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 – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VICTORIA – British Columbia is forecasting a record budget deficit and a rising debt of almost $129 billion less than two weeks before the start of a provincial election campaign where economic stability and future progress are expected to be major issues.
Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, who has announced her retirement and will not seek re-election in the Oct. 19 vote, said Tuesday her final budget update as minister predicts a deficit of $8.9 billion, up $1.1 billion from a forecast she made earlier this year.
Conroy said she acknowledges “challenges” facing B.C., including three consecutive deficit budgets, but expected improved economic growth where the province will start to “turn a corner.”
The $8.9 billion deficit forecast for 2024-2025 is followed by annual deficit projections of $6.7 billion and $6.1 billion in 2026-2027, Conroy said at a news conference outlining the government’s first quarterly financial update.
Conroy said lower corporate income tax and natural resource revenues and the increased cost of fighting wildfires have had some of the largest impacts on the budget.
“I want to acknowledge the economic uncertainties,” she said. “While global inflation is showing signs of easing and we’ve seen cuts to the Bank of Canada interest rates, we know that the challenges are not over.”
Conroy said wildfire response costs are expected to total $886 million this year, more than $650 million higher than originally forecast.
Corporate income tax revenue is forecast to be $638 million lower as a result of federal government updates and natural resource revenues are down $299 million due to lower prices for natural gas, lumber and electricity, she said.
Debt-servicing costs are also forecast to be $344 million higher due to the larger debt balance, the current interest rate and accelerated borrowing to ensure services and capital projects are maintained through the province’s election period, said Conroy.
B.C.’s economic growth is expected to strengthen over the next three years, but the timing of a return to a balanced budget will fall to another minister, said Conroy, who was addressing what likely would be her last news conference as Minister of Finance.
The election is expected to be called on Sept. 21, with the vote set for Oct. 19.
“While we are a strong province, people are facing challenges,” she said. “We have never shied away from taking those challenges head on, because we want to keep British Columbians secure and help them build good lives now and for the long term. With the investments we’re making and the actions we’re taking to support people and build a stronger economy, we’ve started to turn a corner.”
Premier David Eby said before the fiscal forecast was released Tuesday that the New Democrat government remains committed to providing services and supports for people in British Columbia and cuts are not on his agenda.
Eby said people have been hurt by high interest costs and the province is facing budget pressures connected to low resource prices, high wildfire costs and struggling global economies.
The premier said that now is not the time to reduce supports and services for people.
Last month’s year-end report for the 2023-2024 budget saw the province post a budget deficit of $5.035 billion, down from the previous forecast of $5.9 billion.
Eby said he expects government financial priorities to become a major issue during the upcoming election, with the NDP pledging to continue to fund services and the B.C. Conservatives looking to make cuts.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the debt would be going up to more than $129 billion. In fact, it will be almost $129 billion.
NANAIMO, B.C. – Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says he’ll be advising the Liberal party to flip some the challenges posed by an increasingly divided and dangerous world into an economic opportunity for Canada.
But he won’t say what his specific advice will be on economic issues that are politically divisive in Canada, like the carbon tax.
He presented his vision for the Liberals’ economic policy at the party’s caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C. today, after he agreed to help the party prepare for the next election as chair of a Liberal task force on economic growth.
Carney has been touted as a possible leadership contender to replace Justin Trudeau, who has said he has tried to coax Carney into politics for years.
Carney says if the prime minister asks him to do something he will do it to the best of his ability, but won’t elaborate on whether the new adviser role could lead to him adding his name to a ballot in the next election.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she has been taking advice from Carney for years, and that his new position won’t infringe on her role.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
