Social Enterprises Leading The Way In The Circular Economy
Chineyenwa Okoro Onu of Waste or Create.
It is increasingly clear that the current economic system isn’t working for people, or for the planet. We need new ways of organising economic activity, and more sustainable approaches to the production, consumption and disposal of everyday items.
The concept of the ‘Circular Economy’ has found increasing prominence in the last 5-10 years, with the European Union, several states in North America, and now the majority of Australia state governments developing plans to ensure that the economy does not depend on infinite and unconstrained resource consumption. While to many of us this might seem like an obvious and long-overdue step, it represents a serious reconsideration of the economic theories that have held sway for hundreds of years.
Matt provides insights into the transition from a linear to a circular economy whilst sharing strong examples of social enterprises operating in the space after an inspiring trip to the Social Enterprise World Forum.
At its core, the Circular Economy model is about recirculating goods and materials in the economy for as long as possible, while maximising the use of renewable resources and energy sources. This means reusing or repairing existing items, or when that’s not possible, breaking them down into raw materials for the production of new, high recycled-content items. It also means transitioning away from our reliance on coal and gas, and accelerating the transition to 100% renewable energy.
In order to be truly effective and transformative, these transitions must be locally appropriate, community-driven, and create opportunities for people experiencing disadvantage.
This was highlighted by a number of speakers and attendees at the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) in Addis Ababa, where changemakers from all around the world came together to showcase their work, build collaborations, and learn from the global social enterprise community.
Some of the most interesting and innovative projects in the emerging Circular Economy are being led by social enterprises around the world – from office materials recyclers in Melbourne, to community sustainability and innovation hubs in Ghana. While policymakers and governments debate how to respond to a world in crisis, at SEWF 2019 we saw some amazing examples of entrepreneurs from around the world who are getting on with the work of creating financially, socially and environmentally sustainable business models.
A panel on the role of social enterprises in reuse and recycling, chaired by the inimitable Eric Lombardi of EcoCycle USA, showcased some examples of exciting community enterprises addressing local environmental and social issues. Malaysian social enterprise Biji-Biji is an open workshop and community of makers who use repurposed materials to create ethical technology and fashion – including designer-collaboration clothing and eco-friendly tools like bike blenders and upcycled lamps. Back in Africa, the Waste or Create enterprise led by Chineyenwa Okoro Onu has an ambitious goal of setting up local sustainability hubs and circular-economy demonstration centres, where locally produced ‘waste’ product can be turned into practical and beautiful products. The Addis Ababa-based Felek Notebooks combines traditional artisan bookbinding with modern paper recycling to produce eco-friendly notebooks – with every purchase being matched by a donation of essential stationary to school children.
Andres Morales, Rashvin Pal Singh (of Biji Biji) and Eric Lombardi of EcoCycle.
Closer to home, the Australian delegation to SEWF 2019 included a diverse range of sustainability-focussed social enterprises, including Substation33, who just won the Awards Australia Community Group of the Year Award and the Banksia Foundation Ministers Award for the Environment. Substation33 Founder Tony Sharp also won the Social Enterprise Champion of the Year at the Social Traders Conference and Green Collect, recently picked up the 2019 Social Enterprise of the Year Award. Then there’s the innovative Brisbane Tool Library, founded by Sabrina Chakori, which is co-located with the State Library of Queensland; the CERES Community Environment Park (led by Cinnamon Evans), who have been leading the way in sustainability education for decades; and Good Cycles (led by Jaison Hoernel), who were recently selected to receive funding from the Paul Ramsay Foundation in partnership with Philanthropy Australia and Social Impact Hub. I’m proud to be a part of the Social Impact Hub’s Professional Impact Network, and I encourage any social entrepreneurs who want to take their impact to the next level to get in touch and see how we can help.
In Australia, we’re lucky to have a thriving charitable and community reuse and recycling sector, which is represented by the peak body NACRO Incorporating Zero Waste Network, where I work part-time as a Program Consultant. We represent a group of organisations who have been reusing and recycling for over 130 years, and whose passion for helping the community in times of need is an inspiration for the modern social enterprise movement. We’re currently working on ways to more effectively measure and communicate the impact of reuse and recycling social enterprises in Australia – you can find out more, and join our growing network.
Social enterprises are definitely the business models of the future – they show how we can organise economic activity in ways that respect ecological limits, empower people, and build community capacity.
Not only can we do all this, but we can compete with for-profit businesses, do great work at scale, and support people who are marginalised, disadvantaged, or just left behind by the dominant economic system. This year’s SEWF was a timely reminder that the solutions we need to tackle climate change, disadvantage and global inequity are already being created in communities from Adelaide to Addis Ababa – and that those solutions are poised to become the mainstream way of doing business.
About Matt Allen
Matthew Allen, Social Impact Hub & NACRO incorporating Zero Waste Network.
Matt has been involved in non-profits and social enterprises for over 10 years, with a particular interest in collaboration, collective impact, business planning and impact measurement. He is currently the Program and Sustainability Manager at NACRO incorporating Zero Waste Network, and a Professional Impact Network Member at the Social Impact Hub. His previous roles include General Manager at Resource Work Cooperative (Hobart) and Social Enterprise Officer at Quidan Kaisahan (Philippines). He is a current MBA (Social Impact) candidate at UNSW.
