Sustainable ManagementMetropolia Business Ethics IP week

12 A Vision For The Future: Circular Economy

Innovation

Life Cycle Assessment

• Natural resource• Raw material• Half-fabric• Product• Waste

is the assessment of the environmental impact of a given product or service throughout its lifespan

Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle Assessment

• A.k.a. Cradle to grave• Holistic approach• Product, service or whole company

assessment:• Environmental impact• Embodied energy or Emergy• 3 R’s: Reuse, Reduce and Recycle

(Replace added sometimes)

Production

• Much more raw material is used for production then for the final product

• Saving number of final product saves raw materials manifold

Production

Wood Pulp Paper

ResourcesWasteResources Waste WasteResources

Energy Lost Energy

Energy EnergyLost Energy

Lost Energy

World Business Council forSustainable Development

• Eco efficiency is:• reduction in the material intensity of goods or

services,• reduction in the energy intensity of goods or

services,• reduced dispersion of toxic materials,• improved recyclability,• maximum use of renewable resources,• greater durability of products, and• increased service intensity of goods and

services.

Innovation of Business Models

• From waste as a cost to a waste as an asset• Recycling factory in Kampala, Uganda pays cash p. kilo

plastics, has lead to numerous local initiatives, 43 people working in the factory, hundreds make a living collecting. The clean end products are sold to China for fibers of fleece and carpets. The environment benefits too.

• From car lease to mobility services• Athlon car lease, the biggest lease company of the

Netherlands closed a deal with the Dutch Railway, NS. It offers now clients a car lease plus NS Business Card. Athlon wants to become a mobility broker in 2020.

New Processes

• Putting processes together• Save energy

• Imitate biological processes• Enzymatic production

• Low temperature (room temp.)• No by-products • Low energy consumption

• E.g. spider silk• Imitate ecosystems

• Zero emission industry park

Saving materials

• Scrap recovery for recycling• Net-shape manufacturing• Efficiency

• E.g. Cutting pattern calculated to cloths to waste the least

• Effectiveness• 1810 steam engine boilers 2200 pounds per

Hp• 1900 220 pounds/Hp• 1950 electric engines 55 lb/Hp• 1980 31 lb/Hp

Born again materials

• Reverse logistics• Redistributing products from customers

back to manufacturersE.g. Kodak and Fuji ‘disposable’ cameras

• Extended product responsibilityE.g. Package recycling

• Downcycling • Biodegradable

Cradle to cradle book

• Cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things

• Written by Architect McDonough and chemist Braungart

• Published in 2002

resource

raw material

component

assembly

consumption

disposal

Cradle to Grave Cradle to Cradle

resource

raw material

component

assembly

consumption

disposal

Cradle to Cradle

• In contrast to Cradle to Grave concept• Reduce, reuse, recycling (3 R’s)

• Reducing: ‘poisoning’ at a slower rate• Reuse: products are not designed for this

purpose• Recycling: down cycling and potentially

dangerous

Cradle to Cradle

• Focus on:• Design, start from the root of the problem• Biological processes, like ecological

systems• Not Eco-efficiency (3 R’s) but Eco-

effectiveness• Waste = Food principle

• Biological nutrients and technical nutrients

The Book itself

• No Paper, but synthetic resins• Non toxic, recyclable (up cycle)• Superior durability and performance• Waterproof• Ink can be washed of

• As an example of their concept: the book is a ‘technical nutrient’

C2C in Business

• Ideas has followers among “big business”:• Nike, Ford Motor Company, Herman Miller • 2 documentaries in NL attracted attention of

business

C2C certification

• using environmentally safe and healthy materials; • design for material reutilization, such as recycling or

composting; • the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency; • efficient use of water, and maximum water quality

associated with production; • instituting strategies for social responsibility

Example of certified C2C

• Diapers fully recyclable, compostable and flushable

• No use of chlorine, plastics, latex, perfumes, inks and dyes.

• It takes up 500 years to biodegrade for a normal disposable diaper in a landfill

Sustainable management

• Conclusion:• What did you learn?

Evaluate the zero measurement. Did you change your mind? Why? Which parts of this course did influence you most?What is your stance towards CSR and Sustainable development?

Sustainable Management

• Conclusions:• Business as a driver for change, with a stakeholder

orientation and multidisciplinary approach.• Government and regulating authorities needed for

leveling playing field• Holistic view needed: there is only 1 world for 6.6 billion

people & we all want an equal share• Long term ethical thinking required: what are the

consequences of our actions of today? What do we want, what do we need?

• Use solar income, strive for the highest sustainable technology, affluence for everyone.

Thank you

Be the change that you want to see in the world.

Mohandas Gandhi