| Circular Economy Trurtoo (Douwe Jan) Thema1 #142848
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Circular Economy @Turntoo I would say that the report on the circular economy and the examples that show that it is possible (see this movie on our office and the concept of it as a marketmodel in a circular economy (in German): http://turntoo.com/2011/06/®turntoo-on-german-television/thomas-rau_ard-ratgeber-bauen-wohnen-2/
Some discussion has been around here on the educatioal aspects. The book by Ken Webster and Craig Johnson: Sense and Sustainablity (in Dutch: Leren van de natuur) gives a bright insight on the educational possibilities of the new approach in the circular economy. We, for instance, will need much more knowledge and understanding of biology and ecology. Nature has been formed in 3.5 billion years, runs in cyclic nutrient 'management', uses energy from the sun and develops diversity (as well in biodiversity as in diversity on location). Ken Webster is the 'brain' in the educational work of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. His work is of great importance for the educational efforts that we need as a basis for the circular economy.
Do I need to tell more on the Turntoo-initiative? I guess so, because it is a viable and already working example of a systemsinnovation in reality.
®turntoo advocates performance-based consumption: a fundamental change in our current consumer society and the associated profitability models.
In the ®turntoo model, the manufacturers retain ownership of their own products. Consumers only pay for the performance, rather than for the raw materials that went into the product. As a result, innovation accelerates and using environmentally friendly products becomes considerably cheaper for consumers. Because the product goes back to the manufacturer after a set period of use, the consumer no longer has to be responsible for disposing of the product. Everyone is responsible for their own actions.
“ In times when raw materials are becoming increasingly scarce, it is in the best interests of manufacturers to continue to own those resources. Their products, no matter what the size, now become storage banks for source materials, providing temporary storage for precious elements. Designing a product based on Cradle to Cradle principles makes it easy for the rare elements used in that product to be reused for a new generation of products. The producer becomes less dependent on the market for natural resources and increases economic security for the future.”
says Thomas Rau, CEO TurnToo
What is the situation currently?
The turntoo concept was developed in 2010 when Thomas Rau owner of RAU architects and founder of turntoo decided to furnish his office of 1000 m2 with Cradle to Cradle certified products. He decided that he wanted to furnish his office purely on a performance basis and lease lighting, seating hours, walking hours etc. from manufacturers. The necessary contracts were developed and put into practice in collaboration with Thomas Rau and producers as an open source document.
The pilot proved so successful that Philips adopted the concept under the name ‘Pay per Lux’ and Thomas Rau decided to develop the concept further together with a range of partners. |