Circular Economy

Climate Communication

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Climate Communication

This article is part of the 'Celebrating Circular` initiative and story collection that spotlights trailblazer Irish businesses making strides towards a more sustainable and low-carbon economy.

It aims to highlight the encouraging achievements of companies that participated in the MODOS circular economy training provided by Local Authorities to local businesses and supported by the Regional Waste Management Planning Offices and Dublin City Council.

Expert Insight

As Co-Founder of Change by Degrees, an online sustainability skill-building business, Madeleine Murray has been at the forefront of engaging companies and organisations in climate action and implementing sustainability strategies for many years.

She delivers the communication and customer engagement modules of the MODOS programme, aiming to help companies explore what makes a good story and how to use storytelling for good.

Smashing the ‘green assumption’

She warns that greenhushing, when deliberately concealing your sustainability efforts due to fear of being called out, is a trend that can set back climate action since learning from each other and seeing how others are taking steps towards this direction is a crucial element in shifting mindsets.

Madeleine explains: “I want them to find authentic stories so they can share what they are doing without drifting into greenwashing.”

“To be clear, nobody ever has the perfect story, but everyone has an impact and a mission. I try to focus on the power of using your influence, which can become your superpower on the market to grab attention and engage stakeholders.”

Madeleine Murray, Co-Founder of Change by Degrees

She adds, "Stories alone won`t save the world, but they play a massive role in steering attention, priorities and actions. We are social beings heavily influenced by other people and brands.”

When Madeleine and her team started developing training to get employees more involved with sustainability, they first wanted to smash the big ‘green assumption’ that it's all about the environment.

Breaking down carbon silo thinking

“We asked what colour sustainability is for you. The overwhelming answer was green. Then we started showcasing that sustainability is so much more than environmental issues, and it definitely involves social issues.”

Once they get to break down the ‘carbon silo’ thinking, it opens up a library of stories that shines a light on how multidimensionally sustainability can be.

Although she admits that it is an uphill battle to position sustainability as a core business issue.

“People are distracted by the day job – meeting targets, scaling, HR, finance – a million things that can take the place of sustainability, so one of the most important things is to make businesses realise that this is an overarching theme that will guide actions on all fronts.”

Learn more about the Celebrating Circular initiative!

The 'Celebrating Circular` digital publication and online story collection spotlight trailblazer Irish businesses making strides towards a more sustainable and low-carbon economy.

Download the digital publication unveiling stories of changemakers and expert insights!

Focusing on the ‘human hook’

Madeleine shares that a critical part often missing from sustainability communication is the “human hook,” which could help people relate to a story.

She explains that some simple yet strategic steps can help companies find their authentic voice and tell genuine stories. She uses a model that starts with finding ‘The Ambition’ and identifying specific goals you want to achieve with a piece of communication. The more specific, the more you can target your message and measure your impact.

Next, you choose a definite audience and understand it to tailor your message. Ideally, you select the most influential audience that can have the biggest impact on achieving your goals.

Finally, you find your hook that resonates with your selected target group and craft a story in human language, making your message easier to receive on the other side.

“Certain things will enhance your success in telling your story, such as finding a relatable and lovable ‘messenger’ to tell your story besides having clear actions you want your audience to do.”

She adds that calibrating your communication also heavily depends on knowing your available time, talent and budget so you can set realistic goals and assign resources accordingly.

At the MODOS training, she shares many realistic real-life examples, examining potentials, tensions and conflicts between what works and what to avoid.

Revising language to engage audiences

One of the case studies she highlights is a campaign run by AnPost to promote green loans, where they used softer and more likeable language.

For instance, instead of saying ‘retrofit’ or ‘insulation’, they used ‘cosy’ and ‘upgrade’, which made their offer more appealing. Madeleine adds that besides choosing their words carefully, the other success factor was having a relatable messenger to deliver the message.

She believes that, in addition to showcasing examples, participants need time to internalise learning as part of the MODOS course.

“I like to pause and allow people to reflect. Awkward silence is OK for me, so they have time to digest and get back to sharing instead of swallowing it down. This is the space where real connections are built.”

Exploring synergies and spotting opportunities

Madeleine is inspired by the fact that participants typically develop an appetite to learn more and explore further opportunities after a training session she or her colleagues host.

While learning is essential, she believes the power of collaboration can play a vital role in boosting impact.

Since she has worked with a wide variety of clients across multiple sectors, she loves taping into her extensive network to explore synergies by connecting people.

Spotting opportunities is one thing that drives her to push beyond boundaries.

She says: “What I love about sustainability is the endless possibilities. Recently, I became a bit obsessed with AI, exploring how it can be used in our field of work. Maybe it’s the nerd in me, so I get to do more research. But in the end, this lets us go ahead of the market and help clients do the same.”

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“The circular economy is a natural manifestation of where innovation is going”

Szilvia Szabó — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 16:14:28 +0000

“The circular economy is a natural manifestation of where innovation is going”

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This article is part of the 'Celebrating Circular` initiative and story collection that spotlights trailblazer Irish businesses making strides towards a more sustainable and low-carbon economy.

Expert Insight

Declan Bogan is a senior consultant driving the training pillar within Goodbody Clearstream, which provides global leadership in corporate climate affairs, ESG, and sustainability services.

Over the last 25 years, he has worked on sustainability, innovation, and strategy projects across multiple organisations. As a business consultant, he gained experience and understanding of the fundamental drivers of innovation and design thinking across product, people, portfolio, and business model proposition elements, which he uses to advance sustainability projects and developments.

His colleague and Managing Director at Goodbody Clearstream, Brian O’Kennedy, was part of the original team of trainers who created the initial content for the MODOS training programme, taking on the introduction to circular economy and supply chain management sessions.

Declan Bogan, senior sustainability consultant at Goodbody Clearstream

Circularity requires business model innovation and system-level change

Declan now hosts modules for the MODOS course to introduce the concept of circularity and its business adaptation while covering carbon management and design thinking. He highlights that integrating sustainability and circularity takes a holistic approach that goes far beyond product development, as it is more about how you manage all aspects of your business.

