Thank god for business!
I’ve given up on personal action as a force for change in the world. Not enough people care enough for it to have any real impact. Most people don’t want to change how they live, they just want something to change the outcome of the decisions they want to make.
And that’s where business comes in. Businesses are started by optimistic people. Hell, you wouldn’t launch if you were realistic about the challenges. It takes a special breed of do-er to make the necessary leap of faith to get going, and we need them in spades right now.
Business owners are used to reacting to change, used to problem solving, use to delivering value to customers in a way that delivers profit. They’re already set up and practiced at taking on new challenges. The climate crisis is just another one.
It’s why I’m thrilled to be working with progressive companies who have the foresight to get ready for what they can see coming down the track. After all, the best way to predict the future is to invent it.
And for this month’s circular economy & design news read on ….
Study finds low-rise high-density cities more carbon efficient than high-rise high-density cities
A not-for-profit organisation, Responsible Steel, is the industry’s first global multi-stakeholder standard and certification programme.
California has passed the strictest recycling law in the US, requiring manufacturers to ensure items with the ‘chasing arrows’ recycling symbol are actually recyclable. The bill also strengthens rules for what can be used in compost to prevent soil contamination, and requires labels to inform consumers what can be composted too.
Very interesting article about the challenges involved in using recycled plastic
Research centre in Manchester develops novel way to measure % recycled content in plastic
A very accessible explanation of the state of play in Ireland with regard to climate change
Concern that recycled plastic could be a health hazard
Zalando trials repair service in two German cities
AirBubble (see top photo) is a children’s play pavilion in Poland, that uses algae in solar-powered bioreactors to remove carbon dioxide and pollutants from the air.
California just passed a law requiring the carbon emissions per ton of cement produced to be cut by 40% percent below 2019 levels by 2035. It’s the first time ever a US state has required specific reductions from an economic sector, and puts it right out at the front of the global effort to decarbonize the cement industry.
Architecture studio White Arkitekter has completed Sara Kulturhus Centre, a timber development featuring the world’s second-tallest wooden tower, which it claims will be carbon negative over its lifetime.
Google launches new ‘eco-certified’ badge for hotels
American company Dow launches fully circular mattress scheme, Renuva following on from it’s breakthrough technology in recycling polyurethane foam launches mattress recycling scheme
Liquiglide is a new form of packaging designed to allow sticky contents to be fully dispensed allowing for easier recycling and the use of less water in the product
Surfboard maker Almond surf board offers closed loop service for it’s customers
Mass bird deaths in New York City caused by skyscraper collisions
EPA launches Green Public Procurement Guidelines
A great overview of all the plastics typically used in construction
Starbucks is trailing an eco café in Shanghai
Till next month.
Elaine
Circular Design Institute 