Have we hit the limits of the circular economy?

4 episodes

1

“Eco-design should be favoured over recycling”
2

How to regulate circular economy at the international level?
3

Five ideas that demystify the circular economy
4

Construction, textiles: how eco-design is transforming certain markets

Épisode 1/4

“Eco-design should be favoured over recycling”

On May 10th, 2023

4 min reading time

Lucie Domingo

teacher-researcher in eco-design at UniLaSalle Rennes | École des métiers de l'environnement

Key takeaways

The recycling of everyday products has virtually no effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The logistics involved in transporting and manufacturing recycled products can sometimes be even more harmful than burning these plastics locally.
Over the past 10 years, European countries’ domestic material consumption has averaged around 13 tonnes per capita, with no significant overall decrease.
Rather than focusing on the depletion of resources, we need to rethink the use of products, their maintenance, transport, and utility.
For example, electric hoovers must meet eco-design requirements such as energy consumption during use or durability.

Épisode 2/4

How to regulate circular economy at the international level?

On May 10th, 2023

3 min reading time

Catherine Chevauché

chair of the ISO Circular Economy Technical Committee

Key takeaways

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is planning a set of new international standards for 2024 to ensure the transition to the circular economy.
One standard will give the principles for moving from the linear economy to the circular economy: sharing and retaining value, minimising resource extraction...
Other standards will deal with the transition from a linear to a circular model or will provide indicators to measure the circularity of products and organisations.
The set of standards is aimed at all organisations, private or public, associations or companies, that wish to address these issues.
The European Commission is working on a digital product passport, which will provide information on the composition of the product or how to recycle it.

Épisode 3/4

Five ideas that demystify the circular economy

With Farah Doumit, Research Associate at the Center for Management Research (I³-CRG) at Ecole Polytechnique (IP Paris)

On February 1st, 2023

5 min reading time

Farah Doumit

Research Associate at the Center for Management Research (I³-CRG) at Ecole Polytechnique (IP Paris)

Key takeaways

In circular economy, materials, water or energy waste and losses are retained as they can create value if put back into the economic system.
Communication by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and other consulting firms has made it both attractive and easy for economic actors to adopt its core principles.
A rebound effect exists that can reduce benefits of a circular economy.
Neglecting social responsibility and reinforcing unequal power relations through some circular activities can lead to a “weak circular economy”.
The State can play an important role in ensuring a circular economy that is fair for all.

Épisode 4/4

Construction, textiles: how eco-design is transforming certain markets

On May 3rd, 2023

4 min reading time

Benjamin Cabanes

Lecturer at Mines Paris - PSL & at the MIE department of École Polytechnique (IP Paris)

Nicolas Cruaud

Co-founder and President of Néolithe

Key takeaways

Eco-design is an approach that integrates environmental aspects not only in the design phase but throughout the life cycle of a product.
To remain competitive, it is in the interest of companies to anticipate increasingly restrictive regulations, such as AGEC.
To avoid greenwashing, it is essential to consider the entire production process, and to generalise the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a product.
Eco-design is particularly useful in the construction sector, where the use of new materials and construction processes can reduce carbon footprint.
The sector also has a strong potential for recycling waste: the start-up Néolithe “fossilises” common waste into reusable aggregates for construction.

Contributors

Farah Doumit

Research Associate at the Center for Management Research (I³-CRG) at Ecole Polytechnique (IP Paris)

Farah Doumit graduated with a degree in civil engineering specializing in water and the environment from the Beirut School of Engineering (2019) and went on to obtain a double master's degree in environmental management from the École des Mines de Paris and Tsinghua University in Beijing (2020). She defended her doctoral thesis in 2024, focusing on the challenges of securing resources in circular economy projects, with a focus on methanization. She currently holds the position of Technical Director of the Biogas Club within the Association Technique Énergie Environnement (ATEE).

*I³-CRG: a joint research unit of the CNRS, École Polytechnique - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Télécom Paris, and Mines ParisTech.