The idea of a set of common standards was welcomed by speakers, who believed that such measures would help everyone work towards the same aims and pull in the same direction.
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This session featured Stephen Carroll, Senior Business Editor, France 24; Chew Shou Zi, Partner and President, International, Xiaomi Corporation; Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, Co-Founder, Wecycler; Stientje van Veldhoven, Minister for the Environment, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands; and Bertrand Camus, Chief Executive Officer, SUEZ
Opening the session, Stephen Carroll highlighted how moving towards greater circularity is not just important for the environment, it's a huge economic opportunity.
And achieving greater circularity is about more than recycling - it's about design, repair, and reducing waste, Stientje van Veldhoven noted . The pandemic has reinforced the fact that wasting resources is wasting money, she said.
Achievements need partnerships
Speakers were united on the need for collaboration across industries and sectors in order to really cut through and challenge existing systems.
As a major smartphone maker Xiaomi is focused on being a good corporate citizen, Chew Shou Zi said, but this is not something that companies can do alone.
Xiaomi encourages its core suppliers to meet higher standards. It has also taken steps to reduce waste in its packaging and through aftersales repairs and maintenance. The efficiency gains of better reusing and maintaining materials outweigh the costs, he says.
Supporting new thinking
Innovation will allow for products to be better sorted and recycled, but also ensure they have a second life with new products, said Bertrand Camus. We need to make it easy for companies to comply.
Wecyclers is an example of how small scale innovation can drive significant change. Co-founder Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola spoke of how her social enterprise has empowered people to turn their lives around by earning money from their waste. Initially, there was low awareness and engagement with waste, but as communities became more aware of the value of their waste the uptake has been greater. The responsibility for packaging and waste does not end at the supermarket shelf she said.
However, despite the difference they are making, funding remains a problem for small startups like hers.
Position: Co -Founder of ENGAGE,a new social venture for the promotion of volunteerism and service and Ideator of Sharing4Good
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