This blog post has initially been written and posted by Fairphone.
It’s perfectly normal to rent an apartment. And plenty of people lease cars. But would you ever consider doing the same with a phone? What would the ideal business model be? What are the benefits for Fairphone and our community? That’s what we’re working to uncover with our recent research and a new pilot project.
[cta link="https://www.circle-economy.com/the-circular-phone"]Download the report[/cta]
17 January 2018, Amsterdam. This month ecos and Circle Economy are launching the Circular Cities Switzerland project that aims to expand the breadth and depth of the circular economy dialogue in Switzerland. The project focuses on the development of tangible circular strategies in the cities of Bern and Basel - two of Switzerland's most iconic and forward-thinking cities. The 'Circular Cities Switzerland' project is supported by MAVA, a family-led philanthropic foundation, with a key focus on sustainable economy. The 'Circular Cities Switzerland' project runs for 8 months and aims to systematically prepare the ground to implement compelling and internationally visible circular economy projects. These so‐called “lighthouse projects” will demonstrate the economic, social and environmental benefits of the circular economy and accelerate the narrative at a national level.
“I am excited that we have been able to create this partnership between ecos and Circle Economy in which we bring together leading expertise on the topic of the circular economy and sustainable development. The partnership will demonstrate how Swiss cities can join the exciting journey towards circular material flows”, said Holger Schmid, Director Sustainable Economy, at MAVA.
The Circular Cities Switzerland project will firstly provide a baseline analysis and strategy development using Circle Economy's Circle City Scan to bring together key municipal and local business stakeholders, guiding them step-by-step from orientation to implementation toward the practical realization of a circular city.
"We are proud to be part of this partnership and grateful for the support of MAVA, which will allow us to accelerate and advance our work by combining CE's methodology and ecos' local expertise to solve the most pressing challenges to cities of our time" said Marc de Wit, Director Strategic Alliances, at Circle Economy.
After the analysis and strategy development process the project will prepare local businesses to implement circular strategies. The outputs of the Circle City Scan will give the most progressive Swiss cities and their stakeholders practical tools and knowledge to set an explicit “circular city agenda”, and take first meaningful steps with local stakeholders to realize new forms of collaboration between businesses, the government, NGOs, and citizens. All learnings will be captured in a handbook that provides a sound framework to start implementation of the circular economy in Swiss Cities.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is in full swing. Enormous leaps in computing, connectivity, and nano-, digi-, and bio-technologies are not only radically changing how we go about our daily lives, but fundamentally opening up new possibilities to propel the transition to the circular economy. The increasingly ‘smart’ world that we find ourselves in is allowing us to track and process vast quantities of data about our appliances, homes and grids, dramatically increasing the material and energy efficiencies of our cities. Blockchain technology is enabling fully decentralised and sustainable systems and our constant connectivity is a breeding ground for sharing platforms. From modular smartphones to modular buildings, the circular city is rapidly taking shape around us. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is fueling this transition, and the unwavering progress we’re making is only broadening our circular horizons.However, they are also creating volatility in the job market.The very same technological developments that are expanding the possibilities for circular cities are also significantly destabilising labour markets the world over. With each passing year, the surging advancements of technologies are encroaching on our roles within the job market and labour, once exclusively performed by humans, is increasingly becoming automated. This volatility also comes at a time when broader patterns of globalisation and demographic changes are compounding these structural shifts in employment and fundamentally transforming the type of work to be done, where it is done, and who it is done by. In the changing landscape of the working world, anxiety surrounding our place in the labour markets of the (near-)future is mounting. With these macro movements showing no signs of slowing, we must pay concerted attention and ensure that we evolve with the changing landscape.Decision and policy makers must prepare for this growing employment shiftWhile it has never been more difficult to predict the future of work, this unavoidable shift serves to underline the importance of adaptability and resilience. In order to effectively traverse the transition these factors are vital. Appreciating this, policy and decision makers must be proactive in maximising the benefits and ensuring the stability of our labour markets. Naturally, it is difficult to prepare for a job market that may only exist in 20 years. Yet, stemming from this uncertainty is a growing recognition of the importance of ‘future-proof’ skill-sets; tailored to flexibility and adaptability, rather than rigidly teaching to the moulds of today’s jobs (which may not be there tomorrow!). Topping the list for most desirable skills for the future, according to the World Economic Forum, are creativity, social and people skills, and complex problem solving.[1] To keep up with our rapidly evolving economic landscape, we must re-skill and align our labour force with the future of employment.So what skills does a fully-fledged circular economy need?Systemic shifts in the way we do business will ultimately require a similar re-skilling of our labour force. A deeper understanding of the activities needed to support a circular economy is therefore an important first step in identifying the skills that urban policy and decision makers should be cultivating and investing in.Beyond what is typically thought of as a ‘circular’ or ‘green’ job - commonly associated with waste management or renewable energy installation - labour in a circular economy also reflects the design principles and new forms of collaboration that a circular ethos fosters, and as such, includes occupations that are as varied as they are connected.
