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Imagine a waste-free future for your business, your family, and yourself
A circular economy is an economic system designed to save money, eliminate waste, and achieve deep sustainability. No-brainer, right? Circular Economy For Dummies explains why the old way of doing things (linear economy) is fast going the way of the dinosaurs, and it gets you ready to think circular. From business processes and material lifecycles to circular design in just about every industry, this book is a fascinating glimpse into our sustainable future.
Whether you're looking to close the resource loop in your business or develop a greener lifestyle for yourself and your family, this book shows you how. Learn how to innovate for circular economy, how to turn trash into treasure, and how to calculate the (potentially large) amount of money this will save you. And--bonus--you'll feel good doing the right thing and being a part of our sustainable future!
* Challenge the assumptions behind the old-school "linear economy" model
* Learn how we can work together to achieve a waste-free future
* Save money by rethinking your resource use or business supply chain
* Reimagine households, neighborhoods, schools, companies, and societies
The future is circular. Buck business-as-usual and learn how to create a circular economy for all!
List of contents
Introduction 1
Part 1: Linear Is Out, Circular Is In: An Economic Revolution 9
Chapter 1: Rejecting Waste, Rethinking Materials, and Redesigning the World 11
Chapter 2: What's Wrong with Being Linear, Anyway? 23
Chapter 3: A Growing Demand for a Circular Economy 41
Chapter 4: From Linear To Circular: What You Need To Know 57
Part 2: Rethinking Business for a Circular Economy 77
Chapter 5: Identifying Your Business Opportunities 79
Chapter 6: Rethinking the Conventional Business Model 95
Chapter 7: Exploring the Essentials of a Circular Business Model 113
Chapter 8: 'Round and 'Round: Making Your Products Circular 127
Chapter 9: From Trash to Treasure: Converting Waste into Products 139
Part 3: Rethinking Material Lifecycles: The Circular Perspective 163
Chapter 10: Understanding the Circular Material Lifecycle 165
Chapter 11: Analyzing Material Lifecycle Processes 179
Chapter 12: Improving the Material Lifecycle 195
Chapter 13: It All Comes Down to Selecting the Right Materials 207
Chapter 14: Circular Materials, Products, and Packaging 227
Part 4: Redesigning the Future to be Circular 245
Chapter 15: The Circular Economy of Food Production 247
Chapter 16: Circularity for Design 259
Chapter 17: Circular Economy for Builders, Makers, and Manufacturers 275
Chapter 18: The Circular Economy for Fashion and Clothing 297
Part 5: Creating a Circular Economy for All 317
Chapter 19: Understanding an Individual's Circular Opportunities 319
Chapter 20: Creating a Career in the Circular Economy 335
Chapter 21: A Global Vision of a Circular Economy 345
Part 6: The Part of Tens 359
Chapter 22: Ten Questions to Ask About Your Material Lifecycle 361
Chapter 23: Ten Questions to Foster Innovative Thinking 367
Chapter 24: Ten Questions to Ask about Your Supply Chain 373
Chapter 25: Ten Questions That Reveal How Much Your Waste Is Costing You 381
Index 389
About the author
Kyle J. Ritchie is the Education Sustainable Design Lead at Cannon Design in Chicago and an Adjunct Professor at the Boston Architectural College.
Eric Corey Freed is an award-winning architect, 12-time author, and global speaker. He is a sought-after lecturer who has educated over 250,000 people on sustainability and high-performance building.
