Microservices And The Circular Economy

Happy Earth Month! This April, MEC and our partners are celebrating with creative initiatives you can get in on. Find out how to join the Climb for Climate challenge, pick up a free sapling, upcycle your unwanted socks and take action for our favourite planet.  Join the Climb for Climate challenge.  Get outside to give back. The challenge? Log as many vertical metres as possible from now until April 30. For every 20m of vertical you climb, MEC will donate $1 to Protect Our Winters Canada. Our goal is 500,000 metres of vertical overall, which would equal 56 Everests and a giant $25,000 donation. Rack up the metres of elevation however you like – run, bike, ski, climb, hike, you name it.  It’s free to sign up, you get a 1-month FATMAP Explore voucher, and yep, we’ll have prizes!

Parklife: Biodiversity in Contemporary Irish Art presents the work of Irish artists who consider the biodiversity of the world around us, looking at how different forms of life thrive in the urban realm as well as in more remote environments. The selected works range from detailed drawings of the various species of animals that make their home on the University College Cork campus to photographic studies of birds and plants that bring contemporary resonance to the pioneering work of Karl Blossfeldt on display in our Sisk gallery. The exhibition features a series of paintings of the Scots Pine, one of Ireland’s three native coniferous trees, as well as research investigations into the ways in which communities are conserving seeds to protect food crops for future generations. Parklife includes two new commissions from artists Amber Broughton and Peter Nash who were invited to engage with UCC Green Campus and Cork University Business School to create new works for the UCC Art Collection that focus on biodiversity and sustainability. 

A circular economy, an economy without waste and no depletion of finite resources, gains traction in the sustainability debate as a way out of the current linear “take-make-waste” economy. Circular economy principles, ranging from ecodesign and recycling to new business models, such as products-as-a-service, can lower CO2-emissions and significantly contribute to combatting climate change. Furthermore, moving towards a more circular economy could deliver benefits such as improving the security of the supply of raw materials, increasing competitiveness, stimulating innovation, boosting economic growth and creating jobs.