Waste to Wealth ― The Circular Economy Advantage

The circular economy may be about to drive the biggest transformation in business since the Industrial Revolution 250 years ago—$4.5 trillion in additional economic output by 2030—through a radical departure from the traditional 'take, make, waste' production and consumption models.

Adopting a circular approach—decoupling growth from the use of natural resources—achieves two things: first organizations protect themselves from rising and volatile commodity prices, become more resilient to supply disruptions, and reduce their environmental footprint. More importantly, by extending their core customer value chain beyond design, production and sales into product use—where most customer value is created—companies begin to rethink their customer relationships, enabling them to create unassailable competitive advantage.

Lacy and Rutqvist present disruptive strategies that help both planet and profit through the circular economy. They set out five business models that promote circular growth alongside the technologies and capabilities required to turn them into competitive advantage – from deploying sustainable resources to the sharing economy – each illustrated with case studies that examine the key challenges and suggestions to help organizations scale their efforts. They offer you the Circular Advantage.
Ultimately, the driver for adopting the circular economy isn't scarcity. It's opportunity. To derive more from resources and assets. And create products and services that are much more innovative, and responsive to the most important point in the circle: the customer.

Peter Lacy is Managing Director of Accenture's Strategy and Sustainability practice in Asia Pacific. He is an Adviser to the UN Global Compact and was a founding signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education. An occasional columnist for the Guardian, he is a regular speaker at major conferences on sustainability issues, including at the World Economic Forum this coming January.

Jakob Rutqvist a former activist and campaigner working for the WWF, Jakob is now a manager in Accenture's Strategy and Sustainability practice. He has delivered sustainability projects presented to multinationals as well as the UN, World Bank, World Economic Forum and EU Parliament. He is an alumni of Clinton Global Initiative, One Young World and Harvard University. Jakob has written for Fast Company and Fortune.