BASF AG and CRH Plc are among 30 companies joining the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Factor10. The initiative seeks to advance principles of the circular economy, where the “take-make-dispose” economic model yields to one that is regenerative by design. Charter companies span 16 major sectors and report combined annual sales of $1.3 trillion.
| CIRCULAR ECONOMY ACTIVITIESALONG THE VALUE CYCLE |
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| SOURCE: “The Big New Circle,” World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Boston Consulting Group |
The Council announced Factor10 at the World Economic Forum earlier this year in Switzerland. Stakeholders aim to reinvent the way that business produces, uses and disposes of the materials that make up global trade. The ultimate goal is to move to a system where waste is eliminated and realize what management consulting giant Accenture estimates is the circular economy’s $4.5 trillion opportunity. By collaborating on solutions that go beyond business as usual, Factor10 will work to capture economic and sustainability benefits by implementing scalable solutions—where resources are used wisely, processes create the greatest possible value, and nothing is wasted.
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| A WBCSD and Boston Consulting Group report accompanying the Factor10 launch features case studies of circular economy exercises from LafargeHolcim Ltd., Skanska and 11 other companies. Toward a Plan 2030 goal of a reusing 80 million tons of process material annually, LafargeHolcim has applied circular economy principles to development, technical support and promotion of aggneo, a recycled concrete-derived aggregate. “The Big New Circle” can be viewed at www.wbcsd.org. |
Factor10 reaches beyond a company’s sustainability department and penetrates all operating functions, across sectors into full value-chains and beyond high-level principles into actionable business practice. This year, the initiative will focus on three priority areas: developing transformative cross-value chain solutions that unlock circular opportunities for business; generating circular economy knowledge to help business understand the landscape, best practices and leading examples; and, amplifying the business voice globally.