The UK has a golden opportunity to develop a world-leading wind turbine blade re-manufacturing industry, argues a new report from the Energy Transition Alliance. The UK government should work with wind energy businesses to support the development of wind turbine blade recycling capacity, helping bring a circular economy approach to the offshore wind sector that…
GA Circular, an Asia-focused circular economy research and strategy consultancy, is to scale back operations. The Singapore-based firm, which was co-founded by Ashwin Subramaniam and Laura Allen in 2012, is to complete current projects and then pause operations for “a period of time”. In an email to Eco-Business from chief business officer Sumangali Krishnan, the company said that travel restrictions, the business climate and its impact on the circular economy has made a review of the business necessary.
We have a complicated relationship with resources and materials. We continue to extract, to create, use and—overwhelmingly—waste. This not only creates a mammoth amount of human-made items in our natural world, but it leaks greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Billions of tonnes of them. It’s not all bad news though: this article considers how we can break free of our toxic relationship and reevaluate the values that have exacerbated our warming climate. Here, the findings of the Circularity Gap Report 2021 show us what is possible and within reach.
A sustainability project, led by the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, is looking at circular solutions to ensure that the drive for electric machines doesn’t result in an increase in parts ending up in landfill. As part of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded Future Electrical Machines Manufacturing (FEMM) Hub project, a more sustainable life cycle for electrical machines will be developed, with an aim to adopt a circular economy approach that loops the materials back into manufacture at the end of life. Currently, electric machines, such as those used within electric cars, are manufactured using mostly metals and their alloys, some of which are complex in their composition or manufacturing routes, and most of which are manufactured from virgin, finite materials.
While vehicles provide economic and societal benefits, they come with a sizeable carbon footprint. The European Green Deal is a chance for car manufacturers to make their processes more circular, write Maya Ben Dror and Tilmann Vahle. Maya Ben Dror is the Lead on Shaping the Future of Mobility at the World Economic Forum. Tilmann Vahle is the Lead on Circular Mobility Solutions at SYSTEMIQ. Both authors are involved in the Circular Cars Initiative, a World Economic Forum project. The automotive industry is a driver of Europe’s economic value creation, competitive sovereignty, and societal wellbeing. But road transport is also responsible for 20% of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions, and emissions from vehicles’ materials are expected to account for 60% of the total vehicle lifecycle emissions by 2040.
Job creation opportunities exist in the green and circular economy. But lack of career guidance and preparation makes many Ghanaians unable to identify and capitalize on existing opportunities, even at the district level. GrEEn Project by SVN Netherlands Development Organization is however providing a permanent solution to this problem. Through the GrEEn Project District Job Fairs, entrepreneurship in the green economy will be fostered through engagement with experienced business owners to inspire participants to start their own green businesses.