Naturally, different types of circular activities require different skillsets. A recycling operative, for example - a core occupation of the circular economy - requires appreciably different skills than those of the director of a trade association - who can encourage greater collaboration between companies and help enable the circular economy as a result. Interestingly, the skills required for ‘enabling’ activities are often similar to those presented as the valuable skills of the future- creativity, complex problems solving, and people skills, amongst others. As the number of ‘enabling’ jobs continues to grow over time [2], so too will it become clear that the transition to circularity is not an isolated pursuit, but one that goes hand in hand with the development of a prosperous and resilient labour force. There is still much progress to be made for the future of circular employment. Undeniably, there is substantial room for the circular economy to grow, as only ~8% of jobs within the Netherlands [3] are currently contributing to this transition. Nevertheless, there is no blueprint for a circular city and each will have to venture down its own pathway to circularity. Ultimately, each city's unique ‘fingerprint’ of skills and jobs must be acknowledged and understood in order for them to effectively maximise the benefits of the transition. We must continue to measure and monitor circular employment within each nuanced context, understanding skill strengths and gaps. While technology will facilitate circular cities of the future, we must ensure that cities are still places for people. Decision and policymakersmust steer and align their labour force with the skills for tomorrow in order to be resilient in the uncertain future of our world of work. The circular revolution is in full swing, and the tools to create a prosperous transition are in our hands.
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References[1] Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2017). ‘Cities in the circular economy: The role of digital technology’. Retrieved from: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/Cities-in-the-Circular-Economy-The-Role-of-Digital-Tech.pdf [Accessed: 04/11/2017][2] World Economic Forum. (2016). ‘The future of jobs: Employment, skills and workforce strategy for the fourth industrial revolution’. Global Challenge Insight Report. Retrieved from: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs.pdf [Accessed: 04/11/2017][3] Circle Economy & EHERO (2016). ‘Circular jobs: Understanding employment in the circular economy in the Netherlands’. Circle Economy and the Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organisation.
This article was originally published in Circulate News, and written by Shyaam Ramkumar, our Knowledge and Innovation Manager.We are entering an exciting time in the evolution of technology: The Fourth Industrial Revolution. This revolution will fundamentally change the way we live, work and interact with each other. It introduces a whole new range of opportunities for societal transformation, with breakthroughs in fields such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, and blockchain that are further embedding technology into our daily lives to improve how we function as a society.Incorporating digital technology is essential for our society to accelerate the systemic shifts needed to create a circular economy, as highlighted in Circle Economy’s 7 Elements framework (see below). Utilising technology allows for greater knowledge sharing and collaboration, better use of assets and resources, and improved well-being for all, so we can achieve our economic, environmental and social development goals.
