Green Recovery Alliance: reboot and reboost our economies for a sustainable future

UN agencies along with the World Economic Forum, the Global Environment Facility, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development called for an overhaul of the current global electronics system this week in Davos, Switzerland. The world produces as much as 50 million metric tons of electronic and electrical waste annually — weighing more than all of the commercial airliners ever made, according to UN Environment. This waste is actually worth over $62.5 billion. Given that less than 20% of global e-waste is formally recycled, a new report from the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) and the UN E-Waste Coalition proposes a circular e-waste economy. The report, A New Circular Vision for Electronics, Time for a Global Reboot, says it is time to reconsider e-waste, re-evaluate the electronics industry, and reboot the system for the benefit of industry, consumer, worker, health of humankind and the environment. “There is a lot of economic value in e-waste, particularly from such materials as gold, silver, copper, platinum and palladium, among others,” the report notes. In addition, it points out that there is 100 times more gold in a metric ton of smartphones than in a metric of gold ore. Last year, researchers discovered that extracting metals from e-waste costs 13 times less than mining ore. “The transition to a circular economy must take place in a way that benefits all stakeholders from the consumer to workers, government, businesses, entrepreneurs and society at large,” the report concludes. “There will be a need for mass collaboration, system changing ideas, new policy frameworks and new ways of doing business.” We are currently accepting submissions for the 2019 Environmental Leader Awards. Learn more and submit a project or product here. Design: Products designed for durability, reuse and safe recycling, substances of concern substituted out. Reintegration of manufacturing scrap: Scrap metal from manufacturing is re-introduced into new components.
Read the full article at: www.environmentalleader.com

Financing will boost DIEM’s acceleration plans in expanding its consumer base both in UK and the pan-European region. The investment round is led by Fasanara Capital, a UK-based finance-focused specialist fund, and supported by Chris Adelsbach, founder of Outrun Ventures and additional investors include Andrea Molteni (early investor in Farfetch.com luxury marketplace), Ben Demiri (co-chairman at fashion tech PlatformE) and Nicholas Kirkwood (founder of the eponymous brand). DIEM powers a disruptive concept in fintech: merging solutions to address both personal finance and collective environmental needs. Its mission is to empower consumers to value, unlock, and enjoy wealth they never knew they had, best described by its founder, Geri Cupi as the “Bank of Things”. DIEM offers a highly unique service on top of regular debit card access, competitive international transfer rates and user-friendly valuation and spending analytics. In simple terms, DIEM enables consumers to receive instant payments for their things.