Reversible reaction: Even chemicals can be leased
At least 140,000 chemicals are used globally in a wide variety of products and processes. While they largely contribute to the economy, they expose human health and the environment to major risks. Image: Dipali S / stock.adobe.com For a long time, organisations have undertaken incremental measures to marginally reduce those risks, but are often bumping […]
Circulate on Fridays: IDEO explore car sharing, Coca-Cola target re-use, and the tiny ocean plastic problem
Rounding out the week with Circulate on Fridays, featuring four of our favourite circular economy stories from the past seven days. We get caught up in the cool tech, the cute cars and the controversy, but how will self-driving cars really affect the way we live? In 2015, design agency IDEO explored this with The Future of […]
How computing is evolving and could enable a better understanding of our economy
Microchips and the broader technology world may soon experience a significant shift. Moore’s law, named after Intel founder Gordon Moore, is slowing, while increasingly complex microprocessing demands are accompanied by the rise of tech trends including machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). This may be especially relevant in the context of the shift towards a more […]
The Bank of England is unlikely to successfully predict the next economic crisis
Successfully predicting the next financial crisis is unlikely, a Bank of England official has admitted, leading to questions about mainstream economic forecasting and raising a further challenge to existing paradigms that depend upon modelling and running economies mechanistically. Do we need to a new kind of economics? Martin Sandbu undoubtedly asked the right question in […]
Is the US nearing its “potential GDP”? And what might that mean for a circular economy?
Closing in on what economists believe to be its full productive capacity, questions are being asked about the direction of the United States’ economy, and with the subject of idle capacity featuring significantly in the conversation, the circular economy approach may soon be a part of the agenda. Hidden beneath the daily social media driven […]
Circulate on Fridays: Energy, manufacturing and money ripe for disruption
Every week, Circulate HQ puts our top selection of articles, videos and more on the circular economy and related subjects into one beautiful Friday gift! This week, we’re sharing pieces from some of the biggest business and technology online publications, including focuses on the latest disruptions in manufacturing, money flows, energy and plastic. The Economist […]
Australian consortium aims to put digital solar marketplace into practice
Homeowners in Australia will soon be able to trade in and sell electricity generated by rooftop solar panels with batteries in a digital marketplace developed by a consortium of tech startups, energy agencies, retailers and electricity providers. The Distributed Energy Exchange (deX) was launched on Thursday with the mission to fundamentally change how energy is […]
Do we need a post-animal bioeconomy?
The linear model of animal agriculture isn’t working and has proven to be detrimental to public health and the environment, according to Isha Datar, CEO of New Harvest. Watch this video to learn about a new way of producing animal products that are genetically unchanged, but do not require vast amounts of land, chemicals, or even […]
Circulate on Fridays: tracking fish with blockchain, Indian pollution world’s worst, H&M’s Bionic dress
In Circulate on Fridays, we highlight some of the circular economy news and insights that we’ve been sharing at Circulate HQ this week. In today’s instalment, we’re finding out about the startup using blockchain to track fish, why India is going in the wrong direction on pollution, and how H&M are redefining the term ‘beachwear’. Check it out! […]
Why air conditioning as a service could have a huge impact on energy usage
The world needs to re-think how it stays cool and Singapore-based company Kaer Water may have the answers as it aims to revolutionise air conditioning building management by combining a breakthrough technology with a new business model that has already been trialled successfully in other sectors, including lighting. Rising temperatures and a rapidly expanding global […]