At the core of digitisation is the infrastructure necessary to connect everyone and everything, the Internet of Things. This involves deploying a network of sensors that collect data and provide greater insights into the flow of materials, products, and information. This data can be analysed to make smarter decisions on how we consume resources and how we design our systems.Take, for example, the Finnish company Enevo. The company builds and installs sensors that collect and analyse data from waste bins. These sensors provide information on when trash bins are full, allowing Enevo’s systems to optimise pick-up routes for trucks. As a result, Enevo’s customers report savings of 20 to 40 percent, thanks to a reduction in fuel consumption and costs related to truck maintenance and labour, due to fewer collections being made.Once such infrastructure is in place and large amounts of data are gathered, technological breakthroughs utilising big data analytics and artificial intelligence algorithms are enabling deeper and more detailed insights. These technologies bring together and process vast amounts of information to generate models and highlight issues that would not have been uncovered normally – or at least not without serious investment in time and resources.Another example is highlighted in the Dutch city Zaanstad. The city is built on reclaimed land and therefore the repair of foundations of buildings is a serious and costly problem. To tackle this issue, the housing authority Parteon worked with data scientists from Berenschot Intellerts to develop an algorithm to predict which foundations are in need of immediate repair. The project linked over 135 million data records on housing from the municipality and Parteon, data on infrastructure from Kadaster, weather data from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, and satellite data from SkyGeo. This data was fed into a machine-learning algorithm, which enabled Parteon to identify over 11,000 homes which are at risk, saving significant time and resources to repair these homes.Artificial intelligence at a more advanced stage has led to breakthroughs such as autonomous vehicles, which can fundamentally alter not only how we move, but also how we build and design where we live. Cars today are largely owned and are parked 94% of the time. With autonomous vehicles, cars would no longer be owned but shared across different owners. These cars would also be constantly driving around cities to pick up and drop off passengers, significantly increasing their utilisation, reducing the need for more cars, and minimising congestion in cities.Cities around the world are already piloting autonomous vehicle programs in partnership with various technology companies. One such example is nuTonomy, a spin-off from MIT, which has piloted autonomous vehicles in Singapore since 2016. Their initial pilot program had six autonomous vehicles, modified Renault Zoes and Mitsubishi i-MiEVs, offering rides from predetermined pick-up and drop-off points within a 2.5-square-mile radius. Since then, nuTonomy has partnered with local ride-sharing company Grab to conduct further tests and plans to launch a commercial service in 2018.[caption id="attachment_13935" align="aligncenter" width="458"]
Source: Nutonomy[/caption]The last example is an emerging technology that is getting increased attention in the media and hashuge potential to accelerate the transition to a circular economy – blockchain. Beyond being the foundational technology for cryptocurrency, blockchain has the power to transform supply chains across a variety of industries.Blockchain essentially works by providing everyone with a public ledger, a record of all transactions that have occurred between different parties. Every time a new transaction occurs, the public ledger is automatically updated and everyone is instantly notified. The technology primarily aims to address issues of trust and transparency between parties. When applied to supply chains, this technology can fundamentally transform how various actors interact.To give you an example of how transformative this technology can be, we can look at Bext360. The company is utilising the Internet of Things, Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence to make the coffee supply chain fair and transparent. Coffee farmers who harvest beans place them into a BextMachine, which uses artificial intelligence to analyse the beans and grade them on quality standards. These are then recorded on the blockchain to instantly track and monitor which farm and which farmer should be paid and how much. The farmers are then paid digitally via a mobile app.From there, the beans are tracked and traced all the way from the farm to roasters to retailers to consumers. Each of these transactions is recorded on the blockchain and made available to all parties, allowing the entire chain to use the data to optimise supply chain inefficiencies, increase compensation to farmers, and enable consumers to truly understand where their products come from.When applied to other industries, this technology has the ability to dramatically increase transparency, reduce transaction costs for verification and certification, enable smart contracting and inventory accounting, and ensure fair payments across the value chain.More examples of how digital technology is advancing the circular economy can be found on Circle Economy’s Knowledge Hub. However, while technology has a massive transformative power to advance the circular economy, proper planning is needed. Technology is by no means a silver bullet, but merely an enabler.As we increasingly utilise and incorporate digital technologies, various policies, ethical questions, and unintended consequences need to be discussed and evaluated. We need to consider the use and consequences of digital technology in the long-term so we ensure that these technologies truly lead to circular outcomes and do not just improve linear efficiency.Catch up with Shyaam's Disruptive Innovation Festival's session, available online until January 4th
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