“Becoming truly circular requires business model innovation and system-level change within an organisation,” Declan shares, adding that this makes it hard to get companies on board since they need to put time and effort into managing change.

In his experience, the circular economy has gained ground in the business world, but it is still far from being part of the core strategy.

Highlighting practical circular solutions to shift mindsets

He adds that businesses must first see the value of adopting sustainability to shift priorities, start thinking about how this could apply to their enterprise, and explore how to benefit from these changes.

“The circular economy is a natural manifestation of where innovation is going. Embracing circularity is next for innovative businesses,”

says Declan, explaining why it is crucial to present circularity as a solution for businesses.

This is one of his focus areas while delivering the MODOS course modules, where one element is introducing design thinking to help participants uncover the practical applications of the circular economy and start shifting their mindset.

His approach is to make circularity real through case studies that shine a light on what it means to adopt it at different levels.

“I aim to open participants` minds and prepare them more for the modules coming up later so they can better apply that knowledge and connect it with their own situation,” Declan says.

Learn more about the Celebrating Circular initiative!

The 'Celebrating Circular` digital publication and online story collection spotlight trailblazer Irish businesses making strides towards a more sustainable and low-carbon economy.

Download the digital publication unveiling stories of changemakers and expert insights!

Mixing different perspectives

Declan emphasises that these modules are more than lectures, as sessions take deep dives into practicality and peer-to-peer learning facilitated by world-class presenters bringing in multiple voices and a wide range of expertise.

“The richness of perspectives brought into the MODOS course through a unique selection of trainers gives participants a special advantage in fully embracing this learning opportunity.”

Since all trainers have worked in this field, they can share real-world experiences in different areas, also adding a touch of reality check on adopting change and implementing these practices.

With almost thirty years of experience in sustainability, innovation, and business, Declan is dedicated to being part of the solution and driving the transition towards a sustainable economy. He enjoys sparking change through education and sharing his expertise with more people.

Finding ways to make change happen

“What excites me the most nowadays is scaling up impact and finding ways to make change happen. I love the feeling of waking up in the morning with the question of who or what I will change now.”

The MODOS course is one of the many platforms where Declan passionately shares what he has gathered over the years and supports leaders in finding their own way of making a difference.

“I believe the energy Joanne Rourke and her team have put into developing the MODOS programme is a force for change, and it shines through the training.”

He adds that the programme definitely has the potential to grow bigger, along with its powerful vision of making businesses more sustainable and circular.

Looking into the future, Declan believes that access to finance and further support would make it even more appealing to companies to invest time in learning and upskilling in sustainability, enabling them to develop innovative services and products.

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“Without denying the challenges, we need to balance climate issues with a positive attitude”

Szilvia Szabó — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 15:54:25 +0000

“Without denying the challenges, we need to balance climate issues with a positive attitude”

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This article is part of the 'Celebrating Circular` initiative and story collection that spotlights trailblazer Irish businesses making strides towards a more sustainable and low-carbon economy.

Expert Insight

An environmental scientist at heart, over her career, Aideen O’Hora has created national programmes to inform policy and drive progress on corporate sustainability. She continues to contribute to game-changer projects.

As a Partner and Co-Founder of Sustainability Works, a consultancy firm offering practical solutions across sustainability strategy, finance, innovation, communications and reporting, she draws on her diverse expertise working in the public and private sectors.

She was one of the first experts to get involved with creating the MODOS programme, working on modules and managing processes as a coordinator to ensure continuity and consistency while polishing the content to make it more specific over time.

making a circular economy business course appealing

Besides gathering experts to deliver the training and develop the curriculum, they also had to work on a proposition to make the MODOS programme appealing to businesses.

“Although the term circular economy is relatively new, the concept has been around for a while, so my approach is to get businesses to relate to what is already there.

The reality is that companies are already doing some elements of sustainability, so the most important strategic approach for me is connecting the dots.”

Aideen O’Hora, Sustainability Expert, Co-Founder fo Sustainability Works

Looking at the circular economy as a whole might be too much to take on. Still, considering access to raw materials and the increasing cost of materials as a real business risk gives you a better entry point for integrating sustainability, as Aideen explains.

“The raw material challenge is more on the radar for bigger companies now, and closed-loop systems are making more business sense. This might not be because of environmental motives, but it doesn`t really matter in terms of impact. We take what we can to drive changes.”

Regarding the MODOS training, Aideen says the key to designing the programme was making it practical and having smaller cohorts that allow everyone to participate and learn from each other.

Learn more about the Celebrating Circular initiative!

The 'Celebrating Circular` digital publication and online story collection spotlight trailblazer Irish businesses making strides towards a more sustainable and low-carbon economy.

Download the digital publication unveiling stories of changemakers and expert insights!

The need for a ‘can-do’ attitude

They realised that participants might not use the “sustainability lingo”, but in reality, they are implementing many things, and sharing their experiences is invaluable in the learning process.

“This is the part when you see things applied, making you believe that it can be done, so we wanted to give space to embrace the power of peer learning.”

This ‘can-do’ attitude reflects Aideen's fundamental belief that we can solve the climate challenge despite the many obstacles we need to face.

“There are opportunities in this. Without denying the challenges, we need to balance climate issues with a positive attitude.”

Working with climate-tech companies is one of the sources that keeps her hopeful.

“I got to work on the Climate-KIC accelerator programme in Ireland that supports tech-focused climate solutions.

This is where you get to see that on one side of the equation, you have those challenges, and on the other side, you have inspirational and clever solutions driven by enthusiastic entrepreneurs.”

Contributing to society in a positive way

The question Aideen keeps asking herself, “How can I facilitate and help those with brilliant, innovative solutions to succeed?”

Contributing to society in a positive way has always been an inner drive for her, and she seeks that in every project she is involved in.

Besides working with entrepreneurs, Aideen sees empowering communities as another way to scale solutions.

She emphasises that once you make people understand the benefits and inspire action, it can become an energy exchange that spirals into a bigger change.

One of the projects she is most proud of was working on an Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) initiative aimed at empowering and enabling communities to adopt sustainable practices.

