In this fast-moving world, there are a lot of things to consider for the average business. One of the more important things to think about is the implications of the business on the environment. Think of big brands such as Coca Cola and Pepsi who received such major backlash when their plastic bottles started showing up in the oceans and suddenly, the popularity of these brands dropped so fast that they had to change their whole manufacturing strategy. Even though some companies are now taking care to not be the cause of harming the environment, most businesses still do not know how to implement proper waste management. For these businesses,Y.E.S Full Circle Solutionshas come up with the best solution to solve this issue using the concept of Circular Economy.
What is Circular Economy:
To know what circular economy is, we have to take a step back and first learn what linear economy is. In most organizations and manufacturing plants, the process of linear economy is followed in production. This process has the following steps; Raw material are collected, transformed into products, used or sold and finally discarded as waste.
Circular economy however on the other hand can be classified as an Economic System aimed at eliminating waste instead of just dumping it at the end of its lifecycle. Instead of getting rid of waste at the end, Circular Economy takes that waste and reuses it to make new products through recycling. So instead of getting waste at the end, Circular economy will work towards ending waste!
Importance of Circular Economy:
The biggest problem that Circular Economy would solve is to reduce stress on the environment. It is no secret that pollution is a huge issue in the United Arab Emirates and without proper waste management in the UAE, things are only going to get worse. Implementing this structure in organizations will definitely bring about a substantial change. So much so that almost every single company is looking into this concept. Besides eliminating waste, Circular Economy can reduce stress on raw materials, boost economic growth and bring about sustainability.
“The world is changing. It is changing so rapidly that if we do not take the chance to make the right decisions, the consequences will be dire.”
The past year has been a challenging year for all and despite that, the world could barely standstill. With a pandemic on our head, we already had our hands full with climate change and yet, businesses found a way to operate. During lockdown around the world, organizations discovered an unusual yet functional way of operating remotely with zero impact on their strategies to deploy a circular economy model.
Currently, we are facing climate change that is a direct threat to humanity. International cooperation committees have joined their hands in funding and devising solutions that can power climate action plans to promote a more sustainable life for the generations to come. There have been many solutions, many executed, and many still under process. Everyone’s efforts are going to create an impact to combat climate change and to make that conceivable and efficient, a circular economy model needs to be adopted by industry leaders to promote greener solutions.
Current Position
Many industry giants are onboard building green solutions and encouraging the practice in their respective sectors by supporting government policies. When the legislators are facilitating the businesses to opt for green solutions, the chances are that the business would follow through with anything that saves their costs without degrading their brand.
Another important observation is that people are individually willing to achieve zero waste with composting habits and buying recyclable or recycled goods. Given that individual interest has increased, the businesses are more than likely to align their goals and operations keeping the circular economy model in the center of it all. According to the Science-Based Initiative, over 1,000 companies have committed to set emissions reduction targets based on science, and more than 340 have committed to set net-zero targets across their operations and value chains. The net-zero targets align with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F).
The awareness amongst the stakeholders of all the industries has risen ever since the governments have aligned their goals for climate action. In 2020, a pandemic triggered a rapid global response which indicates that fighting climate change is only within the hands of companies like YFC and others that are operating with a purpose to reduce global emissions and stop the impact of climate change.
Let’s delve further into these significant trends in the Circular Economy sphere that were observed in 2020 in different industries!
The idea behind zero-waste cities has been traveling around the world to promote a circular economy lifestyle. It involves a consistent joint effort, on a national & community level, to achieve such a shift in lifestyle. There are companies and non-profit organizations that are working day and night to spread awareness amongst communities regarding climate change. The need for sustainable green solutions and climate-friendly lifestyles has only grown by the day as the waste we produce is growing with it. Now, either we pollute and compromise the only planet that has life on earth or we try and do our best to save it. To do that, experts have come up with a circular economy framework that eliminates the factors causing climate change. Based on this framework, an idea emerged for zero-waste cities. To this date, it is considered as the highest ambition of the Paris Agreement.
What Is A Zero-Waste City?
