A massive shift is underway toward a sustainable, regenerative and circular future! To showcase how we’re in the midst of this exciting shift, we have compiled some of the recent changes we see as further demonstrating that the linear economy is on its way out, and a circular future is coming soon.
There is so much opportunity in reconfiguring the economy to evolve and solve some of our biggest threats, from ocean plastic waste to climate change. If you are inspired by these stories, then get yourself ready to take part in this great shift by joining us at the UnSchool and leveling up your changemaking skills!
IKEA and Microsoft go Carbon Positive
Two of the world’s biggest companies commit to not only be carbon neutral, but also take it a step farther to be carbon positive. Microsoft has announced they will ‘pay back’ all the carbon it has ever released into the atmosphere, and IKEA has developed a plan to make all their designs circular by 2030.
These climate carbon-‘positive’ initiatives mean that they plan, along with offset carbon credits, to transition from coal and oil sources, make raw material swaps and implement other supply chain initiatives to reduce the amount of emissions put into the atmosphere to less than what they input.
Circular Delivery Systems
The circular economy in getting into mainstream action through the delivery system LOOP, an initiative by Unilever and TerraCycle offering a delivery system for household goods in purposely-made reusable containers in the Northeast of the United States and Paris. They are planning on expanding throughout the United States and into Canada, UK, Germany and Japan.
World’s biggest investment firm won’t invest in climate negative companies
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, with $7.4 trillion in their portfolio. In a letter this week from CEO Larry Fink to shareholders and CEOs, BlackRock has announced an exit strategy from companies that are not doing something about climate change, among other sustainability initiatives.
With a huge impact on global industries, this move is a strong positive statement in what is traditionally a fairly conservative and profit-oriented industry, independent of social and environmental impact.
China to ban single use plastics
China is one of the biggest consumers in the world, and it made the announcement last week to ban non-biodegradable plastic and bags by 2022, which is a huge step toward tackling the ocean plastic waste crisis.
The Yangtze river running through China is a one of the main contributors to plastic leaking into the ocean, and this move should help alleviate at least some of the source issue.
There is still much work to do to move us globally to a post-disposable future; however, steps like this do help advance us forward.
Yangtze River
An article discussing these announcements in Wired Magazine raises a good provocation around greenwashing. The author says, “Most targets used by businesses are not linked to specific operations, such as a supply chain or purchased energy. This means that net zero targets may ignore large parts of an organisation that are deemed too much of a problem to change.”
The World Circular Gap Report released at Davos announced that the world is at present “8.6% Circular”, which could be taken as exciting progress or distressing slowness, depending on how you look at things. The report shows the actions that different countries are making in detail and is well worth the read.
We talk about change all the time here at the UnSchool. The world is constantly changing in all sorts of directions, and these kinds of movements help us set the course toward a more sustainable and regenerative future.
There is always more work to do, and we are focused on upskilling as many people as possible with the tools to keep the momentum going forward!