Starting from one community, they managed to build up around 600 communities across Ireland, which she recalls as an experience like watching an oak tree grow from a single acorn.

Collaboration being the heart of making change happen

Aideen adds that collaboration is at the heart of making change happen: “We cannot achieve net zero goals by working in silos. We need to look at opportunities to partner up and collaborate to bring out synergies.”

She says this thinking was also crucial in their work with the MODOS course.

“MODOS is not only a course for participants but also a template for multistakeholder collaboration that could set a precedent for what this could look like and how to harness the benefits of having various organisations work towards a common goal.”

Looking at CSRD as a change management tool

Aideen’s take on the recently adopted Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) EU initiative, which requires companies to report on the impact of corporate activities on the environment and society and audit the information they provide, reflects on her approach to spotting opportunities where others might only find challenges.

“I see CSRD as actually forcing change. If you step back from the obligatory part, you can see this as an incredibly transparent, supercharged risk assessment of environmental and social issues that can help us identify hotspots of opportunities and challenges alike. Based on the data, picking the areas that can make a difference would be possible.”

She further explains that once you get through the pain piece of reporting, CSRD could be used as a change management tool, allowing leaders to allocate capital towards hotspots with the highest potential to have a ripple effect on achieving net zero and other goals.

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“We need to make sustainability easier to understand and demonstrate feasibility”

Szilvia Szabó — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:50:40 +0000

“We need to make sustainability easier to understand and demonstrate feasibility”

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Resource Efficiency

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This article is part of the 'Celebrating Circular` initiative and story collection that spotlights trailblazer Irish businesses making strides towards a more sustainable and low-carbon economy.

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James Hogan has been an Environmental Consultant with the Clean Technology Centre (CTC), based at Munster Technological University since 1995.

His key areas of expertise include Environmental Management Systems, Resource Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Carbon Management, Renewable Energy, ESG and Sustainability.

Managing several national programmes, such as the Green Business Programme and the Green Hospitality Programme, gave him a broad overview of adopting sustainable practices in different sectors. In addition to these experiences, he is currently Programme Manager for the HSE's Green Healthcare Programme.

Resource efficiency as a low-hanging fruit for businesses

As one of the trainers in the MODOS course, he mainly focuses on resource efficiency and connecting the circular economy with practical solutions that can increase business productivity.

As James explains, resource efficiency can be the low-hanging fruit that allows businesses to taste the benefits of adopting sustainable practices.

“For instance, in hospitality, it doesn't really make business sense to throw out food you paid for, so reducing food waste means significantly improving your bottom line.”

James Hogan, Environmental Consultant at Clean Technology Centre - Munster Technological University

However, in many cases, it requires changing habits and expectations while creating new routines.

James shares that these changes can be met with some resistance due to formalities or traditional ways of doing things that we seem to hold on to.

“Simple things like inviting hotel guests to make their own toast instead of placing a basket full of toast on each table can make a difference. Still, you need to manage guest's expectations in order to shift mindsets and practices.”

Behavioural change as a bottleneck for change

He says behavioural change is a massive challenge on both sides – business offerings and consumer acceptance.

“The lack of time is the biggest enemy in making change happen. Businesses are busy running their operations, and it is hard to dedicate time to upskill and adopt changes.”

However, as James sees it, resource efficiency can help take the first few strides, as shifts are usually low-cost and provide a high return on investment.

Still, at some point, you need to train your staff and raise awareness among employees just as much as with customers.

This is where programmes like the MODOS training can help, as they allow participants to gain practical knowledge that can be applied right away.

Learn more about the Celebrating Circular initiative!

The 'Celebrating Circular` digital publication and online story collection spotlight trailblazer Irish businesses making strides towards a more sustainable and low-carbon economy.

Download the digital publication unveiling stories of changemakers and expert insights!

Keeping up with new routines

“The magic happens when businesses start doing it and seeing the savings. It becomes tangible and not just a concept, realising the actual impact, which can be highly inspirational and a driver for adopting further changes,” says James about why resource efficiency is a good place to start a sustainability journey.

He notes that a crucial part of keeping up with these positive changes is repeatedly training staff not to slip back into the old routines.

Mentoring is available to participating businesses to help them adopt what they have learned from the MODOS course, providing them with the opportunity to work on specific issues with the help of experts.

James has recently worked with Peter Marks Hair Saloons as a mentor after they graduated from the course to explore how to increase resource efficiency in their operations.

Measures included reducing hot water consumption by switching shower heads and using more efficient hairdryers to decrease energy usage, besides looking at opportunities to install solar panels in the future.

Exploring the untapped business potential of circularity

Promoting easy wins for businesses is an area where James feels more can be done to increase awareness and buy-in.

“We need to make sustainability easier to understand and demonstrate feasibility alongside straight-forward signposting regarding where to go to get support and take the next steps.”

Although circularity is getting more attention, there is massive untapped potential for businesses. To make it more mainstream, James believes senior management should be more involved and devoted to putting sustainability on their priority list, while shareholders could demand this and look beyond short-term profit.

Based on his three decades of experience, he says one thing that still encourages him is seeing that companies are capable of change and taking on sustainability as a way of enhancing their business.

“Most forward-thinking businesses want to do more once they get the hang of it and see the benefits. They want to keep advancing, keep getting better and move towards higher levels after harvesting the low-hanging fruits.”

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Reimagining milk production to make it local and circular

Szilvia Szabó — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 08:32:21 +0000

Reimagining milk production to make it local and circular

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Business practice

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Circular Business

Lately, the Circular Economy has made it to the mainstream business world as a concept of reducing and even eliminating waste and keeping resources in use for longer to decrease the need to use virgin raw materials.

An everyday product that you might not put on your circularity list, but many of us use is milk.

We conveniently pick it up from the shelves of supermarkets and then pour it into coffee or tea, using it for cooking or just drinking it as it is.

Initially driven by the notion of bringing the original taste of fresh farm milk back to people, Catherine Kinsella started Saltrock Dairy on the coast of Gorey in North Wexford. However, she also realised there`s more to keeping milk production and distribution local.

