Circular Economy and the Water-Food Nexus

Climate innovation diversification and green business models

The need to address climate change has become a corporate priority that sits at the heart of boardroom concerns, not just for environmental reasons but also because it's what consumers want and what investors want.

Companies have started to commit to change, but we need to go much further - ‘sustainability as usual' is not enough any longer. Companies need science-based targets and full transparency about what they're doing - and they need to look outside their core business to reap the climate and business benefits.

I'm ready to act on climate. Do I start with big or small?

An interesting question that I ask myself every day. The answer from both the author and myself is "both" of course. Still, a plenty of thought-provoking points are inside the article. Do you know how the term 'carbon footprint' began to be circulated? Or how the climate impacts of individuals can differ in 'rich' countries? As the author says, "What’s important is to remember that everyone who is working to make a change is on the same team, regardless of where they start."

Do you know those measures that are - comparatively - easy both for people and government to implement? When it comes to climate change they rare, I know, but they do exist!

Tackling food waste through home-composting to lower GHG emissions is one of those.

Happy to see that from January, most people in California will be required to toss excess food into green waste bins rather than the trash. Municipalities will then turn the food waste into compost or use it to create biogas.

The effort is designed to keep landfills in the most populous U.S. state clear of food waste that damages the atmosphere as it decays.

Are you interested to learn more about the benefits that saving resources, such as energy, water or waste, can offer to your company – both in term of saving costs, developing new business opportunities - and enhancing your company’s environmental footprint? If so, you have found the right course to enhance your company’s resource efficiency and to implement circular production practices.

Starting on 29 November 2021, the Resources Efficiency and Circular Production for SMEs e-learning course introduces you to the basics of the circular economy, explains the concept of “reduce, reuse, recycle” and what it means in a business context.

Register via ITC’s SME Trade Academy through this link soon to save your slot: https://learning.intracen.org/course/info.php?id=1918

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Provide logical and concise arguments in favour of saving resources and implementing circular production practices;
• Evaluate your company’s resource footprint and identify adequate measures to reduce cost and develop new circular business opportunities;
• Calculate the business case of different measures and decide how they should be integrated into your company’s circularity strategy and associated communication plan; and
• Identify adequate sources of green finance to fund the implementation of selected measures.

COURSE CERTIFICATION
Participants who meet the course requirements will receive a Certificate of Completion issued in electronic format.

COURSE STRUCTURE
Module 1: Introduction to Resource Efficiency and Circular Production (RECP)
Module 2: What Can Businesses do to Improve RECP?
Module 3: How Can Businesses Implement RECP Measures?
Module 4: Green Finance
Case Study Exercise

We look forward to seeing you at the course!

Smartphones produce 85-95 percent of their carbon emissions in the production phase. The total annual carbon footprint of manufacturing mobile phones is equal to at least the annual carbon emissions of a small country.

Smartphones also contribute to about 10 percent of global e-waste, a number estimated to weigh more than 50 million metric tons in 2019. These streams are both highly polluting and highly wasteful: the potential value of raw materials in e-waste was valued at $57 million in 2019. Meanwhile, recycling rates across electronics stood at only 17 percent in 2019, meaning the vast majority of this value is not being reaped.

Food Waste is the New Green Energy