Re-thinking Progress: The Circular Economy

There's a world of opportunity to re-think and re-design the way we make stuff.

'Re-Thinking Progress' explores how through a change in perspective we can re-design the way our economy works - designing products that can be 'made to be made again' and powering the system with renewable energy. It questions whether with creativity and innovation we can build a restorative economy.

Find out more about the circular economy at http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org and http://www.facebook.com/EllenMacArthu... and follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/made2bmadeagain

• Category

  Science & Technology

[Dynamexxl]

didnt we already do this? In some countries at least?

[made2bemadeagain]

There are certainly countries that are further ahead in the transition to a circular economy - China have built aspects of the model into their governmental plans for some years now, and the Netherlands and Denmark have made great progress with businesses moving towards Cradle to Cradle. Reaching an advanced circular economy is some way off yet, but we're seeing signs of a transition already.

[Paladino]

Greet video! This video is like watching a little resume of a "resource based economy"

It seems (by comments here) that people are starting to be aware of the "deadly" cyclical consumption caused by the "necessity" for "infinite economic growth" wich causes lots of ambiental problems.

Take a look at the "ZEITGEIST: MOVING FORWARD" here on youtube, it shows in a very deep way the major causes of our current problems and a real possible solution (called a "resouce based economy").

[made2bemadeagain]

That 'one day' might not be as far off as you might think for some crucial resources. And we have the opportunity to re-think things now, to build a positive future rather than the 'use less, do less harm' approach.

It's important to develop engines that run on clean, reliable and renewable energy sources. But they must work as part of a system. It's this systems thinking that can help us develop a model that can really work long-term, rather that have a quick fix that works now.

[PalexiImparfect]

When I heard that it actually freaked me out a bit. Has anyone else seen Repo: The genetic opera?

[markheadroom]

2:15 re-think the way we view ownership - it's not clear how replacing ownership with licensing is necessarily a part the circular economy. There are other models that could result in products going back to their makers, such as (for example) the way disposal and recycling of packaging materials is the responsibility of manufacturers in Germany, or the way glass bottle deposits work in many countries.

[SophiaCookie]

Love this video GO GREEN so we can Live Long and Prosper!!!!! :D 

[We NeedChangeNOW TVP-TZM]

It's you're way of thinking that is off and not peters.

[We NeedChangeNOW TVP-TZM]

The world needs to grow the f up and kick the money junkie mind frame.

[We NeedChangeNOW TVP-TZM]

What will you do for work when automation takes over most jobs? money is not needed and the classism system as we know it leads to corruption. we will outgrow money like it or not. Money is insanity and insanity is: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Albert Einstein

[Erfan Maleki]

but how can we move to this new way of thinking if we are still using the same money marketing system? this would be inverse to economic growth because firms in a competitive market rely on cyclical consumption which needs products to be obsolete (break down making room for newer products) - in order to stay affordable to the consumer and to keep production costs to the very minimum. we would have to abandon the market system for this new system to work.

[quietthomas]

Tonight I gave away a horse jacket, and received a table. I think things like this will and do happen - just not at the industrial level just yet. You have to remember things like planned redundancy... This is not what democracy looks like... this is what a cash drive over utility driven society looks like.