Circular economy: the keys to effective action
The circular economy is a fashionable concept at a time when resources are dwindling, short circuits are seductive, and the government has published a roadmap on the subject. It should be part of your corporate strategy. How do you get started? What means should we use? Voluntary standards, assessments and labels, training courses and online tools exist or are being developed to help you. Panorama.
On April 23, 2018, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Ecological Transition presented a roadmap on the circular economy. At the same time, the European Union is finalizing its own, which will revise four major texts: the Waste Framework Directive, the Packaging Waste Directive, the Landfill Directive and the Directive on Electrical and Electronic Waste. Circular economy, what’s that? This concept, which originated in the 1970s, has been gaining in popularity in recent years. In fact, it is seen as a relevant and effective way of minimizing the environmental impact of human activities, from all points of view: depletion of resources, depletion of biodiversity, various forms of pollution and climate change. What exactly are we talking about? An ” economic system of exchange and production which, at all stages in the life cycle of products (goods and services), aims to increase the efficiency of resource use and reduce the impact on the environment, while developing the well-being of individuals “, according to the Ademe definition. In this respect, the circular economy is opposed to the linear economy: stop the infernal triptych of produce-consume-throw away.
For Ademe, the subject can be tackled from three angles: waste management, supply from economic players, and consumer demand and behavior. Each of these angles covers seven areas: sustainable sourcing; eco-design; industrial and territorial ecology; functionality economy; responsible consumption; extended useful life; and recycling. A sign that it matters to the authorities, the circular economy is even enshrined in law, in this case the law on energy transition for green growth of August 18, 2015. And many business sectors are embracing the approach, most recently the federation of beauty companies, which published its white paper on best practices on March 14, 2018. Right up to the MEDEF, whose reference guide (” The circular economy, a growth and competitiveness strategy for businesses “) dates back to December 2014.
Voluntary standards for an effective approach
So much for theory. Because in practice, while everyone understands the benefits of no longer producing, consuming and throwing things away without thinking, taking action is much more complex. And some concepts may seem overrated or a little vague. As Emmanuelle Moesch, project manager at the Institut national de l’économie circulaire, explains, ” this approach is first and foremost a state of mind, which implies constant self-questioning. The most important thing is to first learn about its principles, before including it in all your organization’s processes. “.
A common mistake is to fall into the trap of the rebound effect or pollution transfer. In fact, when we think we’re doing the right thing, we sometimes do even worse. Emmanuelle Moesch points out: “Just because you implement a circular economy approach doesn’t mean you’re reducing your impact on the environment. For example, if you’re in an area where wood is scarce and, thinking you’re doing the right thing by using a renewable material, you replace certain resources with this material by importing it from afar, you’re not necessarily talking about a circular economy “: transport can cancel out the environmental added value.
WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING
Join the standards committee
In the absence of unanimously agreed rules, how can we adopt an effective, virtuous approach? A future management system standard, along the lines of ISO 14001 for environmental management, should help companies and local authorities to see things more clearly. The circular economy is one of the priority themes of the French standardization strategy,” explains Corinne del Cerro, Head of Development for the environment and social responsibility markets in AFNOR’s Orientation and Development department. There are almost 700 standards linked to the circular economy, most of them cross-cutting, and some 15 are currently being drawn up at European level, including product life extension and reparability. But there is no dedicated generic standard. An expert group dedicated to the circular economyformed at the end of 2017 as part of the “Waste Management and Recycling” standardization committee , set about the task. “Since this article was written, the famous standard has been published as XP X30-901.
Voluntary standardization: a European challenge
The transition to a truly circular economy seems essential in Europe, the area most structurally dependent on resources from other continents. Hence the importance of issuing a voluntary standard, insists François-Michel Lambert, president and founder of the Institut national de l’économie circulaire: ” We need to take advantage of the flaws in the current model to seize opportunities. A standard for circular economy management within the company would consolidate all individual approaches. Take the automobile, for example. Today, a car is immobilized 90% of the time and occupied by an average of 1.4 people. Tomorrow, we’ll have shared vehicles and robot cabs. We’ll be at the crossroads between private cars and public transport. With a ton of material, we can provide many more mobility services! It’s a question of organizational breakthroughs, and therefore of new management. It’s this new management style that needs to be implemented, in a structured and therefore standardized way. ”
While we await the emergence of a standard available today under the title XP X30-901 from AFNOR Editions, it should be remembered that the normative landscape already covers certain areas of the circular economy, such as responsible purchasing (ISO 20400 standard), compost quality, the economy of functionality, eco-design and bioplastics. There are also plans for voluntary standards on programmed obsolescence and deposits. And where there are standards, there are also monitoring indicators: the Institut National de l’Economie Circulaire (National Institute for the Circular Economy) has joined forces with Entreprises pour l’Environnement to centralize these tools, which should help economic players in their approach.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Buy the XP X30-901 standard
Complementary fun and informative tools
In addition to standardization, other tools can help to deploy, frame or improve a circular economy project. The publications of the Orée association are a benchmark in this field. From the AFNOR group, itself an Orée member, the book 100 questions sur l’économie circulaire (AFNOR Éditions, 2016) provides clear, synthetic answers to all your questions about the issues, methods and existing resources. The circular economy is also on the menu at AFNOR Compétences, the Group’s training subsidiary. Its 2018 catalog features a one-day program entitled “Circular economy: understand and create your innovative business model”. The originality of this cross-disciplinary training program lies in its fun, hands-on approach. After reminding participants of the broad guidelines of the circular economy, I give them a hands-on experience of the reality via a business game,” explains Ivan Grenetier, NuevoMund trainer. Participants are inspired by a practical case and a role-playing situation, and together they come up with ideas for moving towards this virtuous approach. ” How does it work? Enter project mode to move a company’s business model (partners, activities, added value, etc.) towards greater circularity: how to recycle and add value to end-of-life products, how to turn a product into a service, etc.
