Changes to the circular economy are happening and driving innovations at speed and scale. These innovative solutions are making circular economy a reality. To transition to a circular economy, radical innovations are needed in the food, fashion, and agriculture sectors.
In the past few years, circular solutions have been piloted and successfully implemented. These are some of the circular innovations that have been introduced by other countries.
Sojo is a clothing alterations and repairs app that connects customers to local tailoring businesses to get their clothes fixed or altered. The clothes are collected and delivered by bicycle. This business model is circular because by making clothing repairs easy and accessible, it’s stopping them from ending up in landfills. Clothing sizes is a big problem for many consumers and by doing clothing alterations, it increases their lifespan.
SuSeWi is a biotechnology company that harvests and manufactures algae-based products. Algae is believed to be the source of more than half of the world’s oxygen though photosynthesis. The SuSeWi production system is sustainable because it uses seawater, sunlight, atmospheric CO2 and small amounts of energy to make feed in the desert.
Wrote Farm transforms manure into energy through anaerobic digestion which helps farms with a disposal problem. This innovative solution allows farms to restore value and fertility to impoverished soil and create additional sources of income for farmers while eliminating waste.
AB InBev has 2025 sustainability goals that are focusing on circular packaging and climate action. Their circular goal is to have 100 % of their packaging packed in returnable packaging or packaging made from majority recyclable material. On the climate front, they aim to source 100% of the electricity from renewable and sustainable resources and reduce 25% emissions from value chain.
These are innovative and sustainable circular economy business models that can be adopted across the world. Circular business models have the potential to radically redesign everything around us in a way that drives positive business outcomes, reduces green house gas emissions and regenerate natural systems.
Watch this educational video by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation for more information on circular innovations.
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation works to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
