I’m very pleased to see the recent push from Philips to highlight the importance of implementing a “Circular Economy.”
I’m particularly thrilled with the comments coming directly from the top, Philips’ CEO Frans van Houten:
“For a sustainable world, the transition from a linear to a circular economy is a necessary boundary condition. A circular economy requires innovation in the areas of material; component and product reuse, as well as related business models. By using materials more effectively economic growth will eventually be decoupled from the use of natural resources and ecosystems. In such an economy, the lower use of raw materials allows us to create more value.”
Philips has recently partnered with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to promote the concepts of a circular economy, performance economy, cradle-to-cradle processes, and biomimickry. Lots of great information there…inspiring to see the thought leaders mingling with such large corporations.
“The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was formed in 2010 to inspire a generation to rethink, redesign and build a positive future. The Foundation believes that the circular economy provides a coherent framework for systems level redesign and as such offers us an opportunity to harness innovation and creativity to enable a positive, regenerative economy.”
Philips also has sponsored a section of The Guardian’s Sustainable Business section. For sure, a bit of heavy-handed promotion, but still an interesting clearinghouse for what different organizations are doing around the world. A couple interesting articles include “How Philips is transforming its business model for sustainability” and “Intelligent lighting: designing with responsible consumption in mind“, which addresses the innovative practice of paying-per-performance, such as Thomas Rau’s “pay-per-lux” concept.
Lucept 