Circular Economy: The Innovation Catalyst for Our Future
Originally posted on HTML (Hetic The Media Lab) in french
It’s an exciting time for innovation! AI co-pilots are helping us code; Synthetic Users accelerate product-market fit; the launch of the Apple Vision pro has opened up the potential of new, spatial experiences - it’s amazing!
BUT, this acceleration of new products and services also means we’re producing a lot more stuff on a planet already drowning in short-lived products. You may have seen these stats :
🐬 91% of plastic is not recycled. 14 million tons of plastic enter our oceans every year.
🍏 33% or 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted per year. Enough to feed 3 billion people…
👕 10% of global carbon emissions is from the fashion industry, and accounts for nearly 20% of global wastewater.
🔌 82.6% of electronic waste is not recycled worldwide. Even in Europe only 54% is recycled. (Source all: UN Environment Programme)
And my favourite:
😎80% of a product’s environmental impacts are determined during its design phase (Source: EU science Hub)
YES. Today it is time to innovate how we design products, services and embrace Circular Economy principles.
What is the Circular Economy?
Switching to a circular economy means changing how we value resources. Instead of our current linear economy - making things, using them, and throwing them away - we focus on using less, reusing what we have, and making sure nothing goes to waste. It's a big loop that keeps value going in all products to help the planet stay healthy.
In the Circular Economy, natural resources regenerate our planet, while technical materials are kept out of landfills. Prioritising repair, reuse, and refurbishing - recycling is seen as the “loop of last resort”.
💰BackMarket is a prime example of refurbishing e-waste including smartphones and laptops - it encourages collection of unwanted electronics through buy-back incentives, refurbishes them through an army of skilled technicians and sells to new users. As a French Unicorn it’s valued at €5 billion. Very nice.
The Circular Economy could cut global emissions by 39%, yet only 7.2% of the globe is circular (Source: Circular Gap Report) and it’s getting worse. Despite growing efforts, the ongoing combination of population expansion and corporate pursuit of growth suggests that this trend is unlikely to reverse in the near future.
🤔So, how might we contribute responsibly to innovation and ensure that accelerated tech and business processes will actually help the planet ?
Unlocking Innovation Opportunities in the Circular Economy
By designing products to be easily repaired or remanufactured (eg. Dyson repairing and replacing components instead of the whole vaccum cleaner), finding use for by-products or waste-to-resource (eg. BrewDog, repurposing spent grain from the brewing process to create dog treats) or creating new business models to facilitate sharing (eg. Rent the Runway renting out designer clothes), businesses are unlocking new value for themselves and their customers.
Innovation always starts with a problem to be solved - and the Circular Economy is full of these!
Those who have taken one my classes will know how I love “How Might We” questions. Design firm IDEO showed us how this phrase can reframe problems into opportunities and I believe that it’s a key driver of Circular Economy Innovation:
How might we leverage digital tech to design for repairability (transparency, part identification, vision to text) to help users keep their appliances longer?
How might we transform waste or by-products as an input for a new product/service?
How might we repurpose the mountains of fast fashion left to rot in the wastelands?
How might we ensure anything recyclable is processed appropriately?
💡Mini challenge [5mins] Take any company or industry. Eg. Coca-Cola, Gaming, Petfood… and brainstorm some relevant “How Might We” questions for repair, reuse, remanufacture, and recycle.
Eg. Laptops
How might we design Laptops to be easily repaired by the user?
How might we scale up renting laptops or devices as a services (DAAS)?
How might we ensure remanufacturing at scale brings profit?
How might we design for recyclability at end of life and make laptops easier to process?
Tech Innovations Driving Traceability in the Circular Economy
The Circular Economy relies on digital tools for demand prediction, waste reduction and energy efficiency. Innovations assess best practices, creating value through service-driven solutions. Effective traceability, accelerated by tech, is pivotal. For example:
IoT: RFID tags, sensors, and smart meters track materials and products through their lifecycle, enhancing traceability.
Blockchain: Records transactions and traces assets, using decentralised, transparent and secur platform fostering transparency and trust.
AI and ML: Analyse traceability data, identifying patterns and trends to optimise resource usage and reduce waste.
Digital Twins: Virtual replicas of physical systems simulate material flows within supply chains to optimise resources and, improve traceability.
💡Mini challenge [5mins] Take one of your “How Might We questions” and brainstorm 10 innovative ideas using your new knowledge of the Circular Economy, the above technologies or new business ideas!
See - it’s fun!
Conclusion
With increasing legislation in Europe, and France being a Top 10 Circularity leader, some may see Circular Economy as a limitation to business growth - however, embracing the Circular Cconomy challenge is an opportunity for innovation and creativity.
I encourage you all to become agents of change by integrating circular economy choices into your design and development processes and advocating for sustainable practices in your future careers. Question the status quo - throughout your internships, in your day to day, in your own businesses…
If you’re charged to build an AI-agent, how might we ensure they prioritise environmental knowledge of the impact of a new line of sneakers rather than market trends?
If you’re asked to choose a data project to work on - how might you suggest traceability initiatives?
We might see the next Circular Economy unicorn like BackMarket coming from HETIC - what sector could be tackled next?
🔫TL:DR
Circular economy = maximise value in products and services for longer
Embrace the circular economy as an opportunity for innovation and creativity
Learn about it now so you don’t have to catch up later!
Become agents of change by integrating circular economy methods in the future!
