Pyxera Global 349d ago

A panel discussion at the 1st #IndiaCircularitySummit on June 17th, led to an animated exchange on understanding the transition to #CircularEconomy and #RegenerativeAgriculture. Here are some key takeaways: 1. The ethos of resource efficiency and wasting less has been around in rural India for very long. But with the problem of plenty we need to engage in a process of re-discovery. This is not about going backward but rather understanding that the frontier of science is leading us to where indigenous communities were. 2. On renewal energy we need to be mindful that as much as 200k tonnes of solar panels will be hitting end of life in India by 2030. How will we treat solar panels and lithium batteries at their end-of-life stage given that there is very little investment towards recycling these materials? 3. There is positive news on the corporate sector front. It is beginning to understand there is a problem and climate is being discussed at a board/governance level.  More than ESG specialists, we need people who understand the issues and see them in the context of the entire supply chain. 4. Creating linkages between producers and consumers is crucial. Dissemination of information and transfer of knowledge will be key, but will companies share their process, or will they treat it as a competitive edge? 5. Regulation, policy, and finance are important instruments to create a circular economy but at the level of the consumer, we can’t tell people to change. People resist a new mindset. Shifts in mindsets therefore require us to educate people; to celebrate what is working and getting people to experience change.  When people feel touched a shift happens at a whole-body level and their mindset change comes about naturally. 6. Scaling up requires sharing of stories and shifting conversations around perspectives. Stories inspire change. When we introduce circularity stories in boardrooms, circularity principles get more easily embedded into strategy @Morag Gamble @Prarthana Borah @Sameer Kwatra @Vishnu Swaminathan @Permaculture Education Institute @CDP @Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)