Embedding circularity into business strategy and operations

The Indian government is seeking active participation from the corporate community to reduce emissions significantly using the circular economic concept.

A circular economy, according to UNCTAD, is one in which markets are rewarded for reusing items rather than scrapping them and extracting new resources. Clothes and old electronics are reintroduced into the economy and put to better use. Waste management has recently become a focal point in various discussions aimed at achieving long-term sustainability. PM Narendra Modi urged world leaders at the recent World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) to adopt a 3Ps- Pro Planet People approach to sustainable development. His message of “reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, re-design, re-manufacture” appears to have sunk into the corporate world’s cultural mentality.

The government plans to take proactive steps to adopt a circular economy at a time when India is transitioning to a manufacturing-intensive economy. There is an undeniable link between climate change and waste management. At COP26, India stressed the importance of sustainable consumption and production. As India prepares to embark on the path of a “mission circular economy,” it is important to remember that development and environmental protection do not have to be mutually contradictory.

The ‘waste-to-wealth’ roadmap to a circular economy has acquired significant traction, complete with an action plan. What remains to be seen is if the circular economy concept will have an impact on the country’s emissions trajectory. Experts from EY go deeper into the circular economy’s scope, barriers to realising its promise, and much more.

Some excerpts from the whitepaper:
Diverging from this linear production, circular economy minimizes overall waste generation by utilizing waste from one product as raw material for another…
The business-as-usual state is not sustainable and there is a critical need to identify innovative models to ensure sustainable growth without straining the finite pool of natural resources…

The regulatory landscape has seen a shift in favor of waste management in the last few years…

Download the exclusive EY whitepaper to gain deeper insights into of implications of a circular economy on achieving Net Zero.

 

 

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