A Circular Economy Is More Than Reuse

A Circular Economy Is More Than Reuse

In the current production and resource management era, our focus on short-term consumption is pushing the world toward an unsustainable future. Our economic systems are disrupting the natural cycles of life, conflicting with the long-term goals of sustainable development. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking as natural resources dwindle and climate change intensifies, underscoring the urgency for a shift in our approach.

The circular economy is not a mere alternative, but a comprehensive solution to our current challenges. It goes beyond the simple act of reuse, transforming our economic systems from production and consumption to a focus on effective resource utilization, waste reduction, and the creation of sustainable value for the future. Its impact is far-reaching and profound.

What is a circular economy?

A circular economy is a new form of production and consumption that aims to use resources in the most worthwhile manner possible while simultaneously recreating natural systems to achieve sustainable growth over time.

Therefore, a circular economy can closely mimic nature without producing waste. In doing so, we can drive maximum resource utilization while reducing the use of raw materials and promoting reuse through recycling or creating new, environmentally friendly products, which benefits businesses and economies of the modern world.

A circular economy is driven by three core concepts as follows:

  1. Reduce by focusing on designing more efficient products, services, and processes to reduce the consumption of resources.
  2. Reuse by promoting reutilization of products, materials, and parts without totally remanufacturing them.
  3. Recycle by processing leftover or waste materials into new raw materials or products.

What are the benefits of the circular economy?

• Environmental protection: It reduces greenhouse gas emissions, resource consumption, and waste creation.

• Benefits for local economies: Local economies benefit from supporting production and processing by reusing local waste and turning it into new raw materials to create new products.

• Jobs and income creation: It promotes the development of new innovative and more competitive industries, leading to increased economic growth and employment.

• Increased local resource value: Reuse of local resources can reduce dependency on imported raw materials while increasing the value of local raw materials.

• Knowledge promotion and development: It promotes the development of research and innovation networks, structuring and disseminating correct and principled information.

The circular economy is not just about reuse or reduction but a complete system redesign. It starts with the use of sustainable materials and the design of durable, repairable products. While it’s still in its early stages, the world is beginning to recognize its importance. The circular economy offers a hopeful path toward a sustainable future, guiding our economy, society, and population in the right direction.

Understanding the concept of “Sustainability: A Strategy for Businesses towards sustainable development

Understanding the concept of “Sustainability: A Strategy for Businesses towards sustainable development.

The world is in the grip of severe environmental crises, with their impact felt across the globe. From climate issues to pollution, these problems are a result of various factors, including the escalating demands of our growing population. This is why sustainability has become a pressing concern, as it encompasses economic and social issues such as poverty, social inequality, and human rights violations, all of which have far-reaching negative consequences.

What is the concept of sustainability?

Sustainability generally means the ability to maintain or support a particular process or another’s persistence. In the business context, however, business sustainability is a concept focusing on protecting, improving, or conserving the world’s natural or physical resources from exhaustion to maintain those resources for later generations and create a balance between economic growth, environmental care, and good well-being for society.

How does sustainability work?

Sustainability is a concept that calls for agencies and organizations to create policies that consider future generations’ consequences, emphasizing future impacts and significant changes to business operations, ecosystems, and the economy at large.

With the world grappling with climate change, biodiversity loss, and escalating pollution, the need for sustainability has never been more apparent. The global community is increasingly focusing on adopting sustainable practices, policies, and concepts, particularly through the operation of sustainable businesses and the investment in green technology and environmentally friendly enterprises.

The three pillars of sustainability, a fundamental concept in the realm of environmental responsibility, are crucial for understanding and implementing sustainable practices in any organization.

A key to sustainability based on the sustainability concept is to consider the impacts of policies or business practice guidelines through three pillars, namely, environment, economy, and society, to demonstrate an organization’s social responsibility. Accordingly, the organization will consider positive and sustainable outcomes for the people of the world in addition to profits from decision-making.

  • Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability focuses on environmental conservation because it is vital to the sustainability of organizations of every size and business category. The focus can be started by evaluating the offices and facilities internal to the organizations by using pretty straightforward methods to become more environmentally friendly, including recycling paper and other office supplies, procuring recyclable and environmentally-friendly materials, using LEDs to reduce energy consumption, and campaigning against unnecessary trips to maintain the ecological integrity of ecosystems and the environment of the world to ensure balance, especially in terms of natural resources such as air, water, soil, forests and animals, which humans are continuously using.