“Irish farmers are producing great quality milk, but consumers never get the real taste due to processing it to follow regulations and managing logistics.”

Instead of following the crowds to give their milk to bigger suppliers, she and her husband decided to take another road and invest in a self-service milk vending machine that allows customers to access fresh milk locally.

Catherine Kinsella, Founder of Saltrock Dairy

Since this system is based on the idea of refilling your glass bottles, there is no need to use plastic or buy Tetra Pak packaged milk anymore.

The vending unit is moved to different locations daily, and to make it even more appealing, customers can add a splash of extra taste to their milk, choosing from different flavours on site.

“Getting rid of waste and preserving the flavour of the milk is a win-win for everyone,”

Catherine says.

Saltrock Dairy provides a refillable system for people to enjoy the taste od fresh milk, avoid plastic and support local production. Image: Saltrock Dairy

Besides the machine, she also takes Saltrock Dairy milk to the market every Saturday, where she can meet and chat with people, giving her the opportunity to connect with them and enjoy good old-fashioned conversations that have traditionally been part of trading goods.

By running a small farm with about 72 cows, grazing while overlooking the Irish Sea, Catherine feels that they are not just producing high-quality products but reinvigorating the local community spirit, which could be the backbone of bringing simple yet effective circular solutions to life.

They aim to bring a full range of dairy products to be consumed locally with minimal packaging or food miles required without becoming mass producers.

“I don`t see us scaling the business nationally but instead creating a circular model that other farmers or even other industries can replicate. I would see this as a more sustainable way of growth.”

She adds that businesses are often encouraged and supported to scale geographically; however, to stay true to the circular economy principles, they should reconsider how to measure growth or business success, focusing on local and circular trade more.

Catherine further explains:

“I want to stay local and not look for expansion. I`d love to be able to prove that you can sort things out locally and that you can get all your dairy products locally. So, we are looking at expanding the product range instead of geographic expansion.”

Now, they are working to launch a range of butter and yoghurt to offer more within the refillable system. Butter is a bit tricky as you need some sort of packaging, but finding a sustainable version is a top priority for Saltrock Dairy.

This approach requires a long-term investment, expected to reach the tipping point in five years.

Meeting regulations and managing paperwork was and still is the biggest challenge for them to bring their idea to life and keep it running. Also, there`s not much funding available, according to Catherine.

Saltrock Dairy aims to design a local circular solution that can be replicated in other areas. Image: Saltrock Dairy

However, receiving a national circular innovation award allowed her to further invest in their model and keep working towards bringing it to the level where others can adopt it.

The Wexford Local Enterprise Office has been a great supporter of their work, and through mentoring and financial incentives, they eased the process of running a small business striving to create value locally.

To expand Saltrock Dairy`s reach in the region, Catherine is looking to collaborate with local cafés and shops, supplying fresh milk or placing mobile units.

“People have been removed from the land now for generations, and in a way, drinking farm-fresh local milk is reconnecting with nature. Older people also remember the taste, and they might not call it a circular economy, but they know the benefits of keeping things local.”

Engagement is highly important to Catherine, so she even visits schools, brings fresh milk, and talks with kids about where milk actually comes from.

“I want to make an impact on food production and how people see the industry since we don`t pay the real price for agricultural products in general, considering the amount of work and resources invested.

I would like to build consciousness around food production and even cooking.”

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Embracing the sharing economy with a practical innovation

Szilvia Szabó — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 16:43:27 +0000

Embracing the sharing economy with a practical innovation

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When you need to use a tool, the first thought that probably crosses your mind is to buy it, which in some cases means adding something to your storage space that you`ll only use once or twice.

The concept of a Tool Library is built on the idea that instead of buying and then not using things, you could borrow items when you need them.

Tool Libraries have gained popularity in recent years as a way of embracing the sharing economy, which is good for your pocket and the environment.

“Honestly, how often will you use a drill?” asks Anna C W de Matos, CEO and Founder of the Circular Library Network (CLN) based in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Her team created a solution that provides innovative self-checkout hardware library systems to municipalities and organisations worldwide and is in the process of scaling.

She adds that an average drill is only used for about 12 minutes in its lifetime but has thousands of minutes of capability.

Asking a friend or family member to lend such an item to you can be complicated, considering what would happen if something went wrong, potentially affecting your relationships.

Tool Libraries are offering an opportunity to share items instead of buying. Image: CLN

The ultimate goal of the Circular Library Network is to make it easy for people to borrow and share various items while reducing waste and promoting sustainability.

So let`s say you borrow a drill in our system. You can be sure it was checked before you take it, ensuring that it is in good condition, but also, you won`t be responsible for the tool forever. If something breaks, it can be repaired or replaced.”

This automated system is designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind, making it user-friendly, reliable, and customisable to meet unique needs.

At this stage, they are moving from being a tool library to becoming an infrastructure provider, helping other institutions to create their own sharing libraries.

“The way we are doing it in Reykjavik is if something breaks or needs to be replaced, we ask for a donation from the user and find the best alternative for replacement on the best price or second-hand item in good condition, trying to keep the cost to the minimum.”

Their user model runs on a subscription base, so members can check what items are available and use what they need, when they need it.

Founders of the Circular Library Network, Sébastian Nouat, Kristofer Henry and Anna C W de Mato. (from left to right)

The idea to design a borrowing system was born from Anna's experience of moving to Iceland in 2017 after living ten years in the UK.

“I realised that I don`t know anyone. I didn`t really have anything of my own, so when I wanted to put some holes in my wall and couldn`t afford to buy or rent a drill, I thought there must be a better way of doing this.”

She started to research and found out about the tool libraries, most specifically the Toronto Tool Library, which was at the time the biggest one with four locations.

“I contacted them and arranged a visit to Canada to find out more about running it and learn more insights. After returning to Iceland, a health issue forced me straight to the hospital, spending three weeks there.” Anna used her extra time to take action.

“My body was sick, but my mind wasn`t, which led me to start a crowdfunding campaign with a terrible website. But it worked, and by the time I left the hospital, I raised the funds I needed to start.”

