Circular Business Podcast: Recent Episodes
Sreepriya Sridharan
Hello & welcome to Circular Business Podcast, a series where we look into Circular Economy from the Indian context. I’m your host & dost Sreepriya Sridharan & this podcast is for you, if you have been looking for solutions to make your organization go zero waste, sustainable & profitable all at the same time. Tune into our series to listen to interviews with entrepreneurs & industry experts and some kick ass solo episodes by me where we equip you with absolutely necessary information around circular economy so that you can begin your projects and drive change wherever you are. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
"Ideologies don’t really change the world, taking action definitely has a higher chance."
Hello and welcome to Ep. 100 of Circular Business Podcast.
Since episode 98 we have been in conversation with Vijay Prateik founder of deMITasse energies, where they are building next-generation power plants that efficiently, reliably, and inexpensively generate zero-emission power!
deMITasse energies is an Indian start-up who are on a mission to implement their promising solution at grid-scale to address the energy crisis.
Like we discussed before, for any business or an entity to go 100% sustainable and 100% circular, they must power their operations via renewable sources of energy. But this is easier said than done, because renewable sources of energy are intermittent in nature.
Around the globe, only a handful of solutions exist today that can embrace this intermittent nature efficiently. One such solution is being offered by deMITasse energies who are relentlessly working everyday for true adoption of renewables.
Make sure to listen to Ep. #98 & #99 before listening to this one, as the conversation branches out into important sub-topics which can be understood better if heard in the ascending sequence.
deMITasse energies is a young startup backed by the prestigious IIM-Bangalore, Tata Trust, Tata Power (TP-DDL), Govt. of Delhi and Govt. of Karnataka. Their engine is capable of storing grid-scale energy for long duration with negligible losses.
Armed with their engine, they are on a mission to solve the biggest problem of our generation - climate change and energy crisis.
Thank you so much for tuning in each week, supporting us all along these 100 episodes. Thank you for being an important part of my audio family.
I sincerely hope that this podcast has been a value addition in your life.
If the answer is yes, then make sure to share it with your friends & family and help us spark a thought…initiate conversations in a joyful attempt to make this planet a better place.
Stay tuned for my Season 1 finale episode. Until then take care of yourself and everyone around you. Bye.
Contact:deMITasse energies
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Key words : Renewable energy
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Till now we have discussed various circular solutions, circular business models & innovations which act as perfect alternatives to linear economy problems.
However it is important to keep in mind that an ideal circular economy must make use of zero emission energy sources.
Today’s renewable energy technology is only a baby step in that direction because we still have a lot of embodied carbon in the way we operate this tech.
A lot more needs to be done for true adoption of renewables.
deMITasse energies is an Indian start-up who are on a mission to implement their promising solution at grid-scale to address the energy crisis.
Vijay Prateik is the founder of deMITasse energies, where they are building next-generation power plants that efficiently, reliably, and inexpensively generate zero-emission power.
deMITasse energies is a young startup backed by the prestigious IIM-Bangalore, Tata Trust, Tata Power (TP-DDL), Govt. of Delhi and Govt. of Karnataka. Their engine is capable of storing grid-scale energy for long duration with negligible losses.
Armed with their engine, they are on a mission to solve the biggest problem of our generation - climate change and energy crisis.
To many of us, the previous episode might have been eye-opening, especially when we discuss some critical loopholes in the implementation of renewable energy grids in India.
Opening the episode with the problem statement actually made a perfect segue to understand how deMITasse innovation is solving the problem.
Although deMITasse is a hardcore mechanical engineering startup, I appreciate the simplicity and clarity with which Vijay explains their solution to a 5 year old kid.
And hey, agar aapko mazza aaya and found this to be a good value edition, then make sure to share it with your friends, family, colleagues and help us spark a thought…initiate conversations and lets attempt to make this planet a better place...
Shall we?
Contact:deMITasse energies
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Key words : Renewable energy
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Till now we have discussed various circular solutions, circular business models & innovations which act as perfect alternatives to linear economy problems.
However it is important to keep in mind that an ideal circular economy must make use of zero emission energy sources.
Today’s renewable energy technology is only a baby step in that direction because we still have a lot of embodied carbon in the way we operate this tech.
A lot more needs to be done for true adoption of renewables.
deMITasse energies is an Indian start-up who are on a mission to implement their promising solution at grid-scale to address the energy crisis.
Vijay Prateik is the founder of deMITasse energies, where they are building next-generation power plants that efficiently, reliably, and inexpensively generate zero-emission power.
deMITasse energies is a young startup backed by the prestigious IIM-Bangalore, Tata Trust, Tata Power (TP-DDL), Govt. of Delhi and Govt. of Karnataka. Their engine is capable of storing grid-scale energy for long duration with negligible losses.
Armed with their engine, they are on a mission to solve the biggest problem of our generation - climate change and energy crisis.
Contact:deMITasse energies
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Key words : Renewable energy
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Happy Holidays Everyone!
I wish...i wish...i wish that you find utmost joy within you which fires you up to take some impactful climate action in 2022.
Today is our last weekly gupshup for 2021, and that's why Piyush & I decided to go unscripted and share our heart out of how this year has been.
If you have been tuning in to most of our previous gupshups, then this episode is going to be a delight for you.
Thank yo for being our family and supporting us throughout.
Now, I request you to hit play, relax and enjoy what's about to unfold :)
Let us know your thoughts on this at circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com / info@thecircularcollective.com
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
You are listening to part 3 of our discussion with Kiran Pereira where we are gonna dig deep on sustainable solutions to the global sand crisis.
Kiran is the Founder & Chief Storyteller at SandStories.org. an organization that works to create awareness about the urgent need to manage our consumption of sand as a resource. They aim to bridge the gap between science, policy and industry by identifying and promoting potential solutions to the looming sand crisis.
If you observe keenly, you’ll notice how rarely sand and its sustainability comes up in climate change awareness conversations. Just bcoz its not being spoken much, doesn’t mean that its impacts ain’t alarming.
Doston, I’m counting on you to help us spread the word and spark a thought within your circle of influence. All you have to do is share this episode with them and start a conversation.
Our conversation has been split into 3 parts. Part 1 focuses on problems and impacts of sand mining on our lives and the ecosystem.
Part 2 focuses on sustainable, circular solutions to today’s unsustainable sand industry
Part 3 will focus on action points for making this planet a better place.
Show Notes:
- Today sand is valued poorly, therefore linked with a lot of exploitation and creates barriers to adoption of sustainable technology & infrastructure;
- Sand is a non-renewable resource in human timescales;
- Humankind has built 850,000 dams around the world rivers that are blocking sand’s natural course of path;
- Today humans have become a geo-morphological force …trying hard to compete with nature...
- Sand and gravel are the most extracted solid substances on earth;
- Today's regulations around sand are archaic;
- We lack awareness and urgency around the topic of sand unsustainability;
Tune into the episode to learn more.
Contact:SandStories
Watch the Documentary : Sand Wars
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Key words : Illegal sand mining
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
You are listening to part 2 of our discussion with Kiran Pereira where we are gonna dig deep on sustainable solutions to the global sand crisis.
Kiran is the Founder & Chief Storyteller at SandStories.org. an organization that works to create awareness about the urgent need to manage our consumption of sand as a resource. They aim to bridge the gap between science, policy and industry by identifying and promoting potential solutions to the looming sand crisis.
In the previous episode i.e. ep #94 we discussed how sand touches our lives everyday via the products and services that we use. We even spoke about the massive scale at which specific types of sand are extracted from various parts of the globe to suffice human development needs. This in turn is leading us into a climate catastrophe.
If you observe keenly, you’ll notice how rarely sand and its sustainability comes up in climate change awareness conversations. Just bcoz its not being spoken much, doesn’t mean that its impacts ain’t alarming.
Doston, I’m counting on you to help us spread the word and spark a thought within your circle of influence. All you have to do is share this episode with them and start a conversation.
Our conversation has been split into 3 parts. Part 1 focuses on problems and impacts of sand mining on our lives and the ecosystem.
Part 2 i.e. today’s episode will focus on sustainable, circular solutions to today’s unsustainable sand industry
Part 3 will focus on action points for making this planet a better place.
Tune into the episode to learn more.
Contact:SandStories
Watch the Documentary : Sand Wars
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Key words : Illegal sand mining
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Today's sand mining is a climate threat. Yes it is.
For many of us, when we think of sand …we picture walking on a beach…some others might say an hourglass…
but little do we realize that amidst the chaos of climate change …SAND is literally slipping through our eco-system with a big invitation for a future catastrophe.
If what I just said sounds unbelievable to you, no problem at all, our guest for today Kiran Pereira is going to share a rare sand story with all of us. Kiran is the Founder & Chief Storyteller at SandStories.org.
SandStories works to create awareness about the urgent need to manage our consumption of sand as a resource. They aim to bridge the gap between science, policy and industry by identifying and promoting potential solutions to the looming sand crisis.
Our conversation has been split into 3 parts. Part 1 ..i.e today’s episode will focus on problems and impacts of sand mining on our lives and the ecosystem.
Part 2 will focus on sustainable, circular solutions to today’s unsustainable sand industry
Part 3 will focus on action points for making this planet a better place.
Notes:
- Sand is a non-renewable resource in human timescales
- Humankind has built 850,000 dams around the world that are blocking sand’s natural course of path
- Today humans have become a geo-morphological force …trying hard to compete with nature
- Sand and gravel are the most extracted solid substances on earth.
Tune into the episode to learn more.
Contact:SandStories
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Key words : Illegal sand mining
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Today is part 2 of the throwback series- Inspiring people in the circular economy space.
Like I mentioned in episode 90 …we initially wanted to make top 3, however curating top 3 was hard, therefore we thought of making two part series covering 3 change makers in each episode.
While the podcast must take a holistic view, I wanna share a secret…you know the curation of this episode is my favorite because these folks have become trailblazers in their own arena. So if I can state them in the chronology of their appearance, we begin the throwback with Alysia G co-founder and director of Materiom followed by Arthur Huang cofounder of MINIWIZ and Dave Hakkens founder of precious plastic.com.
So just sit back, relax, grab your beverage of choice and get ready to be inspired.
Let us know your thoughts on this at circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com / info@thecircularcollective.com
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Today we are going to talk to a phenomenal woman who has become a trend setter in zero waste living in India. She is none other than Sahar Mansoor Founder and CEO at Bare Necessities.
This is part 2 of my conversation with Sahar.
Of her many achievements, Sahar is also the co-author of India’s first zero waste guidebook which is specially crafted for the desi audience. The title of the book is Bare Necessities: How to Live a Zero Waste Life. I sincerely suggest you to check it out because Sahar walks the talk, therefore you can be assured to gain useful insights especially if you are getting started on your own zero-waste journey.
In the previous episode, i.e. part one of the conversation, we discussed some important challenges that aam janata face in transitioning to zero waste lifestyle.
We gain an insight as to how BN is approaching those problems.
We even talk about the need for awareness and practical education around environ sustainability followed by a crazy story of how Sahar tailor made her major in college …kind of designing her own curriculum from her areas of interest.
In case you haven’t heard part-1, then take a pause and listen to Ep. #91 because this one is a sequel to that and you wouldn’t wanna miss out on the flow, would you?
Recently, Sahar and her team launched an online course for those who want to switch to understand circular economy.
The course details are here : Circular Economy in 30
This course discusses what the future should look like as we move towards a sustainable and just future. Following a Circular Economy rather than the Linear Economy!
Using well-researched and inspiring examples from the past, present and future that are embedding circularity, close to embedding it or are literally already amazing at it - from the Ubers and AirBnb’s to the Yulu’s and electric transportation, to even insects as a source of sustainable food - this course is going to take you on idea-driven, innovative and motivating journey!
Tune into the episode to learn more.
Contact:Bare Necessities
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Key words : Zero-waste living
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Today we are going to talk to a phenomenal woman who has become a trend setter in zero waste living in India. She is none other than Sahar Mansoor Founder and CEO at Bare Necessities.
Sahar says that she’s and accidental entrepreneur and that Bare Necessities started in her pursuit to lead a zero waste life.
Bare Necessities addresses serious flaws in manufacturing, distribution, and consumption by innovating and providing sustainable solutions to waste, and identifying problems that more companies need to address if they want to be innovative and socially-conscious.
Their products take a cradle-to-cradle approach right from from the design to manufacturing to distribution.
Recently, Sahar and her team launched an online course for those who want to switch to understand circular economy.
The course details are here : Circular Economy in 30
This course discusses what the future should look like as we move towards a sustainable and just future. Following a Circular Economy rather than the Linear Economy!
Using well-researched and inspiring examples from the past, present and future that are embedding circularity, close to embedding it or are literally already amazing at it - from the Ubers and AirBnb’s to the Yulu’s and electric transportation, to even insects as a source of sustainable food - this course is going to take you on idea-driven, innovative and motivating journey!
An important takeaway from this episode :
- When you share a home with your loved ones, it can get challenging to lead a zero waste life, because each individual have their own value systems. At such times, it is important to find synergies in motives that resonate with your loved ones, communicate in ways that they understand best in order to collectively make an impact.
Tune into the episode to learn more.
Contact:Bare Necessities
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Key words : Zero-waste living
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Today is my very first recording from the Himalayas.
It’s refreshing to be able to see the colors in the mountains, feel the chills on your skin and also the warmth of the winter sun. Hope you too are blending into the Christmas spirit this holiday season.
Every time I hit the road, journeying a new path, I’ve encountered some fabulous strangers, phenomenal humans along the way who leave a mark and inspire me. I’m glad that pattern continued on this trip as well.
That’s why for today’s episode we thought of maintaining a similar theme and check on inspiring change makers from previous gupshups …we initially wanted to make top 3, however curating top 3 was hard, therefore we thought of making two part series covering 3 change makers in each episode.
This week, we look at Ray C Anderson from Interface carpets, Ben Smith from Green Wave and May Al Karooni from Globechain. Hope you enjoy this compilation.
Let us know your thoughts on this at circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com / info@thecircularcollective.com
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
In today’s throwback series we dive into circular business models from the beverage industry.
Festive season is back again... The world is slowly moving into the Christmas spirit and speciality coffees to mulled wine to beer every spirit is finding its way into people’s lives in customized forms…isn’t it?
That’s why as a refresher today we talk about two organisations, Toast ale and Rainbeer who have innovated into circular business models for crafting beer…then we move on to Garcon wines who have innovated sustainable packaging for wine…making it one of the first wine bottles to slide through your letter box followed by the very special coffee miners project.
So take a seat, grab a beverage and find out how your drink can be more circular.
Let us know your thoughts on this at circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com / info@thecircularcollective.com
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Technology has simply transformed the way we live our lives, isn’t it? Our laptops have gotten lighter, our smartphones more feature-packed, and our overall need to upgrade our devices has been increasing year on year.
But as we make new purchases and store away old devices in our ghar ka drawer, have we paused for once and thought, what do we do with these unused pieces, where should it really go? What happens to the e-waste that continues to pile up?
Today we bring to you a compilation of previous gupshup episodes where we have shed light on global best practices by businesses, to understand how they close the loop on e-waste.
Today we recall solutions by Reply, Gerrard Street, Fairphones & Homie.
Hope you enjoy this compilation.
Happy listening.
Also tell us what are you going to do different this New Year? How will you tackle your e-waste?
How are you gonna drive change?
Write to us at circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com / info@thecircularcollective.com
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
You’re listening to part 2 of my conversation with Pranshu Singhal where we’ll delve into the realities of e-waste management in India.
Pranshu is on a relentless mission to enable setup of a well governed industry ecosystem for e-waste management in India.
He founded Karo Sambhav which is a cohesive movement for enterprises, consumers, governments and alliances to collaborate and enable circular economy.
Show Notes:
- What does formalizing informal sector mean? - Today we need one-common definition of formalization for everyone to follow.
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Suggestions for EPR amendments;
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How do we improve & create a level playing field for producers and PROs. We need to reverse the current situation; Instead of having negative pressure on orgs doing good, we should have positive pressure on orgs not doing so good.
- We need to digitize our whole system of data management in waste. Today most data on the next life of recycled waste is being submitted in paper format, which makes it difficult to carryout data analysis unlike other industries.
- As of today the responsibility for enforcement of EPR lies on state pollution control board (which are only a group of few people) which is a lot of work expected from a handful individuals. Present mechanics of enforcement make it difficult to achieve success on good intentioned policies. Instead can we involve technology & management institutions for regular monitoring in the form of yearly assignments;
- OR can we create an open source platform with these data sets, which will enable any of the interested parties to get involved, analyze and suggest solutions. Having this open source platform is beneficial because it will help us identify challenges from multiple view points globally. Once challenges are identified only then change can happen.
- Another challenge with today’s EPR system is to know what kind of money is being spent by brands / recyclers / (stakeholders in the system). It is important to have publications of reference costs of compliance. This will eradicate the vicious cycle of lowest cost models. Consider that a brand has to comply to a new regulation in the policy, if there are no reference costs of compliance, they’ll always opt for the low cost service providers, without even knowing whether the service provider is competent to provide quality results, as there is no client reference. Having reference costs equips the well intentioned brands to negotiate better and be ware of low quality service providers, because for them EPR and sustainability is more than just a tick in the box.
- Today in EPR systems, there is a race to the bottom (in terms of prices)
- We need to bring in mechanisms by which enforcements are no longer bottlenecks to the growth of the system.
Tune into the episode to learn more.
Contact:Karo Sambhav
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Key words : E-waste recycling
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Today we’ll delve into the realities of e-waste management in India.
I bring to you my conversation with Pranshu Singhal who is on a relentless mission to enable setup of a well governed industry ecosystem for e-waste management in India.
Pranshu founded Karo Sambhav which is a cohesive movement for enterprises, consumers, governments and alliances to collaborate and enable circular economy.
Their team empowers enterprises to close their material loops. set circularity goals, decode EPR compliances and create robust collection programmes.
This year, Pranshu won the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award; An award by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the sister organisation of the World Economic Forum, and the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation.
This conversation is a two part series, so make sure to listen to both ep. 86 & 87 to be in sync & to find out how we all can collectively make change happen.
Notes:
- Can we enable setup of a well governed industry ecosystem for e-waste in India?
- Bcoz of Karo Sambhav the dialogues in our country have moved from Why should we collect e-waste? Why should we manage it? to How should we manage it?
- At first, we need to create better collection systems for varieties of waste by leveraging existing infrastructure. At present they are quite underutilized.
- We all need to be aware of the basic lifecycle of each products that we use on daily basis. Stakeholders who are managing the supply chain need to start thinking on what the reverse logistics for their products would look like once they reach their end of life?
Today when you look at the market…to be precise the linear market, you can sense the expertise of the entire system to deliver efficiently on a forward supply chain. Isn’t it?
On the contrary when we look at the market from the lens of a circular economy we see enormous gaps in meeting the basic necessities needed to have reverse logistics in place. Majority of our take-back mechanisms, collection systems are informally handled and in my view they are amateur on a systemic level to meet the ambitions climate action goals.
That’s where organizations like Karo Sambhav are making a difference by bridging in those gaps and introducing circular strategies and technologies in a way that makes it easy for the brutal market to embrace climate action.
Tune into the episode to learn more.
Contact:Karo Sambhav
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Key words : E-waste recycling
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Imagine this, instead of segregating your plastic waste for disposal, you and your neighbourhood friends make use of an empty garage to segregate plastic according to its plastic code on the packaging. Now you have built a DIY plastic shredder, DIY plastic extruder, DIY plastic injector and DIY compressor. All this fit in that little garage which enables you to instantly transform your plastic waste into absolutely useful products...such as tables, chairs, fashion accessories, plastic containers, lamp holders...etc.etc.
Think of it like a mini version of Trashpresso in your garage. This little reference is from Ep.#32.
Now go on to google search and type precious plastic.com.
They have developed machines that enable everyone to work with plastic, The machines are specifically designed using only basic tools and low-cost materials that are available at every corner of the world and they are developed modularly, in different parts, in this way you can always upgrade, repair and customize them or even adapt them to your environment.
In addition to the blueprints, they also have step-by-step instruction videos, lessons about plastic, tips and tricks and useful templates. It is a complete package with everything you need to get started ready to download.
