CIRCULARITY AS USUAL

We need to make linear unaffordable and unattainable if we’re ever to achieve genuine circularity

"Businesses are not ready to become B Corps, and much less C Corps."

Hearing this stopped me in my tracks when I heard it in?2021, and it has preoccupied me ever since. There are currently over 4,000 Certified B Corporations in more than 70 countries.?But when you consider there are 214 million companies in the world, B Corps currently represent?0.00187% of the world's businesses.

When you consider the first 82 Certified B Corps were certified in?2007, coming up to 15 years ago, you can see that progress is painfully slow. When you consider that over 50% of major plastic polluter Danone’s global sales are now covered by B Corp? certification, you might also ask yourself what B Corp status means with regards to damage to our natural capital. I continue to be shocked by "luxury vegan" apparel companies gaining B Corp accreditation, only to see a 100% microplastic-timebomb product portfolio with zero end-of-life strategy.?

Green Shoots

The companies who approach Circuthon? for consulting work tend to be pioneers: there are a number of visionaries amongst them "who don't understand how business works". So when we're moving from BAU (Business As Usual) to CAU (Circularity as Usual), they often have a very poor grasp of BAU. Hallelujah! ?To put this into context, when I compare my MBA studies in the early 90s to the enlightened curricula of the business schools where I give seminars, I am genuinely filled with hope. But just how long will it take for this generation of MBAs and Environmental Business graduates to take over the reins of these 214 million businesses??

What is going to trigger Circularity?

Taxes, taxes, taxes. If there is one language that business understands it's taxation. And the quickest way to get a business to pivot is to mutter "tax planning". It's clear that PEF and EPR are making businesses feel under pressure. More pressure is being applied by retailers who are all in a race to be "greener than thou". I don't really care about the faux vert of the retailers, it's getting brands to grasp the nettle.?The last thing a brand wants... is to be delisted…

So can we expect Circularity as Usual by?2030?

Big business is embracing circularity in its time-honoured way - making pledges, joining pacts, pouring cash into foundations to be part of the club.?Some see competitive advantage. Others are concerned about their linear pollution in a circular world (i.e. lawsuits and punitive action). A select few understand the importance of preserving our natural capital. But what is truly going to trigger genuine ABSOLUTE CIRCULARITY? Technology, supply chain innovation, climate-triggered business failures, eco-politicians?

Some answers in my next article in 6 months’ time. Meanwhile if you want to execute circularity now, message me.