The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected economies from the local to the global and we can rebuild our economy using old destructive methods or rebuild it in a way that future generations can benefit. Everyday there are more calls to reshape our economic systems to respect the environment more while increasing profits, and we can. The circular economy is all about both local profits and global environmental protection. Over at the World Economic Forum they have outlined a few ways we can speed up our shift to a more sustainable economic structure.
2. Transforming consumption
2. Transforming consumption
A step further along the value chain, Transforming Consumption addresses the reality that we currently consume 1.75 times more resources each year than the Earth can naturally regenerate, and we are on course to more than double resource use by 2050. Here, innovators are working to conceptualize new models of circular consumption, including product-as-a-service, product-use extension (e.g. repairs, secondary marketplaces), and sharing platforms. Algramo is a Chilean start-up whose omni-channel, cross-brand platform technology enables brands and retailers to sell goods to consumer using smart reusable packaging for the lowest possible prices. Algramo’s packaging distribution system incorporates Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to enable innovations such as their patented Packaging as a Wallet technology and IoT-connected vending machines. It is estimated that converting 20% of plastic packaging into reuse models presents a $10 billion opportunity, making rethinking packaging both a significant business priority in addition to having environmental imperative.