Wherever you live you should be able to build them yourself or find a local handyman to help out.
These machines allow everyone to create new things from plastic, set up a production, start a business, clean up the neighbourhood.
In the year 2012-2013, Dave Hekkens the founder of Precious Plastics started this open source platform as a part of his graduation project...and today they are a global movement of over 80,000 people sharing the same passion and vision for a world with less plastic waste.
Precious Plastics is trying to boost plastic recycling, by providing people the tools to get started. This is all the basic information people need to start their own little recycle business anywhere in the world and they can all download it for free.
But in order for this to have an impact we need to make sure that people
actually know it's now possible and that they can just download and start.
So as an action point for today’s episode, I urge you to visit their website today and simply spread it around make sure it reaches your friends, uncle aunties, neighbour.
but also that farmer or artisans living somewhere in the middle of a secluded village.
Your share might reach the right person and all together we can make sure it reaches every corner of the world.
Tune into the episode to find out more.
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Today I bring to you my conversation with Kamal Raj - Director of Impact Projects at rePurpose Global.
rePurpose Global is the World's First Plastic Credit Platform dedicated to making planetary action simple for purposeful people and companies of any size, anywhere. Their one-stop solution empowers anybody to go Plastic Neutral by financing innovators on the frontlines who are relentlessly fighting for our planet’s future.
You’ll be fascinated to know that majority of plastic waste especially multi-layered plastic (MLP) — including chips packets, chocolate wrappers, and more — never makes it to recycling. Instead, all that waste ends up in landfill remaining there for centuries.
The sad truth is, the infrastructure needed to tackle this problem is underfunded, and requires an urgent push. That’s where rePurpose Global is breaking barriers, and channelling resources towards important innovations.
Our guest Kamal Raj is no less than an avenger when it comes to implementing solutions around plastic waste problems. After completing his degree in biotechnology, he got exposed to the world of waste management through his work with Daily Dump and soon figured out synergies to leverage his knowledge of biotechnology to find solutions around plastic waste.
He then moved on to lead the Solid Waste Management program as part of Infosys’s Green Initiatives team and is recognized for achieving self-reliance in SWM at Infosys, where annually 10 million kilograms of MSW is managed through 24 automated technologies.
After his decade long stint with providing solutions for waste management in India, today he continues to create that impact on a global level by leading projects at repurpose global.
Tune into the episode to learn more.
Contact:rePupose Global
Keyword : Plastic footprint calculator
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Today we talk about Herman Miller and how they are innovating their business models into circular business model to stay relevant in business and also to be inclusive of natural environment.
I want to bring to your notice that designing for the environment is not an easy job. Speaking in context of Herman Miller, they are a 116year old company who have gained a strong reputation of high quality ergonomic furniture.
Now to incorporate cradle to cradle C2C design, or to make use of ocean plastics into their well performing models, takes enormous research and development of how the materials would behave in this new formula, it takes a focussed team of individuals to run the project, improve their existing supply chains, train and level up their suppliers as well as employees to be cognizant of this new ecosystem and deliver results.
Taking all this into account, Herman Miller has set a precedent of sustainability within the furniture industry. Their process of change can be replicated in other industries. They are clearly the role models for businesses who aspire to stay relevant, stay eco-efficient and profitable in this new age.
Tune into the episode to find out how this Herman Miller is doing things differently.
Sources : Herman Miller website
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Diwali…the festival of lights brings with it a lot of chores such as cleaning, making delicious delicacies as well as shopping. So this season I went on hunt to find out circular brands in the retail sector and I’m happy to share with you my conversation with Amita Deshpande from reCharkha.
reCharkha EcoSocial is a Social Enterprise, founded on the belief that, development can only be sustainable if it is bottom-up! This means, sustainable development is possible only when it begins at the grassroots and involves an empathetic understanding of communities.
reCharkha’s founder Amita Deshpande is an IT Engineer who later went on to do her Masters at Purdue University, USA with a focus on Sustainability.
For almost 14 years, she worked with CSR teams of multinational corporations, consultancies, non-profits, and community-based organizations in the United States and India.
Pained by the longing to do more for the society, she leveraged her rich experience from her consulting days to start her social enterprise Aarohana EcoSocial Developments 7 years back . Last year they revamped the brand to what is known as reCharkha Ecosocial.
She’s a fabulous human being and her long-standing dream is to develop a sustainable village and live in it herself, which she wishes to fulfill through reCharkha and her EcoSocial Planet.
Show Notes:
- We understand the importance of using Charkha to weave plastic trash;
- We cover the journey of reCharkha in brief and Amita shares interesting insights of her trigger points for starting the brand;
- Amita shares some eye-opening facts from her volunteering days in Uttarakhand villages;
- We discuss how reCharkha is closing the loop on plastic trash and what were few challenges that they encountered when they launched in India for the first time;
- She gives us a sneak peek into their Diwali sale and shares how we all can join their eco-social mission;
Tune into the episode to learn more.
Contact reCharkha Ecosocial
Keyword : What is circular economy?
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
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It is said that across the world, the building sector consumes too many resources and produces too much waste. Twenty five percent of the world’s water and 40 percent of its resources are used by buildings, while creating one-third of all waste and 40 percent of global carbon emissions. We all have a part to play in protecting the environment and our planet...isn’t it?
By selecting sustainable and circular construction materials, we can save energy and resources, and limit waste.
One such construction material that opens up this possibility is Stone wool or rockwool, which is the most widely used insulation material in Europe because they are fire-safe, durable, reusable, sound-absorbing as well as moisture-resistant.
Even in India it is widely used in refineries, power plants, airports, commercial buildings, industries and factories etc.
If you are listening to us from an indoor location, then it is possible that you have stonewool / rockwool insulation around you behind those walls and ceiling.
So how are rockwool’s made?
Basalt rock, dolomite and slag are heated to very high temperatures using coke.
Molten mixture is passed through very high speed spinners to form fine fibers which are impregnated with thermosetting resin (Binder)
Fibers are converted to LRB, Slabs, Building Roll of various density, thickness and facing after passing through the curing oven.
Now that you understand the basic use of rockwool, think about this, in developing nations around the world infrastructure projects are crucial to its development. Due to this old constructions may be demolished for new, or up for renovation. Be it any, all are going to make use of rockwool at some point of time.
Tune into the episode to find out how this Danish organization ROCKWOOL is doing things differently. Yeah...don’t be confused, their name is derived from the product they sell.
Sources : ROCKWOOL Sustainability Report 2020
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Today is a throwback Tuesday for our weekly Gupshup episodes.
In India, the festival of lights, Diwali is on the charts. Houses are being cleaned, delicacies are being made…shopping is part of the holiday ritual…isn’t it.
A few days back when I and Piyush were having a conversation on this, we realized that most Indian celebrations are traditionally grand in nature. The grandness percolates down to even the food that we produce distribute, consume & waste.
Food is one of the basic necessities and with an exponentially growing population, having a plan for sustainable food systems circular solutions for tackling food wastes become all the more important.
Therefore instead of speaking on a new topic today, we have made a compilation of previous Gupshup episodes around where we have discussed at length, important innovations & solutions that tackle food waste.
Today’s throwback episode covers solutions by Apeel, Wasteless, Winnow along with the city of Milan’s noteworthy food policy…lengthwise it is slightly longer than our previous Gupshup's.
It’s a pretty good compilation and something that we tried for the first time.
Hope you enjoy this mashup and I’ll see you soon on the other side.
Hope our special episode today emphasized a relevant call for action at all levels of the food system, including national and local governments, companies and citizens. Food connects us all and therefore we must take action at our capacity to make food systems better.
So tell me what are you going to do different this Diwali?
How are you gonna drive change?
Write to us at circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com / info@thecircularcollective.com
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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If you ask social entrepreneurs to list down their major challenges, don’t be surprised when they specify lack of funds and lack of influential stakeholders on the top of their list.
We may be living in an age where excessive fundings are being granted to start-ups be it Seed or series A B C D etc. however environmentally conscious businesses, especially circular businesses face a hard time in closing the fund rounds because their business model seems counter-intuitive to the investors when compared to business as usual.
…yup- it's harsh but true.
That’s why the grandeur of The Earthshot Prize awards deserves a round of applause because they raised the bar on rewarding entrepreneurs focussed on climate action in the most glamorous way possible. And I just loved the way it was done.
I strongly feel that when work around environmental sustainability gets Oscar awards style recognition…then people will start looking up to it, aspiring to become change-makers.
The Earthshot Prize is centred around five ‘Earthshots’ –
- Protect & restore nature
- Clean our air
- Revive our oceans
- Build a waste-free world
- Fix our climate
These 5 earthshots are simple but ambitious goals for our planet which, if achieved by 2030, will improve not only our lives but of the generations to come.
It is a decade of action to convene the environmental world with funders, businesses and individuals to maximise impact and take solutions to scale, to celebrate the people and places driving change; and to inspire people all over the world to work together to repair the planet.
Every year, this Prize will be awarded to five inspiring solutions- one winner in each category.
The prize money is 1 million pounds to winners from each category. Each winner will receive a global platform and prestigious profile, with their stories being showcased over the decade with the ambition that their solutions lead to mass adoption, replication and scaling.
Listen to the episode now and join the conversation.
Source links you must refer to : CNN, Nominations, Episode no. #25, Winners of The Earthshot 2021, Nominators
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
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PVC is known as Poison Plastic. It falls under the category of synthetic plastic polymer.
PVCs are non-biodegradable; current disposal options include burning which releases toxic fumes that have serious implications on public health.
Another option is to send them to the landfills as waste pickers do not earn anything from the discarded flexes.
It is said that PVC contaminates humans and the environment throughout its lifecycle: during its production, use, and disposal & most of us are ignorant of this information.
As per The Times of India, 90 % of all advertising in India in 2017 was done on PVC. On an average, around 18 tonnes of PVC flex is consumed per month.
Today this industry is almost linear in nature however let’s understand what a circular business model here would look like.
When you are on a drive, you come across direction signs, if you are on the expressway or even in a tech park, you can identify building names written in bold that can be identified from kilometers away, when you are in a shopping mall, you notice each brand has a specific layout in their store the feel of which stays common no matter which part of the country you are...this forms a part of visual branding. Next when you are at a petrol pump you notice, so many signs or boards that talk to you silently...can you remember a few?
All of these are known as visual identification and this is the exact portfolio of Vivenge, the company we are talking about today.
Vivenge is a Poland based signage company that has embarked on a sustainable rebranding process.
Currently the company is a one-stop-shop for durable visual identification as they provide both outdoor (outdoor signage, small architecture) and
indoor visual identification (durable indoor signage, furniture, small architecture) as well as related services (e.g. installation, logistics). They have been in business since 1997 and currently its clients comprise 48 brands in 9 countries.
Listen to the episode to understand how they are implementing circular business models.
Source :
http://r2piproject.eu/circularguidelines/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/R2pi_Vivenge_final2.0.pdf;
http://r2piproject.eu/circularguidelines/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Vivenge-Case-Study.pdf;
The Better India article
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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I am tired of traveling on pothole filled roads constantly changing service roads in my neighborhood. I wonder how authorities manage to get funds approved to dig 6ft deep on the same road EVERY YEAR!
This may sound like a mini rant, but If you are in India, I guess you can relate to this experience. Don’t you think that we spend a lot on building roads that develop potholes? What a waste of tax money!
Not only is it unproductive, this recurring process uses way more sand, stone & bitumen in addition to excessive workmanship hours and obviously never ending traffic in a way making the whole city unproductive. This reality proves how the local authorities are mindlessly seeking short-term goals without considering long-term solutions. I also feel that most citizens have given up whistleblowing on such activities.
But guess what, I just found out that a circular solution already exists and many cities across across 11 states in India have implemented this innovation.
Curious to know what it is? The solution is hybrid plastic roads! This system was developed by Dr. Rajagopalan Vasudevan, a professor of chemistry at the Thiagarajar College of Engineering in Madurai, India. This system replaces 10% of road's bitumen with repurposed plastic waste.
Confused? Okay let’s break it down. As an Aam Janata most of us may have noticed these two types of road construction: A) Asphalt / Tar roads; B) Concrete roads
The plastic road can be considered a sustainable alternative for Asphalt roads because Asphalt roads are made out of a mix of Sand, Stone / aggregate & Bitumen.
In comparison to the speed of infrastructure development, Sand and stone are non-renewable resources as they undergo unsustainable mining processes. Bitumen too is non-renewable as it is a byproduct of the Oil & Gas industry.
It is a low tech, simple process. First, the plastic waste is shredded to sizes of 1.6mm to 2mm and scattered onto an aggregate of crushed stones and sand before being heated to about 170C – hot enough to melt the waste. The melted plastics then coat the aggregate in a thin layer. Then heated bitumen is added on top, which helps to solidify the aggregate, and the mixture is complete.
To make 1km of single lane road you need 10 tonnes of Bitumen. Dr Vasudevan’s solution uses 9 tonnes of Bitumen and 1 tonne of plastic waste to build the same road. To put it into perspective 1 tonne plastic is equivalent to 10 lakh single-use carry bags.
Tune into the episode to learn more.
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Sources: BBC / Reuters / Builder Space
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Texas based- Urban Mining Company was founded in 2014 with the goal to transform the world’s supply of Neo magnets by developing the fastest, most practical, and cost-competitive path to manufacturing using alternative resources that are not dependent on China and less costly on the environment.
Before this, only 1% of rare earth magnets were being reused and they could only be separated through melting / use of powerful chemical solvents.
Urban Mining Company has found a sustainable and financially viable way to recycle Rare Earth Elements (REE) from scrap. Reducing CO2 emissions by 11 tonnes for every tonne of magnet produced and reduced energy consumption by 46% when compared to the traditional way of producing NdFeB magnets.
They mine 600,000 tonnes of magnets that are locked inside products a.k.a e-waste that industry and consumers throw away.
To set the context, Neo magnets / neodymium magnet have received worldwide attention as they are the strongest magnets known to date. Their high productivity, affordability, energy efficiency and excellent magnetic properties make it an ideal choice for high-technology applications, such as in wind turbines, hybrid and electric vehicles, air conditioning compressors, fans, mobile phones, hard disk drive, and speakers.
Neodymium-Nd is the essential component of Neo magnets, while Dysprosium-Dy is added in order to enhance the magnet’s ability to operate at elevated temperatures and to increase the coercive force.
Both Nd and Dy are ‘critical metals’.
They are critical because of high global demand, susceptibility to future scarcity, unavailability of substitutes, and low recycling rates. Worse...they have high demand for use in green energy technologies.
Rare earth elements are not as "rare" as their name implies. However, these metals are very difficult to mine because it is unusual to find them in concentrations high enough for economical extraction. Around the world, China’s contribution to REEs has been noteworthy. They dominate the market in its supply at cheap prices.
Tune into the episode to know more about Urban Mining Company's circular business model and understand how they are addressing this monopoly problem.
Source : Geology.com
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Today we talk about GlobeChain. They are a circular economy focussed online marketplace, to be specific, their start-up is based on the premise that one person’s poison is another person’s meat. Their marketplace finds takers for unwanted items that would otherwise go to landfill. The company helps big businesses to improve their green credentials and reduce their waste, giving unwanted items to cash-strapped charities and small businesses.
Founder May Al-Karooni developed GlobeChain after the investment bank she worked for moved offices, dumping perfectly good fixtures and furnishings to refit everything from desks to carpet tiles.
So what does their business model look like? Businesses with unwanted items – everything from restaurant tables to shop display units – upload a photo and description. Would-be takers contact the seller, to say what they will do with that item – reuse, recycle or repurpose. Whoever makes the best case takes home the goods, and all for the price of the transport.
Okay, that sounds pretty cool, but how do they monetize their work?
Globechain charges donors of goods to make a listing. It ranges from 10-500 pounds per annum. For eg. If a business wants to make an ad-hoc listing then that would cost them 10 pounds with an option to list 5 items. If the business wants to take a yearly subscription, then that would cost them 500 pounds with an option for 250 listings per annum. May-Al-Karooni says that it's a fee they would otherwise spend on incineration costs, or to hire a man-and-van and pay a landfill tax to take away those items. It’s a fee per shop, per restaurant or per construction site. It’s not set by weight.
The taker pays for transport. Having to make that commitment makes the takers stick to their end of the bargain.
Another powerful aspect about Globechain is knowing where these items have gone and how they have helped people. This creates a perfect seg-way for ESG rating.
They gather ESG data to measure the impact of giving, everything from up-skilling and creating employment to the number of kilos diverted from the landfill. They gather stories and videos from the charities, in particular, and create infographics.
Globechain has diverted some 5.2 million kilos of goods – more than 200,000 individual items – from landfill. The single largest listing was from a well-known DIY retailer saddled with 13,000 unwanted fitted kitchens & Seven charities took those kitchens with zero hassles of having a waste licence.
Today their platform has over 10,000 members ranging across corporates, charities, schools & universities, social enterprises, start-ups and individuals in industry sectors ranging from retail, banking, fashion, food, construction, education and health.
Now isn’t that an impressive solution?
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Today we talk to Sam Baker from Walk2COP26.
COP26 is the 2021 edition of the United Nations Annual Climate Change Conference, it is an event many believe to be the world’s last best chance to get climate change under control.
I’d recommend you to listen to Episode 72 of Circular Business Podcast, in case you want to freshen up on the basic details and agenda of COP26.
Walk2COP26 is a project led by Sam Baker. A project that involves 6 climate-conscious individuals who’ll walk 500 miles on foot from London to Glasgow engaging individuals and groups along the way on climate change conversations.
They plan to explore their perspectives on:
- the impact of climate change; its urgency; their sense of agency and their appetite for taking action
Through their journey and events, they aim to create awareness, trigger the right blend of individual + collaborative action by bringing together stakeholders from national & local govt. businesses & civil society
Sam has spent almost 30 years working with businesses as a consultant. Since 2015 he has focussed on the intersection of business, society and the environment. He’s walking to listen, to learn with the hope of contributing in a small way to a safer future for his grandson.
Show Notes:
- Why COP26 is crucial?
- Half global emissions by 2030.
- Need for clear commitments on reducing emissions
- What we need this year is a strong set of national commitments and then we rule where these commitments get enshrined, monitored and work cohesively across nation-states
- We need strong national policies as a foundation for moving forward on tackling the climate crisis
- Sam and his team want to give a voice to people who are impacted by climate action…people who come from different walks of life…
- Host events to bring together different stakeholders under one roof and initiate conversations, discuss broader challenges together and how are they going to find solutions.
- Do they feel empowered to make a difference, or do they consider it is someone else’s responsibility?
- Do they intend to make any change in their current climate harming behaviors?
- Implementing SDG parameters rightly can lead to profound transformations. Having said that alignment to short term commercial goals can become challenging.
Contact Walk2COP26
Keyword : COP26; Net Zero
Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
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Hello & welcome to Circular Business Podcast’s special edition of weekly gupshup with the Circular collective, I’m your host and dost Sreepriya Sridharan and today we'll discuss the ancient casting method of lost-wax technique and understand its relevance to circular design methods with Vikas Dargan from The Circular Collective. Vikas is an Architect ,a cultural professional and Anant fellow, who is passionately working towards craft revival and rural livelihood generation.
Lost wax casting, which is also known as cire-perdue, process attained after a thorough modification over centuries and is believed to be more than 5000 years old.
The history of metals and their shaping is as ancient as the history of civilization. The lost wax casting technique is a method of metal casting, in which hot metal is poured into a wax model, which is ‘lost’ during the process and the wax is retrieved to be used again.
Evidence of the technique can be tracked in the iconic “Dancing Girl” bronze sculpture, made in 2500 BCE in Mohenjo-Daro, to its extensive use during the rule of the Chola dynasty of Southern India (c. 850 CE - 1250 CE). Also, during the medieval period, Chamba valley was an important political and artistic centre, therefore attracted masters from the region including Kashmir valley to adapt the technique for their unique detailing and craftsmanship of Mohra icons. The technique revolutionized the production and utilization of ritualistic and utility items. It enabled to conveniently take idols out of temples for ritual processions and empowered craftsperson to cast complex designs with intricate detailing.
