EY BELGIUM
Circularity, an opportunity offered by nature The consumption of the current earth population of 7,3 billion people requires 1,5 earths. The United Nations predicts that the population will grow to 9 billion by 2050, demanding three earths to answer human needs. The WWF ‘Living Planet Report 2014’ learns us that during the past forty years, human demand has been higher than nature’s capacity to renew resource stocks which has led to a devastating drop of more than 50% in biodiversity (the Living Planet Index (LPI)). The effects of this drop are diverse and are not bound by borders or regions; it is a universal problem that threatens the survival of us all and requires a global answer, vision and action plan.
What if we would renew our resource stock from the products we produce and consume? This is what is currently known as the circular economy: instead of disposing products, re-use, re-assembly, upcycling and recycling extend the lifetime of the virgin materials we extract. To re-enforce this, divergent business models and consumption patterns are introduced which are directed towards service delivery rather than a transfer of ownership to consumers. The direct benefit to producers in marketing products that are easily repairable, maintainable and exchangeable is obvious. Furthermore, due to lower investments, consumers get more flexibility to reach out to products and services. In addition to the effect on production and consumption, a circular economy also creates new employment opportunities.
Production and consumption have created a tremendous amount of waste. Not all of this waste has been properly handled, creating serious pollution of air, earth and water with underestimated effects on health and the food supply chain. In big parts of the world open dumpsites and uncontrolled landfills are still common practice. Simultaneously, technological advancements offer possibilities to treat this waste and extract resources which can replace virgin materials in the production chain. In other words, waste is a resource for the future. Current human choices and investments predominantly take into account the expected economical return. Nevertheless, our choices also affect society and the environment. A growing number of techniques make it possible to put a value on societal and ecological effects, allowing a balanced choice. The logical path towards the future: policies and policy instruments (such as eco-taxation, Extended Producer Responsibility, et cetera) should be adapted across the earth to: 1) stimulate and put into practice the circular economy while at the same time discourage linear production and consumption;
Kurt Wellens is a Director at EY Belgium Cleantech and Sustainability Services (EY CaSS). 2) handle the negative and positive potential of waste. Ensure that all waste is properly handled, stored and treated to maximize the return in resources; 3) provide good governance, financing, monitoring and enforcement; 4) carefully assess economic opportunities ensuring investments only take place when there is a clear balance in expected economic, societal and ecological value (e.g. energy solutions). Only if we dare to take responsibility and use our human capability of finding and applying circular solutions which properly balance economic, societal and ecological effects, we might be able to re-enforce nature’s capacity to provide resource stocks up to at least a level matching the aspirations of mankind. This is not just a matter of choice, it is a bare necessity if we want to survive, as we only have one planet and nowhere else to go…
augustus-september 2015 | 4
Isn’t it about time to push for a revolution in the way we produce, consume and evaluate investments? Since the industrial revolution, our production and consumption pattern has been based upon a linear ‘take – make – dispose’ model. If the first paragraph learns us one thing, it is that this linear model has passed its validity date.
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