In 2020, after getting an innovation grant to design a prototype, Anna approached Sébastian Nouat and Kristofer Henry to come on board with the development process, and they became Co-Founders.

Shortly after launching, they raised about 500 items to be added to their tool library, calling it Munasafn, which stands for collection of stuff in Icelandic and is about to change now to be called the Circular Library Network (CLN).

Initially, it was a struggle to keep opening hours, and when COVID hit, they decided to automate the process, trying to create hardware to match the software that could handle the lending and returning process.

“By now, we have developed a completely modular infrastructure that operates as a white label system, so once you become a partner, you can do everything for yourself, from branding to starting your own membership and so on, using our method.”

From the business point of view, they realised early on that they had to find a viable financial model that would allow them to work on this full-time and take it to the next level.

One of the first steps was to go through the Climate-KIC accelerator program for circular cities, which was pivotal in figuring out what to do with the whole idea.

They came up with a sort of franchise system that can be used by organisations such as actual libraries or other institutions and even other tool libraries that want to reach locations where they don`t necessarily have the human resources.

“We also developed our own social platform where our clients can get peer-to-peer support and access best practices, with an opportunity to contribute to a road map that would help determine where we are heading with the project.”

At this point, they are actively collaborating with five institutions in seven locations to build up their systems, including Germany, the US, Switzerland, and other places.

A critical area to handle in bringing her idea to life was finance, and Anna admits that it hasn`t been an easy road to secure funding.

She participated in several accelerators, attended dozens of business conferences, and went through a tough process to identify the type of financial solutions and investors that suited their goals.

“I spent a whole year educating myself on investment since I had to decide on funding, and after doing four accelerator programs, still, it wasn`t clear what we gain or lose with various agreements and conditions.

I did the Greentech Europe accelerator for women-led startups in Europe working on sustainability products delivered by Village Capital, which was one of the best I took part in as they did go into more details about finance.”

She highlights that it would be crucial for any founder to have an in-depth knowledge of financial options to make good decisions regarding funding their ideas.

Anna had to overcome many challenges and face many uncomfortable situations before gaining total confidence in the solution they offered.

Recalling the ups and downs of her fundraising journey, she says: When you start meeting with investors and pitching your idea, you need to learn not to take things personally.

"At first, I cried when they turned me down.

But I kept consistently doing it, attending business conferences and talking to investors and others while I repeatedly heard a standard sentence: `You don`t fit into our portfolio strategy`.”

One factor that made it difficult for Anna to attract investors is that their solution is hardware-based, and everyone is looking for digital software solutions.

“It is an overwhelming process, and no one will be there holding your hands, saying what you need to do, so you must become confident on your own.”

Battling her way through the investor landscape was a steep learning curve that led her to change her attitude and approach things differently.

The Circular Library Network is now scaling its operations in five countries. Image: CLN

Now, she can stand up for herself, seeing investors` relations in a different light, saying that you need to find the right match with an investor and let go of others who are not interested or don`t understand what you are doing.

“You will enter a long-term relationship with an investor, so you should better be on the same page from the start.”

She says that things take a turn once you cross that line within yourself to feel genuinely confident, not just pretending to be confident. But you need to go through getting punches and build yourself up.

Besides the personal journey, Anna also decided to focus on onboarding clients early to prove that this idea has a space on the market.

As it turned out, she was right, as they are in the process of securing funding to scale their model and impact while also looking for further investments.

Also, they decided to split activities between the NGO format and the social enterprise, which offers a great structure to focus on community building and education while building up a business model for selling the infrastructure for running tool libraries.

Looking at the following steps, she hopes they can build a team and expand their operations.

Introducing a circular solution is still not obvious, as everyone is still debating how a circular economy should work, but practical solutions such as CLN are definitely a significant step forward.

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Why e-waste cannot be ignored any longer?

Bronagh Loughlin — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 14:54:07 +0000

Why e-waste cannot be ignored any longer?

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E-waste

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According to the World Health Organization, e-waste is the fastest-growing solid waste stream in the world. E-waste, or as it is sometimes called electronic waste, refers to technological products that have been discarded.

The EU refers to this type of waste as Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), and according to data from 2020, 12.4 million tonnes of it was put on the market.

Usually, these products are thrown away because they are either near the end of their life, have stopped working, or are no longer wanted. Common examples of e-waste include computers, radios, televisions, and smartphones.

People discard electronic devices for various reasons, but one significant one is due to the arrival of upgraded technology and new devices.

The disposal of e-waste presents a variety of threats to human health and the environment since this kind of waste traditionally contains toxic chemicals.

These chemicals are safe to use and be around above the ground, but they leach from the metals inside when thrown into landfills. Harmful chemicals in electronic waste include lead, mercury, cadmium, and beryllium.

These chemicals can react similarly to plastic when they reach a landfill in that they can break down into microscopic traces. If these chemicals end up in our food, they can have adverse effects.

If e-waste is not disposed of correctly, it can contaminate soil and pollute natural waterways. Image: Freepik.

Electronic waste disposal could potentially harm wildlife and pollute our waterways, too, if the e-waste particles leak through the soil to reach groundwater, making their way into rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes.

Once they reach water sources, acidification and toxification occur in the water, causing the water to become polluted and disrupting biodiversity.

If e-waste is not disposed of correctly, it can also contaminate soil.

The heavy metals and flame retardants found in e-waste can be absorbed into the soil, which could risk crops and plants. The contamination can be so harmful that crops never regrow in the area.

These toxins can also potentially remain in the soil, continuing to harm soil and plant microorganisms.

When electronic waste is exposed to heat, toxic chemicals are released into the atmosphere, polluting the air. A study from 2019 exploring this found e-waste contributes to high levels of air pollution and is responsible for the highest level of heavy metal exposure to citizens.

Given the gravity of the e-waste problem, some tech giants and start-ups are already working to tackle e-waste to drive the circular economy.

Lenovo, for example, has committed that 80% of its devices will be repairable by 2025. They plan to use more modular designs and standard parts in their products to achieve this.

