A circular economy is an economic system designed to eliminate waste and pollution, prolong the use of products and materials, and regenerate natural systems. It fundamentally enables sustainable development and economic resilience while creating enormous opportunity for new products and services.
Despite widespread consensus on the importance of transitioning to a circular economy and major corporate commitments to action (e.g. IKEA has committed to going fully "circular" by 2030), real change is happening very slowly. Why? A circular economy requires shifts in both the operations and the mindsets of organizations that need to be much better understood.
Exploring the opportunity to accelerate real change was the focus of a virtual event on Thursday, November 26, convened jointly by the Centre for Building Sustainable Value and the Ivey Academy.
Hosted by Ivey Academy Executive Director Mark Healy, the event brought together Barbara Swartzentruber, Executive Director, Smart Cities Office, City of Guelph; Frances Edmonds, Head of Sustainable Impact, HP Canada; and Jury Gualandris, Assistant Professor, Ivey Business School.
The speakers discussed the importance of collaboration between industry leaders and researchers to overcome the barriers to driving change to make the necessary shifts toward a circular economy. Additionally, the panel imparted lessons learned from the establishment of Canada's first circular food economy and the transition to a circular plastics economy, shared insights from Ivey's circular economy research program, and answered audience questions.
For more information, please see Ivey Academy's summary blog of the event.
