DeepSummary
Adriana Zakay, the executive director of Circular Economy Asia, discusses her organization's focus on implementing circular economy programs and projects across 24 countries in Asia, which account for over 50% of the world's population. She emphasizes the importance of including Asia in developing a circular economy, as the region is projected to have a significant share of global GDP by 2050.
Zakay shares the challenges in engaging Asian countries with the circular economy concept, as many perceive it as an additional cost on top of sustainability efforts. Her organization aims to provide immediate value and quick wins to demonstrate the benefits of a circular economy, such as creating jobs and promoting nationalism. She also highlights the need to consider each country's political, economic, and cultural nuances when implementing circular economy initiatives.
Zakay discusses some of her organization's projects, including a recyclable resource recovery collection system, a consulting tool for circular businesses, and the Asian Plastics and Packaging Agreement. She stresses the importance of building domestic capacity for reprocessing materials and providing consumer choice through labeling, rather than exporting resources and jobs.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Asia's participation is crucial for the development and success of a global circular economy, as the region accounts for over 50% of the world's population and is projected to have a significant share of global GDP by 2050.
- Implementing circular economy initiatives in Asia requires considering the diverse political, economic, and cultural nuances of each country, as a one-size-fits-all approach is not feasible.
- Circular Economy Asia aims to provide immediate value and quick wins to engage people and demonstrate the benefits of a circular economy, rather than focusing solely on environmental benefits.
- Building domestic capacity for reprocessing materials, providing consumer choice through labeling, and transitioning from a focus on recycling to a comprehensive circular approach are essential for Asia's shift towards a circular economy.
- Circular Economy Asia is developing various projects and resources, such as a recyclable resource recovery collection system, a consulting tool for circular businesses, and the Asian Plastics and Packaging Agreement, to support the region's transition to a circular economy.
- Collaboration and inclusion of Asia in global circular economy initiatives, such as EU regulations and educational programs, are important for the successful implementation of a circular economy worldwide.
- Engaging the private sector and creating economic incentives, such as job creation and promoting nationalism, can be effective strategies for encouraging participation in circular economy initiatives in Asian countries.
- Considering the political and economic dynamics of each country, such as the influence of military, royalty, and business in Thailand, or the hierarchical structure in Confucian societies like Japan, is crucial for effective implementation of circular economy processes.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “So you need to be able to respect all those different nuances within each country. Looking at India, too, very diverse country, lots of people, 1.3 billion people, very vibrant. Biggest democracy in the world. Quite a good legal system. So all these factors come into play when you think about implementation of circular economy processes and anything you want to do within the context of the circuit or changing economic systems.“ by Adriana Zakay
- “And the third, the third workshop manual will be in circular design. So the six steps actually has been created in a way that enables companies to pick and choose what sections are applicable to them, and then we can run workshops around what is applicable to them.“ by Adriana Zakay
- “The issue for us for implementation of circular economy values and principles is by creating programs that actually provide immediate value or quick wins to people that enable them to say, ah, so this is what the circular economy means.“ by Adriana Zakay
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Episode Information
Getting In the Loop: Circular Economy | Sustainability | Closing the Loop
Katherine Whalen
4/1/19