This will make it easier for users to replace faulty parts without replacing the entire device. Lenovo will also provide repair guides and spare parts to users to make it easier for them to repair the devices themselves.

Reboxed, a sustainable tech startup, is also working to tackle the e-waste crisis by rehoming 100 million electronic devices by 2030.

The startup received 1.8 million euros in seed funding and provides out-of-the-box solutions for retailers and businesses to accelerate the move to a circular economy.

They have built a leading brand and re-commerce platform connecting customers and companies with a better and more sustainable way to buy and sell technology.

Besides the environmental and health implications of handling e-waste, there are also many controversial issues related to raw materials used in electronic devices, such as human rights.

E-waste is a growing issue with multiple implications from harming natural ecosystems to endangering human health. Image: Unsplash

Every function of modern phones, from touch screens to sending messages, taking pictures, or simply charging batteries, relies on using minerals and metals such as cobalt, lithium, potassium, silica, and others.

More than 30 elements are needed to assemble a single smartphone brought from a minimum of 8-10 countries worldwide, dominantly from developing nations with no proper regulations or law enforcement in place to ensure human rights and environmental standards.

For instance, Cobalt is used in phone batteries and is also an essential material for the global green energy transition as it is used in other electronics and automotive industries, amongst others.

One of the most prominent cobalt suppliers is the Democratic Republic of Congo, where miners are exposed to dangers and children are still working in hazardous and damaging environments at mine sites, according to the Fair Cobalt Alliance.

Dutch social enterprise Fairphone recognised a growing demand for more sustainably and ethically produced smartphones and created a modular, repairable and on-all-front transparent version, successfully releasing their latest 5th edition in 2023.

The ever-growing problem of electronic waste requires unique and practical solutions. Technology companies need to design better products that can be repaired and reused. In addition, we need to ensure that more convenient recycling methods are available for consumers.

The EU Commission introduced new consumer rights for easy and attractive repairs in 2023 to ensure that more products are repaired within the legal guarantee and that consumers have easier and cheaper options to repair products that are technically repairable when the legal guarantee has expired or when the good is not functional anymore as a result of wear and tear.

The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional deal on the directive, also known as the right-to-repair, in February 2024, which maintains the consumer's right to choose between repair and replacement when a product is broken or defective.

The EU WEE Directive also aims to tackle this issue by setting rules and targets for the proper collection and treatment of these types of waste while helping European countries fight illegal waste exports more effectively and reducing administrative burdens.

The real smart move in developing the next generation of mobile and electronic devices is to look at their entire life cycle and what would make them more sustainable and ethical besides the tech-magic features.

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Szilvia Szabó ⬤ Author

Journalist, Editor

Building a pipeline for social and climate innovation in Portugal

Szilvia Szabó — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 13:34:20 +0000

Building a pipeline for social and climate innovation in Portugal

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Social Entrepreneurship

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Social innovation has gained significant attention in Portugal in recent years, with various initiatives, policies, and organisations focused on addressing social and environmental challenges through innovative solutions.

Casa do Impacto is Portugal's biggest impact entrepreneurship hub, based in Lisbon, incubating over 60 startups.

Inês Sequeira, Founder and Director of Casa do Impacto, highlights that since its opening in 2018, this hub for social innovation has put Portugal on the map of the impact ecosystem, gathering the resources and network to grow an impact venture.

It is a dedicated space where stakeholders contribute and collaborate to make the necessary paradigm shift in business, with over 3 million euros already invested in supporting social innovators throughout its activity.

The hub aims to create an exciting pipeline of innovative solutions linked with the 17 SDGs through accelerator and incubator programs and investment.

“Given the scope of Casa do Impacto's work, we intend to articulate the different interventions regarding their complementarity to constitute a "pipeline" capable of covering the various stages and needs of entrepreneurship initiatives and social and environmental innovation,” says Inês.

Inês Sequeira, Founder and Director of Casa do Impacto, Portugal.

They run accelerator programs, such as the Triggers to help develop and support innovative projects focusing on environmental issues while responding to societal challenges induced by the climate emergency.

“As part of the process, we offer access to training, mentoring sessions, exchange of experiences and case studies, and, in addition to rigorous monitoring of the work carried out,” Inês further explains.

Furthermore, participants can benefit from accessing an extensive network of program partners.

“At Casa do Impacto, we strive to accelerate change and focus our efforts on bringing solutions to life that are able to combine climate justice and social justice.”

Inês thinks we need to create conditions where socially and environmentally responsible projects can emerge, saying that providing proper training, for instance, can significantly enhance the chances of having more and better ideas that can be transformed into enterprises.

They aim to support the consolidation and expansion of innovative, environmentally sustainable products and services in the market to become alternative responses and thus contribute to a fair and socially balanced climate transition.

“Social enterprises can contribute to building a more sustainable and just economy in various ways. I believe we need to collaborate more, pilot new solutions, invest when they’re ready, and close the circle.”

She emphasises that social enterprises are well-placed to change the tide in climate and social innovation while playing a vital role in creating future jobs, attracting investments and inspiring change.

They are keen to create a supportive environment where collaboration with other social innovators, organisations, and stakeholders is encouraged so they can have all the resources, expertise and support to bring their projects to life.

Regarding funding, Inês adds:

“Access to capital through grants, loans, or equity investment can remove financial barriers and support the growth of these projects. Casa do Impacto provides these innovators with the necessary tools and initiatives to help pre-seed and seed-stage projects secure finances.“

A rising topic in the country is the circular economy, which could be the most potent multifunctional instrument to tackle the current triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity and pollution.

Social enterprises from the Casa do Impacto community are also embracing circularity, such as La Virgule, which upcycles discarded sports and outdoor equipment to reduce waste and transform materials into usable products or Matterpieces, which design high-end cladding material made out of inert waste from demolitions, like glass, bricks, cement, stones.

Circular Economy Portugal (CEP) is an initiative that aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in Portugal through knowledge-sharing, capacity-building and hands-on action.