Signs of recognition to show your commitment
After diagnosis, recognition: AFNOR Certification offers specific solutions for companies wishing to go further after having “taken the temperature”, and to demonstrate their commitment. If you’re involved in the circular economy, proclaim it loud and clear, with a sign of confidence that an independent third-party organization will give you after an audit or evaluation! Indeed, to stand out from the crowd and win over their customers and users, more and more companies and local players are seeking recognition for their circular economy approach through distinctive signs, based or not on voluntary standards, such as the famous AFAQ ISO 14001 certification for environmental management systems.
Several of these marks of distinction are cited in the government’s roadmap, including the European Ecolabel, created in 1992. Today, 54,000 products in Europe carry the logo, and France has the most, after Italy, as we were reminded on March 13 when we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the little flower logo on the forecourt of La Défense.
ECO-DESIGN
Discover AFAQ Eco-design certification
Within the company, these distinctive signs can be of interest to purchasing departments, which, by giving preference to suppliers of recycled products or suppliers who are committed to recovering end-of-life products and recycling them locally, often come to the circular economy like Monsieur Jourdain makes prose: without knowing it. ” The AFNOR group has invested in the field of responsible purchasing support for both buyers and suppliers, with CSR risk mapping for suppliers, a supplier evaluation and selection platform, and tools for assessing the CSR performance of purchasing departments, leading to either the RFR (Responsible Supplier Relations) label, or AFAQ 20400, based on the ISO standard of the same name”, explains Mélodie Merenda, CSR project manager at AFNOR Certification.
There’s also AFAQ Biodiversity, which assesses the maturity of a company’s approach to protecting and taking account of biodiversity in its activities, and above all AFAQ Eco-design, which is closest to the foundations of the circular economy. This assessment proposes a number of solutions that respond to government concerns,” continues Mélodie Merenda. For example, extending the life of products, systematically thinking about end-of-life from the product design phase, or incorporating more recycled raw materials into new products. “Finally, the TEEC (Energy and Ecological Transition for Climate) label, also cited by the Ministry (which created it in 2015), guarantees that investments are geared towards financing the ecological and energy transition. Indeed, green finance is even inspiring the European Commission, which presented its dedicated plan in early March 2018, including a draft label for green financial products. So, decision-makers seem to agree: the future will be circular, or… it won’t be.
ENERGY TRANSITION
Discover the TEEC label
3 QUESTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN LEVY, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND CSR STRATEGIC COMMITTEE AT AFNOR NORMALISATION AND MEMBER OF CGEDD (CONSEIL GENERAL DE L’ENVIRONNEMENT ET DU DEVELOPPEMENT DURABLE)
You will lead a group of experts (AFNOR, companies, professional federations, etc.) to draw up a management standard dedicated to the circular economy. How far have you got?
It all started in 2017 with the decision by AFNOR’s strategic committee to draw up a framework document to help professionals sitting on standardization committees to take the circular economy into account. A working group comprising representatives of the companies on our strategic committee has drawn up a document defining the circular economy and listing areas for action, impacts, etc. Member companies have found this grid very useful, not only for the normative approach but also for their own operational projects. Hence the idea of drawing up a voluntary standard providing guidelines for the management of projects contributing to the circular economy, in the same spirit as those covering quality, environmental or energy management. Our first working meeting, attended by over 50 people, took place on January 29. The Comité Stratégique de l’Agroalimentaire, which applied the grid to the production of royal jelly, and the cement manufacturers, who also tested the grid, reported on their experience. A first draft standard and a timetable for the end of 2019 have been drawn up. On March 8, a second plenary session brought together some forty motivated and proactive participants.
What’s your objective?
By the end of 2018, we want France to propose a draft voluntary standard at European level, or even internationally within ISO. The text would take up the three objectives of the circular economy and the seven fields of action defined by Ademe, enriched. Any company wishing to embark on a circular economy initiative could therefore apply this 21-point cross-analysis grid, with the assurance that it is speaking the same language as its neighbor. Several trade federations, which will be scrutinizing their projects against the draft standard, were due to report their findings to us at the April plenary session.
What’s the timetable?
It’s very tight, but it’s playable! In September, we’ll be sending the normative pre-document to international bodies for decision. At the same time, we’ll be testing it with European partners to see if they want to join us. We’re also thinking about participating in the G7, chaired by France in 2019: one of the themes could be the circular economy. We could organize workshops and discuss the draft standard.
Monitoring indicators: a guide to choosing the right one
What indicators should be used to determine whether an initiative is part of the circular economy? In 2017, the Institut national de l’économie circulaire launched a working group with the association Entreprises pour l’environnement (EPE). ” When we review the academic literature, we find that product indicators dominate, and this is not appropriate for companies offering services,” explains Emmanuelle Moesch, IEC project manager.
Some companies have set up indicators for themselves (quantifying the lifespan of their products, the rate of reuse of materials in their products, etc.), but this remains partial. A large proportion of indicators concern the downstream end of the chain, notably waste. On the upstream end of the chain, there is the monitoring of progress in eco-design, even if this approach remains difficult to measure. Other indicators measure industrial and territorial ecology initiatives, but there is a lack of indicators for companies that make sense on a global scale. A guide offering an overview of these indicators is expected in October 2018, with the rebound effect taken into account. ” It will be highly complementary to the work currently being carried out within AFNOR to develop a management system standard ,” comments Emmanuelle Moesch.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Get certified
