We are often faced with alternatives or choices, prompting us to make decisions. How do we evaluate all these alternatives?
Making a decision implies that there are choices to be considered, and in such a case we want not only to identify as many of these alternatives as possible but to choose the one that best fits with our goals and objectives (Harris,1980).
Circular economy — Leading to complex policy decisions
In making the transition to a circular economy, we replace our current linear practice with a more regenerative alternative.
When such alternatives affect a country or an economy, their decision-making becomes quite complex. Public policy decisions are typically made not only considering criteria such as “value” typically measured through prices or financial indicators but also wider benefit…
Transitioning towards a circular economy, one industry at a time
Among a lot of the alternatives that we need to choose in order to move towards a circular, regenerative economy, the most impactful differences come from the redesign of upstream processes. Many of these involve a product or material redesign or larger industrial transformation.
There are some initiatives, which can create quick and easy wins in moving towards a circular economy. Initiatives such as product-service systems let you go a great length in achieving the fundamentals of a circular economy, just with the business model and process innovations.
Product Service Systems
Product-Service Systems (PSS) are defined as “a marketable set of products and…
Packaging — is a temporary vehicle to provide us the product that we want, safely and securely containing it at times. Other times, it is just an extra dressing that does not deliver value to the consumer, the supply chain that transfers it, and the environment.
How do we figure out what the alternatives are?
Most importantly, for businesses, how do we decouple, or isolate value brought about with packaging, so that we realise what alternatives to recouple it with, to deliver the same value.
Aligning with the principles of a circular economy, there are a few primary checks businesses can do.
Possibilities to explore
The possibilities explored would differ based on the openness to find solutions influencing a bigger system or a boundary, depending on whether;
1. there is a decision to use packaging material
2. there is a decision to question the fundamentals deeper to understand the…
Circular Economy has become a familiar buzzword over the last decade, and recently we observed a range of definitions developed to describe it. Research done in 2017 found that there are 114 definitions to describe a circular economy. The question is which is legitimate and which is not. Let’s first explore the ideas proposed by the major proponents of the circular economy.
Schools of thought and concepts embedded in the idea of a circular economy
Ellen McArthur Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that globally advocates principles of a circular economy, states that there are seven schools of thought that have contributed to shaping the concept.
Each of these represents different principles, some relating to…
How do you play well when you’re losing?
Novak Djokovic, the Grand Slam champion holding №1 position in tennis globally, recently had the most unexpected encounter in the US Open. Accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball, he was disqualified from the tournament, leaving an empty spot for a new champion to emerge.
Why Novak Djokovic is being cited as an example is not because of how he faced this rare occurrence, but because of an attribute, he is famous for in playing long and hard games of tennis to win 17 Grand Slam champions to be #1 in the world.
He is known as a person…
How many disposable nappies would a baby wear during the first few years before being toilet trained? It is an alarming amount close to 4000–6000.
To make matters worse, used nappies are mixed waste. When mixed with human excreta used nappies cannot be directly recycled as plastic waste. As with many other absorbent hygiene products (AHP), such as menstrual absorbents and adult continence products bearing both biological and plastic waste, there exists a challenge when recycling or managing end of life stage of disposable baby nappies.
Mayuri Wijayasundara
Expertise in strategy and transformaion, Believe in infinite growth in a finite world, Ex-business professional, now academic and consultant
