Themes explored in this section:
- How does regenerative agriculture interact with the circular economy and vise versa?
- What are ways that organizations can educate consumers about the benefits of regenerative and circular economic principles?
- What are some steps procurement teams can take to move toward a regenerative and circular sourcing model?
The linear economy, also known as the “take, make, waste” economy, is the opposite of the circular economy. For the circular economy, you take that line, put it into a circle, and follow three principles.
These principles are:
- Eliminating what you don’t need, such as waste and pollution
- Circulating materials for as long as possible (i.e. reuse, repair, refurbish, compost)
- Regenerate
It’s easier to communicate the benefits of the regenerative and circular economy to companies than the average consumer. There’s a large gap between consumers and the products they use. This distance between people not relating to what they’re consuming causes them not to really be selective when they go to buy a product.
I think art has a huge power to connect the consumer to the product. Art is able to communicate the necessity to invest in a more sustainable and regenerative future.
For example, we worked with a famous artist from Sao Paulo for a project with Nespresso in which he painted a large mural showing the female coffee farmer we were working with drinking the coffee. This mural is an effective way to communicate the story behind the product.
