Circularity 23, highlights
I was invited to speak about Endineering and run a break out session for this years Circularity 23 in Seattle. It was a great conference. Big, 1400 delegates. Lots of major companies. Well run, and a diverse range of subjects from chemical identity systems to improve sourcing for circularity and avoid greenwashing, to art exhibitions made out of waste plastics found on beaches.
Highlights for me…
Plastics treaty
I am sure we all feeling pretty overwhelmed about plastic pollution issue. Hearing more about the pervasive nature of it across the world – found in the stomachs of whales, to the ice of Antarctica. It is everywhere.
A treaty is being currently negotiated to stop plastic pollution. Which given the difficulty of recent negotiations, I didn’t feel hopeful about.
A panel at the conference had delegates from the treaty negotiation in Paris. They seemed very upbeat about the progress. Apparently already getting a first draft together. Which is pretty good progress. They have an aggressive timeline. But they seemed hopeful and the attendees of the treaty negations appeared engaged and willing. It was reassuring to hear.
Resell market
Another panel focused on the resale market. Which has grown enormously over the recent years. Chaired by Cynthia Power, and expert in circularity and second hand market. Panelist included people from Amazon which by the way has a pretty successful electronics refurbishment business, Patagonia, Trove a technology company specialising in resale infrastructure.
Discussion covered aspects of responsibility, trust in product refurbishment, and building reverse logistic infrastructure. There were some pretty impressive number quotes in term of growth of the sector. They also talked about the changing buying habits of younger generations who are looking at second hand options before new options in lots of product categories.
https://www.greenbiz.com/events/circularity/2023/sessions/navigating-resale-explosion
https://trove.com/how-it-works/
https://www.amazon.com/Warehouse-Deals/b?ie=UTF8&node=10158976011
https://wornwear.patagonia.com
Digital Product Passports
The use of Digital Product Passports is set to expand with new legislation emerging that counters greenwashing. A surge in traceability is required, that can track not only a finished products, but also individual parts and even raw material sources.
The panel was chaired by Phil Brown, Director or Metabolic. Panelist included, Nana Fujishiro from Kasei, Omar Terrie from Neste, and Mesbah Sabur founder of Circularise.
Discussion talked about the capability of identifying plastic types to create passports at source. How Blockchain captures events, transactions and volumes. How Digital Product Passports help in dis-assembly.