Circular Pioneers from their community include Novonovo, a digital platform that helps the creative community to locate second-hand materials and products, reCloset, an online second-hand fashion platform and Vintage for a Cause, a vintage style clothing brand using industrial textile waste and support women through training.

Portuguese social enterprise La Virgule upcycles sports and outdoor equipment. Image: La Virgule

Nãm is Portugal's first circular urban farming project, producing mushrooms and natural fertiliser from coffee grounds collected in Lisbon. Image: Circular Economy Portugal

Portugal is also addressing the challenges of climate change with initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions, increasing the use of renewable energy, and promoting sustainable practices backed by governmental grants and tools besides EU support.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has recently announced that it will help to facilitate investments in Portuguese businesses involved with the sustainable energy transition, climate resilience, sustainable use of the marine environment and the circular economy.

One of the financial instruments launched as part of the Growth Blue I initiative involves a €28m blue economy-focused private equity fund, a trailblazer construction in southern Europe, according to EIF, allocating resources for blue economy investments with climate impact and sustainable development goals.

Inês looks into the future with much hope and envisions a new Hub in Lisbon where they can triplicate the number of projects incubated and promote more and more pilots with corporate and public organisations with Casa do Impacto’s Startups.

She also wishes to expand their activity to other locations in Portugal and scale abroad.

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Responsible Sourcing – Groundwork for a Circular Economy

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 17:17:54 +0000

Responsible Sourcing – Groundwork for a Circular Economy

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Responsible Innovation

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Creating a Circular Economy depends to a large extent on the sustainable sourcing of raw materials in global supply chains.

Resources such as rare earth minerals, copper, lithium and many others are crucial to sustainability, especially in the green energy transition.

The demand for these materials is expected to continue to grow substantially. To address this challenge, extracting these materials with the least possible negative impact on the environment and society is increasingly important before integrating them into circular economy systems.

However, achieving sustainable sourcing in global supply chains is a complex and challenging issue as companies, civil society organisations, governments, and countries have differing opinions on the best approach.

Besides, they must also comply with various specifications and laws, making sustainable sourcing legally binding to varying degrees.

While existing singular approaches and policies to promote the circular economy and responsible sourcing are becoming more established, there is still a need to strengthen collective action that recognises the interdependence between the two concepts and all stakeholders involved.

Harmonising fragmented sustainability approaches

The challenge of sourcing raw materials responsibly could be a bottleneck to mainstreaming circular economy solutions.

For instance, the mobility industry is strongly dependent on lithium-ion batteries in order to power the electric vehicles on the roads and run rails of the future.

Responsible sourcing of raw materials is essential in creating a Circular Economy and embracing clean technology. Image: Getty Images

On the other hand, the renewable energy sector is massively linked to rare earth elements and silicon to produce wind turbines and solar PV modules.

Meanwhile, the future of modern technology is built on the electronics and electronic equipment sector, which is intertwined with mining rare earth minerals.

Responsible Sourcing aims to harmonise existing approaches by promoting shared responsibility among policy, businesses, and civil society stakeholders across the global value chain to further sustainable sourcing of raw materials and promote circular economy practices.

The EU-funded RE-SOURCING project set out to provide a global platform for Responsible Sourcing of mineral resources in global value chains, connecting all key stakeholders in the mobility, renewable energy and electronics sectors.

Led by the Vienna University of Economics and Business and 11 international partners, this project offers a neutral, mediating space for collaborative solutions to advance Responsible Sourcing.

It can also subsequently contribute to global initiatives such as the EU Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The project’s main objective is to facilitate the implementation of Responsible Sourcing practices through direct knowledge exchange within its stakeholder network and beyond while advocating these practices in international political forums.

How does the RE-SOURCING Project facilitate action?

The Circular Economy is both an end and a means to achieve Responsible Sourcing.

Project partners developed roadmaps based on existing sustainability approaches, policies, and knowledge from key stakeholders in the three sectors most reliant on global mineral value chains – mobility, renewable energy and electronics.

The three sectoral roadmaps propose targets and milestones towards achieving the targets set in the EU Green Deal by 2050, each tailored to the perspectives, needs and priorities of businesses, civil society organisations or policymakers.

The roadmaps emphasise the reduction of resource consumption through eco-design, the promotion of extended producer responsibility and take-back schemes at all roadmap stages.

What makes the RE-SOURCING Stakeholder Platform unique?

Considering different stakeholder perspectives is essential for any ambition to deliver guidance for responsible sourcing.

At the core of the RE-SOURCING approach is a comprehensive understanding of the interconnections and interdependencies between sectors, stakeholders and sustainability initiatives to create a coherent and integrated picture of sustainability efforts.

The RE-SOURCING project outcomes include real-world examples, demonstrating that proactive and forward-thinking stakeholders can already achieve the proposed goals for the future through practices that already exist today.

How can the RE-SOURCING project help you embrace Responsible Sourcing?

As a policymaker, industry, or civil society representative, you can benefit from the project's many in-depth best practice examples, ranging from technology businesses setting up repair ecosystems to extend the life of their smartphones, to evaluations of the latest EU directives on responsible sourcing, to what to expect from the use of blockchain technology in supply chains.

Learning resources are publicly available in an open-source format, presenting the learnings from global supply chain stakeholders and gathering knowledge from international experts on Responsible Sourcing in various panel discussions

Key learning opportunities for the mobility, renewable energy, and electronics and electronic equipment sectors from the RE-SOURCING project:

Industry representatives

best practices in responsible sourcing
guidance for implementing successful business practices

Policymakers

insight into how international standards and regulations interact
broadening knowledge about opportunities for collaboration

Civil society organisations

ways to bring in unprecedented voices
counter greenwashing
exchange ideas with industry and politicians

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The state of Circular Economy in EU Research and Innovation projects

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 14:47:44 +0000

The state of Circular Economy in EU Research and Innovation projects

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The European Union invests about 10 billion euros annually into more than 4,000 research and innovation projects.

Circular Economy plays an increasingly vital role in these projects, leading to an emerging community of businesses, research organisations, and NGOs collaborating on a broad diversity of topics, such as food, waste, plastics, construction, manufacturing, biotechnology, product innovation and design, and circular business model development.