The extensive use of such rigorous but efficient method is in itself a reflection of the ancient cultural values prevailing in those times. The process being circular in nature justifies its continued use till present times. 'Maduchchista vidhana' refers to 'lost wax' casting technique as per Rig Veda. .
The casting process starts by preparation of the wax model of the figurine. Agama Shastra is used for reference for the size and structure of the figure. That includes using a ribbon of coconut tree for Measurements are folded to different lengths in proportion to the various parts of the figure. Locally acquired bee wax is mixed with resin and groundnut oil. The wax is then used to make the figure and intricate details are added onto it. Once the wax model is dried, it is covered with fine loam or alluvial soil and allowed to dry naturally. Orifices are then made on the mold for pouring the molten metal and draining of the molten wax and gases formed during casting. After completely dried, another layer of clay mixed with cow dung, charcoal, paddy husk and sand is applied and dried under sunlight for 3 days. Further, the mould is reinforced with metal wires so that it doesn’t break while casting. The dried mold is then set on fire for melting the wax inside and the molten wax is retrieved in a vessel for reuse.
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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In today’s episode, we‘ll take a look at UNFCC COP26 and why we should care?
B4 that what is COP26 anyway? -> It is the 2021 edition of the United Nations Annual Climate Change Conference
This year, in November, the UK, together with their partner Italy, will host an event many believe to be the world’s last best chance to get climate change under control. For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits - called COPs - which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’.
COP is always preceded by Pre-COP where negotiators come together and hash out the key issues that they are going to be discussing.
‘Climate negotiations have been happening for 30 years and In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority. This year will be the 26th annual summit – giving it the name COP26. With the UK as President, COP26 takes place in Glasgow.
If you are subscribed to climate news then you may have observed that Net Zero & COP26 have been the buzzwords on the internet lately
COP26 has a particular urgency. The UK is the host country that is facilitating discussion with more than 190 countries to reach an agreement on how to tackle climate change. The leaders from these 190 countries are expected to arrive in Scotland. Joining them in the conference will be tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens for twelve days of talks.
They have defined five key areas in which global collaborations can make progress faster.
These are Clean Energy, Clean Transport, Nature based solutions, Adaptation resilience & Finance.
You may ask, why wasn’t this an urgency before…why only now. To understand that let’s go back to the timeline to COP21 which took place in Paris in the year 2015.
Why was this important because every participating country agreed to work together to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees and ideally to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels;
they agreed to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate;
in addition to this, they also agreed to make money available to deliver on these aims. That's how Paris Agreement was born.
Under the Paris Agreement, countries voluntarily committed to bringing forward national plans setting out how much they would reduce their emissions - known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or ‘NDCs’. They agreed that every five years they would come back with an updated plan that would reflect their highest possible ambition at that time.
Just as we all have quarterly/half-yearly/yearly performance reviews at work, the COP26 climate summit is a performance review for countries around the globe, which happens every five years.
It’s 5 years already since the Paris Agreement therefore it is time for countries to measure where we stand on those commitments and what future actions are planned to limit global warming temperatures below 1.5 dec C.
Taking a bird's eye view, COP26 discussions will be around these 4 important points, they are-
- Secure global Net Zero & keep 1.5 deg within reach
- Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats
- Mobilizing finance
- Deliver global collaboration to accelerate climate action
Tune into the episode to learn more.
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"An organism that is too greedy and takes too much without giving anything in return destroys what it needs for life."
-Peter Wohleben (The Hidden Life of Trees)
Imagine a farm that absorbs planet warming carbon emissions, they are fireproof and require hardly any feed?
Sounds crazy? It's not because these are regenerative ocean farms.
As acres and acres of forests are burning down in wild fires including the Amazon, there has been a growing interest in regenerative ocean farms. One such technology was pioneered by Ben Smith, co-founder of Green Wave. A hunter by profession to now a climate farmer, Ben has had a dramatic transition when he realized that his dream of living a life on the ocean will never come true, if the ocean is dead.
Based on the principles of polyculture, Regenerative ocean farming by GreenWave works to mimic the diversity of ocean reefs by growing a mix of species that act in sync and nourish each other to revive ecosystems. Ocean farming eliminates the need for freshwater and zero use of fertilizers and feeds. The yield is used for food, fertilizer, animal feed, bioplastics, and more.
Each crop plays a vital role. For example, a single adult oyster can filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day. Combined with the environmental benefits of seaweed, one can now turn regenerative ocean farms into climate solution powerhouses and stack benefits by growing seaweed and shellfish together. Regenerative ocean farms are safe havens for marine life as they improve water quality and provide habitats that foster biodiversity and support the health of an array of aquatic species.
What fascinates us even more is their effort to propagate the knowledge to more fishermen and transform them into ocean farmers. GreenWave’s 10 year goal is to provide training, tools, and support to a baseline of 10,000 regenerative ocean farmers to catalyze the planting of 1 million acres and yield meaningful economic and climate impacts.
To scale, GreenWave cultivates a "Regenerative Reef" model in new regions. Each Reef includes 25 to 50 regenerative ocean farms, a land-based hatchery and processing hub, and a ring of institutional buyers and entrepreneurs developing value-added products. These Reefs are then replicated up and down coastlines.
All in all I think GreenWave is building a foundation for a new food system by keeping the environment, jobs revival and justice at the centre of their seafood platter.
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Today we are on part 2 of our conversation with Dhwani Mehta., co-founder of Ecovia. who are a packaging as a service company that helps e-commerce & hyperlocal players switch to returnable reusable packaging.
In the previous episode we discussed how their business model came into being? We dived deeper into how they managed to pool in resources and stakeholders with high consumer touch points to support their pilot run in Surat amidst the pandemic. We busted some myths around compostable bags available online and also discuss the product design.
Show Notes:
- How consumer behavior needs a conscious change
- How can brands make the journey of sustainability easy for their customers, my making sustainability as a convenient step, instead of adding another task for them to handle
- There are 2 types of typical user behaviors, one type are initiators who need no motivation to do the right thing; second type need incentives to take the same action.
- Carrots & carrots —> no penalty for customers for not action responsibly, instead only rewards for being responsible
- How second wave of COVID made them think of a brilliant idea to utilize the newspaper boy networks to pick-up their pilot run packages
- A customer who gets their shipments in Ecovia packaging has a simple task- ensure that you make time to return the packaging
- Recycled polyester-PET bottles- are used to make the bags
- 1 bag can fulfill 150 uses, optimizes shipping costs
- Busts myth around assumptions of carbon footprint around cardboard packaging
- They plan to collaborate with businesses that have high customer touch points to ensure convenient returns for Ecovia bags;
It is no surprise that today single-use packaging has dominated our supply chains..and this single use family of convenience comes at a cost of depleting forest reserves and choking marine lives.
With the rise in popularity of e-commerce and doorstep deliveries in India, the use of paper as well as plastic packaging in boxes has gone up significantly- a trend that organizations like Ecovia are trying to arrest. Therefore they deserve all of our support and encouragement.
Reach out to Ecovia on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/thinkecovia/
If you are aware of similar groundbreaking technologies in India, then please share it with us on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
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Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Close your eyes and Imagine a world where you order products online and they are delivered to you safely without card-board or plastic packaging. Does this vision seem too good to be true? Well you’ll be happy to know that there are a handful of start-ups across the the globe who are working their way through current supply chains to make this vision a reality.
Hello & welcome to CBP a series where we look into circular economy from the Indian context. I’m your host and dost Sreepriya Sridharan, and today we have with us Dhwani Mehta co-founder of Ecovia who are a packaging as a service company that helps e-commerce & hyperlocal players switch to returnable reusable packaging.
This interview is a 2 part series. Please join me in part 1 of conversation with Dhwani.
Show Notes:
In this episode we cover the following points;
- How online shopping mania during 2020 lockdowns opened their eyes to the countless cardboard box wastes accumulating at home.
- Why consumer behavior needs a conscious change?
- How can brands make the journey of sustainability easy for their customers; can sustainability be made as a convenient step, instead of adding another task for them to handle?
- Ecovia opts for carrots & carrots —> no penalty for customers for inaction, instead only rewards for being responsible;
- Second wave of COVID made them think of a brilliant idea to utilize the newspaper boy networks to pick-up their pilot run packages;
- A customer who gets their shipments in Ecovia packaging has a simple task- ensure that you make time to return the packaging;
- Recycled polyester-PET bottles- are used to make the bags;
- 1 bag can fulfill 150 uses, optimizes shipping costs;
- Busts myth around assumptions of carbon footprint around cardboard packaging;
- How buying “compostable” bags may not be a good alternative to plastics in stead we should be on the lookout for backyard compostable options, if one is serious on seeking for alternatives for plastics;
- Currently their packaging material supports fashion beauty & packaged food;
- They plan to collaborate with businesses that have high customer touch points to ensure convenient returns for Ecovia bags;
I see a huge potential in Packaging as a service model, do you?
Reach out to Ecovia on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/thinkecovia/
If you are aware of similar groundbreaking technologies in India, then please share it with us on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
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Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Hello & welcome to Circular Business Podcast’s special edition of weekly gupshup with the Circular collective, I’m your host and dost Sreepriya Sridharan and today we are going to board the train into the history of repair & reuse fashion of India whose artisans are popularly known as Rafoogars.
And to take that discussion forward, aaj humare saath hain Vikas Dargan from The Circular Collective who is an Architect ,a cultural professional and Anant fellow, who is passionately working towards craft revival and rural livelihood generation.
Today fast fashion is trending not only in people’s wardrobes but also in the news. The reason for it to make space in people’s wardrobes is because it enables companies to mass market, it enables manufacturers to mass produce high end designs and provokes consumers to buy latest trends for cheap.
The SALE culture triggers shoppers to buy more and it also creates a false abundance, which is why clothes today last less due to poor quality & wear n tear that compensates for cheapness.
It has tuned users to buy new instead of repairing the old one, kyuki jab kapade ki quality hi kharab ho toh koi usse repair kyu karein?
That’s where Vikas talks to us about Rafoogari, the age old art of repairing clothes and how reviving it will be beneficial for tackling the havoc created by fast fashion and also aid in enhancing a circular economy.
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Appliance as a service is an extension of product as a service model where a customer pays for the service instead of owning the equipment.
If your home requires air conditioning only in summer, then you pay for cool air only in summer. That ways customer has the option to save on capital cost of the goods, have more space at home when the equipment is not needed, opt for newer models or upgrade to your preferred models when you want to without having to worry about owning the goods, worry less about the wear & tear and repairs needed for the equipment (bcoz now the onus of equipment maintenance is on the service provider who leases the equipment to you).
If you are thinking whether this model is environmentally sustainable? You’ll be happy to know that
this model maximizes the value of products & solutions while minimizing the use of new materials and resources and eliminating waste… through service models, product take-back, recycle & refurbishment.
Fortunately today we have a good number of businesses that follow products as a service. Some popular examples here are : Ola / Uber / Zoom Car / AirBnB / Furlenco etc. However there is this one Netherland’s based organization that grabbed my attention which goes by the name Homie.
The idea for Homie started on a kitchen table and they have been in business since 2018.
You know how I’m a sucker for a good marketing pitch, and that’s exactly where I found Homie doing a good job. Their website is so crisp on messaging right from product & service offering to pricing to how they are helping consumers reduce their carbon footprint.
Their business model may not be different than most product-as-a-service company but to me it's their mission i.e. “to strive for a cleaner world” makes a big difference.
How are they contributing to the circular economy?
- They make devices last longer : They supply energy-efficient machines with a long service life and encourage manufacturers to make machines that are more economical, durable and easy to repair.
- They reduce electronic waste: Together with Wecycle, they recycle parts from old Homie and non-Homie devices that can no longer be used.
- They influence sustainable consumption behaviour: Research shows that their Pay-Per-Use model ensures that users wash more efficiently and use about 25% less energy and water.
- Another unique feature about Homie is their monitoring system. Once a customer places an order, the company delivers and installs the product at home, they connect each device to your Wi-Fi which then lets you track your usage. For example , with a washing machine, if you have paid for 15 washes, this software helps you keep track of your washes and also gives you cost benefits when they use the appliance in “ECO” mode. Now isn’t that cool?
Tune in to learn more.
Reach out to me on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter & also write me an email on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
33% of the earth’s surface is land.
Only 71% of that land is habitable. Of which 50% is used for agriculture.
And guess what over 75% of that agricultural land is used for livestock production i.e domesticated animals for meat, milk & eggs.
This land only produces 33% of our global protein supply.
Do you see why this data is alarming?
The scale & intensity of animal production today is threatening our planetary boundaries of land use, freshwater use & non-renewable phosphate rock..which is still an underestimated aspect of the fertilizer problem.
That’s why it is said that the biological loops in aquaculture & agriculture need to be closed efficiently.
Most of the meat that we easily buy from grocery marts and all the junk delicacies that we love for eg. KFC / Mac’Donald’s / Venkey’s / Liscious e.t.c are all from factory farms. Breeding animals is an incredibly inefficient way to try to feed the world's growing population.
Most meat in the West is now produced in factory farms which, as the name implies, are production lines for animals. To meet the large demand for meat, billions of animals are kept in cramped, filthy conditions, often unable to move properly and not allowed fresh air or even natural light.
Most animal farms are unable to feed outdoors naturally, they are fed grain, oilseeds, soy, fish meal and sometimes the remains of other animals. High-quality land is used to grow grains and soybeans - land that could be used to grow crops for humans.
Are you able to visualize how unsustainable this whole cycle is!
We are heavily compromising the available landmass by growing crops that can feed the livestock. The choice of these crops is not always in sync with nature, therefore unsustainable because they do not encourage bio-diversity.
Due to this process, soil on existing agricultural land degrades, therefore now we need more land…but where are you going to get that land from?
You may have also learnt about fishmeal being used as animal feed? Fish meal, are coarsely ground powder made from the cooked flesh of fish …mostly anchovy, menhaden or herring. Fish meal is a commercial product mostly made from fish that are not used for human consumption;
That’s a bloody unsustainable meal …and this number looks even worse when you multiply it with a significant meat-eating population.
So what can be the possible solutions?
- Consciously change your diet towards plant-based meals
- Opt for brands who are ethically sourcing their raw materials
These solutions are important, however, because it is heavily dependent on individual behaviour it may not have an immediate scalable impact.
That’s where solution no. 3 fascinates me...Here we make use of household organic waste as a platform to invite Black Soldier Flies popularly known as BSF who naturally break down the waste into compost… each fly produces hundreds of protein-rich larvae which can then be harvested and used to feed livestock.
Tune in to learn more.
Reach out to me on LinkedIn | Facebook| Instagram | Twitter & also write me an email on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
India is bustling with the festival season at this time of the year and Piyush noticed a dilemma recently when his family exchanged gift cards instead of sweets because each of those gift cards is single-use in nature and are made out of plastic.
Just imagine the pace at which most humans have evolved their buying habits..transaction habits from exchanging cash, three decades ago to credit/debit cards and now mobile wallets/g-pay/Paytm / QR codes etc.
For many people, using credit cards has been a convenient way of payment until recently. But the new-age consumer, following the penetration of mobile technology into almost every market, views cards as plastic clutter that makes the wallet bulky.
6 billion payment cards are manufactured every year around the world; Very few of which are recycled cards! The amount of plastic used to produce banking cards every year is equivalent to the weight of 150 Boeing 747s.
These cards are replaced every few years, and the 5.7 million tons of plastic, in the form of these cards, end up in landfills.
It is commonly forgotten ..maybe at times ignored knowledge that our payment cards, debit or credit cards, loyalty cards, gift cards, shopping cards or any other, are made of non-degradable synthetic plastic, which uses raw material from the oil & gas industry.
This is why developing a life cycle strategy for an eco-friendly card or cardless transaction involves a global approach in which banks have to choose the right raw materials, technology, processes, and products to achieve a substantial reduction in negative environmental impacts such as energy consumption, carbon footprint, and plastic waste.
So what are the solutions here: Recycled plastic cards, Bioplastic cards etc. are an option, however till the time we have a hard product in our hand, its end of life will always be a point of concern.
That’s where a recent report by Infosys authored by Gururaj Deshpande caught my attention because it highlights numerous options that are available today to make the world cardless!! Are you ready... Here we go
- Mobile point-of-sale
- Digital wallet
- Contactless wearables
- On-the-spot cardless credit
- Cashless person-to-person payments
- Social payments
- Card-less cash
- QR code payment
- Card-less POS solutions
- NFC Technology
- Bluetooth low energy
- Alternate currencies...Cryptocurrencies
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)
In case you have any further queries, you can DM me on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter & also write me an email on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
For keeping up to date on our #100DaysChallenge; Follow our page- Circular Business Podcast
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Allow me to introduce you to RainBeer, a Netherland’s based organization that coordinates with Dutch breweries to turn excess rain into beer.
Freshwater seems abundant, but when accounting for all the water on Earth, it's in limited supply.
To put that into perspective, envision this carefully...
A giant 97% of Earth's water is in the ocean, so we can't use that.
3 % is fresh water, but even in that 3%, about 2 % is locked in glaciers, ice caps, and groundwater.
That leaves about 1 % of the freshwater on Earth that is accessible and usable by humans.
Just imagine, if the world's water supply were only 100 litres (26 gallons), our usable water supply of fresh water would be only about 0.003 litres (one-half teaspoon).
In actuality, that amounts to an average of 8.4 million litres (2.2 million gallons) for each person on earth.
This supply is continually collected, purified, and distributed in the natural hydrologic (water) cycle.
Now that we understand the case of fresh water, we can gauge its impact on Beer production. According to Sabmiller‘s report, approximately 102,5 litres of water is consumed for every litre of beer produced… woah just knowing these stats has made the act of bottoms up uncool for me.
Similar to Mumbai city, in recent years, Amsterdam too started experiencing heavy rainfall,
frequent rainstorms that overwhelm drains, flood streets and seep under doors. But this problem was seen as an opportunity by Joris Hoebe the founder of Rainbeer.
To him, every rainfall was equivalent to beer falling from the sky!
Amsterdam being a sustainable city, its infrastructure has transformed city spaces into a sponge for excess rainwater. A crucial sponge. Surrounded by water on four sides, this delta city of some 600,000 people can't flush the sudden stormwater away. Instead, it has embarked on a climate change adaptation strategy that turns every conceivable area into water storage.
How does it work?
The brewery they work with collects the rainwater from the roof of the brewery and with a heavy rain shower, they collect a thousand litres of rainwater. That water goes through the filter and is completely purified by a microfilter, an activated carbon filter, a membrane filter and a UV filter. With this purified rainwater, the brewer brews a delicious fresh rain beer.
Rainwater is softer than tap water and contains fewer minerals. These are ideal characteristics for making beer. Some recipes are requiring 30% fewer hops for the same flavour creation compared to tap water. According to experts, the softness also ensures that the bitterness of the beer comes into its own.
Tune into the episode to learn more;
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)
In case you have any further queries, you can DM me on LinkedIn & Facebook & also write me an email on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
For keeping up to date on our #100DaysChallenge; Follow our page- Circular Business Podcast
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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If you have been following my podcast , by now you have a fair idea how I gravitated towards Environmental sustainability ..and how circular economy grabbed my attention.
Even on topics of sustainability, there are so many courses ..many were free..many were paid..in today’s world there is so much of information around but curation is a skill and I used it to help me narrow down by specialization course.
I am clear that I want to learn circular economy from real time practitioners
I am clear that I want to build and grow a strong network within this sector
I am clear that I want to work on actionable projects while taking this course..
Considering these parameters…I kept surfing through so many sustainability courses online and to my good fortune the online climate school Terra.do. came in to my rescue as they have a course starting Sept 2nd which goes by the name “Circular Economy: Principals & Applications” and I had the opportunity to interview the course facilitator Jannis Kempkens himself.
If you haven’t checked out those episodes, make sure to tune into Ep. 52 - 54 - 56
So after 7 years of working in the corporate world I figured out what specialization to dive deeper into..
All in all to summarize today’s discussion..I’d say
- Its okay to wait & take time to figure out what works best for you..Do not follow the mob especially when it involves massive investments of TIME & MONEY.
