Rolling out circular economy principles could well cut production and usage emissions by 45 percent says the Eurecat technology centre. This makes them into a key strategy for mitigating climate change alongside cutting greenhouse gas emissions from power generation.
The agri-food and chemical industries, transport, construction and equipment manufacturing are some of the most promising sectors in this field in Catalonia. However, all economic activities can reap the benefits of extending the life of resources as far as possible.
The circular economy seeks to preserve the value of resources throughout the life cycle of products and services to the greatest extent possible with economic benefits derived from resource savings, pollution abatement and consumer satisfaction.
The options for improvement in this area come from building eco-design into the early stage of devising new products. This might include, for example, not adding toxic compounds or ones which make recycling difficult, fostering new usage models to extend their life to the maximum such as the product-as-a-service concept, and recovering value at the end of life by remanufacturing or recycling.
“In lockstep and to achieve climate neutrality at the earliest feasible date, we need to drive the energy transition with a shift to renewable energies, mobility electrification drawing on renewable sources and also energy efficiency in buildings,” says Miquel Rovira, director of Eurecat’s Sustainability Division.
“Consumers are increasingly making their purchases based on an environmental standpoint and are extremely keen for brands to be eco-friendly,” he adds. This goes hand in hand with lifestyle trends which “put concern for the planet’s health and people’s wellbeing at the forefront.” However, “sometimes these are areas where there is still a lot to do in terms of manufacturing processes and social awareness.”
“Europe imports greenhouse gas emissions by using lots of products from other countries,” points out Frederic Clarens, Director of Eurecat’s Waste, Energy and Environmental Impact Unit. “This should prompt us to think about how we need to be more aware of the emissions from the products we buy and insist on getting environmental information from suppliers so we can compare options.”
Eurecat draws on life cycle assessment to estimate the environmental net gain of the technological innovation processes it runs
Eurecat uses life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to estimate the environmental net gain of the technological innovation processes it runs. This allows it to quantify the carbon dioxide emissions averted in each one with a view to gathering fresh data to help mitigate climate change.
“Widespread use and disclosure of environmental net gain estimation in areas such as production, usage and mobility would furnish more information to help curb carbon dioxide emissions as it would empower the public in their decisions,” argues Frederic Clarens.
“If we don’t estimate the amount of carbon dioxide from processes and products, cutting emissions will be a big ask,” he points out. So “it’s essential to calculate the quantities which are saved and compare them with benchmark processes and products to show the environmental net gain achieved.”
