Naoko Tochibayashi, Public Engagement Lead, World Economic Forum
Tel.: 03-5771-0067 Naoko.Tochibayashi@weforum.org
This year’s World Economic Forum Circulars Awards were presented to companies, governments and individuals driving fundamental change in how economic value can be created from industrial waste.
Creative solutions selected this year included Trashpresso, a portable machine that turns waste into building materials; “recycled roads” made by reusing 50 million mobile devices; and “city mining” in Tianjin, China.
The Circulars Awards were established in 2015 by the World Economic Forum and the Young Global Leaders community, with support from Accenture.
18 February 2019, Geneva, Switzerland – The global economy is undergoing a noteworthy transformation, as established industries and startups increasingly seek to add value to industrial waste that would otherwise be landfilled or discharged into oceans, rivers and lakes. The results of the fifth Circulars Awards tell this story. Held annually, the awards recognize companies, governments and individuals using innovation and disruptive technologies to reduce waste, carbon emissions and the use of harmful substances.
As the circular economy is expected to create $4.5 billion (approximately ¥490 billion) in new growth opportunities for the global economy, the circular solutions honored this year have expanded in both scope and scale. The number of applications was 1.5 times last year’s. More than 450 entries came from more than 45 countries.
“More companies understand that closing the loop is not simply about managing natural resources; it brings competitive advantage. Companies without resource-circulation strategies risk being left behind by the new economy of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” says Terry Toyota, Deputy Head of the Global Public Goods Center at the World Economic Forum.
The awards ceremony was held during the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos. The winners are as follows.
Circular Economy Multinational Award: Schneider Electric (France). The company has integrated circularity into its business, including extending product lifespans through rentals and pay-per-use leasing. As a result, its circular business grew rapidly to account for 12% of company revenue from 2018 to 2020. Approximately 100,000 tonnes of primary resource consumption are expected to be avoided.
Circular Economy SME Award: Lehigh Technologies (Atlanta, United States). The company uses resources recovered from end-of-life tires in new tires and other materials. To date, more than 500 million tires have been manufactured using this circular model.
People’s Choice Award: TriCiclos (Chile). The company has built and operates South America’s largest network of recycling centers. To date, it has sorted 33,000 tonnes of recyclable materials before they could be landfilled, preventing more than 140,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Circular Economy Public Sector: European Commission. Under the European Commission’s leadership, 24% of SMEs in the EU offer products or services that make use of circularity.
Circular Economy Investor: Impax Asset Management (United Kingdom). The company promotes investment in the circular economy by mainstream investors. FTSE adopted its environmental markets classification system in 2007. It currently invests approximately $8 billion (approximately $870 billion) in more than 100 listed companies.
Circular Economy Disruptive Innovation: Winnow (United Kingdom). The company helps reduce waste in the food industry. Its smart meters analyze what is thrown into bins and share that information with manufacturing processes. Winnow has halved waste in many kitchens around the world and saved consumers $25 million (approximately ¥2.7 billion) in spending annually. This is equivalent to 18 million meals a year, changing how food is wasted every seven seconds.
Circular Economy Leadership: Flemming Besenbacher. He chairs the Danish government’s Advisory Board for Circular Economy and demonstrates leadership in promoting the circular economy in Denmark and serving as chair of Carlsberg’s audit committee.
The following companies were also selected as finalists.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (Belgium): The company is advancing circular initiatives such as upcycling spent grain into high-protein beverages and working with consumers and suppliers to improve the collection and return of packaging. Currently, 43% of its products use returnable glass bottles.
Cambrian (United States): The company developed its EcoVolt technology, which can convert industrial wastewater into clean water and energy. At nine plants across the United States, it treats more than 320 million liters of wastewater and reuses nearly 95 million liters.
Close the Loop (Australia): The company developed an asphalt additive that uses soft plastics and used printer toner cartridges as high-performance road materials, reducing the amount of plastic sent to landfill. The plastic used per kilometer of road is equivalent to 530,000 plastic bags or 12,500 printer cartridges.
DaiKu (Netherlands): The company is bringing the circular economy to the textile industry. Its CO2-based technology enables dyeing without water or chemicals. One dyeing machine reduces water use by 32 million liters and dye-treatment chemicals by 160,000 kg per year.
Enerkem (Canada): The company produces biofuels and renewable chemicals from waste. Its technology can recover the carbon in non-recyclable waste in five minutes and convert it into biofuels and renewable bio-based chemicals.
HYLA (United States): The company has extended the lifespans of mobile phones and other devices. Its reuse model has enabled more than 50 million devices to be reused, creating $4 billion (approximately ¥430 billion) in value for their owners. It has also led to the reuse of 6,500 tonnes of electronic and electrical equipment waste that would otherwise have been landfilled.
Miniwiz (Taiwan, China): The company converts used waste into high-quality building materials. Its mobile upcycling plant, Trashpresso, is a system for recycling waste without long-distance transport. It has prevented 17 million kg of carbon dioxide emissions through construction projects alone.
Tianjin City Mine (China): A pioneer of the “urban mining” concept, it introduces mobile recycling centers at waste-treatment sites and brings reverse logistics systems to municipal waste management.
“Consumers, companies, shareholders and policymakers collectively expect companies to conduct business with sustainability objectives and hold them accountable. Doing nothing or failing to respond will significantly weaken competitiveness. Losing shareholder confidence means losing $180 billion (approximately ¥19.5 trillion) in revenue opportunities worldwide,” says Peter Lacy, Senior Managing Director at Accenture Strategy. “The transition to a circular economy drives the disruptive change needed to secure a sustainable future, while promoting corporate innovation and growth. We are proud of the individuals and companies leading this circular economy effort and creating a thriving global economy.”
About the World Economic Forum
All Circulars Award winners and finalists: https://thecirculars.org/our-finalists
Related blog (English): Four Steps to a Circular Economy
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