- Be open to possibilities..build your unique network..and keep room for conversations
- And if there is a call to action that gives you butterfly feeling in your tummy, take that plunge because it is totally worth a shot.
On that note it is a wrap on this episode, thank you so much for tuning in.
If you wanna join me in the Circular Economy course starting September, then why don’t you leverage the special benefit that Terra.do has offered YOU. It’s a 25% discount that they have offered to all our listeners.
You can use the code CircularPodcast to avail that offer and in case you have any further queries, you can DM me on LinkedIn & Facebook & also write me an email on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
For keeping up to date on our #100DaysChallenge; Follow our page- Circular Business Podcast
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
https://spinnovagroup.com/Shoes have a large environmental impact; every year we produce 21 billion pair of shoes worldwide and 95% of those ends up in the landfill. Such massive production of shoes is linked with high CO2 emissions, enormous water consumption and the use of highly toxic products. A vast shift towards sustainability is a must. Yet, most fashion houses tend to focus on formal developments, rather than on process and material innovation, giving sustainable solutions the cold shoulder.
While fast fashion has glamorously taken all the negative publicity around sustainability, the new age shoe industry’s havoc rarely gets mentioned.
Is it really possible to design zero waste fashion products..well it is possible nahi toh hum yeh episode shayad record nahi karte hai na :D
Kristel Peters has laid down the following 3 steps for zero waste design,
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The design of the shoe should be modular and ready made for disassembly and reduce the components of a shoe vastly.
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The materialisation of the shoe must be zero waste.
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The shoe is to be looked at as a service, not as a product.
Beautiful isn’t it?
Leather and different variants of leather form an important part of the shoe industry and I believe each one of us are aware of the environmental & sustainability harms that the leather industry brings in..yet because shoes are a basic necessity ..its flaws rarely get the spotlight. But we are here to discuss solution.
A fabulous solution brought in by textile innovators Spinnova.
Spinnova are a Finland based company who are transforming the way textiles are made globally.
It all started in 2009 at Technical Research Centre of Finland’s (VTT) cellulose expert Juha Salmela was researching nanocellulose. He attended a conference in Oxford university and heard a presentation from a leading spider researcher, who explained the similarities between spiderweb’s protein and nanocellulose.
That’s when an idea came to Juha: what if wood fibre could be spun into textile fibre in a similar way to this natural process? The professor immediately thought it was something Juha should look into and develop.
Since then they have been on a mission to create a more sustainable textile industry. One where cellulose-based materials are a cost-efficient, environmentally friendly and preferred option for brands.
Their innovation, if absorbed and adopted well, has a massive potential to transform the world of fashion. And while we were on the topic of shoes, Spinnova and their partnership with ECCO leather partner KT Tradings have together disrupted old ways and closed the loop on leather materials. They have innovated a fabric that is made out of leather wastes. This natural leather fabric is made from leather waste without harmful chemicals.
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Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Its Day 24 of my #100DaysChallenge. If you are new to this challenge check out --> this link.
Data suggests that there are about 120million #cigarette #smokers in India.
If that is true, it is worthwhile to consider sustainable practices around this habit of smoking, because once someone chooses to smoke, they are this industry's customers for life!
Pack of cigarettes , its butts and tobacco production practices all have been scrutinized across media every year for reasons ranging from health to environment.
But in my view, the process of lighting a cigarette has conveniently been ignored.. don't you think so?
Cheap , single use plastic lighters have been making its way into the landfills for quite sometime now, and it is time we start thinking about it from the lens of #environment #sustainability
So share this episode with a smoker friend / colleague of yours and help me spark that thought!
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Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Once you enter Delhi from Himachal or Punjab, you see a landfill hill welcoming you to the City. It is the Bhalswa landfill. Its indeed a tragedy to see so many people working there. If you ever get a chance to visit the landfill you'll notice scores of textile waste there. In addition to plastic, textile waste is huge. Coming back to the city, when we go to shopping malls you can see floors of stores selling clothes; with no take back mechanisms these clothes are definitely ending up somewhere right? Textiles have huge carbon footprint during the production especially with social and environmental challenges but not many people really talk about post consumption waste.
Circular Economy has an immense potential to transform textile waste problems. Also, India being a huge manufacturing hub for textiles, we really need to promote good practices and create disincentives to avoid mass wastage of textiles!
Socho na If waste can be turned into resources, then wouldn’t we live in abundance?
As years pass by we face a great challenge. There will be more and more people on this planet and all of them need products and want to consume. Isn’t it? This will lead to
- raw material shortage
- environmental problems &
- economic problems
Fashion industry is one of the most resource-intensive industries which is built on complex linear supplier relationships. By now we all are well aware of how this resulted in massive toxic pollution, unethical labour practices and spiralling waste, with the rise of textile materials hurtling towards end of life at an ever-increasing rate.
But there is hope, and yes we have something crucial to learn from this Netherlands based brand- Dutch aWEARness whose products are designed for reincarnation.
They are performance based.
Established in 2012, Dutch aWEARness creates clothes from 100 percent recyclable polyester — called Returnity®
In the year 2010, Rien Otto (founder of Dutch aWEARness) met cradle-to-cradle pioneer Michael Braungart and got inspired by their discussion, which set him to investigate how the cradle-to-cradle concept could be applied to the textiles industry.
He wanted to change the world & make new materials.
How do they do it? To put it simply-
- They make returnity clothing that is worn by customers and takes it back after use.
- The garment is then reprocessed into raw material.
- A factory makes new raw fibers out of the raw material.
- These fibers are then transported to the yarn Factory
- Now In this factory the fibers are sprayed into yarn
- After completing this process various yarns are developed and ready for use.
- The yarns are later sent to a weaving Factory where these yarns are taken into production.
- Here in the weaving mill the new clothing fabrics are made the fabrics are then sent to the manufacturer
- The manufacturer uses the fabrics to make new garments
- This new garment is made from this circular fabric material and ready to be worn again by the customer.
Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Today, being able to live well within the limits of nature is the great challenge of our century, a challenge which requires immediate action and which can only be faced with individual commitment and widespread, well-informed policies.
That’s where this solution by Novamont, an Italian company, captured my attention. Novamont is known around the world as a pioneer of the bioeconomy, particularly in the bioplastics sector.
To brag a bit, they say that their industrial company’s roots lie in the Montedison School of Materials Science where, over thirty years ago, some researchers started to develop an ambitious project to integrate chemistry, the environment and agriculture..which they like to call : the "Living chemistry for quality of life".
They have 3 revolutionary products :
Mater Bi (which is a family of completely biodegradable and compostable bioplastics ,
Matrol Bi (is a line of biolubricants and greases that are derived from renewable sources & are rapidly biodegradable) ;
Celus Bi (line of innovative and bio-based ingredients for the cosmetics sector)
Now, many of you may have come across extensive debates online around green washing and bio-plastics and one of the major reasons for that level of criticism is due to its derivation from agricultural produce.
Why, bcoz just under 33% of earth’s surface is land. 71% of that land is habitable. We already use 50% of that 71% for agriculture. And over 75% of that is used for livestock production. Yet that land only produces 33% of our global protein supply.
So imagine if bio-plastics become popular in use, more land for agriculture would be required.
That’s where Novamont is making a difference, because they are making use of marginal land across Europe, these are lands which have little or no agricultural or even industrial value.
In addition to this, their products also regenerate the soil when it comes in contact with it during its designated lifecycle.
Using plastic is an unconscious addiction, and we need organizations like Novamont to have a healthy mix of science & business to build a strong foothold in this circular economy.
According to the latest WWF report, India faces a grave danger to its soil biodiversity. Soil needs to be considered as an ecological system and a finite resource. Conservation of soil biodiversity and soil organic carbon through sustainable farming practices should be deemed essential to improve upon agricultural land health and productivity. And with this example it seems that Biomass wastes have played a major role in the implementation of biorefinery in circular bioeconomy.
Tune into the episode to learn more;
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Keyword : What is a circular economy?
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Today I share with you my journey..from being a mechanical engineer to corporate employee to now a podcaster and a freelancer in development sector.
I dive into key elements of;
How passion for sustainability entered my life?
How I niched down to Circular Economy?
What were my learnings from the market..why Indian sustainable brands compelled me to share their story?
How the idea of podcast came in?
How I up skilled to meet the needs of podcast;
How I learned to network on LinkedIn; starting from scratch in this new sector, building a network from zero to noteworthy;
Amidst all this, I truly fell in love with the art of podcasting and that taught me the power of collaboration.
I share how my friend Parul Pancholi inspired me to start a 100 day project which transformed into my commitment to to create 100 podcast episodes by Dec 2021..further germinating into another video series of #100DaysChallenge on Circular Business Podcast.
To sum it up, life has been kind to me however it has also been equally notorious during challenging times, but if there is one thing that it taught me was to get back up and act on my mission, no matter what obstacles come by.
I hope this episode inspires you to stay true to your calling and consistently take needful action on your path, because dear friend we all have the power to make a difference in this world.
Tune into the episode to join me on this journey.
You can reach out to me on - LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Website
Email id : circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
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In today's episode we bring to you an example from South Africa that is --> Barloworld
The idea of remanufacturing seems promising if you are on a quest to find answers through Circular Economy. In case some of you are hearing the term for the first time, remanufacturing forms a significant part of the circular economy. It involves process something like this- Once the component arrives to the facility, it is disassemble it completely and do an inspection on the component. We determine what parts need to be replaced with new and which parts can be refurbished and reused again. Parts then go through a process of cleaning, refurbishment, and then reassembly. After reassembly, the components are tested, painted, and then it’s good-to-go back to the machine like new.
Remanufactured products should not be understood as “used,” “refurbished,” “repaired” or “reused.” It’s as good as brand new product.
If done right, remanufacturing offered economic benefits of reduced costs of goods sold, reduced prices to the customer, supply risk mitigation and stronger relationships in the value chain.
It is fascinating to see how leading Original Equipment Manufacturers around the world have taken to remanufacturing as a way to get started on their journey in a circular economy. But while remanufacturing sounds good in theory, it is challenging to implement it leave alone scale up the operations.
To have strong remanufacturing process, an organisation needs to ensure set reverse logistics processes, along with strong business model that takes care of existing customers during the buy-back process.
That’s where Barloword captured my attention, because they have made this challenging idea possible through a fabulous implementation.
Barloword is a South African industrial conglomerate, with the second-largest Caterpillar equipment remanufacturing plant in the world.
Barloworld developed a 30,000 square meter facility: 20,000 square meters are for the rebuilding of components and the remainder, 10,000, is for warehousing purposes. Isn’t that fascinating.
In addition to new and Cat Certified Used equipment offerings, the Barloword Equipment Cat Rental Store provides innovative off balance sheet facilities. This enables customers to rent Cat machines for periods ranging up to two years, with end-of-contract purchase options made available. So this part of their business makes a seamless blend of remanufacturing along with offering product-as-a-service.
Tune into the episode to learn more;
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)
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Keep the conversation on by commenting on our posts on social media- LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
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Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
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This episode is Part 3 of the three part series.
Our guest for today is Jannis Kempkens is one of the coolest instructors of the course Circular Economy: Principals & Applications by the popular online climate school Terra.do.
He is a designer, material researcher & furniture carpenter who has soiled his hands with countless experiments on materials such as plastics, organic wastes etc. and him & his team have shared those learning on their open source platform, which empowers global audience to carryout their own DIY circular project which even includes blueprints for developing small machines that aid those experiments. In fact if any of you are in final year of engineering and you are hunting for project ideas, then make sure to check out the links for Jannis’s profile -> https://www.jannis.world/.
Show Notes:
Waste is human made concept..so is the economy.
Therefore we humans have the power to redesign it! So let us stop giving each other excuses and start getting work done on Climate action.
If someday you enter your home and you see water running on the floor..Turn off the tap before mopping the floor..so similar is the mindset we need when we approach real life situations to incorporate Circular Economy principles.
About the course:
Circular Economy: Principles and Applications is focused on the actionable, real-life examples, practitioner guest speakers, building your circularity toolbox, and working on a capstone project relevant to your work. If you're curious, here's a copy of the course syllabus - it is slated to start on September 1st and runs for 6 weeks.
Expert course creators are Austin Evarts and Jannis Kempkens.
Oh and one more thing, Terra.do has extended a generous offer to all you listeners. In case you are interested to sign-up for the course, then use the code CircularPodcast to avail 25% discount on the course fee.
For keeping up to date on our #100DaysChallenge; Follow our page- Circular Business Podcast
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Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
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Today we bring to you a phenomenal example --> Interface Inc.
Did you know that over ninety percent of all of the carpet made today is made up of synthetic fiber...that is nylon, polypropylene or polyester.
Now nylon, polypropylene & polyester are raw materials derived from the oil & gas industry. So you can understand how crucial it is for the world to make this supply chain circular because Oil & Gas is a non-renewable industry.
Good news is that an individual & visionary by the name Ray C. Anderson, founder and former chairman of Interface Inc. led his company and people on a path to Mission Zero® with a pledge to reduce their negative impact on the environment in the year 1994. Yes, more than 2 decades ago.
He was moved after he read a book by Paul Hawkins. That book affected him so deeply that he went to the office the next day and challenged his senior executives to make their business sustainable!
If Ray Anderson can do that in 1995 then our generation has no right to make excuses towards climate action today.
Since then Interface carpets have been redesigning and reshaping their processes, their thinking and their whole business to try and achieve sustainability by 2020.
Their machine that they like to call “Cool Green” separates the reclaimed materials from used carpets → turns it into pellets→ then homogenized powdered form which then is mixed with Bitumen compounds and recycled limestone to turn it into new carpets!
Interface carpets have radically changed entire business practices- influenced the industry by reducing dependency on petro-chemicals and minimized their carbon footprint.
Their Cool green technology has evolved over the years and now forms a part of all their factories and business processes around the globe. Their carpets are made from recycled / renewed repurposed yarns, which are manufactured using renewable sources of energy.
Just imagine how beautiful and efficient the world will be when you have such well thought & well made carpet floorings across corporate spaces, co-working spaces, hotels, schools and colleges and hospitals!
Ooh and they also lease you carpets-as-a-service which totally ups their game in this industry.
Since 1996, they’ve reduced the embodied carbon footprint of their carpet tile product by 74% by changing how they design and make their products through the use of recycled materials, dematerialization and improved manufacturing efficiencies. Then, through their Carbon Neutral Floors programme, they compensate for what they still can't avoid with carbon offsets from renewable energy, fuel switching and reforestation projects.
Tune into the episode to learn more;
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Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
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This episode is Part 2 of the three part series.
Our guest for today is Jannis Kempkens is one of the coolest instructors of the course Circular Economy: Principals & Applications by the popular online climate school Terra.do.
He is a designer, material researcher & furniture carpenter who has soiled his hands with countless experiments on materials such as plastics, organic wastes etc. and him & his team have shared those learning on their open source platform, which empowers global audience to carryout their own DIY circular project which even includes blueprints for developing small machines that aid those experiments. In fact if any of you are in final year of engineering and you are hunting for project ideas, then make sure to check out the links for Jannis’s profile -> https://www.jannis.world/.
Show Notes:
- Shorter the cycle, better the efficiency;
- Ideal circular economy can do without recycling;
- Did you know that bio plastics are not compostable?
- Bio plastics have the same properties as PPE / PLA etc. not many people are aware about it;
- It is important to be aware of where materials are coming from and where will it end up once we finish our use;
- How to initiate systems thinking and create impact?
About the course:
Circular Economy: Principles and Applications is focused on the actionable, real-life examples, practitioner guest speakers, building your circularity toolbox, and working on a capstone project relevant to your work. If you're curious, here's a copy of the course syllabus - it is slated to start on September 1st and runs for 6 weeks.
Expert course creators are Austin Evarts and Jannis Kempkens.
Oh and one more thing, Terra.do has extended a generous offer to all you listeners. In case you are interested to sign-up for the course, then use the code CircularPodcast to avail 25% discount on the course fee.
Make sure to tune into the next episode to understand some dark and interesting realities of bio plastics / compostable plastics and green washing that lures you around plastics..
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
In today's episode we discuss, a Brazilian organization by the name of Rede Asta which is an online platform that support a network of artisans, to recover materials from corporate and urban waste. The artisans transform this material into elegant gift products that are then sold back to corporates and other customers. Rede Asta’s platform helps to increase income but also to improve connectivity and resource sharing within the artisan network.
It essentially plays a broker type role, matching demand from corporates with supply from economically disadvantaged collectives. However I think they are much more than brokers in that they must speak the language of corporates and work with them in a multidisciplinary way.
For example, the budget may come from the Marketing department while the business waste comes from Operations, all coordinated by the Sustainability Officer. They also need to professionalise the collectives supporting on design, quality assurance, on-time delivery and cost management. So it is not as easy as it sounds!
Rede Asta’s business model operates at three levels - partnership building, connecting and skill sharing.
Rede Asta establishes partnerships with hundreds of companies throughout Brazil to collect their waste materials or unused equipment. The company then offers them bespoke designs using these discarded materials to suit specific marketing purposes, such as the promotion of a current internal initiative. This scalable approach is made possible through a nationwide network of artisans, with Rede Asta acting a matchmaker to facilitate new sales opportunities.
Rede Asta has realised that while these contracts are satisfying to deliver, the ability to scale their impact is limited. Thus it has developed an online platform to connect collectives directly with corporates looking for their business waste to be repurposed.
This needs a level of internal professionalism and quality assurance from the suppliers which means Rede Asta still has a role in ensuring that they receive proper on-going training. The platform however decouples it from the production process itself and thus allows it to scale the impact of providing meaningful work to women living in poverty while diverting waste to landfill or incineration.
Rede Asta addresses two important issues. Firstly, the enormous amount of material value lost in landfills. Every day in Brazil, about 175,000 tons of solid waste is collected and only an estimated 2.7% of this is recycled.
Rede Asta creates impact through a collaborative working space, owned by the community workers and especially Women who could be powerful drivers of inclusive economic growth, and has decided to invest in female entrepreneurship by training groups of female artisans to recover various discarded materials and transform them into valuable corporate gift collections.
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)
- Keep the conversation on by commenting on our posts on social media- LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
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This episode is Part 1 of the three part series.
Our guest for today is Jannis Kempkens is one of the coolest instructors of the course Circular Economy: Principals & Applications by the popular online climate school Terra.do.
He is a designer, material researcher & furniture carpenter who has soiled his hands with countless experiments on materials such as plastics, organic wastes etc. and him & his team have shared those learning on their open source platform, which empowers global audience to carryout their own DIY circular project which even includes blueprints for developing small machines that aid those experiments. In fact if any of you are in final year of engineering and you are hunting for project ideas, then make sure to check out the links for Jannis’s profile -> https://www.jannis.world/.
Show Notes:
- Product & industrial design often go hand in hand;
- The role of the designer is dangerous, because you are convincing people that this product is going to solve your problem;
- Circular Economy in German translates to Kreislaufwirtschaft;
- Jannis got associated with Terra.do via their Climate Change course;
- Topic of circular economy is only formalizing concepts that so far was only informal ..circular economy takes it a step further;
- The link between climate change, climate action and circular economy is often overlooked;
About the course:
Circular Economy: Principles and Applications is focused on the actionable, real-life examples, practitioner guest speakers, building your circularity toolbox, and working on a capstone project relevant to your work. If you're curious, here's a copy of the course syllabus - it is slated to start on July 15 and runs for 6 weeks. They're hosting an Ask Us Anything (https://bit.ly/econcircle) !
Expert course creators are Austin Evarts and Jannis Kempkens.
Oh and one more thing, Terra.do has extended a generous offer to all you listeners. In case you are interested to sign-up for the course, then use the code CircularPodcast to avail 25% discount on the course fee.
Make sure to tune into the next episode to understand some dark and interesting realities of bio plastics / compostable plastics and green washing that lures you around plastics..
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Hello and welcome to Circular Business Podcast’s weekly gupshup with The Circular Collective, where we help you think out of the box using circular economy best practices from around the globe, delivered to you through an audio experience.
Today we are happy to share with you some candid conversations between Piyush & Sreepriya on how they got started with this collaboration & how this idea of sharing global circular economy examples resonated with both of them.
