From “take - make - waste” to sustainable systems
March 7, 2019
March 7, 2019
It now requires the equivalent of 1.7 Earths to replenish the resources consumed and absorb the pollution generated by consumer goods suppliers. At this rate, by 2050 three planet Earths will be needed. Current “take-make-waste” linear production and consumption models are not sustainable. They must give way to more circular systems – in which materials flow “within” rather than “through” our global economy.
The Consumer Electronics and Plastics Packaging industries could make a positive impact with a more circular approach to goods production. If they do, they can help unlock a global growth potential of $4.5 trillion, and address the environmental challenges inherited from previous industrial revolutions – from climate change to water scarcity.
Fortunately, the Fourth Industrial Revolution—rooted in digital technologies—presents an exciting opportunity to change the way we source, manage and value our resources. As quickly increasing technological performance redefines what is possible, exponentially decreasing costs define what is feasible. The art of the possible has changed.
Accenture and Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE), a public‑private collaboration and project accelerator hosted by the World Economic Forum, focused on the digital opportunities within reach. They identified:
“As quickly increasing technological performance redefines what is possible, exponentially decreasing costs define what is feasible. The art of the possible has changed.”
˃80%
of a product’s environmental impact is influenced during the design process.
80%
of global e‑waste is not documented for recycling.
Blockchain can help Consumer Electronics and Plastics Packaging companies embed transparency into a product. Information on product origin, contents and condition can be communicated securely to selected value chain players via a digital product passport that travels with the product throughout the chain.
Machine vision and robotics enable hyper-intelligent sorting of plastic waste. Machine vision solutions can combine a camera, an AI algorithm and a robotic arm to pick waste off a conveyor belt, sorting it by material, polymer type and even brand. Such solutions are highly scalable as the data it collects as it identifies materials can be stored in a cloud neural network to improve the learning algorithm across all installations. The solution can also detect contamination levels in plastic streams, providing valuable information on their purity and quality.
Sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT) can play a major role once a product moves out of the design phase and begins its useful life. They can help brand owners monitor and extend that life through remote maintenance, device upgrades and other targeted service-based solutions.
Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies
Some Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies show great promise in helping the Consumer Electronics and Plastics Packaging industries transform to more sustainable production.
The emerging tech‑based solutions outlined here can deliver a circular economy at scale and speed, but require the right conditions:
Innovators are already building solutions around the new and emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To unleash their full potential to improve our planet—and a potential $4.5 trillion in global growth potential—the Consumer Electronics and Plastics Packaging sectors have an opportunity do their part. It means moving toward a circular economy with new ideas and new practices – fit for purpose and fit for the planet.
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