How do we make business and climate each others’ prerequisites?
Simply by designing for circularity. That is how we can harness the extraordinary powers of business as a source of good, and make sure we are incentivized to keep on the trajectory of creating a regenerative society for all to thrive in and ultimately ensure a livable and sustainable future for business, earth and humankind.
Sounds too good to be true? It does not have to be. With circular economy we can go beyond the traditional notion of economic growth opposing environmental protection. Instead, we can turn the tables and start treating them as natural prerequisites. As two elements that go hand in hand, strategically integrated sustainability makes viable businesses which drive sustainable development. It’s really that simple.
The key to unlocking this opportunity lies in the combination of circular economy with design and innovation, thus enabling us to go from idea to value innovation and bring the product to the market. Here, growth is not the enemy. On the contrary, we see growth as a powerful driver of the change we wish to achieve. Just as it has always been in nature. The bigger the business, the bigger the impact. What matters is what we grow and how we grow it. We must move from sustainability being all about doing less bad and instead focus on creating processes, products and business models that do good and that give more than they take. The point is that doing “less bad” is not enough. It narrows your vision and leaves you in a vulnerable position, making you susceptible to easy disruption and the possibility of being overtaken.
Circular economy is a fundamentally new way of looking at resources, a way that enables us to uncouple growth from the use of new resources and materials by extending the life-cycle of existing resources, either by keeping them in their first cycle or by bringing them back into circulation in a new way. In this way, good business and a healthy planet are interdependent.
Does design matter? Yes, because design is deliberate. There is an inherent value in the design process due to the choices we actively make. Be it a color, an object or a special shape, our decisions are never random but always thought through, made with both eyes open and by questioning the status quo. Therefore design is functionality. It enables intentionality. It is the act of design that enables us to change the rules of the game, and thus to create a regenerative society for all to thrive in.
Right now, the more products we buy and consume, the more virgin materials and energy the companies consume. The consequences of this process are the exhaustion of earth’s resources and a worrisome increase of CO2 emissions. But it doesn’t have to be like that. By using a design-based, circular approach to creating products, materials and business models, where value and growth are disconnected from the use of virgin materials and CO2-emissions, we have the opportunity to change the current situation and create a new world order. An order in which economic growth is linked to respect and care for our planet and our climate.
How can we design with two opposed ideas in mind? In the transition from a linear to a circular economy we must carry out two tasks at once. First, we have to start reactivating the enormous amount of waste humankind has accumulated over the past many decades, centuries and even millennia. And while doing so, we must also start designing for circularity. That is, making sure our resources never become waste in the first place. Looking to design for solutions is nothing new. It has always been our as well as our ancestors’ go-to survival strategy. In Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Janine Benyus describes how humans have copied nature’s models with great success when solving problems in our Industrialized world. We just need to start redesigning our business models as well. In essence, design allows us to see opportunity where once we would only have seen obstacles.
Because within every obstacle lies opportunity, design is a powerful tool for change. And we need change because climate change is happening at a rapid pace, and as a global society we need to act quickly if we want to avoid fatal changes to our environment and livelihood. But mitigating disaster is not the only urgent issue for changemakers and businesses. It is as much a matter of reaping the advantages of being a first mover and taking part in creating the future of business. This means adapting to the changing world order which has come not only from climate change but also from technological development, the 4th industrial revolution and an ever-increasing urbanization.