A recent research project carried out by Anja Grüll and Dr André Martinuzzi at the Vienna University of Economics and Business explored the characteristics of organisations within this community while analysing trends and assessing collaboration patterns.

One increasingly prominent topic in these funding programs is the Circular Economy due to its potential to mitigate climate change, promote sustainability initiatives and boost economic growth and competitiveness by creating business opportunities, jobs, and technological innovations.

Dr André Martinuzzi, Head of the Institute for Managing Sustainability, Vienna University of Economics and Business

Anja Grül, Researcher and PhD Candidate, Vienna University of Economics and Business

The Circular Economy is now part of all major EU strategies like the European Green Deal and driving transition through numerous policies and regulations, including the Circular Economy Action Plan, Waste Framework Directive, Eco-design Directive or the Bioeconomy Strategy, and Plastics Strategy.

For its last Framework Programme, Horizon 2020, the EU distributed a budget of nearly €80 billion over seven years between 2014- 2021.

This resulted in over 35,000 projects and involved almost 18,000 organisations from 177 countries.

In search of data

The European Union Open Data portal, CORDIS, has been the primary source for this research.

One of the main challenges was to identify Circular Economy projects partly because initially, the term Circular Economy was not widely recognised, though its goals (e.g., waste reduction, resource efficiency) correspond strongly with the concept.

As the concept and term of Circular Economy became more established, the EU created a dedicated Focus Area as an overarching topic across numerous themes in its third funding round.

Who is involved with EU-funded circular economy projects?

In terms of nations, the Circular Economy Network includes 92 countries, of which the following ones received 78% of the project funding budget: Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

The top 20 most prominent players in the Circular Economy Network come from the EU-15 countries, while Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as non-EU countries, also play an essential role.

The EU invested €4.8 billion into almost 990 Circular Economy projects, involving 13,300 organisations from 92 countries.

Figure 1: Based on research project carried out at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Looking at the organisational level, the recipients of almost half of the EU budget for Circular Economy projects have been for-profit businesses, followed by research institutions, then higher education establishments and public bodies, who take the smallest share.

Even though research institutions only make up 10% of all participants in the Circular Economy Network, they are by far the best connected, taking 70% of the Top 20 player positions.

They possess substantial resources and capabilities, participate in numerous projects and are, therefore, dominant in the network, serving as connectors and knowledge disseminators or knowledge hubs.

Meanwhile, the private for-profit businesses show contrasting results since they comprise 66% of all participants but are only represented by one organisation in the Top 20 most prominent organisations.

Due to data privacy issues, intellectual property concerns, and fear of losing a competitive advantage, private for-profit businesses are not as willing to collaborate with other private companies and prefer to work with research or higher education institutions.

Private for-profit businesses generally have a high participation rate and obtain a significant share of EU funds. However, they are not as well-connected and less likely to collaborate with other private for-profit businesses.

Collaboration Networks

By incentivising different organisations to collaborate on projects, the EU supports the emergence of networks around different themes, which is crucial for developing technological innovation and designing socially desirable products and services.

These networks develop dynamically and are shaped by different actors. Participating organisations may form stronger bonds and stay connected for several projects.

The more often actors work together, the stronger their relationship grows alongside the willingness to embark on future collaborative journeys.

Building solid relationships brings mutual support, improved reputation, access to resources, and increased collaboration opportunities.

The more connections an organisation has, the more it obtains a central position in the network, leading to increased visibility, influence, and competitiveness. Organisations that don’t have strong ties or a good relationship with at least one significant player will have a hard time creating successful project proposals.

The emergence of the Circular Economy community

Circular Economy projects in Horizon 2020 steadily increased each year in terms of EU funding, number of active projects and participants, and budget per project – in other words, the projects grew, and more organisations got involved, showing the uptake of the program.

However, there was a downward trend in the number of new players joining.

According to the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020, this may be due to a lack of awareness about the funding program, the application process's complexity besides intellectual property concerns, or a lack of resources or capacity.

In 2021, there were still 474 active projects, and all 9,000 involved organisations were linked to at least one participant in the main component, resulting in one entirely connected network.

Figure 2: Circular Economy Network Development

Network Centralization shows the existence of dominant actors who have a disproportionate number of collaborations compared to others. A small, strong core of highly collaborative organisations tended to expand their network, while the majority participated only in a few projects.

Hot topics in funding circularity

Circular Economy can be found in nine funding call themes, which differ in topic focus, action area, and approaches to circular solutions. Some are focused on forwarding industry-oriented solutions, while others are open to a broader range of diverse activities.

The biggest variety can be found in the EU Call themes CLIMATE and CROSS-CUTTING actions, which include multiple areas of activity:

urban waste management, housing solutions, creation of new technologies, development of circular business models, the establishment of circular supply chains and industrial symbiosis, design and innovation of circular products, promotion of sustainable consumption, stakeholder platforms, and advancement in knowledge and research for a circular economy.

These efforts expand over numerous value chains and industries, including manufacturing, construction, bioeconomy, electronics, water, batteries, packaging, critical raw materials, textiles and food.

The theme of Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies (LEIT) includes the parts of Horizon 2020 providing new opportunities for industrial leadership in Key Enabling Technologies (KETs), Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Space.

These are areas of key industrial competencies determining Europe’s global competitiveness and providing key components and systems needed for solutions to Societal Challenges.

This is now split into two areas.

In LEIT ICT, many projects aim to forward digital solutions across different sectors and manufacturing industries, especially platform solutions. Deliverables include dissemination of knowledge, the connection of actors across supply chains, and optimisation of processes.

Additionally, the focus of LEIT NMP* is the advancement of key enabling technologies. Its activities range from (re-)manufacturing and processing to creating sustainable materials and product life cycle enhancement. Included sectors are electronics, intensive industries, nanotechnologies, and biotechnologies.

Waste and waste management are paired with multiple areas like urban waste solutions, food, plastics and packaging, water, and agriculture, as these value chains are closely related.

*Nanotechnologies, Advanced Material and Advanced Manufacturing and Processing

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