on the Global Goals, established by the United Nations in 2015.
Tony Juniper is a campaigner, writer, sustainability adviser and leading British environmental champion. For more than 35 years he has worked for change towards a more sustainable society.
He is former executive director of Friends of the Earth England Wales and Northern Ireland; former vice chair of Friends of the Earth International; and currently the chairman of Natural England, which advises the government on the natural environment, helping to protect the nation’s landscapes and wildlife.
He has many top-selling books to his name, including What Nature Does For Britain, What’s Really Happening To Our Planet, and Rainforest: Dispatches From Earth’s Most Vital Frontlines.
Circular asked both of them to answer the same five key questions.
Tony Juniper
What do you intend to talk about at the festival?
TJ: Although carbon and climate change have a very high profile and focus in environmental debates, these are not the only issues we need to be urgently addressing.
The decline of nature is an equally pressing story and the fact is that both of these things, low carbon and nature, are fundamentally connected and can only be addressed through the lens of a circular economy.
Can you tell us a little about your subject area?
TJ: My work has embraced a very wide range of sustainability and environmental questions going back nearly 40 years. My present role as chairman of Natural England really focuses my attention on the state of nature and the strategies needed to reverse decades of declines, not only of rare species, but also common ones.
Whereas we’ve had a strong focus on protected areas and species conservation, it is becoming ever more clear that wider environmental quality is also a major issue. That in turn raises more fundamental questions, including some about the idea of a circular economy.
What do you think is the most important environmental topic today?
TJ: I think everyone would agree that climate change and the decline of the natural world are the two big headlines, but actually if you wish to deal with those two you’re more into the sphere of social and economic questions.
The biggest environmental challenge is the conception of a sustainable economy. We don’t have that yet
This is because in the end it’s what we all do as human societies that determines the outcomes. I would say, therefore, that the biggest environmental challenge is the conception of a sustainable economy. We don’t have that yet.
How do you perceive the public’s attitude towards waste, and what needs to happen to get greater engagement around the issue?
TJ: I think the idea of waste, and doing away with it, is one of the more productive ways of engaging with the public on environmental and sustainability questions. You don’t need to lecture people, you don’t need to tell them that they are wrong.
It is intuitive that waste is a bad idea, so coming to the questions through this particular concept actually can be really helpful. It’s cultural low-hanging fruit.
What does the circular economy look like to you?
TJ: The circular economy is an economy that mimics nature. We have developed in our industrial society a linear economy. We remove resources from the environment, we turn them into products we use and then we waste them, going to landfill, into the atmosphere via incineration and an increasing amount finishing up in the ocean.
The circular economy is an economy that mimics nature.
If we are to navigate these huge challenges before us, we need to move from a linear economy to one that mimics the natural world, where there is no waste and everything works in circles, cycles and loops.
Marga Hoek
What do you intend to talk about at the Festival?
MH: The radical shift that the circular economy implies – a shift in the way we produce, distribute, and consume, and hence a radical business model shift.
I will explain how this is not only a necessity, but a huge business opportunity – maybe even the biggest of all time. I’ll share exciting, inspiring cases of companies around the world that seize those opportunities and are successful by doing so.
Can you tell us a little about your subject area?
MH: I’m a former, three-times CEO and have led the Sustainable Business Association for many years.
My mission is to demonstrate around the world that ‘business for good is good business’, and to achieve it must become the norm rather than the exception. I am a board member and board adviser of several international companies, author and speaker.
What do you think is the most important environmental topic today?
MH: As the climate crisis looms large, many interconnected environmental topics become important. What comes to the forefront of our daily lives as an environmental dilemma is consumer waste. All businesses need to strive for positive impact on the Sustainable Development Goals, and it should be the core philosophy of all innovation.
We need nothing less than comprehensive, interconnected sustainable solutions that address all phases of product life-cycles. However, it is paramount that environmental protection does not come at the cost of economic and societal progress.
New sustainable growth markets jointly represent $12tn in opportunities by 2030.
The global Business and Sustainable Development Commission researched these markets and found that specific business opportunities arise within four domains: cities, food and agriculture, energy and materials, and health and wellbeing. Unlocking these markets also opens the opportunity to create a projected 380 million jobs a year by 2030.
How do you perceive the public’s attitude towards waste, and what needs to happen to get greater engagement around the issue?
MH: Nearly 300 million tonnes of plastic waste are produced every year, yet about 91 per cent of all plastic is not recycled. Because it can take up to 1,000 years for plastics to decompose, we must act now and literally stop creating waste and clean up our landfills and oceans.
Although the public in developed economies is conscious of consumption and waste, business must take charge and move markets.
It is in the interest of business to find new solutions that enable sustainable consumption and production patterns. Business can leverage the power of sustainable innovations to design appropriate solutions that will both enable and inspire individuals to lead more sustainable lifestyles, reducing impacts on the environment and improving wellbeing.
What does the circular economy look like to you?
MH: Business has a huge impact on, and responsibility for, accelerating the collective transition to the circular economy, while meeting exceedingly multidimensional goals. Visionary leaders making bold moves in business that employ sustainable product life-cycle processes will undoubtedly achieve positive environmental, financial, and social outcomes.
This circular approach is underpinned by companies with a passion for problem-solving and building businesses that are as impactful as they are profitable. Business leaders stand at the forefront of leveraging a new wave of sustainable platforms to enhance both environment and profit.
