Resource Revolution 2013
is beginning to wake up to processing its
own materials from those streams."
For big corporates leading on this
agenda such as Unilever, the idea of
circular value chains is now central to
mainstreaming sustainability. Unilever's
group environmental engineering
manager Tony Dunnage revealed his
company had undertaken more than 1,400
product lifecycle analysis assessments on
its brands portfolio.
"When you look from supply down to
consumer, you need partnerships - the
consumer is probably the most difficult
area to navigate and engage with," he said.
"What circular economy value chains
really bring to the fore is social and
economic dimensions - I think many
organisations are doing it, but perhaps
aren't labelling it as such."
In terms of policy, Defra's director for
climate, waste and atmosphere Dr Colin
Church maintained it was important the
thinking didn't "run forward too fast"
during this time of transition. "We can
come up with theoretical ideas on what
the market failures or barriers are, but
experience on the ground is needed here.
We should be asking businesses 'What's
stopping you?'."
Sponsored by
The debate 4/12
What is the Resource Revolution?
The volatility of the global economy and significant evidence of resource
depletion are making the business case stronger for government and
business to find innovative solutions and business models.
The Resource Revolution is a high level campaign led by SB's sister
media platforms edie.net and LAWR magazine to raise awareness of
how companies can utilise smarter resource management in the context
of working towards a circular economy, where waste is designed out of
the industrial eco-system.
A circular economic model represents a multi-billion dollar opportunity
for business to become more sustainable and resilient to future
changes. Improving resource efficiency alone represents an £18bn-ayear opportunity according to research from Defra.
On a global scale, recent McKinsey research showed that 30% of the
world's demand for resources by 2030 could be met through resourceefficiency improvements, a potential economic benefit of $3.7tn a year.
More information on the Resource Revolution and its outputs can be
found at www.resourcerevolution.net and all photos can be viewed here
Or, to be kept up-to-date with all the developments, register for the
edie newsletter here.
