Explaining the circular economy, and how society can rethink progress | Animated video essay

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.

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#circulareconomy

Living systems have been around
for a few billion years

and will be around for many more.

In the living world, there's no landfill.

Instead, materials flow.

One species waste is another's food;

energy is provided by the Sun;

things grow, then die;

and nutrients return to the soil safely.

And it works.

Yet as humans,

we've adopted a linear approach:

we take, we make, and we dispose.

A new phone comes out.

So we ditch the old one.

Our washing machine packs up.

So we buy another.

Each time we do this, we're eating
into a finite supply of resources

and often producing toxic waste.

It simply can't work long-term.

So what can?

If we accept that the living world's
cyclical model works,

can we change our way of thinking

so that we too operate a circular economy?

Let's start with the biological cycle.

How can our waste build capital
rather than reduce it?

By rethinking and redesigning
products and components

and the packaging they come in,

we can create safe
and compostable materials

that help grow more stuff.

As they say in the movies,

"No resources have been lost
in the making of this material."

So what about the washing machines,
mobile phones, fridges?

We know they don't biodegrade.

Here we're talking
about another sort of rethink:

a way to cycle valuable metals,

polymers and alloys

so they maintain their quality

and continue to be useful

beyond the shelf life
of individual products.

What if the goods of today
became the resources of tomorrow?

It makes commercial sense.

Instead of the throw-away
and replace culture we become used to,

we'd adopt a return and renew one

where products and components are designed
to be disassembled and regenerated.

One solution may be to rethink
the way we view ownership.

What if we never actually
owned our technologies?

We simply license them
from the manufacturers.

Now, let's put these two cycles together.

Imagine if we could design products
to come back to their makers,

their technical materials being reused,

and their biological parts
increasing agricultural value.

And imagine that these products
are made and transported

using renewable energy.

Here we have a model
that builds prosperity long-term.

And the good news is

there are already companies out there

who are beginning to adopt
this way of working.

But the circular economy isn't about
one manufacturer changing one product.

It's about all the interconnecting
companies that form

our infrastructure and economy

coming together.

It's about energy.

It's about rethinking
the operating system itself.

We have a fantastic opportunity
to open new perspectives and new horizons.

Instead of remaining trapped
in the frustrations of the present,

with creativity and innovation,

we really can rethink
and redesign our future.

[Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Rethink the future]

[www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org]