Material Matters: Developing Business for a Circular Economy

Description

Our planet is a closed system with limited material resources, yet our current economic model is designed in a one-way direction from resource extraction to disposal, leading to resource depletion. This book proposes a new economic model, offering an alternative to this linear ‘take-make-waste’ economy. Material Matters shows a way of creating a circular economy by using the unlimited resources we have: renewable energy, data and intelligence. It describes a system based on circular business models centred on selling performance rather than ownership, designing products and buildings as resource banks and equipping products with a ‘material passport’ to ensure their usability for future generations. Businesses thereby become custodians of materials, rather than consumers of materials and sellers of products. The book evokes the vision of a radically new economic model based on a compelling narrative, supported with cases that have been developed in conjunction with major companies, for example, convincing Philips to sell light instead of lamps, saving energy and materials by creating a whole new business model, a case which has become iconic for the circular economy. Material Matters is not a somber analysis of the state of the planet but a concrete and comprehensive agenda for change, offering perspectives for taking action for business and individual consumers alike. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Foreword by Dame Ellen MacArthur INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 THE PRODUCT-AS-PROBLEM CHAPTER 2 THE LINEAR ECONOMY OR THE END OF THE LINE CHAPTER 3 SPACESHIP EARTH – A CLOSED SYSTEM CHAPTER 4 PERMANENT TEMPORALITY CHAPTER 5 CHANGING THE RULES OF THE GAME CHAPTER 6 THE MATERIAL PASSPORT CHAPTER 7 MADASTER – A REGISTRY FOR MATERIALS CHAPTER 8 UDMR – THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF MATERIAL RIGHTS CHAPTER 9 MATERIAL-AS-A-SERVICE – RETHINKING MATERIAL OWNERSHIP CHAPTER 10 COMPLETING THE COPERNICAN REVOLUTION Appendix 1 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Appendix 2 Acknowledgments Appendix 3 Sources Appendix 4 Illustrations Don’t own – enjoy! About the authors