Explaining the circular economy, and how society can rethink progress | Animated video essay
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0:01 - 0:05Living systems have been around
for a few billion years -
0:05 - 0:07and will be around for many more.
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0:07 - 0:10In the living world, there's no landfill.
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0:10 - 0:13Instead, materials flow.
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0:13 - 0:16One species waste is another's food;
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0:16 - 0:18energy is provided by the Sun;
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0:18 - 0:20things grow, then die;
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0:20 - 0:23and nutrients return to the soil safely.
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0:24 - 0:26And it works.
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0:26 - 0:27Yet as humans,
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0:27 - 0:30we've adopted a linear approach:
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0:30 - 0:33we take, we make, and we dispose.
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0:33 - 0:35A new phone comes out.
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0:35 - 0:37So we ditch the old one.
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0:37 - 0:39Our washing machine packs up.
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0:39 - 0:41So we buy another.
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0:41 - 0:46Each time we do this, we're eating
into a finite supply of resources -
0:46 - 0:49and often producing toxic waste.
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0:49 - 0:52It simply can't work long-term.
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0:53 - 0:54So what can?
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0:55 - 0:59If we accept that the living world's
cyclical model works, -
0:59 - 1:02can we change our way of thinking
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1:02 - 1:06so that we too operate a circular economy?
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1:06 - 1:09Let's start with the biological cycle.
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1:09 - 1:14How can our waste build capital
rather than reduce it? -
1:14 - 1:18By rethinking and redesigning
products and components -
1:18 - 1:20and the packaging they come in,
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1:20 - 1:23we can create safe
and compostable materials -
1:23 - 1:26that help grow more stuff.
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1:26 - 1:28As they say in the movies,
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1:28 - 1:31"No resources have been lost
in the making of this material." -
1:32 - 1:36So what about the washing machines,
mobile phones, fridges? -
1:36 - 1:39We know they don't biodegrade.
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1:39 - 1:42Here we're talking
about another sort of rethink: -
1:42 - 1:45a way to cycle valuable metals,
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1:45 - 1:47polymers and alloys
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1:47 - 1:49so they maintain their quality
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1:49 - 1:50and continue to be useful
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1:50 - 1:54beyond the shelf life
of individual products. -
1:54 - 1:59What if the goods of today
became the resources of tomorrow? -
1:59 - 2:01It makes commercial sense.
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2:01 - 2:05Instead of the throw-away
and replace culture we become used to, -
2:05 - 2:08we'd adopt a return and renew one
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2:08 - 2:13where products and components are designed
to be disassembled and regenerated. -
2:14 - 2:19One solution may be to rethink
the way we view ownership. -
2:19 - 2:22What if we never actually
owned our technologies? -
2:22 - 2:26We simply license them
from the manufacturers. -
2:26 - 2:29Now, let's put these two cycles together.
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2:30 - 2:34Imagine if we could design products
to come back to their makers, -
2:34 - 2:36their technical materials being reused,
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2:36 - 2:41and their biological parts
increasing agricultural value. -
2:41 - 2:45And imagine that these products
are made and transported -
2:45 - 2:47using renewable energy.
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2:47 - 2:51Here we have a model
that builds prosperity long-term. -
2:51 - 2:52And the good news is
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2:52 - 2:55there are already companies out there
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2:55 - 2:57who are beginning to adopt
this way of working. -
2:58 - 3:03But the circular economy isn't about
one manufacturer changing one product. -
3:04 - 3:07It's about all the interconnecting
companies that form -
3:07 - 3:09our infrastructure and economy
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3:09 - 3:11coming together.
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3:11 - 3:13It's about energy.
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3:13 - 3:17It's about rethinking
the operating system itself. -
3:18 - 3:24We have a fantastic opportunity
to open new perspectives and new horizons. -
3:24 - 3:28Instead of remaining trapped
in the frustrations of the present, -
3:28 - 3:31with creativity and innovation,
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3:31 - 3:36we really can rethink
and redesign our future. -
3:41 - 3:43[Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Rethink the future] -
3:43 - 3:45[www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org]
- Title:
- Explaining the circular economy, and how society can rethink progress | Animated video essay
- Description:
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There's a world of opportunity to rethink and redesign the way we make stuff.
"Re-thinking progress" explores how through a change in perspective we can redesign the way our economy works - designing products that can be "made to be made again" and powering the system with renewable energy. It questions whether with creativity and innovation we can build a restorative economy.
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Thank you for watching this video. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy.Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
Follow us online on these channels:
Instagram: http://instagram.com/ellenmacarthurfoundation
Facebook: http://facebook.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation
Website: https:/www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org#circulareconomy
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Amplifying Voices
- Project:
- Environment and Climate Change
- Duration:
- 03:49
Jenny Lam edited English subtitles for Explaining the circular economy, and how society can rethink progress | Animated video essay | ||
Maurício Kakuei Tanaka edited English subtitles for Explaining the circular economy, and how society can rethink progress | Animated video essay | ||
Maurício Kakuei Tanaka edited English subtitles for Explaining the circular economy, and how society can rethink progress | Animated video essay | ||
Maurício Kakuei Tanaka edited English subtitles for Explaining the circular economy, and how society can rethink progress | Animated video essay | ||
Maurício Kakuei Tanaka edited English subtitles for Explaining the circular economy, and how society can rethink progress | Animated video essay | ||
Maurício Kakuei Tanaka edited English subtitles for Explaining the circular economy, and how society can rethink progress | Animated video essay |