The Circular Economy and Green Growth — explained.
As 2021 is a landmark year for sustainable practices, with the circular economy continuing to gain traction, I thought it would be insightful to talk about why these are important to me.
Circular Processes
Firstly, what do we mean by circular processes? The Ellen MacArther Foundation is a leading voice on this innovative idea. They state that:
“a circular economy is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.”
The key to the notion of circular is stopping waste from being created rather than simply cleaning up the mess at the end. This is tied to the connecting issue of green growth which outlines how we need to make decisions that consider our current needs, but also ensure that we consume responsibly, to protect those resources for future generations.
We also need to put the planet first given the rising threat of climate change and ecological destruction already being caused. This is all about finding ways to re-invent, re-think and re-define traditional business-as-usual practices.
- Put simply the purpose of the circular economy is to eliminate the way we engage with take, make and waste process.
- Paying more attention to the resources we use and how we could actively change our habits to minimise these.
Ultimate goal = Eliminate the way we engage with take, make and waste processes
Significantly, the circular economy aims to highlight the negative consequences of how we continue to take resources, make products and throw them away. Instead, the circular economy is all about making positive choices for ourselves and our planet.
These are defined as reducing, reusing and recycling. These are practices that we can all personally engage with, however, they need to be done at national and global levels for systemic change to be possible. The good news is that we all have a part to play.
How can we do this?
At Blake our Solutions team has identified packaging as a key area where circular practices are possible and green growth is essential.
It is now more important than ever for businesses to eliminate single-use plastic and switch to circular products such as paper. This means putting effort into minimizing the waste produced, highlighting the carbon footprint of these products, and keeping up to date with the latest technology trends. The key to this is using products that work with natural systems and actively support our ecosystems. We have championed paper as a material that is fully recyclable, used to create other paper-based products and one which, if selected from sustainable forest sources, strengthens our forest ecosystems across the globe.
Check out this article by our friends at Two Sides for more information about paper and paper processes here.
We are excited to continue to find new ways to engage with circular practices. We’d love to hear your best tip for reducing, reusing or recycling packaging!
Originally published at https://www.blake-envelopes.com.
