Major Businesses, Including Cisco, Ecover, and H&M, Come Together to Agree Next Steps Towards Circular Economy

LONDON, December 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Resource - Europe's first large scale event for the circular economy, 4-6 March at ExCeL London, will address the challenges businesses face to embrace the circular economy with new circular models requiring a major rethink of product design, ownership models, and end of life thinking.  Sustainable design expert and speaker at Resource, Mark Shayler, puts the priority for businesses to embrace the circular economy quite simply: "Imagine where you will be in 10 years if you do nothing? How much will materials cost? Which business models will dominate? What will your customers want? One thing is for certain - business as usual won't be usual. You need to redesign their business models now."

Major brands and industry leaders in the circular economy will gather to share their views of how businesses are already changing, and the problems they are seeking to solve to maintain profitability in a future where raw materials and critical raw materials are in shorter supply. François-Michel Lambert, President, Institute of the Circular Economy and Walter Stahel, Product Life Institute will join leading firms such as Cisco, Ecover, and H&M to bring insight and case studies on steps that can be taken to get materials back and build so-called 'closed loop' strategies and generate revenue.

For some, 'inner circle' strategies are a key part of the solution, whereby products aren't broken up, down-cycled or recovered. Instead, businesses partner with specialist organisations to share, repair or resell products. Janet Gunter and Ugo Vallauri of Restart Project will join a panel of experts to discuss what can be done to prevent electrical items being dumped in landfill, and a discussion around designing out waste. "Companies who are serious about a circular economy should reconsider the longevity of their products, and how their customers can maintain and repair products - the inner-most circle of repair and maintenance should not go ignored," remarks Gunter.

Resource offers practical advice and in depth learning for companies progressing thinking on resource strategy. Renowned Eden Project Architect Michael Pawlyn joins the line-up of speakers at the show to discuss biomimicry - the examples we see in nature that we should aim to replicate to reduce waste and re-use waste and by-products. A complex subject perhaps, but Pawlyn is under no illusions that this is a long road for major businesses and retailers, 'Companies should develop at least one new product in a way that meets the criteria for a circular economy and then learn from that to transform your remaining products."

Resource has reported a surge in registrations at its free to attend event on 4-6^th March at ExceL London, a clear signal of the scale of interest in the event. It is clear that doing nothing is not an option for large or small businesses.

Registration for Resource, which runs from 4-6 March 2014 at ExCeL London is now open at http://www.resource-event.com.

Resource - 4-6 March 2014, ExCeL, London

Resource is the first conference and exhibition that connects the whole supply chain - extraction, design, recycling, manufacturing, retail and resource recovery - to capitalise on the commercial opportunities of a circular economy. A resource constrained world demands new thinking and new business models, this event allows senior business leaders to network throughout the supply chain and discover forward thinking solutions for closed loop business strategies.

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