Five insights from the Circular Economy Institute’s certificate course

I had a stark realisation towards the end of last year: even though I had almost two decades of writing and translating about the circular economy under my belt, I had never really delved into the theory behind the practice and taken formal training in circular thinking. It was time to remedy that in 2021.

I spent some time exploring different options and decided that there was no place better to start than with the Circular Economy Institute's Certificate ‘Principles & Business Models in a Circular Economy’. This self-study programme was the perfect way to fill those long January nights and took me just over a week of evenings to complete. The four modules combined information about the principles behind the circular economy with real-world examples.

So, without any further ado, here is a list of five takeaways from the course:

1) All kinds of companies are already putting the circular economy at the heart of their business.
From Fairphone (a company making a phone made out of responsibly sourced materials that is designed for longevity and easy repair) to RePack (reusable packaging solutions), from RypeOffice (a firm remanufacturing office furniture) to Evrnu (a firm that turns discarded clothing into an engineered fibre that is used by brands such as Adidas and Levi), businesses all over the world are choosing to solve environmental problems by taking a circular approach. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. You could spend hours exploring dozens of examples of initiatives from zero-waste packaging made out of seaweed to beer brewed from surplus bread.

2) Sustainability and circular economy thinking are not the same thing.

Circularity and sustainability are concepts that are sometimes used interchangeably. In actual fact, there is a distinct difference, as the course notes, "from a sustainability lens, we can continue growing sustainably by doing less harm to the environment." In the circular economy, the main goal is not doing less harm but actually regenerating ecosystems.

3) Recycling is the last resort in a circular economy.

Likewise, when taking a circular approach, recycling – which has traditionally been lauded as the best waste treatment option after prevention and reuse – is actually the least preferable loop. In a circular economy, resources do not end up as recyclables since products are made to last several lifecycles. The smaller loops of maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing are all emphasised as better solutions than what is deemed to be a low-value, energy-hungry process.  

4) Words matter.

As somebody who spends my day reading and writing about the environment in two languages, I was heartened to see the attention that was paid to getting words and definitions right. The course spent time clarifying the difference between recyclable and recycled products, between upcycling, recycling and downcycling and between remanufacturing and refurbishing.  

5) Circular fashion is my new passion.

I've long been a huge fan of Patagonia. This outdoor clothing company has put circularity at the heart of its mission. From creating guides to show customers how to take good care of their gear to having an online platform for second-hand clothing called Worn Wear, Patagonia takes all kinds of steps to make its products last a lifetime.

Circular fashion is all the more important because clothing has a huge footprint. It takes hundreds of gallons of water to create clothes, not to mention the dyes, chemicals and energy used in traditional manufacturing processes. And more than three quarters of our clothing ultimately ends up in landfills. Learning more about the vital work done by Patagonia, Evernu and other companies like Desserto (a Mexican company making luxury vegan leather out of a cactus), Queen of Raw (a marketplace to buy and sell unused textiles) and Bundles (a washing machine rental company) made it clear to me that fashion is one of the most exciting emerging fields in the circular economy. And given that the circular fashion industry might have a potential value of US$5 trillion market, it's definitely worth learning more (maybe by taking this certificate in circular fashion).

While a lot of the content covered familiar territory, I would certainly recommend the course to anybody interested in the circular economy. The more I read about the circular economy, the more excited I become about the doors it opens for the future. I am looking forward to using what I learned in the dark days of winter to help even more companies and organisations share their story with a global audience.