Waste to wealth

"In the second half of the 20th century we got better at extracting the earth's resources. Much better. So much better in fact, that for 40 years, despite demand for natural resources growing, the cost of those resources decreased. Not anymore. Since 2000, prices for the world's natural resources have been steadily rising. The old linear model of business - take-make-waste, where profit depends upon managing resources in the production of products - is not only environmental suicide, it's also business suicide. Businesses now need the 'Circular Advantage' - where growth no longer equals increased resource use, where products are regenerative by design and where resources move back and forth between production and consumption with minimal loss in qualityor value. By decoupling growth from resource use, organizations protect themselves from rising and volatile commodity prices, become more resilient to supply disruptions, and reduce their environmental footprint. They also extend their core customer value chain beyond design, production and sales into product use -- where most customer value is created. In Waste to Wealth the authors examine five new business models that provide circular growth - from deploying sustainable resources to the sharing economy - before setting out what business leaders need to do to implement the models successfully. They prove that Green and Growth are not binary alternatives - that there are ways smart firms can make fair profits while delivering great products to customers and that those customers will be able to use those products in a world fit for our children to inherit. "--
The circular economy may be about to drive the biggest transformation in business since the Industrial Revolution 250 years ago—$4.5 trillion in additional economic output by 2030—through a radical departure from the traditional 'take, make, waste' production and consumption models. Adopting a circular approach—decoupling growth from the use of natural resources—achieves two things: first organizations protect themselves from rising and volatile commodity prices, become more resilient to supply disruptions, and reduce their environmental footprint. More importantly, by extending their core customer value chain beyond design, production and sales into product use—where most customer value is created—companies begin to rethink their customer relationships, enabling them to create unassailable competitive advantage. Lacy and Rutqvist present disruptive strategies that help both planet and profit through the circular economy. They set out five business models that promote circular growth alongside the technologies and capabilities required to turn them into competitive advantage – from deploying sustainable resources to the sharing economy – each illustrated with case studies that examine the key challenges and suggestions to help organizations scale their efforts. They offer you the Circular Advantage.Ultimately, the driver for adopting the circular economy isn't scarcity. It's opportunity. To derive more from resources and assets. And create products and services that are much more innovative, and responsive to the most important point in the circle: the customer.