Back to Blog
February 11, 2019
Written by Boris Suazo
Climate change is a reality: modern societies worldwide have a significant environmental deficit, a product of the large quantities of greenhouse gases they emit, which has an increasingly intense impact on people's way of life.
The problem is not minor, if there is no change in the way we produce and consume goods and services, by 2050 we will need the capacity of three planet Earths to sustain the lifestyles of 9.6 million people (UN 2015). For this reason, it is urgent to innovate in production chains and, even more so, to create businesses that reduce the environmental impact of the interaction between our production and consumption systems.
At the beginning of this decade, a methodological tool began to be developed that is currently on the agenda of various countries in order to find a viable solution to these problems. This is the Circular Economy , which is proposed as a productive model that invites us to think systematically about the life cycle of products (FEM 2013), revolutionizing the way in which producers should design and make their products available, as well as the interaction of consumers and users with the product, preventing it from reaching the final stage of waste.
In this column we will review some of the points where the circular econo philippines business mailing list my offers new possibilities to generate businesses with a positive impact, so that you can incorporate them into your ongoing venture or into that idea that is going around in your head.
The circular economy only makes sense if it rests on the basis of clean energies. Let us consider that the energy sector is the most polluting in our country and that despite the advances, still close to 70% of our energy is produced by burning fossil fuels ( OECD 2016 ).
The clean energy plane presents opportunities in many senses, since it is being strongly driven by public policy. We detect the opportunity for consulting and development in terms of installation and efficiencies of non-conventional renewable energies (ERNC). Energy autonomy is a concept that is slowly beginning to take on relevance: the ability of our devices, homes and tools to generate the energy they require to function spontaneously. This approach invites us to change the scale in how energy generation is thought from the particular (homes) to the general (Central Interconnected System).
Incentive system that rewards the extension of life cycles and circularity
Currently, incentives in terms of costs are placed on the disposal of products. How can we change this behavior from the interaction of people with their waste? Plastics, cans, papers, and in general, any material that has a productive demand, presents a business opportunity. The problem is that, for logistical reasons, people must be encouraged to return these materials to recycling platforms in the appropriate manner. An interesting example is a program of the Valparaíso Metro, which offers benefits through the deposit of plastic bottles in its containers. Can you think of other ways to encourage people to use recycling platforms, or to avoid throwing away their products?
Use in cascades and correct processing of organic waste
Within the circular economy model, organic materials are treated differently than technical materials: due to their characteristics, it is not feasible, for example, to recycle them. But we can take advantage of their biochemical characteristics. The main problem with the treatment of organic waste has to do with reverse logistics; they have very volatile characteristics, which makes their transport and storage very difficult.
Within the biological cycle, we find three ways to take advantage of the characteristics of organic materials: use in cascades , which has to do with the use of the same material for different functions as it fulfills its life cycle (example: cotton to make clothes, then, we use that same cotton to make stuffing for ornaments, and finally as insulation for construction); composting , which has to do with the controlled decomposition of various organic materials and biogas , a fuel generated from the oxygen-free decomposition of organic waste.
Always consider that it is food: we can prevent it from becoming waste. There we find initiatives such as Disco Sopa and Red de Alimentos. This issue becomes urgent when we consider that 50% of our waste is of organic origin.
Reverse logistics systems in technical cycles
Recycling is not the solution to the waste problem. There are previous steps in terms of waste management: prolonged use, second-hand markets, the repair industry and remanufacturing/reuse of materials. The problem : Except for the second-hand market, none of these alternatives are developed in the right way.
There is currently a revolution in the relationship we have with the products we use, based on collaborative consumption models, where we go from being the owner to being the user . These logics are already implemented in many services that we use on a regular basis today, such as Uber or Airbnb. This allows objects or assets to be constantly occupied.
We need collaborative logics to be extended to more products/services. It is estimated, for example, that a car spends about 90% of its useful life parked. This is called structural loss. Think of all the objects we have that spend more time stored than being used!
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and recycling platforms
Recycling is the most conscious, implemented and encouraged logistical stage in our country. Through the entry into force of the REP Law (Law 20.920) the figure of Producer Responsibility Organizations is formalized , which represent the intermediary organizations that will be in charge of the collection, transfer, storage and control of priority waste (in Chile: lubricating oils, electrical appliances, containers and packaging, batteries and tires). Special mention should be made of waste management systems, which are responsible for proposing plans and logistics management, which will compete for tenders from producers who are required to meet the targets set by the corresponding legal decrees. The REP law also ensures stock and seeks to guarantee the traceability of priority waste, so if you have a business related to the production of products made from any of the priority waste, you will have many opportunities to reduce your costs in terms of searching and market price of materials.