Tune into this episode to take a sneak peak into their top 3 picks and these three are their favorites from amongst the 25+ weekly gupshup episodes. In case you prefer reading before listening, then check out the links for those episodes below.
As you proceed through their conversation, you'll notice how both have shared some interesting reasons why those episodes resonated with them the most, so grab your coffee and get ready to join them in their chit-chat around circular economy.
Top 3 on Piyush's list:
1) Edible lamination that prevents fruits from going to waste early | Ep. #37
2) Cutting food waste within hospitality sector | Ep. #9
3) Single-use chopsticks are harming the planet! | Ep. #47
Top 3 on Sreepriya's list:
1) Single-use chopsticks are harming the planet! | Ep. #47
2) Biomimicry- design ideas inspired by Nature | Ep. #44
3) 0% Virgin : 100% Trash - That's the story of MINIWIZ's Trashpresso | Ep. #32
Hope you enjoyed listening to this special episode and thank you for joining us in this celebration!
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)
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Keep the conversation on by commenting on our posts on social media- LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
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Please rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcast!
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
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Food wastes around the world are directly linked to consumer behaviour.
For a household, the reason for their food waste could be;
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Food gone past its best-before date;
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Maybe the Food is not looking good or smelling bad;
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Some maybe Cooking excessive quantities of food;
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Some others maybe into Impulsive food purchases especially during special offers;
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Or simply you are just Trying to buy more fresh food;
All these are behavioural aspects that cause major household food waste lead to ;
a) Food-demand unpredictability, which generates overstock situations at retail outlets;
b) Consumers prefer well-stocked shelf at any store;
c) Retailers are unable to comply with a first-in-first-out sell-out process due to customer preference towards freshness and there is no incentive to buy products expiring sooner;
Does all this make me wonder if there is an efficient solution to address this problem?
Yes there is and they are known as Wasteless.
Wasteless is helping supermarkets and online grocery stores recapture the full value of their perishable products and reduce food waste through AI-powered dynamic pricing. Now I really wanted to see this in action and from what I read is that retail stores are able to reduce waste by around 39% and increase top line revenues by 6%.
This is a win-win-win-win situation! Poocho kaise?
- With this the retailer is able to increase revenues!
- By selling products instead of throwing them away and decreasing average markdowns, retailers can significantly boost net margin.
- Improve fresh product rotation and optimize shelf space productivity for slow selling products
- And thereby improved Shopping experience!
Tune into the episode to hear more about Wasteless.
If you liked this episode and want to hear more, go ahead hit the subscribe button.
Links to our profile:
Sreepriya Sridharan | Circular Business Podcast;
Piyush Dhawan | The Circular Collective
Click on these links to reach us on social media : LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
Do you know someone who is crazy about a zero waste lifestyle, then share this episode with them & help us spark that thought and drive change.
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
You are listening to part 2 of our conversation with Anu Chaudhary Founder & CEO of SustainPlus.
In the previous episode, we discussed some important aspects around why businesses need to think different when it comes to incorporating policies and regulations around environmental sustainability. We also discussed why govt. needs to prepare businesses and get them on-board with alternative strategies, before implementing sudden bans and bringing about new regulations. This point was elaborated well when she gave the example of one Karnataka based company that was forced to shut down for 6 months in order to avoid penalties that might be incurred due to new water regulations in the state.
So if you haven’t heard #Ep 48 yet, then I highly recommend you to do so right away as it’ll give you a better flow for tuning into this episode which is part 2 of our conversation with Anu.
I hope you find this interview informative. These are amongst those few episodes of Circular Business Podcast where we have discussed diverse elements within sustainability power packed into one conversation.
Today, we cover everything from Carbon tax to ESG rating to even future of employment.
There are many noteworthy moments within this conversation, my personal favorites were when she mentioned how important It is for businesses to start incorporating sustainability into their core strategy than just relying on their sustainability head and their small team to execute CSR projects in silos.
Another important point for companies already working on integrating ESG is that—> do not underestimate the power of internal communication. Your employees deserve to know what initiatives are being worked upon. Internal communication is as important as external media.
My next favorite moment was when we unfolded how It is easier to implement circular economy strategies at a smaller org when compared to multi-national/ conglomerate because it is cost effective & quicker for smaller orgs to get their supplier network on-board with their strategy.
Lastly coming to the point of jobs within environment sector, I loved example she shared of rain-water harvesting and how Plummer’s can be up skilled through training around water harvesting. This not only future proofs their jobs, but it also helps them charge a premium for their service..in a way making them earn a better living.
If you liked this episode and want to hear more such content, then hit subscribe button, it is free and it only means that u get new episodes automatically. We at Circular Business Podcast, work consistently each week to simplify circularity for everyday conversations, therefore if you feel some topics need further simplification then reach out us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter and we’ll be happy to extend our support to you.
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
This episode is part 1 of our conversation with Anu Chaudhary.
Anu holds a special place in my journey into environmental sustainability..you know why, because exactly a year ago I was going through a transition period where I had made up my mind be the front runner towards achieving sustainable development goals. Kaunsa raasta chunna hai woh decision too maine le liya tha but I was clueless about the apt mode of transport to navigate through this path. Metaphorically I didn’t know whether to walk the path or to take a bus, car or truck in order to start my journey.
As I was doing my research, One fine day through LinkedIn I came across Anu Chaudhary’s interview and her phenomenal work at sustainPlus and while watching, I thought to myself, why don’t I reach out to her and see if she would be willing to guide me through.
To my good fortune, she agreed to do so and that’s how my association with Anu began.
I’m absolutely grateful to her for the time she committed towards guiding me which gave me a good understanding of the pros and cons and hacks of walking the path. So in addition to being a good human, Anu is a visionary ESG leader who understands the mechanisms that create real business value from socially responsible and environmentally responsible business strategies. She founded SustainPlus - a sustainability & CSR consulting company in the year 2016 and today operates as the CEO for the organization.
I liked how she identified a huge gap in public understanding of how a policy, or a standard or a regulation around environmental sustainability can be translated into economic value & she leveraged that as an opportunity not only to build for herself a new career path but her eye for detail paved the way for starting SustainPlus.
Like Anu mentioned during the interview, the planet will survive very well without the human race, therefore we need to behave sustainably and take measures towards climate action to ensure our own survival.
With changing times, just vowing for sustainability is not enough, businesses need to be future ready ..they need to evaluate external risks & integrate them into their business strategies to avoid potential losses due to resource constraints & new and sudden environment regulations implemented by the government.
If you liked this episode and want to hear more such content, then hit subscribe button, it is free and it only means that u get new episodes automatically. We at Circular Business Podcast, work consistently each week to simplify circularity for everyday conversations, therefore if you feel some topics need further simplification then reach out us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter and we’ll be happy to extend our support to you.
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Hello & welcome to Circular Business Podcast, a series where we look into Circular Economy from the Indian context. I’m your host & dost Sreepriya Sridharan & this podcast is for you, if you have been looking for solutions to make your organization go zero waste, sustainable & profitable all at the same time.
Tune into our series to listen to interviews with entrepreneurs & industry experts and some kick ass solo episodes where we equip you with absolutely necessary information around circular economy so that you can begin your projects and drive change wherever you are.
We release two episodes each week and on an average they are about 20-30mins long.
Circular Business Podcast is available on Spotify, apple podcasts, google podcasts and we would love to see you subscribe to our channel and join us in this journey.
Click on these links to reach us on social media : LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
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Chopsticks form an important part of authentic Asian cuisine. However the way it is being manufactured and used since a few decades is worrisome, you know why- coz it is made out of bamboo or wood.
Similar to the case of single-use plastic cutlery, chopsticks offered across the globe by restaurants are single use in nature and this frequency of use, translates to massive deforestation.
You’ll be surprised to know that The Chinese government began charging a 5 percent tax in 2006 on disposable chopsticks export in efforts to curb deforestation. Their goal is to use high prices to drive people towards reusable utensils such as washable plastic or metal chopsticks.
It is clear that the global production of disposable chopsticks is unsustainable, as millions of trees are utilized annually, only to be thrown away after use. The carbon that was stored in the tree is released when chopsticks degrade in a landfill.
Almost a third of the world’s population uses chopsticks every day, with China alone producing as many as 80 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks a year according to some estimates. And that’s just one product out of millions.
Felix Böck, who has a background in wood engineering in Germany, was studying for a PhD in structural bamboo composites in Vancouver when inspiration struck as he was eating his favourite meal - sushi.
Since 2016, Felix Böck’s company ChopValue has been taking used bamboo chopsticks from restaurants in Canada and the US, and transforming them into attractive wooden tiles which are used in a range of furniture and homewares.
The process behind ChopValue is ingeniously simple. The company urges restaurants to keep their used bamboo chopsticks, which it then collects, dries and compresses in a hydraulic press. The result is a dense, uniform material of about 15 mm thickness, made using the 350,000 chopsticks which pour in per week. ChopValue’s bamboo products have similar properties to engineered bamboo products on the market, including hardness, good surface performance and high tensile strength. But it’s the eye-catching aesthetics which many of ChopValue’s clients find most interesting.
Tune into the episode to hear more about ChopValue.
If you liked this episode and want to hear more, go ahead hit the subscribe button.
Links to our profile:
Sreepriya Sridharan | Circular Business Podcast;
Piyush Dhawan | The Circular Collective
Click on these links to reach us on social media : LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
Do you know someone who is crazy about a zero waste lifestyle, then share this episode with them & help us spark that thought and drive change.
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
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In this gupshup let’s revise fast fashion..a modern day phenomenon of take -make-use-dispose.. But what next? Fast fashion enables companies to mass market, it enables manufacturers to mass produce and provokes consumers to buy latest trends for cheap. Tell me, have you fallen into this trap already? I guess most of us have.
That’s why circular business models have emerged as a key area of focus.
Unlike the linear model, circular business models transform how fashion brands and retailers create value; it presents an opportunity to fulfill consumer demands, drive innovation and simultaneously reduce environmental impact.
Bank & Vogue (BVG Group) which is the largest trader of second-hand goods in North America, operates one of the biggest commercial remanufacturing facilities in the World.
In 2002, they started the Beyond Retro which is Europe’s largest and best-known vintage retail chain. As the name suggests their specialty is vintage clothing, and Beyond Retro has carved out a niche as a vintage brand and label in the fashion industry. They aims to deliver a superior shopping experience to its clientele & their clothing collection is sourced globally and hand-picked by a team of vintage fashion experts.
Not only is Beyond Retro recycling product and saving textile waste from landfill, they are indeed making a conscientious effort to streamline every part of their business, from packaging to shipping, to minimise their footprint on the environment.
TIME magazine has named Renewcell's fiber Circulose® as one of the
best innovations of 2020: BVH will be supplying Renewcell 300,000 metric tons of post-consumer denim a year for this project. H&M and Levi's are already using this fiber to produce new products, proving that innovations like these will shape the future of the fashion industry.
Approximately 7,000 Tropical shirts were diverted from landfill and transformed into a vibrant array of one-one-a-kind Converse Chuck 70’s, continuing on the iconic footwear brand’s legacy of enabling creative expression.
Considering the perceived risk of cannibalisation, operational complexity of new models and uncertainty on the financial viability it’s fascinating to see the involvement of an established brand like Bank & Vogue in implementing circular business models.
This commitment proves that the time for innovation and progress on circular models is now.
If you liked this episode and want to hear more, go ahead hit the subscribe button.
Links to our profile:
Sreepriya Sridharan | Circular Business Podcast;
Piyush Dhawan | The Circular Collective
Click on these links to reach us on social media : LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
Do you know someone who is crazy about a zero waste lifestyle, then share this episode with them & help us spark that thought and drive change.
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Guys I have a good news for you, we are listed amongst the Top 10 Indian Economy Podcast charts by Feedspot! Can you believe that! Since Oct 2020 we have already uncovered more than 40 live examples of circular businesses. Thank you so much for tuning in every week, I truly enjoy going that extra mile to dig out interesting examples just for you.
While we have uncovered so many examples in the past, today I want us to take a step back..relax and take a relook at the basics of circular business model, but first let’s understand a business model in simple terms.
A business model is a company’s strategy for making a profit.
Joan Magretta states that “A good business model answers some age-old questions, ‘Who is the customer? And what does the customer value?’
It also answers the fundamental questions such as: How do we make money in this business? What is the underlying economic logic that explains how we can deliver value to customers at an appropriate cost?”
If we break it down further, A business model, has two parts:
“Part one includes all the activities associated with making something: designing it,
purchasing raw materials, manufacturing, and so on.
Part two includes all the activities associated with selling something: finding and reaching customers, transacting a sale, distributing the product, or delivering the service.
Now what makes a business model circular?
When viewed from the lens of Circular Economy, waste refers to any kind of underutilization of resources or assets.. Are you with me there?
There is one primary difference between a circular model and traditional model-The circular business models are engineered to reduce the extraction of virgin resources from earth’s surface, they limit the generation of industrial and consumer waste, but with an aim to create new, profitable revenue streams in the process.
There are four distinct types of waste that circular models seek to eliminate.
They are:
1) Wasted resources
2) Wasted capacities
3) Wasted lifecycles
4) Wasted embedded values
To address the above types, there are five methods that are widely accepted as models for businesses seeking guidance to maximize their participation in the circular economy.
These were developed by Accenture and for this episode I’ve referred to two reports- one is “Accelerating India’s Circular Economy Shift” & 2nd one is Veolia’s Join the Circular Economy E-book.
The 5 circular business models are:
1) Circular Supply Chain
2) Resource Recovery
3) Product life extension
4) Sharing Platform
5) Product as a service
You can reach out to me on - LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Website
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
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I have a pet dog and he loves the abundance of nature around the place we are currently put up. Yesterday night when we both were out on a walk there was a blackout in the city therefore I couldn’t collect his poop due to lack of sight. Today morning when I went back, I observed how active the soil is, because the area where he had shit was already taken care of by nature. More than 50% of his poop was granulated into soil.
Guys I’m not encouraging anybody to not clear your dog’s poop, please do it, it is a good practice; however why I brought this up is to dive deeper into biomimicry.
When we stay close to nature, we frequently get the opportunity to witness such natural processes, socho na, every day nature is continuously manufacturing and producing something new, yet forests have no landfill and oceans have no waste water.
Since ages humans have been cooking food however have you ever thought about cooking Nature's recipe of making natural products?
Materiom just does that. They provide open source recipes and data on materials made from abundant sources of natural ingredients, like agricultural waste. By making this knowledge open, they wish to accelerate materials development and lower barriers to entry in materials markets around the world.
Alysia Garmulewicz is co-founder and director of Materiom. She is an Associate Professor of the circular economy at the Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Her research and entrepreneurial endeavors take place at the intersection of circular economy, open source biomaterials, and digital fabrication, paving the way for truly regenerative and distributive systems.
For her doctoral thesis, she looked at Fab Labs around the world and interviewed Fab Labs leaders to understand where the materials were coming from and what knowledge about materials existed at a local level. She found a large gap in people's access to knowledge about materials. People had expertise and understanding in software and hardware but when it came to materials, they were ordering them on retail platforms.
So then, how do we make distributed manufacturing future connect to supply chain networks that are fully in tune with the local environment?
If you liked this episode and want to hear more, go ahead hit the subscribe button.
Links to our profile:
Sreepriya Sridharan | Circular Business Podcast;
Piyush Dhawan | The Circular Collective
Click on these links to reach us on social media : LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
Do you know someone who is crazy about a zero waste lifestyle, then share this episode with them & help us spark that thought and drive change.
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
1.5 - A small number with big consequences; Can you guess why?
We all need to join hands to keep average global temperatures below 1.5 deg and we at the Circular Business Podcast & The Circular Collective are doing our part to create awareness & discuss solutions to accelerate environmental sustainability through a circular economy.
Today we are going to talk about a Germany based e-commerce company called Zalando.
The online fashion and beauty platform that caters to 28 million customers in 17 markets. So in no terms a small company.
They have committed to carbon neutrality in their own operations and all of their deliveries and returns. They recently switched to renewable energy to power 90% of its energy needs globally & carbon emissions that are not eliminated by operational improvements or green delivery options are set to be rolled out via offset.
One of the focus area in Zalando’s sustainability strategy is sustainable packaging. Zalando boxes are made from 100 percent recycled cardboard, and “beauty bags” consist of 100 percent recycled paper. Much needed right?
In 2019, Zalando extended the life of 1 million fashion items through Zalando Zircle. It is a digital application for selling and buying pre-owned clothes. So the way it works is as follows:
- User uploads photos of pre-owned products and enters information. Zalando accepts items across all price points from over 2,500 brands. Zalando checks the photos and immediately shows a total purchase price as well as the prices for each item.
- User packs their pre-owned items and sends them to Zalando free of charge.
- After scanning the items received, Zalando pays user in credits for the Zalando Fashion Store.
- Zalando resells the acquired articles via online and offline channels throughout Europe. If an item was sent in that cannot be accepted, it will either be sent back to the user or donated
As part of our do.MORE Sustainability Strategy, they have committed to apply the principles of circularity and extend the life of at least 50 million fashion products by 2023
Tune into the episode to dive deeper into their solution.
You can reach out to us on :Sreepriya Sridharan & Piyush Dhawan
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Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
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Hello and welcome to Circular Business Podcast, a series where we look into Circular Economy from the Indian context. I’m your host and dost Sreepriya Sridharan and today I’m gonna share with you some mind boggling facts you won’t believe around resource constraints in India.
I came across this 2018 report “Accelerating India’s Circular Economy Shift” by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry FICCI & Accenture and the facts mentioned by them were eye-opening for me therefore I wanted to bring those facts to you ASAP!
- The reports introduction opens with a graph of resource use v/s economic development (resource use on Y-axis, economic dev on X-axis) and one key takeaway for all of us from that is; as an economy grows, the resource consumption per capita increases significantly.
- So just imagine its implication on a developing Indian economy whose population is over 1 billion people! Are we well positioned to meet the expected rise in this resource demand?
Today in the global economy, developed nations have already set an example of environmentally toxic business practices therefore emerging economies of today may not be able to adopt the traditional growth models as it could strain the finite pool of natural resources. It’s time to leap frog to better business models. Its time for adopting to new normal here as well; Don’t you think so?
In order to renovate the traditional business process in the economy, we must prioritize where to begin to trigger maximum impact.
And I liked the way how this report has narrowed down on the priority list.
They considered 3 parameters:
1) Resource contribution to economic activity (measured by share in GDP)
2) resource contribution to India's import bill,
3) resource impact on environment (measured by share in municipal solid waste).
The sweet spot between these three parameters is occupied by eight resources- they are
- Petroleum
- Plastics
- Iron & Steel
- Copper
- Gold
- Cement
- Fibers
- Food
You & I are meeting at this moment through the common vision of Climate Action and the moment I made a mental note of these resources, it made me feel so much better because now I know which are the focus areas for our country. Trust me, you are at an advantage here because knowing these focus points coupled with its details from the report will equip you to make the perfect pitch to the influencers & stakeholders to speed up your sustainability project.
Now that we know of the priority areas it is time for the facts you won’t believe; Are you ready for it? Tune into the episode to dive deeper.
Click on these links to reach out to me: LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Website
Links to important mentions in the episode:
1) mJunction
2) Statistical report of world energy reserves by BP
3) CoffeeMug.ai
You can reach out to me on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design
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In this episode of weekly gupshup, Sreepriya Sridharan & Piyush Dhawan bring to you a circular business model from the wine industry.
What if we tell you that your wine bottle can fit through a letter box? Yes, you read it right!
Say hello to the next age packaging by Garcon Wines who have innovated a sustainable wine packaging solution.
In 2017, they won the Best New Beverage Concept Award at the World Beverage Innovation Awards and was a Diamond Finalist in the awards for Packaging Innovation the following year!
So what do they do different? Garcon Winesintroduced a customized wine package that could accommodate ten of its bottles in the same space as four conventional ones. This allows 1040 bottles to be stored in a standard container pallet, compared to 456 standard sized bottles, reducing the environmental footprint and cost for transport and handling by around 60%.
