More and more evidence continues to emerge that points to the literal wealth of untapped potential of shifting to a circular economy. Independent research released this week from Imperial College London, commissioned by leading environmental solutions provider Veolia, has found a combination of closing resource loops and moving to a service- rather than product-based economy has the potential to add 0.18 percent — equivalent to £2.9 billion (~US$4.5 billion) — to UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per year, roughly £29 billion by 2025 by:
- Deriving £23.7bn through reprocessing and recycling materials from households and commercial & industrial sources
- Harnessing £3.1bn opportunity of moving from a product to a service-based approach
- Saving businesses £2.3bn in taxes currently paid on waste sent to landfill
- Generating £1.1bn in energy from materials that can’t be reprocessed into further products
- Capturing £888m of value from unwanted chemicals
- Finally, the report takes into account the existing £2.2bn contribution of the waste management sector to the circular economy
The report, entitled The circular revolution, also estimates that 175,000 jobs will be created by the circular economy, amounting to almost 10 percent of UK unemployment (echoing a similar projection earlier this year from WRAP and Green Alliance) with particular opportunities for growth from plastics recycling. It also reveals that while the size of the waste-management sector has fallen in tonnes, it has risen in value, pointing to the importance of the increasing value of resources.
Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice-President UK & Ireland, said: “The world is facing an enormous challenge. Expanding populations and a rise in living standards means demand for raw materials is growing at the same time resources are rapidly depleting. Businesses need to wake up to the unsustainable nature of our throw-away economy and put more value on resources.
“The findings of the report have exceeded our expectations — even if we only achieved a 50 percent shift this would add £15bn to the country’s economic output.”
The report’s leading author, Dr. Nick Voulvoulis from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London, said: “The report refers to the UK’s economy ability to become circular and to grow while resource use is declining. It goes beyond resource and energy efficiency; it also includes closing the loop between resource extraction, production and disposal, moving towards the provisions of services, where materials are valued differently; creating a more robust economy in the process.”
Meanwhile, paper-based packaging giant Smurfit Kappa has reiterated its commitment to delivering business value through sustainability across all areas of its operations in its 8th annual Sustainable Development Report, Sustainability in Every Fibre. The report highlights the company’s focus on designing and enabling truly circular systems and commitment to use only 100 percent sustainably sourced fibers in its products and processes.
“The circular economy provides Smurfit Kappa with new business opportunities and innovative solutions to reduce material costs, ensuring our business is resilient in the face of growing resource constraints,” the report reads. “In our view, increasing resource productivity through a more circular model of production and consumption can be an important contributor to job growth and economic competitiveness.
“Re-engineering our business in this way requires a holistic approach, working at system level, which promotes innovation and connections across sectors and value chains. While a number of our operations are already advanced in their application of this systemic approach, others are on a journey to doing so.”
In addition to expanding sustainable sourcing and responsible forestry and reducing its water use, waste to landfill and carbon emissions, Smurfit Kappa says it is closing loops in its energy production through fully utilizing, where possible, any by-products that have a high energy value. In addition to traditional bioenergy usage at pulp and paper mills — burning black liquor at integrated pulp and paper mills and utilizing biogas produced during anaerobic water treatment at its recycled paper mills as fuel — the company is exploring further options for creating energy and heat from its side streams that have no other value.
Making sure that paper is recycled to its limit and then utilizing that pulp in innovative ways is another way Smurfit Kappa has set itself apart; as the report claims: “Being a sustainability leader within our industry creates business value.”