FORBES article :The Circular Economy Is The Answer

Jay OwenGreen Prosperity, Sustainability News, Greentech

Circular Economy Is The Answer

 

Kevin O’Marah CONTRIBUTOR

I cover supply chain management, technology, and global tradeOpinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

This week, while I was teaching an M.B.A. class at Northeastern University in Boston, one of the students asked me what supply chain strategy makes sense for companies trying to drive profit growth and deliver sustainability at the same time? The answer was obvious: circular economy.

Last week, after having spent almost three days facilitating an internal sustainability summit with Berkshire Hathaway’s family of companies (hosted by Benjamin Moore) I came away with the same impression. Circular economy is the answer.

What Is the Question?

Ever since Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” was published in 1962, the concept of environmentalism has held our attention. Initially, it was a cry for help in the face of a surging extractive, consumptive and even excretory industrial economy. Through the 1990s it remained essentially a protest movement oriented to building awareness. In the last five years, however, it has become mainstream, as big business has pivoted from resister to owner. The reason is money.

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