Flat wine bottles are a stand out design especially when those bottles are made from recycled plastic. To us their product speaks volumes about their attention to detail around a green and efficient supply chain.
Today in the vast world of climate science, relatively little attention has been paid to the wine industry’s carbon footprint. Tell me honestly, did you ever think about this before?
We need to remind ourselves that wine is an agricultural product. Wine grapes are extremely sensitive to climate and this is what makes its taste so exquisite!
But this sensitivity makes it equally vulnerable to climate change.
You know a report by Spanish company Grupo ARCE found that the average bottle of wine releases about 1.28 kilograms of carbon into the atmosphere over its lifetime.
For some of you, this number might seem small, however In the year 2018, global wine production rose to near-record highs, reaching a harvest of 292.3 million hectoliters that’s more than 7.7 billion gallons.
Water is an essential raw material in addition to grapes, fruits and wood used for making barrels. It is clear how this industry is heavily dependent on natural resources and therefore building in circular business models to improve product efficiency becomes crucial.
Probing Question : Did you know that climate change is rapidly altering wine as we know it?
Tune into the episode to dive deeper into their solution.
If you liked this episode and want to hear more, go ahead hit the subscribe button.
Links to our profile:
Sreepriya Sridharan | Circular Business Podcast;
Piyush Dhawan | The Circular Collective
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If given a choice would you be the person with amazing ideas? OR would you like to be the person bringing amazing ideas to life?
Hello & welcome to Circular Business Podcast, a series where we look into circular economy from the Indian context. I’m your host & dost Sreepriya Sridharan and today we will talk about taking action & elaborate on the 4 easy steps to get started with your 1st sustainability project.
In today's times participating in climate strikes without knowing & understanding its agenda can become overwhelming. However that shouldn’t stop anyone from working on climate action.
If you are reading this right now, my intuition tells me that you already have an amazing idea waiting to spread its wings.
Therefore I want to help you make that process faster, as I’m gonna share with you 4 steps that I followed to successfully execute my 1st project on climate action.
Step 1 : Identify the problem
No matter what stage of life you are in, you very well know that one PROBLEM which always makes you want to speak up and challenge the status quo.
3 years ago I was working with a multi-national engine manufacturing company and one Friday I noticed that my colleague urgently needed a sanitary pad while I was in the washroom.
Hey I just got my chums..could you pls get me a pad (low voice).
Now the thing is, I switched to menstrual cups few years ago, so those days of extra pads in my bag are long gone. But somehow I was able to reach out to office supplies and help out my colleague at that time.
But wait a minute, I don't know if you noticed when she used the code word "chums" in a women's washroom! It's 2021 ladies, why do we still hesitate to call periods---> PERIODS?
She was even hesitant to say the word pad out loud.
So as soon as my colleague got out I asked her the same question, to which she said- Maybe because I've been trained to hide the word and anything related to "periods" ever since I hit puberty..
And I was shocked!
Later the conversation carried on over coffee with more colleagues joining in and at that time I realized that-
- Many women on my floor didn't have a clue about the devastation caused by commercial menstrual pad disposal;
- Many thought that pads are biodegradable!
- For many others the idea of environmental sustainability around menstruation sounded puzzling;
There you go..that’s how I identified my problem statement.
Step 2 : Ideate a feasible solution
That day’s conversation over coffee was so hard for me to digest, that it gave me a sleepless night.
Therefore on that weekend I penned down a plan to organize an awareness session around sustainable menstruation in my office and presented it the following week it to the leaders of Women Empowerment Network within our organization.
That brings me to step no. 3: Identify, network and connect with influencers / decision makers who will help transform your idea into an impactful project.
My urge to help women with knowledge of eco-effective menstruation was so high at that time, that it passionately reflected during the presentation and they agreed to support me to launch this event.
And now its showtime baby..with Step 4 : Execute with dead lines
Within a month we pulled together team and a panel of NGO speakers & gynecologists and hosted #PeriodForChange
Tune into the episode to find out what happened next.
You can reach out to me on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreepriyasridharan/
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How many of you Michael Scott-The Office fans thought that paper was a dying industry? Think again on all those times last year you have had to make use of hygiene products like tissue roles, wipes etc. made of paper to keep yourself protected from COVID?
It proves that at least for a decade more, there are industries that cannot do without paper because it is a necessary raw material for their product. But it also opens up opportunity doors for remaining industries that can innovate their supply chains to go paperless.
Hello and welcome to weekly gupshup with The Circular Collective, I’m your host and dost Sreepriya Sridharan & I am Piyush Dhawan and we help you think out of the box of circular economy best practices from around the globe, through an audio experience
A decade ago reusable packaging was practiced in every household in India, especially with the introduction of Tupperwear.
Gone are the days as today single-use packaging has dominated our supply chains..and this single use family of convenience comes at a cost of depleting forest reserves and choking marine lives.
With the rise in popularity of e-commerce and doorstep deliveries in India, the use of paper as well as plastic packaging in boxes has gone up - a trend the large e-commerce players are trying to arrest.
This problem is so worth solving, that you may have noticed in the last couple of weeks we’ve had businesses like AmplePac and InfinityBox from India who are providing reusable packaging solutions in FMCG sector and food delivery sectors respectively. In case you haven’t heard those episodes, make a note now to listen to episode #31 & #38.
Since lockdowns have intensified, my orders for essentials through e-commerce apps have grown in quantum over the past few months. There are so many cardboard boxes at home that it makes me wonder how would it look like if I had the option to send back this packaging for reuse and probably save some trees from being cut as a bargain.
One such solution is offered by LimeLoop, theybuild sustainable shipping logistics for e-commerce brands.
Tune into the episode to dive deeper into their solution.
Probing Question : If we have the power to return and replace our e-commerce consignments, why then are we so far behind in returning and reusing the packaging that comes with it? Isn’t it worth solving?
If you liked this episode and want to hear more, go ahead hit the subscribe button.
If you know of more cool examples around reusable packaging, then reach out to us on LinkedIn:
Sreepriya Sridharan | Circular Business Podcast;
Piyush Dhawan | The Circular Collective
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At the stroke of the afternoon hour when you are not in a mood to cook, urban Indians awaken their cell phones and satiate the beast within, at the click of a virtual button.
Don’t get me wrong there, coz I’m talking about the boon of food delivery apps that has notched up the convenience level in our lives today.
Food delivery apps have revolutionized the way we eat.
Hello and welcome back to Circular Business Podcast, a series where we look into circular economy from the Indian context. I’m your host and dost Sreepriya Sridharan and if you believe that economic progress and environment regeneration can go hand in hand, then go ahead hit the subscribe button because this podcast is just right for you.
Did you know that India’s online food industry is expected to be 8 billion dollar market by 2022. Food tech has now made its presence in greater than 500 cities in India. Rapid digitization, an increase in online buyer base coupled with an increased spending capacity has led to this explosive growth. But this growth comes at a cost of an environmental damage dominated by single use plastic.
In fact in few of our previous episodes we have discussed in detail the alarming facts and figures and dangerous impacts of single use plastic and it is fantastic to see how many innovators and entrepreneurs are focussed towards solving this problem by way of building circular business models. In case you haven’t checked it out ..make a note, do listen to episode number 22, 31, 32, 33, 36 & 37.
Our guest for today is Shashwat Gangwal, founder of InfinityBox. Their solution is aimed towards creating a circular economy for food delivery industry.
Let’s put that into perspective, today when you order food, you get deliveries in plastic containers / plastic packs which are sealed together with plastic adhesive tape and delivered to you either in a plastic or paper bag. Sounds relatable? Once emptied this packaging becomes garbage. Some environmentally conscious restaurants do provide cardboard / aluminum packaging but they are few and far between and even then this is not a complete solution to solve the single use plastic problem.
On the other hand, InfinityBox (as the name suggests) are reusable and recyclable environment-friendly food packaging containers which will soon be linked to your food aggregator app. Sounds pretty cool right, so why don’t you join me to understand from Shashwat how they are getting this done!
For additional resources check out their website : https://www.infinityboxkgp.com/
Here is a link to Bending the Lines podcast : https://www.infinityboxkgp.com/podcast
Reach out to Infinity box on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/infinitybox/
Thank you so much tuning in every week and keeping the discussion alive on our LinkedIn posts.
If you are aware of similar groundbreaking technologies in India, then please share it with us on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
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Few days back many states across India declared extension of lockdowns and these sudden pour of new measures by the state governance has led many of us into panic shopping!
I too stocked up vegetables last week whatever was available at the counter. Some with plastic packaging, some open. Now a week later when I removed some for cooking I noticed that few of the open veggies somehow were unfit for use and had gone stale, while the ones covered in plastic still were good to go.
Just imagine, how many more people around our country might be facing similar issues? Just imagine how many tonnes of waste will be piling up in landfills just because of this utility error. Think about how many more people can be fed, if only we could innovate for longer lasting produce?
Wouldn't it be amazing if there was a way to extend the shelf life of perishable items like vegetables and fruits without using plastic?
Well, there should be right, otherwise we wouldn't be recording this episode ;).
Apeel is an AgTech (a startup that combines agriculture and technology) that developed a substance, transparent and flavourless, to protect fruits and vegetables. The idea is to cover fresh products with a second “skin”, a peel that allows to double or triple their life. This substance reduces the loss of water and the oxidation of the products, slowing their maturation and extending their expiry date.
For growers, suppliers, and retailers, Apeel is a post harvest solution that creates an optimal microclimate inside every piece of produce, which leads to extended shelf life and transportability —with reduced reliance on refrigeration and controlled atmosphere.
Apeel’s technology has the potential to reduce losses by;
1) enabling more produce to reach markets in the absence of the cold chain;
2) reducing retail and consumer waste by providing more time to consume the produce at its ripe condition.
By reducing loss and waste throughout the produce supply chain, the Apeel technology can effectively increase yields across the supply chain, simultaneously reducing the embodied emissions and resource consumption associated with that otherwise wasted food.
Did you know 19% of all avocados on grocery store shelves never get purchased? Even sadder, 25% of the avocados that we do bring home still end up in the trash.
This "second skin" has already reduced waste by more than half in supermarkets that have sprayed it on their apples, asparagus and lemons.
Apeel has recently raised $250 M dollars in a round of investments, becoming a real “unicorn”. Most of them came from investors like Viking Global Investors, Upfront Ventures, and Rock Creek Group. Few other noteworthy supporters of Apeel are Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Oprah Winfrey, and Katy Perry.
Hope you enjoy listening to this episode and if you are aware of similar groundbreaking technologies in India, then please share it with us on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
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CircularEconomy
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Today we will explore an alternate solution to the most common & colorful ingredient in Indian garbages-yes, you guessed it right its the single-use plastic.
In my observation, the narrative around plastic use amongst conscious consumers today have become fairly hateful and judgemental, don’t you think so? Such rigid hateful view points become equally toxic when compared to mere green washing messaging.
Therefore for this episode, I actually explored the google search on benefits of single use plastic just to recheck and understand why it started? which industries cannot do without it? and how much can govt. / industrial & consumer led action potentially contribute towards this transformation?
Plastic was invented in the mid 19th century and in the late 1970s its use skyrocketed across global markets for it fulfilled some dire needs of those times which delivered benefits beyond convenience and cost savings
- It replaced paper bags which were linked to the enormous amounts of trees that were being cut down;
- It improved the shelf life and freshness of food products thereby reducing food wastes;
- Its adoption in medical industry made healthcare affordable and accessible for public;
- Its adoption in restaurant business from the perspective of single use cutlery prevented spread of diseases and invariably improved public health in those times;
Due to these factor, its adoption became so viral that 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics have been produced since 1950s, of which 50% have been produced in the past 15 years alone.
So plastic does add value to our activities, but the problem lies in its unconscious and careless disposal. To address this concern we need better alternatives that meet the benefits offered by plastic and yet not harm the environment once disposed.
Regeno a coimbatore based start-up makes compostable bags with Vegetable starch and since their launch in 2017, their product which is a promising alternative to single use plastic has been tried and tested in and around the country.
My curiosity to learn more about this product led me to Cibhi Sel Van-Founder and Managing Director of Regeno Ventures and I invite you to join me in this insightful conversation with Cibhi.
At present, India eyes a complete national ban on single use plastics by second half of 2022, while this sounds promising- we all must acknowledge that replacing single use plastics entirely is a herculean task given its cost efficiency and wide spread usage.
That’s where solutions like Regeno provide an opportunity for our economy to maintain the pace of trade and not let these bans, impact our progress. As conscious consumers, it is our responsibility to carefully choose alternate products and dodge the traps of green washing.
On that note it is a wrap on this episode. If you enjoyed this podcast and would like to listen more, please subscribe wherever you like to listen to podcasts. Do leave us a review and rating on iTunes / apple podcast app.
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This week on Circular Business Podcast's weekly gupshup with The Circular Collective we explore a fascinating technology by LanzaTech who are pacing the world towards a Circular Carbon Economy.
They have developed a sophisticated brewery, a gas fermentation process that turns pollution and emission from factories into fuel that powers cars and soon airplanes. To put that into perspective, visualize a beer fermentation process..now instead of converting sugars and yeast to ethanol, the company uses a biological catalyst to ferment waste gas emissions into ethanol. AMAZING right?
Their technology has the potential to displace 30% of crude oil use today and reduce global CO2 emissions by 10%. So how do they do it?
A bacteria found in the gut of a rabbit can now help cars & airplanes run in a more eco-friendly way.
The bacteria, identified by LanzaTech, helps turn factory carbon emissions, a.k.a. Pollution, into ethanol.
For a few decades, Ethanol has been blended with gasoline or petrol to reduce the amount of fuel used by cars.
Today, Ethanol is typically made from corn, sugar cane or grasses, which take a lot of land to grow. So just imagine the amount of efficiency that this technology brings in just by making ethanol by capturing pollution.
They have been working with Virgin Atlantic since 2011, to formulate that jet fuel made from carbon waste gases. The first batch of this sustainable jet fuel was used on a commercial flight for the very first time in 2018– It was the Virgin Atlantic’s VS16 flight from Orlando to London Gatwick, operated by a Boeing 747 aircraft.
Airlines is one such industry which is tough to decarbonize and with this innovation one can visualize the transformation it can bring on the world we know today.
What fascinates me is how they see a future where a steel mill, for example, would make lightweight steel for parts of a plane, and then use production emissions to make fuel for that plane as well as chemicals to produce the synthetic fibers, plastics and rubbers needed for the body and cabin of the aircraft.
Now this is the circular economy in action through waste mitigation, resource efficiency and value addition through carbon reductions.
LanzaTech's raw material comes from the waste gases from Refineries, Cement & Steel plants.
Tune into the episode to learn more about this innovation of brewing pollution into ethanol.
Hope you enjoy listening to this episode and if you are aware of similar groundbreaking technologies in India, then please share it with us on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
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Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective);
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Welcome back to Circular Business Podcast, a series where we look into circular economy from the Indian context. I’m your host and dost Sreepriya Sridharan and in today’s episode we will be diving into a sustainable alternatives for brick and concrete.
If you believe that economic progress can go hand in hand with environment regeneration, then go ahead hit the subscribe button, because this podcast is just right for you.
On 6th Feb 2021, Indian farmers protest refocussed our nation’s attention to the nitty grit-ties of our farm infrastructure. This event compelled many citizens to research and understand the causes for this rage along with brainstorming the potential outcomes of the new Farm Bills.
This episode is not about the farmer’s protest, but it is about the circular practices and sustainable innovations that are in practice today around Indian agricultural ecosystem.
By now, many of us are aware of how India is predominantly an agrarian economy. Agriculture sector is one of the most important industries in India, which means it is also a huge employer. Approximately 60 percent of the population works in agriculture and allied industries, contributing about 18 percent to India's GDP.
Now let me bring your focus to the waste cycle in the production process.
Research by Strawcture Eco. suggests that- annually, India generates 500 MT of crop residue (stalk, straw, leaves) with wide regional variability. The highest crop residue estimate was recorded for Uttar Pradesh (60 Mt). Other high crop residue producing regions were Punjab (51 Mt) and Maharashtra (46 Mt).
Today, the residue is used as animal fodder, cooking fuel, organic manure and animal bedding. Even after all these alternative usage, there is a surplus of 234 MT of residue (roughly 46% of gross residue) that goes un-utilized.
But, why are we discussing that today? Well, it gives me immense pleasure to share with you the innovation by Strawcture Eco. who see the potential of using this surplus residue and turning it into a green building material which addresses the problem of stubble burning and affordable housing crisis at the same time.
Our guest for today is Shriti Pandey, Founder and CEO of Strawcture Eco. Shriti envisions to bring about a paradigm shift in how we create, interact with and sustain our built environment. You know, she left her cushy job in New York and returned to India to start her own sustainable construction company and reinvent the existing practices in the this industry.
She founded Strawcture Eco. in 2018. Last year she was named a climate fellow by the New York-based nonprofit Echoing Green and received $90,000 in seed funding. She has recently been acknowledged as the top young entrepreneur of the Forbes Under 30 -2021 list.
Tune into the episode to find out
a) How bio-composite panels replace concrete and brick structures?
b) Straw infrastructures actively in use around the world.
c) How Shriti & her team are transforming the ecosystem including bank loan provisions to enable the adoption for bio-composite housing construction?
d) What green building infrastructure means to you?
Website : https://strawcture.com/our-technology/
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This week on weekly gupshup with Circular Collective, we bring to you the story of Everwave.
In 2012, architecture student Marcella Hansch wrote her master’s thesis on the Pacific Garbage Screening e.V. A vision emerged for Marcella from this thesis and she later laid the foundation stone for the development of an innovative platform that is supposed to free our seas from plastic waste.
Symptomatic of today's throwaway society, plastics can be easily and quickly industrially produced, processed and are often given cheaply or even free of charge. DYK?- 4.8 to 12.7 million tons of garbage per year find their way into our oceans. To put that into perspective it means a truck load per minute!
Nowadays I expect and look forward to seeing garbage in every waterbody that I come across. Has it ever occurred to you?
Breaking the Plastic Wave- a report by PEW Charitable Trust suggests that On the current trajectory, which we call Business-as-Usual, the annual flows of plastic into the ocean could nearly triple by 2040. What’s more alarming is that, even if all current major industry and government commitments are met with and adhered to, the world would only see a 7% reduction in its annual rate of plastic pollution flowing into the ocean when compared to the Business-as-Usual scenario.
This means that we have a lot of work to do, in order to achieve the dream of seeing clean water bodies once again.
Everwave stemmed from RWTH Aachen which is one of the premier engineering institutes of Germany.
Their work is segmented into two pillars. The first one is called as Ecological Inspiration where through interactive events and creative PR they raise awareness of the global plastic crises. They have developed the "EmergenSEA Kit" -an educational kit that offers the opportunity to work on the topics of oceans, plastics and resource conservation with school classes in an interdisciplinary manner.
The second pillar is the technological innovation which focuses on a combination of active and passive cleanup technologies for rivers that prevent waste from entering the oceans. Then the AI supported CollectiX- their rubbish collection boats, are able to clean up waste hotspots in the larger environment which are difficult to access otherwise. With AI they evaluate the material composition of collected wastes which is then re- & up-cycled to create new products.
Website : https://everwave.de/plastik-problem-wirtschaft/
Tune into the episode to learn more about how Everwave is transforming the garbage waves around the world.
Hope you enjoy listening to this episode and if you are aware of similar groundbreaking technologies in India, then please share it with us on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
-
Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective);
-
Join the episodic posts on social media- LinkedIn & Twitter by commenting your thoughts and learnings on each post;
-
Please rate and review us on iTunes / Apple Podcasts and help us build that strong content footing.
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
This week on weekly gupshup with Circular Collective, we bring to you the story of MINIWIZ.
Would you believe us if we told you that there is a machine that can instantly turn plastic waste into something useful instantly!
Yes, such a machine exists in reality that converts post-consumer waste into daily usable products and that machine is popularly known as “Trashpresso”-which is a mobile recycling & processing system.
Trashpresso can up-cycle upto 50kg of waste per hour.
It enables a true circular economy.
MINIWIZ is on a mission to change consumer behaviour into a circular one. It is the only way for us humans to sustainably consume our limited resources.
