Round Round Baby Round Round

Richard Boyd, Senior Engineer at Arup, states that a circular economy is not a new idea and has been around in different forms since the 1970s.

The concept can be traced back to the work of architect Walter R. Stahel and academic Genevieve Reday-Mulvey who produced a report in 1976 titled “Jobs for Tomorrow,” laying the intellectual groundwork for circular economy.

Richard asks, why has the term now become such a buzzword? The ‘why?’ is easy; work by McKinsey predicts that adopting a circular economy approach could add €0.6 trillion to the EU’s economy by 2030.

Much of the work to date has focused on transport, food and industrial design. For example, Renault’s most profitable engine facility, at Choisy-le-Roi, incorporates parts from old engines into new ones, which are sold with the same warranties as 100% brand-new engines.

In the built environment, two materials, cement and steel used for
construction, account for about 10% of global CO2 emissions.

Richard shares his thinking on how we can use the circular economy as a tool to deliver a One Planet industry.