The first thing to know about circular economy is that it’s been promoted internationally for at least 50 years – without actually happening. Knowing this, we can see how a few simple blindspots keep linear economics locked-in despite everyone’s best efforts. Our 2015 ThinkDif session explored and mapped these blindspots to help visualise the vast untapped potential for systemic change across the entire economy.
Three radical system change levers were revealed, to enable European and global ‘circular economy for real’ faster than anyone expects.
1. An action lever. Precycling can switch the focus of decisions about resources to all the actions BEFORE something becomes waste.
2. A price lever. Circular economics can switch markets to price the risk of products becoming waste in ecosystems, providing vital incentives and financing for change.
3. A political lever. Restorative growth (based on circular economics not technical improvement) can switch political mindsets away from destruct-mode linear economic growth.
How can we use these levers to raise our ambition beyond just seeking more circular economy? Let’s make circular economy happen for real!
Event: 4pm GMT, 6th November 2015, with James Greyson, Head of BlindSpot Think Tank
Event page with further discussion: https://www.thinkdif.co/open-mic/how-to-not-get-circular-economy-lets-escape-50-years-of-linear-lockins
Slides, BlindSpot DIF 2015
Help me to do more!
Get in touch with your ideas. The world urgently needs new ways to leverage fast global change so please support more blindspotting on Patreon or Paypal.
Our 2014 event in the Disruptive Innovation Festival
BlindSpot Think Tank presented a session in the Think Dif Disruptive Innovation Festival run by Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Thanks to everyone who joined us and for all the super questions! Please see the link to slides, below.
System change is not hard to do, just hard to see
24th Oct 10:00am – 11:00am UK time
The Topic: This session thinks differently about the long-awaited total replacement of linear economies by introducing three system-level levers to make the switch.
1. How to switch the focus of decisions about resources to all the actions BEFORE something becomes waste
2. How to switch markets to price the risk of products becoming waste in ecosystems
3. How to switch political mindsets from destructive growth to restorative.
The Presenter: James Greyson
- Head of BlindSpot Think Tank. He works internationally with policy makers and business on system change to reverse critical interconnected problems. James’ ‘planet levers’, including ways to design waste out of economics and to reverse the arms race, were published as global security advanced research by NATO.
Facilitating: Arthur ten Wolde
- Arthur joined sustainability Think tank and consultancy IMSA Amsterdam as a Senior Consultant in 2006, he has led projects on the circular economy, chemistry, energy, mining and the annual Springtij Forum for Sustainability. Besides his work for IMSA, he started in September 2014 as Manager Public Affairs Circular Economy for the Dutch Green Business Association De Groene Zaak.
The slides for the webinar can now be downloaded (4.4MB). The ThinkDIF Festival kindly started a lively discussion about the webinar on their site. See also our Circular Economy 4Real Project.
Help me to do more!
Get in touch with your ideas. The world urgently needs new ways to leverage fast global change so please support more blindspotting on Patreon or Paypal.
System change is not hard to do, just hard to see
24 Oct 10:00 – 24 Oct 11:00
The Event
This session will think differently about the long-awaited total replacement of linear economies by introducing three system-level levers to make the switch.
1. How to switch the focus of decisions about resources to all the actions BEFORE something becomes waste
2. How to switch markets to price the risk of products becoming waste in ecosystems
3. How to switch political mindsets from destructive growth to restorative.
The Presenter
- James Greyson
James Greyson is Head of BlindSpot Think Tank. He works internationally with policy makers and business on system change to reverse critical interconnected problems. James’ ‘planet levers’, including ways to design waste out of economics and to reverse the arms race, were published as global security advanced research by NATO.
Facilitating
- Arthur ten Wolde
Born in 1963 in The Hague, The Netherlands. He graduated in experimental physics in Leiden (1986) and obtained his PhD at the University of Amsterdam. In 1990 he started working for Shell Research, where he became a certified polymer technologist, in 1994 for the STT Study Centre for Technology Trends, and in 1998 as Advisor Technology Policy for the Confederation of Netherlands Industries and Employers VNO-NCW. Since Arthur joined sustainability Think tank and consultancy IMSA Amsterdam as a Senior Consultant in 2006, he has led projects on the circular economy, chemistry, energy, mining and the annual Springtij Forum for Sustainability. Besides his work for IMSA, he started in September 2014 as Manager Public Affairs Circular Economy for the Dutch Green Business Association De Groene Zaak.
– See more at: http://thinkdif.co/open-mic/blindspot#sthash.PaoWtG1b.dpuf
System change is not hard to do, just hard to see
24 Oct 10:00 – 24 Oct 11:00
The Event
This session will think differently about the long-awaited total replacement of linear economies by introducing three system-level levers to make the switch.
1. How to switch the focus of decisions about resources to all the actions BEFORE something becomes waste
2. How to switch markets to price the risk of products becoming waste in ecosystems
3. How to switch political mindsets from destructive growth to restorative.
The Presenter
- James Greyson
- James Greyson is Head of BlindSpot Think Tank. He works internationally with policy makers and business on system change to reverse critical interconnected problems. James’ ‘planet levers’, including ways to design waste out of economics and to reverse the arms race, were published as global security advanced research by NATO.
Facilitating
- Arthur ten Wolde
- Born in 1963 in The Hague, The Netherlands. He graduated in experimental physics in Leiden (1986) and obtained his PhD at the University of Amsterdam. In 1990 he started working for Shell Research, where he became a certified polymer technologist, in 1994 for the STT Study Centre for Technology Trends, and in 1998 as Advisor Technology Policy for the Confederation of Netherlands Industries and Employers VNO-NCW. Since Arthur joined sustainability Think tank and consultancy IMSA Amsterdam as a Senior Consultant in 2006, he has led projects on the circular economy, chemistry, energy, mining and the annual Springtij Forum for Sustainability. Besides his work for IMSA, he started in September 2014 as Manager Public Affairs Circular Economy for the Dutch Green Business Association De Groene Zaak.
– See more at: http://thinkdif.co/open-mic/blindspot#sthash.PaoWtG1b.dpuf
System change is not hard to do, just hard to see
24 Oct 10:00 – 24 Oct 11:00
The Event
This session will think differently about the long-awaited total replacement of linear economies by introducing three system-level levers to make the switch.
1. How to switch the focus of decisions about resources to all the actions BEFORE something becomes waste
2. How to switch markets to price the risk of products becoming waste in ecosystems
3. How to switch political mindsets from destructive growth to restorative.
The Presenter
- James Greyson
- James Greyson is Head of BlindSpot Think Tank. He works internationally with policy makers and business on system change to reverse critical interconnected problems. James’ ‘planet levers’, including ways to design waste out of economics and to reverse the arms race, were published as global security advanced research by NATO.
Facilitating
- Arthur ten Wolde
- Born in 1963 in The Hague, The Netherlands. He graduated in experimental physics in Leiden (1986) and obtained his PhD at the University of Amsterdam. In 1990 he started working for Shell Research, where he became a certified polymer technologist, in 1994 for the STT Study Centre for Technology Trends, and in 1998 as Advisor Technology Policy for the Confederation of Netherlands Industries and Employers VNO-NCW. Since Arthur joined sustainability Think tank and consultancy IMSA Amsterdam as a Senior Consultant in 2006, he has led projects on the circular economy, chemistry, energy, mining and the annual Springtij Forum for Sustainability. Besides his work for IMSA, he started in September 2014 as Manager Public Affairs Circular Economy for the Dutch Green Business Association De Groene Zaak.
– See more at: http://thinkdif.co/open-mic/blindspot#sthash.PaoWtG1b.dpuf
Looking forward!