Today, mindless consumption has become a habit across various parts of the globe, and the team at MINIWIZ is innovating to satiate human demands with our own trash!
They like to call themselves magicians of trash. They have converted milk packets into hottest sports wear, plastic bottles have been converted into luxurious textiles, cigarette butts have been converted into furnitures & optical glasses.
They are not only upcycling trash, but making it into luxurious commodities. They use these recycled materials for industrial & interior design.
DYK! Today our world generates 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste, and the rate at which these numbers are increasing, it looks like MINIWIZ has an abundance of raw materials for their crazy innovations! Till date MINIWIZ has innovated over 1200 materials from trash!
Miniwiz was founded by Arthur Huang & Jarvis Liu in the year 2005. Since then they have pushed boundaries beyond all expectations, winning the company the Financial Times’ Earth Award in 2010 and The Wall Street Journal’s Asian Innovation Award in 2011. In 2015, Miniwiz received the Technology Pioneers title by the World Economic Forum.
Today, most segregated dry waste from developed nations such as the US & within Europe are shipped to India, Malaysia & Thailand & electronic wastes are being shipped to Africa. It makes me wonder how are we handling the imported waste, when our own Solid waste management is yet to become efficient!
So if such an innovation needs to be welcome in India, then one opportunity area would be to optimize industrial processes to make use of recycled materials..once this concept of industrial optimization becomes a living reality, manufacturing at scale is not far away.
Maybe as a starter, we can begin a crowd fund to clean the top 10 tourist attractions in India by installing Trashpressso at all those locations.
Miniwiz is actively looking for NGO and government partners across the world to activate Trashpresso. Please refer to the below links for more details.
Website : https://trashpresso.com/about-miniwiz/
Video : https://youtu.be/Tq8656UXR-E
Hope you enjoyed listening to this special episode on crazy innovators of circular economy.
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Hello there! welcome back to Circular business podcast, a series where we look at circular economy from the Indian context. I’m your host and dost Sreepriya Sridharan and if you believe that economic progress and environment regeneration can go hand in hand then go ahead and hot the subscribe button, because this podcast is just right for you.
Today we will be looking at circular economy solutions within the FMCG sector.
According to IBEF-India Brand Equity Foundation, the Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is India’s fourth largest sector with household and personal care accounting for 50% of FMCG sales in our country.
India’s packaged food market is expected to double to USD 70 Billion by 2025.
Now when I look at this data as a conscious consumer, my 1st worry is around the massive plastic packaging that accompanies most of FMCG goods in our day-to-day life. We can’t deny the fact that FMCG goods are easier to access and products are convenient to use, therefore it has mass adoption thereby enhancing lifestyles of ppl across different income levels.
But the question I want to put forth today is that- Is there a way to create products that are truly sustainable?
Can we really create packaging systems that are single use plastic free, durable & economical at the same time?
Well, my quest for answers led me to a whole new world of conscious, passionate start-ups and today, I’m delighted to bring to you the story of AmplePac-> http://amplepac.com/#innovation.
AmplePac is a sustainable packaging and packaging lifecycle management company, who are innovating to find solutions for waste-free packaging. They design & manufacture sustainable, metal based, reusable packaging with blockchain integrated tracking technology.
This Mumbai based start-up is founded and led by the phenomenal Arpita Kalanuria. Through the course of the episode you’ll notice how her journey into the world of sustainability is quite unique and inspiring and I’m super excited to present to you my conversation with Arpita.
You can reach out to AmplePac on -> info@amplearth.com
Key takeaways from this episode:
1) 40 years ago most of the middle class and lower middle class homes in Indian cities were truly living a sustainable life, why then do we make it seem impossible today?
2) Arpita comes from a non-technical / non-engineer background, yet her passion to solve this packaging problem compelled her to find a solution and today AmplePac is leading the way in packaging innovation. So if you have identified a grueling problem, then go for it-find a solution. In the end, it is the action taken on our intent that helps us pave a new pathway.
3) Right from the concept stage, AmplePac has paid keen attention to details, not only in a circular design but also around the user friendliness of their products. This enhances its chances for becoming a hit as soon as they launch this packaging-as-a-service model.
Well, I am looking forward to see packaging as a service model being implemented in urban areas at scale within the next 5 years. What do you think about it?
Let us know your thoughts on circularbusinesspodcast.india@gmail.com
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*Disclaimer: It is recommended to brew yourself a tasty cup of coffee as you listen to this episode.
Ooh and as you take that sip, be assured that you are accompanied by 2.26 billion people across the globe. :)
As of today our global coffee market is worth 465 Bn$ and this is expected to grow thrice as much by 2050! 125Mn ppl on our planet are reliant on this coffee market for their livelihood. Globally India being the 6th largest producer of coffee-we are no way behind even in it’s consumption. Approximately 120,000 tonnes of coffee is consumed in our country today.
As I kept reading through these facts, thoughts and questions about spent coffee disposal naturally kept sparking up!
Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world, acting as the primary export for many developing countries. Sadly though coffee was traditionally grown in native forests, it has now become increasingly common to replace the diverse ecosystem with a monoculture of coffee plants. This change has profound effects on the species richness and abundance that the landscape can support and the environmental services that can be provided, including soil erosion, pollination, and water clarification. More demand means clearing up more land!
Today, spent coffee grounds are dumped into general waste and sent to landfill where they emit methane – a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide and one of the primary causes of global warming.
Tune into this episode to learn more about:
1) The environmental footprint of coffee;
2) The Coffee Revolution workshop hosted by The Circular Collective in collaboration with Edible Issues & Who feeds Bengaluru;
3) Coffee value-chain
4) How the current market place look like for a second life of spent coffee?
Doston, if our episodes have given you a EUREKA moment- then go ahead & subscribe to Circular Business Podcast;
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On March 23, 2021 the container ship Ever Given caught global attention when it rammed into the side walls of Suez Canal. This incident brought to light the vulnerabilities and dependance of global trade on shipping lines. It reassured the world on the importance of containerized ships in maintaining the pace of our global supply chains today.
There are many ways to get goods from one place to another.
Planes are fast-no doubt, trucks are precise, and maybe trains are efficient.
However water is by far the cheapest and that’s why our global economies depend heavily on it.
There are no roads to build, or intersections to stop at..wait wait wait-unless it is a rare occurrence like the trending Suez canal blockage.
Some of the biggest container ships in the world are manned by just 13 crew members.
Also you may find it interesting that ships may burn 400 tons of bunker fuel per day, which at current prices, amounts to nearly $200,000 in a single 24 hour period. For me, the beauty of container ships is their ability to conveniently deliver goods, regardless of “WHERE”.
Now that we know the importance of containerized ships..let me tell you, shipbuilding is a complicated process which involves several departments working together to build a vessel which is not just seaworthy but is also equally efficient in terms of both operations and economics. FUEL & STEEL are the major commodities that global shipping industries are currently reliant on. Steel comprises roughly 98% of the volume of a container ship therefore a reliable supply of low-cost steel is extremely important for a fleet owner. Also the average lifespan of modern container ships fall somewhere between 10-16years.
Last year, Danish international container shipping company- Maersk Line announced their vision to be known as the industry leader based on their efforts to drive superior sustainability performance in global supply chains.
Their New vessels plan to set new standards on energy efficiency and Cradle to Cradle design.
They are exploring how to prepare ships for quality recycling while in the design phase, and are developing a Cradle to Cradle Passport as the first step on this journey.
They are developing the cradle-to-cradle passport together with the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA), who specialises in the cradle-to-cradle concept.
This is the first time a cradle-to-cradle passport has been introduced in the container shipping industry
This concept essentially means that materials will not only be recycled, but used for the same or even more advanced constructions or products ..one can say ‘up-cycling’.
The other part of cradle-to-cradle concept would involve avoiding toxic materials and instead using biodegradable resources to the largest extent wherever possible. Maersk’s Triple-E vessels will describe how the materials and components used to build the ship should be safely dismantled once the ship’s service lifecycle has expired.
Tune into the episode to learn more about circularity in Shipping Industry.
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Wish you all a Happy Holi!
When we visualize clothes, most of us see the vibrant colors present in our closet ..types of colors that we all choose to identify with.
So where do you think these colors come from?
Today, the colors that we see in most consumer products—cosmetics, clothes, paints, food, dyes and more—are derived from petrochemicals, which are created through the manipulation of fossil fuels. These release harmful gases long after they have dried, causing respiratory problems and pollution. Synthetic dyes pollute water, poison aquatic life and pose a major health hazard to humans.
To put that into perspective, for a population of 7 billion present on our planet today, consider a minimum of 3 clothes per person..that makes it 21billion clothes with synthetic colors.
All in all, synthetic colors that leach out into our waters are like slow poison to all the stakeholders connected to water..in short everyone!
The need for textile fibre is growing and the possibility to increase the production of virgin cotton is limited.
This is because the production of cotton is limited by seasonal weather conditions and by the land area available for fibre cultivation. The land area is needed to cultivate food for the increasing population, and therefore, increasing cotton cultivation is not feasible.
The cultivation of cotton also has a high environmental impact, which needs to be considered by looking for alternative and more environmentally friendly fibre sources for the textile industry.
Interestingly since 2016, European Union (EU) legislation has forbidden the landfill disposal of organic materials, including textile wastes. Additionally, the member states of EU will be required to set up a separate collection for discarded textiles by 2025. This has created the need to recycle textile waste.
Dyeing alone contributes to approximately 20% of global industrial water pollution. This is leading brands and their suppliers to be more open to rethinking how they do things, which is striking in an industry that hasn’t changed much in decades.
Considering all the above facts, today we bring to you vibrant examples of Colorfix , Spira & CradleToCradle. We truly hope you enjoy listening to this special segment on color pigments.
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Hello and welcome back! You are listening to Circular Business Podcast- a series where we view Circular Economy from the Indian context. I’m your host and dost Sreepriya Sridharan and we are absolutely delighted to be recognized as one of the top 20 Circular Economy podcast on our planet!! Thank you so much listeners for your continued support!
Allow me to introduce you to our guest today- Chaitsi Ahuja. She is a phenomenal woman, driven by passion for zero-waste lifestyle and her intent to transform her life opened up pathways to make other’s journey simpler.
Chaitsi is the founder of Brown Living which is an environmentally efficient e-commerce platform and a one-stop-shop for most things you will need to live a low-impact and plastic-free lifestyle.
They are on a mission to to make environmentally-sustainable products easily accessible to the consumer of today; Create an awareness about conscious consumption and environment-positive products; Be a growth platform for artists, artisans and small businesses who make environmentally-sustainable products; Plant & maintain a million trees.
Many of us may have fallen in the trap of green washing brand marketing at some point in the past decade, and that’s why it becomes all the more important for us to have reliable curators like Brown Living in the market place whose selection frameworks help weed-out the not-so-sustainable products.
Check out The Brown Lens -> https://brownliving.in/pages/the-brown-lens to understand their product selection & curation process.
So come along..grab your coffee or chai and join me in this conversation with Chaitsi Ahuja.
You can reach out to Chaitsi on --> chaitsi@brownliving.in
Key takeaways:
- Before starting brown living her market survey revealed that accessibility to to funds and resources were minimal for the conscious brands. Consumer awareness too was minimal and miss trust on a “brand image around sustainability” was peaking.
- She felt compelled to create her own framework to analyze the carbon footprint of brands that she used in her day to day life- inorder to understand what works..that’s how “Brown lens” came into being.
- Not only did she score the brands, this framework then became a basis for filtering in suppliers for Brown Living e-commerce website. Through this framework she was able to identify the pain points of certain brands and initiated dialogues to understand ways of solving the problem and making the brand more sustainable.
- Packaging trends off today have enormous opportunity areas from the sustainability lens, and I liked Brown Living’s attention to detail in that aspect. They have ensured that all their packaging are plastic free!
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Brown Living’s vision is to make sustainability mainstream. They want to be the household name in the next 5 years
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Today we live in a world where furnitures have become fast-furnitures, catering to a diverse audience and in a way making high-end designs affordable. Gone are the days when furnitures used to be custom made, heavy and lasted a lifetime!
Since 2020, the office environment itself has evolved for the majority population. Billions across the world have procured newer home office set-up. In addition to this, many established offices have had to put away with their office furniture since WFH became the new-normal.
According to Goldstien research, the office furniture industry is estimated to be a 100 billion$ market by 2024.
If you have been an avid follower of Circular Economy, offering product-as-a-service is an immediate solution that must have popped in your mind. Right?
So what could be the best case scenario for a circular design in this industry?
- Fairly procured raw materials, sustainably sourced raw materials. Wood, metal, plastic, glass, leather, steel etc. are the majority raw materials that go into office furniture;
- A production facility that runs completely on renewable sources of energy;
- Product itself should have a modular design which means that it is easy to disassemble. For eg: Once you are done with your furniture use, or there is wear and tear, or maybe you are just bored with it, then parts of the furniture can be repurposed into a new design instead of the entire assembly going into waste.
- Now for this to run smoothly, it is equally important for the manufacturer to have a raw material traceability system in place.
- Another factor that contributes to the best case would be segregation and categorization of waste that occurs during the production process, because if this is done right, then repurposing the so called waste becomes a creative task.
- Lastly just imagine a world where all the wear and tear of your furniture are covered under warranty for as long as you access this furniture as a service.
Well, this best case scenario may sound like a dream, however a Dutch office furniture company Royal Ahrend has started to shift the sector onto a different trajectory by putting circular economy principles at the heart of their business.
Tune into the episode to learn more about how Furniture-As-A-Service can be a scalable solution to todays fast furniture world..
If our episodes have given you a EUREKA moment- then go ahead subscribe to Circular Business Podcast;
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India loses about INR 92,000 crore each year to food wastage, therefore, there is a tremendous commercial value to preventing such wastes. Today most of these wastes occurs in the supply and distribution stages, which is attributed to the lack of proper storage infrastructure.
According to the FAO, if food wastage were a country, it would be the third largest CO2 emitting country in the world after China and the USA.
Now from the perspective of food sustainability, India today is self-sufficient in terms of most cereals but not quite there for other essentials such as pulses. Also, we are yet to fully address the challenges related to fair access to food. Food wastage is an alarming issue not only in India but across many countries around the globe. City infrastructure and fast convenient culture are the major culprits for this. A 2018 report by CSR journal suggests that cumulatively India wastes as much food as the United Kingdom consumes.
Think about how in India our grand weddings, canteens, hotels, social & family functions & even households- we spew out SO MUCH FOOD! Mind you, I’m still talking about edible good quality food going into the dump.
Let’s remember that Agriculture is a resource intensive activity. It uses fresh water reserves, It cuts down forests for land and all processing machines are still powered by O&G industry.
-Even though the world produces enough food to feed the current population twice, billions of people are still malnourished.
Phew!!! I hope we all are able to see the inefficiencies in the current food operating systems. Sustainable food brands and businesses are working towards meeting these concerns, however we worry that without supportive regulations, implementation of good ideas will become challenging.
In 2015 The City of Milan developed the Milan Food Policy that acts on the urban food system with a multidimensional approach around five key priorities: food losses and waste reduction being one of the most important, this engaged several local actors such as research centers, private sector, non profit organizations, foundations.
The first step that Milan did was to assess the local food system by engaging food experts and stakeholders. A public consultation was launched, involving city departments, universities, businesses, and other organizations, which collaborated to establish the most effective strategy, ultimately selecting five interconnected priorities:
- Improving access to water and healthy food
- Moving to regenerative food production
- Raising awareness
- Making the most of food
- Supporting scientific research
A recent report published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated that for every dollar spent on food, society pays the equivalent of two dollars in health, environmental, and economic costs. The ongoing work in Milan is a great example of policymakers realizing this potential and creating the important policy foundation to support this transformation.
Tune into the episode to learn more about how this policy is making a big difference through collective effort.
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About 40% of the mobile users in India, replace their phones in less than a year, out of which most of the phones are discarded. Discarding of these mobile phones adds to the major chunk of e-waste annually in the country. Now the thought of discarded phones going into landfill is worrisome do you know why? Because today the population of mobile devices has exceeded the human population!...reaching more than 8 billion.
Out of this enormous smartphone population only 20% gets recycled today.
It is said that half of your periodic table is present in a smartphone, which means that you are mining more and more elements from the earth every year to build newer smartphones. And when we throw away a smartphone, we are underutilizing the elements / metals present in them-because they have a much higher life.
Today, the smartphones are designed for “USE” & not “REUSE”...think about it, you can’t even open the phones today leave aside recycling the same in order to make use of the good quality elements inside them..thereby triggering an endless cycle of demand and consumption.
A Dutch company by the name Fairphones started off with an awareness campaign where they made a documentary around conflict materials in Democratic Republic of Congo..this project triggered the team to take action for transforming the electronics industry for good.
A Fairphones focusses on 4 areas- fair materials, good working conditions, long lasting design & reuse recycling. They source tin, tungsten and tantalum, from conflict-free sources and have integrated Fairtrade gold into the supply chain-this covers the fairness in consuming raw materials.
Circularity comes into picture because their product’s design is modular and built to last. Listen to the episode for more details about their business model.
While Fairphones are slowly increasing their global presence, this quest needs more hands in order to pace up the transition, so..here is a thought, what if by 2030 all mobile phone manufacturers could give us an application where every element that goes into the mobile phone is detailed out!
Do let us know your thoughts about this idea.
Website link : https://www.fairphone.com/en/story/?ref=header
Weekly gupshup is a weekly collaboration between Circular Business Podcast & The Circular Collective, where we bring to you best practices from around the globe in sustainability & circular economy. Each episode will have an active thread on LinkedIn-Circular Business Podcast & Twitter-LetsgoCircular therefore we urge all you listeners to-
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Hello & welcome back to Circular Business Podcast, a series where we look at CE from the Indian context. I’m your host & dost Sreepriya Sridharan and I’m so happy to share with you that our podcast has made it to TOP 20 Circular Economy Podcasts on the planet!
Dear listeners, thank you so much for your consistent support thus far. Keep listening..keep sharing, and remember that collaboration is the key towards our circular future.
In today’s episode we will be talking about achieving circularity in the built environment.
Our Usha-Iyer Raniga is a Professor at the School of Property, Construction and Project Management at RMIT University-Melbourne.
She is co-leading the Sustainable Buildings and Construction Programme (SBC) under UNEP’s Ten Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10FYP SCP).
She has coauthored several publications in life cycle assessment for the construction sector and has been involved in key projects on sustainability and circularity in the built environment since her her journey began at RMIT University at their Centre for Design.
Join me in a conversation with Usha, hit play and be curious.
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Did You Know that a typical bottle of cleaner is 90% water and less than 10% of the content is actual ingredient? So if you view it sensibly we pay brands money to buy plastic & water. For years communities have been talking about the 3 Rs : Reduce Reuse Recycle and for reasons unknown, I feel the world is stuck onto recycling and somehow the innovation around Reduce & Reuse were given less significance.
Have you also observed this pattern?
The quest for understanding Reusable packaging industry brought us to a brand by the name Replenish! They simply want to eliminate the waste of buying products in disposable plastic bottles.
Click on this link to view their cool solution —> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZd-LjNBa2E
—> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTI_cpgtYpXYhcAB3Q5uCMg
Since 2020 pandemic, the world's consumption of cleaning aid / hand wash / sanitizers have increased manifolds, which as introduced ample amounts of plastic bottles into the markets thereby increasing waste. The solution offered by Replenish (which is Cradle to Cradle certified) has the potential to transform our households for good. --> http://www.myreplenish.com/#details
Tune on to the episode to learn more..
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Did you know, that just under 33% of earth’s surface is land? 71% of that land is habitable. Of that, we already use 50% for agriculture and over 75% of that portion is used for livestock production. Yet that land only produces 33% off our global protein supply. Does your brain hurt? The scale & intensity of animal production today is threatening our planetary boundaries of land use, fresh water use & non-renewable phosphate rock..which is still an underestimated aspect of the fertilizer problem.
According to the FAO, if food wastage were a country, it would be the third largest CO2 emitting country in the world after China and the USA.
While researching about companies that are addressing this problem, AgriProtein a South African company grabbed my attention. They have created an innovative animal feed facility with the help of black soldier flies and wet waste.
