The obstacles towards a sustainable and circular society can be bridged. The Swedish report Mind the Gap(s) points out 15 sustainability gaps, but also ways to overcome them. The report is putting forward a distinct perspective on how to move forward.
The Mind the Gap(s) report identifies 15 sustainability gaps, between stakeholders at different levels in society. One of the important aspects the report pinpoints is that that consumer efforts for circularity seem to be lagging.
5 dimensions
Birgitta Losman, project manager at the Science Park Borås at the University of Borås says that there often is an overly strong belief that consumer pressure will solve sustainability issues. At the same time, the major system change required for the sustainability challenges almost always depend on multi-dimensional revisions and modifications.
Birgitta continues by pointing out how the Science Park works with 5 dimensions in structural system development:
- Technology development
- Business models
- Policy and regulations
- Behaviour, culture, and norms
- Industrial infrastructure
— In the Mind the Gap(s) report, we discuss circular economy as a phenomenon. We also highlight some of the criticisms against circular economy and produce a checklist of relevant questions for those who want to switch from a linear to a circular business model.
— We wanted to highlight the leadership role that the companies themselves and the political level within the EU have taken, when it comes to make decisions promoting sustainable production and consumption.
10 points for circularity solutions
The Science Park Borås fosters an innovative ecosystem nurturing, supporting, and advancing circular innovations and business models. To measure and know more about the circularity of a product or service, they’ve devised a 10-point checklist with key questions that help evaluate a solution’s circular impact. Those ten points to investigate are:
- defining circularity
- transformation journey
- profitable & scalable business model
- winners & losers
- identifying unintended consequences
- material flows
- global consumption pressure
- balancing conflicting objectives
- legislative & policy changes
- monitoring circular solution impacts.
Find out more
More about how to use these ten points is found in the report. A report that serves as both a call to action and a roadmap, charting the path towards a successful transition. The journey towards a circular economy may be arduous and complex, but the rewards — environmental, social, and economic — are immeasurable.
Download and read the report here (click)
And read more about the whys of the report here.
