How can you make sure your circular economy is fair to everyone?

A circular economy is a system that aims to eliminate waste and keep resources in use for as long as possible. It can offer many benefits for the environment, the economy, and society, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, creating new jobs, and improving well-being. However, a circular economy also poses some challenges and risks, especially for the people who are most vulnerable and marginalized. How can you make sure your circular economy is fair to everyone? Here are some tips and best practices to consider.

1 Understand the impacts

The first step is to understand how your circular economy activities affect different groups of people, both directly and indirectly. For example, if you are designing a product or service that uses recycled materials, you need to know where those materials come from, who collects them, how they are processed, and who benefits from them. You also need to consider how your product or service affects the users, the workers, the communities, and the ecosystems involved. You can use tools such as life cycle assessment, social impact assessment, and stakeholder mapping to help you identify and measure the impacts.

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Randy Burns

Chief Administrative & Sustainability Officer at O-I Glass, Inc. | Operational Excellence | Sustainability | Communications | Public Affairs
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We make glass bottles. Our plants are often in more rural locations. Many of these communities do not have glass recycling. We source recycled glass, often, from the more distant metropolitan areas--sometimes even out of state. So we developed a program to experiment with creating a local glass collection programs, e.g. providing drop off containers. And we are developing technologies to help us "process" this glass at the factory to increase circularity and remove inefficiencies.

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2 Engage with stakeholders

The second step is to engage with the people who are affected by or interested in your circular economy activities. This means not only informing them about your plans and goals, but also listening to their needs, preferences, opinions, and concerns. You can use methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, workshops, and co-creation sessions to involve them in your decision-making and design processes. By engaging with stakeholders, you can build trust, gain insights, foster collaboration, and ensure that your circular economy activities are relevant and responsive to their expectations and aspirations.

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Randy Burns

Chief Administrative & Sustainability Officer at O-I Glass, Inc. | Operational Excellence | Sustainability | Communications | Public Affairs
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For our local glass collection program mentioned above, we partner with the local community closely. They help promote the program with residents and often contribute to some of the logistics necessary to move the glass from the collection locations to aggregation points. The helps build muscle-memory on recycling and contributes to a strengthening of the community resources. In some programs, we also donate to local charities in amounts based on the weight of the glass collected.

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3 Address the trade-offs

The third step is to address the trade-offs that may arise from your circular economy activities. Sometimes, what is good for the environment may not be good for the people, or vice versa. For example, if you are extending the lifespan of a product, you may reduce the environmental impact, but you may also reduce the income and employment opportunities for the people who make or sell new products. You need to balance the environmental, economic, and social aspects of your circular economy activities, and find ways to minimize the negative impacts and maximize the positive impacts for everyone. You can use frameworks such as the triple bottom line, the doughnut model, or the sustainable development goals to help you align your circular economy activities with the broader goals of sustainability and equity.

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Randy Burns

Chief Administrative & Sustainability Officer at O-I Glass, Inc. | Operational Excellence | Sustainability | Communications | Public Affairs
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Some criticisms of our local programs revolve around disruption to existing recycling practices. Sometimes, collecting the glass (or other materials) locally removes some valuable materials from existing recycling programs, which can impact those businesses. To limit those impacts or avoid them, bringing all of the stakeholders to the table to assess the inefficiencies and improvements helps avoid unproductive disruptions. Circular processes, and sustainability in general, requires collaboration. Acting independently often is very similar to a single-use mentality and results in the same undesirable outcomes.

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4 Share the value

The fourth step is to share the value that is created by your circular economy activities. This means not only distributing the financial benefits, but also the non-financial benefits, such as knowledge, skills, health, well-being, and empowerment. You need to ensure that the people who contribute to your circular economy activities, especially the ones who are often overlooked or exploited, receive a fair share of the value that they help create. You can use strategies such as inclusive business models, social enterprises, cooperatives, and community-based initiatives to help you share the value with your stakeholders.

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5 Learn and improve

The fifth step is to learn from your circular economy activities and improve them over time. This means not only monitoring and evaluating your performance, but also collecting and analyzing feedback, identifying and solving problems, and exploring and testing new ideas. You need to adopt a culture of learning and innovation, and be open to change and adaptation. You can use tools such as indicators, dashboards, reports, and audits to help you track and communicate your progress. You can also use methods such as experiments, pilots, and prototypes to help you learn and improve your circular economy activities.

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6 Inspire others

The sixth and final step is to inspire others to join you in your circular economy journey. This means not only sharing your stories and successes, but also your challenges and failures, your insights and lessons, and your vision and values. You need to communicate and collaborate with others who are interested in or working on circular economy, and learn from their experiences and perspectives. You can use platforms such as blogs, podcasts, webinars, and events to help you reach and engage with your audience. You can also use networks such as associations, coalitions, and movements to help you connect and cooperate with other circular economy actors.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you make sure your circular economy is fair to everyone?

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1 Understand the impacts

2 Engage with stakeholders

3 Address the trade-offs

4 Share the value

5 Learn and improve

6 Inspire others

7 Here’s what else to consider

Sustainability

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How can you make sure your circular economy is fair to everyone?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Understand the impacts

2 Engage with stakeholders

3 Address the trade-offs

4 Share the value

5 Learn and improve

6 Inspire others

7 Here’s what else to consider

Sustainability

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