The highest ambition of the Paris Agreement is zero-waste cities and it encompasses the idea that the sustainable and habitable cities of the future will ultimately need to be zero-waste cities. As the name suggests, it promotes the idea amongst the individuals to manage their waste by reusing, recycling, and reducing it to ultimately reach a point where they are not producing any waste. A zero-waste city model comprises individuals practicing a zero-waste lifestyle. Making everyday decisions that encourage consumption of materials that are sustainable and pose no threat to the environment. Every single person who is producing waste will adopt a smart and sustainable way of life to generate less to zero waste on an individual level. When there is no waste, there will be less burden on earth to deal with that waste. That is how zero-waste cities can combat climate change and effectively diminish GHG emissions globally for a clean and green future.
What Is The Potential Of A Zero-Waste City?
Sustaining a zero-waste city is quite ambitious, but it is not impossible. Currently, 2 billion metric tons of municipal solid waste are produced annually worldwide and the World Bank is estimating this figure to increase to 3 billion metric tons by 2050. Out of all that waste, 13.5% of it is recycled and 5.5% is composted. The remaining waste gets incinerated, dumped in the landfills or the oceans. This waste adds up to the global GHG emissions globally and it is estimated that the waste sector accounts for 10 to 15 % of the global GHG emissions. To stop that, individuals around the world and the countries who are facing first-hand effects of climate change are making an effort to change their lifestyle and make more sustainable decisions. An environment-conscious effort is bringing leaders and experts together to chalk out strategies to start developing zero-waste cities. With each step being crucial for this goal, many cities have successfully managed to call themselves a zero-waste city. With various technologies and advanced equipment at our disposal, it has become more convenient to become a zero-waste city. Moreover, biodegradable goods, packaging, and raw materials are easily available for users to make sustainable decisions.
Furthermore, bringing producers to accountability will also open doors for the production of sustainable goods and encourage waste management and utilization at the industrial level. Since much of the industrial waste ends up in the oceans it compromises marine life, causing a huge impact upon the ecological pyramid. Therefore, in a zero-waste city, industries will be producing waste that is either reusable or recyclable.
Managing industrial waste will be a crucial part of it all and YFC provides just that! It crucially deals with sustainably managing your waste Read more about it here.
Why Do We Need To Advance Towards Zero-Waste Cities?
The future depends upon what we do today to stop climate change. With so many technical conveniences, waste management could not have been easier than expected. Moreover, it is one of the primary services that city governments provide and is a sector over which leaders exercise significant authority. The leaders of the world’s great cities recognize that the bold action of waste management is key to making our urban centers cleaner, sustainable, more resilient, and inclusive. Building upon that, zero-waste cities are more than possible today and it is the right time to move towards such a circular economy solution.
Zero Waste Cities Around The World!
Although it takes years’ worth of effort to become a city with no waste, Sweden has nearly reached zero-waste levels after an impressive recycling revolution. Along with that, other 23 global cities have pledged to advance towards zero-waste. These cities include Auckland, Catalonia, Copenhagen, Dubai, London, Milan, Montreal, Navarra, New York City, Newburyport, Paris, Philadelphia, Portland, Rotterdam, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver & Washington D.C. The pledge concludes that by 2030 these countries shall reduce the amount of waste generated by each citizen to 15%, reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and incineration by 50% and increase the diversion rate to 70%. It is estimated that 87million tons of waste disposal will be avoided by 2030 if all these cities come through. With that, other cities will have to get on board with eliminating their waste by reusing, recycling, and reducing it. YFC has also taken the initiative to provide solutions for cities moving towards Zero Waste with Noida city in India the latest to undergo the project.
Conclusion
The zero-waste city is the one solution that is helping us fight climate change. By decreasing the GHG emissions on a global level, we are sure to achieve a sustainable means of life and securing the planet for future generations. Because if we continue to live as we do, there are high chances that our future generations will not have much to look forward to. With zero-waste cities, we are opening opportunities for more circular economy solutions and saving the planet for a sustainable future to come. YES Full Circle Solutions has pledged its solutions to help the planet achieve complete sustainability. If you have an idea that would help the cause, reach out to us so that we can do our bit in #DoingGoodToDoGood!
