According to the 2021 Circularity Gap Report from the United Nations Economic Commission of Europe, the world economy is only 8.6% circular. Four years ago, in 2018, that number was higher, at 9.1%.
In 2019, more than 23.5 billion shoes were produced yearly, but only 5 % were recycled, with nearly 95% going into landfills.
Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are directly related to what we extract, produce and consume. So the idea is that if we apply circular strategies to materials and emissions in hotspots, the world could reduce GHG. The circular economy movement is slowly being embraced by businesses, government leaders and consumers as a way to tackle waste and pollution, accelerate climate action and maintain a viable and prosperous economy.
But is it possible?
Hasan Shafi, a partner at Arthur D. Little, says companies and organizations will need to rely on digital technologies like advanced analytics, drones and the internet of things (IoT) to measure, analyze, monitor GHG emissions and integrate complex systems.
“Digital technologies and sustainability areas will see more convergence and synergistic innovation in the future, thus accelerating decarbonization,” said Shafi. “Many new business models will be developed and delivered via digital/tech platforms such as decarbonization-as-a-service.”
Shafi says catalyzinginvestments into cleantech and future market mechanisms can contribute to a better future for people and the environment.
Tony Fadell is the Principal at Future Shape and the founder and former CEO of Nest Labs. He says the markets understand more and more that materials are finite. “Value chains can only last if they will be based on reuse and circularity.”
“Chains based on mining waste will lose their value and eventually become obsolete, so investors understand this. I think this is hopefully just the start of moving the circular economy forward,” said Fadell. “I see investment in the circular economy headed towards materials-as-a-service.
Circularity through action
BIYU is a Dutch startup with the motto own less, do more. Martijn Tjho, Founder of the company, says that BIYU gives companies a platform for circularity while consumers have access to temporary ownership of products rather than buying them. At the end of the product’s lifecycle, BIYU recycles them.
“We wanted to create a model where we only work with the best brands that create the best products,” said Tjho. “We offer brands a platform for circularity, and consumers get temporary ownership only when they need to use the product.”
But Tjho said he feels people are hard-wired to own things directly tied to their wealth and how they display that wealth. “We have all become consumption addicts, so changing that behavior isn’t going to happen overnight,” said Tjho. “On top of that behavior change, you have the fact that many products are created to be obsolete at inception, which should be illegal.”
Tjho says that we might get closer to a viable circularity market when governments create laws and tax systems that penalize waste and pollution. “I [..] believe that when [..] the consequences of global warming become so dire, people will take responsibility themselves, and circularity will accelerate to mass adoption.”
Circularity through 3D printing
An example of the circular economy in action could be 3D printing. Dutch startup Aectual is 3D printing furniture out of recycled beverage cartons.
According to Hedwig Heinsman, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of Aectual, nearly 200 billion beverage cartons were produced in 2021, and there are an estimated five billion buildings worldwide. Sound like a strange comparison? Not to Aectuel.
“We thought, what if we were to turn those beverage cartons into high-value architectural material and decrease the need for virgin material used for furnishing our daily environment,” said Heinsman.
And that is what the company did.
More than 75% of a package can be reused cardboard, and the remainder, 25% is a polymer-aluminum mix; they could use that material to 3D print high-quality interior products, such as stools and planters; and interior systems, such as acoustic wall paneling and dividing walls. “By recycling materials, I believe we can halt the use of virgin materials and contribute to a healthier planet,” said Heinsman.
“We are dedicated to radically changing the way materials are used and introducing a fully circular solution to the built environment,” said Heinsman.
The company also provides free take-back service on all objects and systems. Like BIYU, the company can receive a deposit if they return a product after use. In the ultimate upcycling approach, the materials are shredded and reprinted into new items, which reduces CO2 in every cycle.
“What most people don’t know is that 3D printing and circular manufacturing can be a perfect match,” said Heinsman. “In our case, we link a data-driven feedback loop of smart design algorithms with a material feedback loop. Our objects can be digitally configured online, 3D printed, used, shredded and then reprinted into smarter objects that keep getting smarter with every production cycle.”
End-to-end sustainability
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report that municipal solid waste from furniture and furnishings was 12.1 million tons in 2018, up from 2.2 million tons in 1960. Wood was the largest material category in furniture. A small amount (19.5 percent) of furniture and furnishings was combusted for energy recovery in 2018, but the majority of this product sector, 80.1 percent) became landfill.
The idea of 3D printing furnishings from recyclable materials creates an end-to-end sustainability solution. Heinsman says her company works with Tetra Pak to provide circular roll-outs that are continuously customizable and add long-term value.
Heinsman says end-to-end sustainability has a long reach. “Offices and hotels change their interiors [..] sometimes every three years. This change in user demands results in tremendous amounts of waste.”
“High-quality 3D printed products made from recyclable materials offer an easy way to implement circular use of furniture and finishes without compromising on quality,” said Heinsman.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
