From greenhouse gas emissions to plastics pollution, our industrial paradigm is unsustainable. How can technology be harnessed to pioneer new models of production and consumption?
In this conversation the panel discuss how rapid advances in technology may help alter the means of production, the potential of circular economies, and the rise of clean energy.
A new way of thinking
The panel begins with Peter Agnefjall, IKEA’s CEO, discussing some of his company’s plans for the future. “We are working on a quite ambitious growth strategy,” he explains, saying that IKEA hopes to be twice the size, but to become so in a sustainable manner. “We actually want to have a positive impact on the planet,” he says.
As part of this, Agnefjall points to several of IKEA’s new projects. “In ten days we will release our first kitchen door made entirely of recycled wood,” he tells the panel, revealing that the other constituent parts would also be entirely comprised of recycled materials.”
Ebay’s CEO, David Wenig, agrees. “It’s really important that corporations have a conscience.”
The panel agree that a new way of thinking is needed, divorced from the old financial model of profits being all. That said, they are quick to point out that in some senses the change has already begun.
Privahini Bradoo, who is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the recycling company BlueOak Resources Inc, clarifies that the solution may not necessarily be to look forward, but to look back. “You look at India and there is no concept of waste,” she says. “You use every resource you can because that make more value. There is wisdom from a lot of models that have come before us,” she adds.
The circular economy
Although the Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing incredible technological advancement, Bradoo asks herself about the dark side of this development. “We founded BlueOak Resources Inc with the purpose of making technology more sustainable,” she says. She explains that it is not just materials like plastic that benefit from recycling, it is elements as well. “Some of the most vaulable parts of electronics are metals, like copper, gold, silver, palladium,” she tells the panel.
Dr Vincent Biruta, who is the Minister of Natural Resources in the Republic of Rwanda agrees with the sentiment. His country has recently administered a ban on plastic bags because of the polluting issues that they cause. Asked if people complained about the ban he replies that, “ordinary people did not have problems - who did have problems were people in industry. It has created challenges in terms of packaging, but it has created opportunities because we have seen a recycling industry being established. Today we have five plastic recycling plants, and that has brought jobs, opportunities and we have also seen people investing in alternative packaging solutions which are eco-friendly. So I think what you have gained in banning plastic is much bigger than the challenges you have and we are still facing.”
Green energy
“The world of energy is full of challenges,” says Jean-Pascal Tricoire, the Chairman and CEO of Schneider Electric. “We need to bring in the two billion consumers who will join us in the next thirty years, but we are also aware of the problem of climate change.” Despite the difficulties involved, Tricoire explains how his company endeavours to cut their energy consumption by ten-percent every three years.
Agnefjall echoes Tricoire’s sentiments. “We have decided that by 2020 we will produce the same amount of renewable as we consume as a group,” he explains, adding that they have just invested in three-hundred-and-forty-one wind turbines.
It’s not just about using green energy for Agnefjall however, his company is also invested in greater energy efficiency. “We decided to ban normal incandescent bulbs,”he explains. “They have been around since 18th century, but they’re not a very efficient form of energy.” He says that, when they were first introduced to stores, they cost eleven dollars, but over time that has been reduced to a single dollar, less than ten-percent the original cost. It is good for the planet, the consumer, and it is good for IKEA,” he says.