Sweden – ‘We have to redefine the rules of the game,’ insisted entrepreneur and author Günther Pauli at the recent Circular Materials Conference in Sweden. ‘Don’t we all want an economy that makes sense – a circular economy? I know I do. But statistics say that when you eat oysters, you will have ingested at least 50 particles of micro plastics.’
Addressing delegates in Gothenburg, he continued: ‘Doing something less bad is still bad. Polluting less is still polluting. Making fewer products that end up in our oceans is still not fixing the problem.’ Referring to the world’s failure to address the issue of ‘plastic soup’, he asked: ‘Why is that? Because we lack the speed of implementation. Naturally, change is possible. But what do people want? Proof – and not just proof, no, excel spreadsheets and reports full of shiny statistics.’
Obsession with efficiency
He insisted that ‘the widespread obsession with efficiency is hurting us’. Instead, Pauli advocated going from a focus on cutting costs to one based on generating value. He cited coffee used to grow mushrooms and creating animal feed clothing as examples of the vast potential of material applications.
In order to cash in on such opportunities, he said the next step was to translate such system dynamics into mathematical transparency. ‘It’s time we behaved like cockroaches,’ Pauli argued. ‘They eat anything, live anywhere. That should be us; we have to adjust, to be flexible. After all, we can’t expect the earth to suddenly start producing more materials. It is us who have to change.’
Pauli: ‘Let’s do more than make nice Excel spreadsheets. Let’s inspire future generations to embrace circular business models!’
A full review of the Circular Materials Conference will be included in the August issue of Recycling International.
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