- For businesses, adopting circular economy principles means less cost in hauling waste to dump sites.
- Circular economy means gaining new sources of revenue from selling by-products in manufacturing and using less energy.
- While circular economy concepts make intuitive sense to most investors, the opportunities have yet to be fully explored.
According to a new academic study published in the Frontiers in Sustainability, there are five areas of opportunities where businesses and investors can uncover wealth-building opportunities while improving the environment.
This study “Toward a preliminary research agenda for circular economy adoption in Africa”, by lead author Elke Nijman-Ross, reviewed 275 publications and analyzed the survey results of 38 circular economy experts to uncover the consensus for identified opportunities for further exploration of the circular economy in African countries including Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, DRC and Mozambique in East Africa.
The concept of a circular economy, described by the principles, design out waste and pollution, keep materials and products in use, and regenerative natural systems, envisions a local, regional, or global economy where waste is a thing of the past.
Minimal materials ending up in landfill
In a circular economy products and services are designed with minimal materials ending up in a landfill. For businesses and investors, adopting circular economy principles means less cost in hauling waste to dump sites, lower costs of inputs of materials and resources, and gaining new sources of revenue from selling by-products in manufacturing or processing, and using less energy in the process.
Circular economy concepts make intuitive sense to most investors and businesses but the opportunities have yet to be fully explored.
In the academic article published, Nijman-Ross and her co-authors found opportunities for circularity in the following five areas: private sector-driven research, policy and governance, monitoring and evaluation, e-waste, food and agriculture.
The study provided interesting insights into economic opportunities for the private sector for the valorization of different types of waste into new products and uses, especially agricultural by-products since agriculture is one of the biggest sectors for most African countries. The study also addresses the need for digitalization (technology solutions) to overcome the lack of reliable quantitative data on (e)-waste management, industrial waste management data and data on recycled waste, and the circular economy at large.
The need for technology solutions can also be linked with the necessity to develop technologies and methods to measure circularity among companies and others. On top of that, it has been highlighted that there is a need to design products to improve the recyclability of products, materials or circular innovations. For instance, it is necessary to develop innovations and alternative packaging solutions to prevent plastics from rising in African counties due to the introduction of regulations by African governments, towards banning plastics.
Identifying circular solutions
Businesses can be ahead of the curve, by identifying circular solutions, which can help to reduce costs, be efficient with resources, but also to generate new revenue streams or products and stay ahead of government regulations.
To do this, the study highlights that pilot research projects play an important role, whereby research with the industry helps to unlock opportunities in the value chain or overcome challenges by introducing circular economy innovations. For example, research can help to identify how agricultural by-products (e.g. corn cobs) of processors can be utilised for new uses and products, while it is currently a disposal cost for the company.
These solutions can be identified, tested and piloted with private companies and universities through practical research and academia-industry collaborations, whereby successful pilots can be upscaled into new products and services with the industry.
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The author, Elke Nijman, is an agricultural and circular economy expert with over seven years of field experience. She is leading the circular economy research programme at African Leadership University and the Founder of Circular Africa, a news and information portal on developments in the circular economy in East Africa. You can connect with her at elke@circularafrica.com