  • Economic Sustainability

Economic sustainability, another pillar of the sustainability concept, is not just about reducing costs and waste. It’s about promoting economic growth while minimizing environmental and social impacts. By adopting measures such as energy reduction and waste management, companies can attract customers, enhance their brand image, and reduce their dependence on limited natural resources.

  • Social Sustainability

For social sustainability, the three interconnected pillars of sustainability, namely, environment, economy, and society, can be found through economic activities in different environments. The goal of social sustainability is to promote the unity and security of people living in society to ensure that every person can have their basic human needs met by having sufficient resources for everyone in the community and having a robust social system with good health and happiness along with respect for human rights such as on the use of labor, healthcare, and equality to create a sustainable society.

Creating a Sustainable Future by Using the Sustainability Concept

The step toward sustainability is a significant challenge for the world’s population. Beyond conserving the world’s nature and resources, the principles and promotion of sustainable changes can also be integrated and implemented with daily sustainability guidelines. However, doing so requires the ongoing and consistent collaboration of the business sector, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and individuals. Learning about sustainability can create positive changes in our world.

How to Reduce Carbon Footprint to Achieve Business Sustainability?

How to Reduce Carbon Footprint to Achieve Business Sustainability?

Today, sustainability has become a part of daily life. Many organizations and businesses seek ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions or carbon footprint to adapt to future challenges. Everyone should pay attention to greenhouse gas emission reduction, whether the business is large, medium-sized, or small.

What is a carbon footprint?

Carbon footprint or pollution is the amount of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere due to human activity.

Therefore, reducing the carbon footprint is very important to businesses. Doing so helps reduce environmental impacts and promotes a good image, which can increase business opportunities and save costs in the long term.

What are some tips on how to reduce carbon footprint for business sustainability?

Some businesses cannot help but release greenhouse gases. However, there are ways and strategies to help reduce a business’s carbon footprint or carbon dioxide emissions.

1. Choose efficient energy sources.

Today, there are more green energy service providers than ever, so transitioning to renewable energy is much easier than in the past. When combined with making efficient use of energy, such as choosing LED lightbulbs, installing solar panels or solar cell systems, turning off electrical appliances when they are not in use, and regularly inspecting and repairing electrical systems or air conditioners, it is possible to minimize energy waste.

2. Proper and effective waste management.

Today’s business operations involve many processes, such as production, transportation, consumption, and disposal of materials. These activities can cause a large carbon footprint or greenhouse gases. However, it is possible to reduce waste by using practical short-term approaches to properly manage waste, such as sorting waste according to type, recycling waste, reducing the use of packaging or plastic, and switching over to using biodegradable packaging. These methods can help provide immediate improvements to the environment.

3. Use more environmentally friendly transportation.

Trips are another factor that contributes most to businesses generating carbon. Whether it is the travels of employees or company executives or the shipping of company goods, there are many different possible approaches to reduce travel-related carbon emissions, such as traveling by train or public transportation system, riding bicycles, walking, promoting carpooling, choosing efficient and low-pollution vehicles, planning efficient transportation, and many other environmentally friendly methods.

4. Increase participation in environmentally friendly projects.

The largest and most successful business groups and companies worldwide are launching campaigns and projects to support environmental issues. All other companies can do this as well, such as by donating funds or providing resources to support environmental conservation and drive social awareness and recognition of the importance of environmental problems.

5. Educate and promote the participation of employees.

Education is essential to empower organizations to become more environmentally friendly and achieve true success. Thus, company employees are crucial to success in the face of challenges. This makes it necessary to educate and develop an understanding in organization employees about carbon footprint, campaigning and incentivizing employees, and supporting employees to contribute to reducing carbon footprint along with other issues to push for good results and environmental friendliness that will lead to business sustainability.

Reducing carbon footprint is a mission that everyone must work together to accomplish. Its goal is to minimize atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions, reduce energy costs, and protect resources and the world, which we all rely on to operate businesses and generate growth. Every business can become a leader in driving change by using various guidelines to promote business sustainability and environmental friendliness and create a better future for our world.

The Global Waste Crisis: Accumulating Pollution from Improper Management

The Global Waste Crisis: Accumulating Pollution from Improper Management

The global waste crisis is a threat caused by improper waste management, increasing waste worldwide. This problem worsens daily and impacts the environment by creating pollution while inevitably affecting human health and quality of life in the absence of proper management. Waste is a source of accumulating pollution that endangers human health and the world’s environment.

