Leading companies such as Veolia, DSM and SAB Miller are beginning to shift from the traditional linear “take, make, dispose” business model to a more regenerative circular economy framework. This transformation employs a systems level approach and intentional strategy to design waste out of the system and to manage materials for longer circulation and greater re-usability as pictured.

The goal is to generate more value and economic opportunity with less material and energy consumption.

Value from the circular economy is generated using four principles: the Power of the Inner Circle; the Power of Circling Longer; the Power of Cascaded Use; and the Power of Pure Material.

Leading companies like USGBC members Veolia, Philips and Cisco are shifting from the traditional linear “take, make, dispose” business model to a more regenerative circular economy framework. This transformation employs a systems level approach and intentional strategy to design waste out of the system and to manage materials for longer circulation and greater re-usability. The goal is to generate more value and economic opportunity with less material and energy consumption.

Value from the circular economy is generated using four principles:

• The power of the inner circle: staying in the inner loops to save in terms of embedded resources and impacts.
• The power of circling longer: keeping materials in play through multiple cycling or by lengthening cycling duration to save on virgin material inputs.
• The power of cascaded use: transforming materials across product categories to offset the need for virgin material inputs.
• The power of pure materials: designing better products to facilitate reverse logistics and maintain material quality.

The NY Declarations on Forests (PDF) and the recent flurry of corporate deforestation-free commitments could reverse alarming trends in large-scale forest conversion driven by agricultural commodities. In the words of WRI’s Global Director of Forests, Nigel Sizer, “There are extraordinarily powerful players paying attention to this issue now; let’s be sure to build on the momentum.” But while the commitments send a strong signal to the marketplace and to governments that we need dramatic changes in how commodities are produced, the devil — as always — is in the details.

Does “deforestation-free” mean the same thing to a small-holder farmer in Indonesia as to the head of procurement in a U.S.-based multinational corporation or to the government of a forest-rich developing country? How might policies set by international organizations engage local stakeholders in customized solutions? What are the key performance indicators, and how will these be verified?

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