Their solution is inspired from what livestock naturally ate- Maggots (yeah i know it ain’t a sexy topic) however if you observe ..livestock seek out so many insects to feed on from the soil.
They are literally using millions of maggots to slow down climate change. Wet waste creates methane, which contributes to global warming when released in excess.
However AgriProtein’s solution is keeping millions of tonnes of wet waste out of the landfill..do you want to know how? Tune on to the episode to learn more..
Weekly gupshup will be an active thread on LinkedIn & Twitter, therefore we urge all you listeners to-
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Shut your electronics for few seconds and look around, how many individuals can you spot with Ear phones / Headphones / Ear Pods? It would be surprising indeed to spot someone without ear extensions these days. In the last decade the convenience of electronics have made these gadgets a part of our daily routine and this routine has therefore increased a demand for its consumption~leading to increase in production~thereby increasing electronic wastes around the globe.
Product as a service models can help decrease these exponential wastes and Gerrard Street is stylishly offering the world a sound of circular economy.
Hit play and tune in to this episode to take a sneak peek into their mind-blowing solution.
We sincerely hope that you have been enjoying this special segment of Circular Business Podcast-India where myself and Piyush Dhawan bring to you amazing examples from the globe in the context of sustainability and circular economy where India and our citizens can take inspiration from.
Weekly gupshup will be an active thread on LinkedIn, therefore we urge all you listeners to-
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Today’s episode is a special gupshup with The Circular Collective for it is officially my 1st conversation with Piyush Dhawan where we connected On-Air to discuss the possibilities of circular cities in India.
Piyush is the co-founder of The Circular Collective and started this organization as a follow up to his tenure as a German Chancellor Fellow. It is a collective that facilitates, activates and enables discussions for circular economy in India.
Piyush is passionate about transforming Indian cities to Circular cities and he has eloquently elaborated his vision during our conversation in this episode. Click on this link to access their newsletter on circular cities initiative, I'm sure you'll find a lot of insight in there.
Hit play and prepare to be amazed.
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Since many many years, denim jeans have been creating a new sense of parity in our world, because no matter which part of the world you are in, most people own at least a pair of denims for themselves. That means, the global population is in some way contributing towards the growth of denim business.
Today, India’s denim production capacity is around 1.1 billion meters per annum. The global denim market size was valued at USD 64.62 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.81% from 2019 to 2025. Growing target population across the globe and rise in consumer disposable income levels, especially in emerging countries like India and China, are projected to be among the key growth-driving factors for the market. There's no doubt how commercial jean's production is hampering our planet's sustainability.
That's why Bert van Son founded MUD Jeans-"Doing Jeans Differently".
Tune in to this episode to learn more about this fabulous product.
We sincerely hope that you have been enjoying this special segment of Circular Business Podcast-India where myself and Piyush Dhawan bring to you amazing examples from the globe in the context of sustainability and circular economy where India and our citizens can take inspiration from.
Weekly gupshup will be an active thread on LinkedIn, therefore we urge all you listeners to-
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Every year, over one billion tyres are manufactured worldwide, and equal number of tyres are permanently removed from vehicles, becoming waste. Although modern tyres are fundamentally rubber products, they are a complex mix of natural and synthetic rubbers.
This complexity has led to stockpiling, dumping and diversion to landfill. This has exposed communities to environmental and health risks and has squandered valuable resources locked up in tyre dumps.
Stockpiled tyres are at risk of fire and toxic smoke; other risks include the stagnant water in tyres that provides breeding grounds for mosquitoes and leaching of toxic substances into soils. India has been recycling and reusing waste tyres for four decades, although it is estimated that 60% are disposed of through illegal dumping.
Carbon Black is an important ingredient to make tyres durable today. However its production is far from being sustainable. Even though carbon black is something you may not see every day you’ll be surprised to know how it improves lives throughout the world by adding strength durability and enhanced performance to products we all use such as automobile tires, plastics like those used in your mobile phone or the dashboard of your car; it is used in cosmetics, ink toners for printers and copiers, paint and coatings and the ink that you read in your daily newspaper. Isn’t it amazing how a mere powder is a common factor in all of our lives!
If this material is so useful today, then just imagine how important it is to consider the sustainability aspect in this business operation?
Today on Weekly GupShup with The Circular Collective we will talk about Black Bear(a Netherlands based company) who have developed a highly innovative process enabling the recovery of high quality carbon black from waste tires, thereby providing a sustainable solution for a problematic waste stream and preventing pollution related to the production of furnace carbon black.
Go ahead! hit play to know more :) .
We sincerely hope that you have been enjoying this special segment of Circular Business Podcast-India where myself and Piyush Dhawan bring to you amazing examples from the globe in the context of sustainability and circular economy where India and our citizens can take inspiration from.
Weekly gupshup will be an active thread on LinkedIn, therefore we urge all you listeners to-
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Welcome to part 2 of our conversation with Anita Varshney.
What does “leading with purpose” mean to you? Has your organization charted a plan to meet Global Goals yet? Or do you have a strategy in place for meeting the ambitious SDG targets set by your leaders? Do you have the right culture, mindset and teams which can effectively steer businesses towards driving sustainable change?
..well questions are many, and asking the difficult questions is a good start; having said that, taking the 1st step towards ACTION, COLLABORATION, EXECUTION, PARTNERSHIP are equally important to becoming a socially responsible business.
In my view, the role of business enterprises in driving climate action is crucial because businesses touch the lives of the majority population be it their consumers or through employment. SAP is one such example where its purpose is to “help the world run better and improve people's lives” by empowering their customers to create a better economy, society, and environment for the world.
This week on Circular Business Podcast-India, we have with us Anita Varshney- Global Vice President, Strategy SAP S/4HANA Sustainability. She is working on SAP’s strategy on Sustainability Management across their product portfolio, working closely with experts, and industry leaders. She is driving collaboration with SAP’s partners and wider ecosystem, accelerating innovation and delivering customer success on their sustainability ambitions.
Her passion for sustainable change, transformation, and systems thinking is awe inspiring and equally contagious. So go ahead, hit play and tune in to our conversation with Anita.
P.S : We have split the conversation into a two part episode because we want all our listeners to stay glued till the end ;) . So do remember to listen to both Part 1 & Part 2 of this conversation.
Lastly, this episode has been curated in collaboration with my fabulous co-host & fellow environment crusader Prerana Tirodkar who has recently launched “The Green Gen Podcast” .
If any of our content has given you a EUREKA moment! Then why keep it to yourself?
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Keep the conversation on by commenting on our posts on social media;
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What does “leading with purpose” mean to you?
Has your organization charted a plan to meet Global Goals yet? Or do you have a strategy in place for meeting the ambitious SDG targets set by your leaders?
Do you have the right culture, mindset and teams which can effectively steer businesses towards driving sustainable change?
..well questions are many, and asking the difficult questions is a good start; having said that, taking the 1st step towards ACTION, COLLABORATION, EXECUTION, PARTNERSHIP are equally important to becoming a socially responsible business.
In my view, the role of business enterprises in driving climate action is crucial because businesses touch the lives of the majority population be it their consumers or through employment. SAP is one such example where its purpose is to “help the world run better and improve people's lives” by empowering their customers to create a better economy, society, and environment for the world.
This week on Circular Business Podcast-India, we have with us Anita Varshney- Global Vice President, Strategy SAP S/4HANA Sustainability. She is working on SAP’s strategy on Sustainability Management across their product portfolio, working closely with experts, and industry leaders. She is driving collaboration with SAP’s partners and wider ecosystem, accelerating innovation and delivering customer success on their sustainability ambitions.
Her passion for sustainable change, transformation, and systems thinking is awe inspiring and equally contagious. So go ahead, hit play and tune in to our conversation with Anita.
P.S : We have split the conversation into a two part episode because we want all our listeners to stay glued till the end ;) . So do remember to listen to both Part 1 & Part 2 of this conversation.
Lastly, this episode has been curated in collaboration with my fabulous co-host & fellow environment crusader Prerana Tirodkar who has recently launched “The Green Gen Podcast” .
If any of our content has given you a EUREKA moment! Then why keep it to yourself?
-
Keep the conversation on by commenting on our posts on social media;
-
Follow our page- Circular Business Podcast-India
-
Like | Share | Subscribe to our podcast and please rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcast!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
In the traditional linear economic model, when a resource serves its purpose, it’s thrown out or warehoused where it slowly depreciates in value. However, in the circular economy, materials are given a new purpose and thrusted back into a useful cycle thereby building a new economic capital through regeneration and giving businesses a competitive advantage. Today's episode is about "Rheaply" a company that enables possibility for an industrial symbiosis in its own unique way.
Does your organisation possess a large inventory of surplus assets with untapped value? If yes, then this episode might be your opportunity to make a difference within your industry. Rheaply's Asset Exchange Manager makes it easier to discover, locate, and transfer assets to appropriate stakeholders in the supply chain, thereby enabling organizations to take timely & appropriate action for end-of-life/aftermarket supply chains.
Go ahead! hit play and prepare to be amazed :) .
We sincerely hope that you have been enjoying this special segment of Circular Business Podcast-India where myself and Piyush Dhawan bring to you amazing examples from the globe in the context of sustainability and circular economy where India and our citizens can take inspiration from.
Weekly gupshup will be an active thread on LinkedIn, therefore we urge all you listeners to-
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Join us in a conversation by commenting on our posts; (click on this link)
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Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast-India & The Circular Collective )
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Like | Share | Subscribe to our podcast and please rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcast!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Welcome to the 5th episode of Weekly Gupshup with Circular Collective where we dive into circular subscription model with the example of VIGGA . Parents across the globe are very well aware of how expensive & unsustainable kids & maternity clothing can be, however our episode today brings to you a possibility of fashionable, trendy, affordable yet sustainable kids & maternity wear. Yes! this blend does exist and is already in practice. This Danish startup VIGGA has founded an award-winning business model for a circular economy in the textile industry. The VIGGA™ product & service system enables parents to lease organic children's wear thereby saving time, money and planet's resources.
VIGGA is on a mission to fight "the throw away society". To learn more about this Hit play and prepare to be amazed!
We hope you have been enjoying this special segment of Circular Business Podcast-India where myself and Piyush Dhawan bring to you amazing examples from the globe in the context of sustainability and circular economy..they are world examples which India and our citizens can take inspiration from and drive change.
Weekly gupshup will be an active thread on LinkedIn, therefore we urge all you listeners to-
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Join us in a conversation by commenting on our posts; (click on this link)
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Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast-India & The Circular Collective )
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Like | Share | Subscribe to our podcast and please rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcast!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Hey everyone! Welcome back to Circular Business Podcast-India..a series where we simplify and view Circular Economy from the Indian context. I’m your host and dost Sreepriya Sridharan and we wish you all a fantastic 2021 ahead!
If you believe that economic progress can go hand in hand with environment regeneration then go ahead and hit the subscribe button because this content is just right for you.
On today’s show I have with me Mohammad Aatish Khan & Snehal Verma co-founders of NatureDots where they are blending natural intelligence with artificial intelligence to create climate resilient sustainable fisheries. Their dream is to capture the pulse of all the water ecosystems in the World! Their hard-tech product AquaNurch® combines the power of ‘Nature-based+DeepTech’ for delivering end-to-end aquaculture solutions in emerging economies towards instituting climate resilient sustainable fisheries. Ensuring high revenue with ease to aqua farmers and healthy protein for all. You can reach them on https://naturedots.com/aquanurch/ & reachus@naturedots.com
Our current economic model puts an unhealthy pressure on the fishing and aquaculture sector by pushing them to capture and produce as much fish as possible, as quickly as possible and for the lowest possible cost.
The collateral damage caused by Fishing and aquaculture on the environment is not a common knowledge! The way this industry is run today..leads to:
- Over-exploitation of targeted fish-stocks
- It Disrupts the ecosystems of non-targeted and farmed species
- It Contributes to marine/aquatic pollution
- Lastly..the machines used to catch, trade, auction and market these fishes run on fossil fuels which are finite in nature and in so doing they generate harmful emissions and a greater carbon footprint.
Supporting local communities to design production systems that are regenerative by design and the ones that do not deplete fish stocks or damage aquatic ecosystems is the first step to building a circular fisheries economy. It will make fisheries activities and aquaculture more resilient, safeguarding the business for future generations.
So lets hear it from Aatish & Snehal on how they are driving this change in India!
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Here we are on the 4th episode of Weekly gupshup with Circular Collective. It's been a good ride so far. We hope you like this special segment of our podcast where myself and Piyush Dhawan bring to you amazing examples from the globe in the context of sustainability and circular economy..they are world examples which India and our citizens can take inspiration from and drive change.
Today we are going to discuss about Toast Ale.
Toast Ale are brewing quality beers by using surplus bread to replace virgin barley thereby helping the planet and people by reducing the demand for land, water and energy, and avoiding emissions.
One of the most frequently wasted foodstuffs is bread. As a relatively cheap product with a short shelf life, bread is chucked out at an astonishing rate, as supermarket surplus as well as in the home. Did you know that discarded bread can be used to replace a third of the malted grain used in beer brewing? Toast have hit upon a business model that could help this practice scale around the world. By actively sharing the recipe for their pale ale, the startup provides the basis for replication by other breweries in collaboration with Toast, adapting to local bread available and brewing traditions.
Hit play and prepare to be amazed!
Weekly gupshup will be an active thread on LinkedIn, therefore we urge all you listeners to-
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Join us in a conversation by commenting on our posts; (click on this link)
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Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast-India & The Circular Collective )
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Welcome to the 3rd episode of Weekly gupshup with Circular Collective.
In this series myself and Piyush Dhawan bring to you amazing examples from the globe in the context of sustainability and circular economy..they are world examples which India and our citizens can take inspiration from and drive change. Today we are going to discuss about ReTuna.
ReTuna is the first shopping mall in the world to be entirely devoted to second-hand goods. A title that earned it a place in the Guinness Book of Records in 2020! They are revolutionizing shopping in a climate-smart way. Old items are given new life through repair and upcycling. Everything sold is recycled or reused or has been organically or sustainably produced.
Hit play and prepare to be amazed!
Weekly gupshup will be an active thread on LinkedIn, therefore we urge all you listeners to-
1) join us in a conversation by commenting on our posts; (click on this link)
2) Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast-India & The Circular Collective )
3) Like | Share | Subscribe our podcast and please rate on review us wherever you listen to your podcast!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Welcome to the 2nd episode of Weekly gupshup with Circular Collective.
In this series myself and Piyush Dhawan bring to you amazing examples from the globe in the context of sustainability and circular economy..they are world examples which India and our citizens can take inspiration from and drive change. Today we are going to discuss about Winnow Solutions who are on a mission to connect the commercial kitchen, create a movement of chefs and inspire others to see that food is too valuable to waste. Winnow has been awarded the Tech Disruptor 2019 award at The Circulars. Presented at the World Economic Forum, the prestigious awards recognizes achievement in developing the circular economy.
Hit play and prepare to be amazed!
Weekly gupshup will be an active thread on LinkedIn, therefore we urge all you listeners to-
1) join us in a conversation by commenting on our posts; (click on this link)
2) Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast-India & The Circular Collective )
3) Like | Share | Subscribe our podcast and please rate on review us wherever you listen to your podcast!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Welcome to the 1st episode of Weekly gupshup with Circular Collective.
In this series myself and Piyush Dhawan bring to you amazing examples from the globe in the context of sustainability and circular economy..they are world examples which India and our citizens can take inspiration from and drive change. Today we are going to discuss about the the city of Venlo (NL) that embraced the Cradle to Cradle® (C2C®) principles as first region in Europe. In 2008 Venlo decided to build their City Hall as a shining example of C2C® design.
Hit play and prepare to be amazed!
Weekly gupshup will be an active thread on LinkedIn, therefore we urge all you listeners to-
1) join us in a conversation by commenting on our posts; (click on this link)
2) Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast-India & The Circular Collective )
3) Like | Share | Subscribe our podcast and please rate on review us wherever you listen to your podcast!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/circular-business-podcast/support
Many of us have seen the transformation of a fresh water reserve, into floating plastics or streets and beaches littered with garbage. Indeed poor waste management is an alarming issue in India today. However the good news is that, there are planet warriors working day in and day out to address this issue in order to drive change.
Today's guests are Divya Shetty & Vishnu Vardhaan, founders of CercleX & Pepaa whose vision is to enable brands to go Zero Waste To Landfill by working on closed loop systems in waste management in order to address climate change.
Join me in a conversation with these planet warriors and check out their tribe -> https://planetwarrior.mn.co/landing?space_id=2817563
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Have you been wondering how to make your company or employer circular? Are you evaluating as to where to begin your journey? In that case, you will be happy to hear my insights in today's episode, wherein I bring to you learnings from my research on the above questions.
Please do check out the below links of organisations I mentioned in this episode, who help businesses evaluate and analyze their Circular Transition Indicators. 1) WBCSD- https://www.wbcsd.org/Programs/Circular-Economy/Factor-10/Metrics-Measurement/Resources/Circular-Transition-Indicators-V1.0-Metrics-for-business-by-business 2) EllenMacArthur Foundation- https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/resources/apply/circulytics-measuring-circularity 3) Accenture- https://www.accenture.com/in-en/about/events/the-circular-economy-handbook 4) Forum For The Future- https://www.forumforthefuture.org/the-circular-economy-business-model-toolkit
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In today's episode we will be talking about the idea of Circular Economy and imagine a whole new world running on the CE principles. Please do let me know your thoughts on the same.
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Most of the world around us today operates on linear economy i.e. it operates on a principle of "Take-Make-Use-Dispose". Think about it again, do you observe an anomaly in this system? I'm sure you are aware that wastefulness is a practice only amongst the human species. So let's understand how our economies operate today, and brainstorm on what could be the possible solution.
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Today's episode is about the application of circular economy to the world of ceramics.
Our guest Shashank Nimkar(https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssnimkar/), founder of Earth Tatva (https://www.earthtatva.com/) is trying to solve the problem of hundreds of tons of post-industrial ceramic rejects that occupy our landfills each year. Archaeology has shown us how ceramics stay put and take years and years to biodegrade, therefore causing a menace to both natural & industrial ecosystem.
Earth Tatva'ssolution reducesmining for raw materials, for ceramic manufacturing by 60 % . Their technology recycles fired ceramic waste, under a closed loop, zero waste, manufacturing process.
Shashank says that their product is 35% stronger and highly energy efficient when compared to industrially manufactured ceramics.
Join us in a conversation with Earth Tatvaand understand their journey into circularity.
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In today's episode we're gonna discuss the application of Circular Business Models to the glamorous fashion industry.
Our guest Kanika Ahuja- Director of Conserve India (https://www.linkedin.com/company/conserve-india-&-conserve-hrp/) & Founder of her fashion label Lifaffa (https://lifaffa.com/) is addressing the problem of plastic waste in her own unique way.
Conserve has developed a patented technique to up-cycle plastic waste from landfills into an attractive new material called Handmade Recycled Plastic (HRP).
Their vision is to combat pollution by efficient waste management and to empower one of the most vulnerable community of rag-pickers;
Their mission is to convert trash into fashion accessories with the help of their patented technology that relies upon HRP- Handmade Recycled Plastic at its core. Their complete production process creates an ecosystem that employs rag-pickers by providing ethical treatment and fair wages.
You can check out more details on their websites and social media platforms, links to which are in the description above.
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Dear Listeners,
Are you the one who believes that an Economic Growth is very much possible without Environment Degradation? then guess what! this podcast might just be a delight for you. So folks allow me to welcome you to my pilot project in Circular Economy domain. Just like you, I too was curious about "How can I contribute to a better environment?" and my quest for answers led me on a path to circularity.
My name is Sreepriya Sridharan (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreepriyasridharan/), I'm from India and in my observation, India today lacks an abundance of a free education & informative platform focussed on topics around circularity. Therefore through this series my vision is to create awareness on Circular Business Ventures in India, talk about circularity basics, associated govt. policies which support businesses and invite change makers from these organisations, imminent philanthropists, angel investors to brainstorm our way to a better future.
I hope that you will support me on this journey to walk the talk and Be the Change, we want to see in this world.
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