What are the threats and impacts of the global waste crisis?

  1. Soil pollution: When degradable organic waste such as food and leaves are improperly managed, soil quality can be affected, leading to deteriorating soil conditions, loss of abundance, and long-term ecological and agricultural impacts.

  2. Water pollution: Plastic waste and other wastes are pollutants that flow into waterways and harm water ecosystems and aquatic animals. They can also contaminate water used for consumption, leading to various diseases, not to mention floods due to clogging of water drainage pipes.

  3. Air pollution: Waste burning, especially plastic waste, causes toxic gases to be released into the atmosphere, leading to significant contamination of air by toxins and contributing to global warming, weather changes, particulate matter (PM2.5), and respiratory health problems.

  4. Health Problems: Improperly managed waste is the source for the growth of disease-carrying animals such as mosquitos, flies, and other toxic animals that can cause diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, necrotizing fasciitis, and harmful gastrointestinal diseases.

  5. Global warming: The breakdown of organic waste in landfills leads to the release of methane gas, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming and affects the world’s climate conditions. Global warming can cause different types of natural disasters, such as floods, storms, La Nina—El Nino effects, and other natural phenomena that affect the global population.

What are the solutions to the global waste crisis?

• Reduce waste production: Purchase products only as necessary, avoid using disposable packaging, or choose reusable products to reduce waste.

• Waste sorting: Properly discard waste by sorting waste by type, such as organic waste, recycled waste, and hazardous waste, to facilitate proper management.

• Recycle: Recycling waste can help reduce waste, conserve natural resources, and reduce pollution, which might cause environmental problems in the future.

• Reduce plastic use: Avoid using plastic packaging and single-use plastic containers. Instead, use cloth bags to replace plastic bags and carry personal water bottles or start using reusable products.

• Campaigning: Campaign to raise awareness and knowledge about waste problems to encourage everyone to contribute to adequately reducing, sorting, and recycling waste.

Climate change and natural disasters remind the world to recognize the importance of proper and effective waste management. With correct and appropriate solutions in waste management, it is possible to reduce waste and prevent environmental problems from escalating.

Thus, the global waste crisis is a problem that the world’s entire population must come together to help resolve. The solution starts with us changing our daily behaviors by reducing waste production, properly sorting waste, and recycling to contribute to building a waste-free society with a clean environment and a sustainable future.

Proper Paper Sorting Can Create Income

Proper Paper Sorting to Create Income

For many years, the world has been campaigning for reduced paper consumption. Whether using both sides of paper or recycling paper, both options are interesting global trends because paper remains essential but can harm the environment when used excessively. This is because the raw materials used to make paper are trees, and paper production processes release pollution into nature.

Hence, recycling paper is one way to reduce environmental harm since recycled paper is the reuse of paper that has already been used through a recycling process to adequately meet various usage requirements. If the paper is properly sorted by type, its value will increase and can create income.

In the paper recycling process, before transporting paper to a paper factory, it is necessary to correctly sort paper by type and category to ensure that each type of paper can be recycled into new products.

How many types of paper are there to sort?

For paper to be recycled, proper sorting is necessary. It is possible to sort paper according to the categories created by paper factories as different grades as follows:

1. Grade A paper: Office paper, printer paper, and white paper.

2. Grade B paper: Crate Paper, box paper, and magazines.

3. Grade C paper: Newspapers, advertisements, and corrugated papers.

4. Other paper: Tissue paper, toilet paper, coffee cups, and wax paper.

How to do proper paper sorting?

Correct paper sorting will divide the paper into the proper categories. Once sorted, it can increase the value of paper and generate income from selling paper to paper factories for recycling. Everyone can do it properly by using methods as follows:

Step 1: Sort paper by type.

Step 2: Remove all stickers from the paper.

Step 3: Clean the paper with filthy spots and scraps that contaminate the box, crate paper, etc.

When discussing paper usage requirements today, Thai people use an average of 3.9 million tons of paper per year or about 60 kilograms of paper per year. Thus, in order to sufficiently meet the Thai people’s paper needs, it is necessary to cut as many as 66.3 million tons of trees each year. This means that over 126 trees are cut down every minute.

Therefore, proper paper recycling and sorting can help reduce deforestation by reusing paper as raw materials to create new paper, restoring greenery and abundance for the world, and protecting the environment to ensure sustainability for future generations.

Our References: dms.go.th
http://secretary.dms.go.th/secretary/paperless/data/2-2563.pdf