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Clean Tech Transitioning to the Circular Economy
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00:01Hello and a very warm welcome to all of you here at VivaTech in Paris.
00:06Thank you for joining us for this session on clean tech and circular economy.
00:12A 40 minute session here live from Paris.
00:14I'm your host, I'm Louise Eklund.
00:18Tech production and tech waste have a huge impact on the environment of course.
00:23How can we responsibly create and use technology to counterbalance its negative impacts on the environment?
00:30How can the tech industry play its part in the transition to net zero?
00:35To explore ways to more responsible production and greener consumption,
00:40such as circular economy models, green standards and second-hand markets.
00:45We're happy of course to welcome on the set today some very, very interesting guests
00:50who have a lot of things to share with you here today.
00:52But first of all, I'd like to welcome Jennifer Schenker from The Innovator
00:56who is going to be moderating this sequence.
00:58Jennifer, I'm going to leave the stage to you and to present your guests.
01:01Thank you very much.
01:02Thank you.
01:03And welcome to the session on the circular economy.
01:09Between the COP25 in Paris in 2015, when the Paris Agreement was formed,
01:17and COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, 70% more virgin materials were extracted
01:27than the earth can safely replenish, according to the Circularity Gap Report,
01:33an annual document which was just released at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos.
01:39Rising waste levels are accompanying the rapid acceleration of consumption.
01:46Ultimately, over 90% of all materials extracted and used are wasted.
01:54If you look at it from another angle, that means that less than 10% make it back into our
02:01economy.
02:02And it's getting worse.
02:03In only two years, global circularity dropped from 9.1% in 2018 to 8.6% in 2020.
02:1470% of all greenhouse gas emissions are related to materials handling and use.
02:21So, unless we radically transform how we use materials to satisfy our needs,
02:29we cannot meaningfully cut emissions.
02:34The bottom line is the transition to the circular economy requires that we both reduce waste and cut emissions.
02:44So, today, we're going to hear from entrepreneurs who are tackling the problem from both angles.
02:51I'd like to start... Well, let me introduce everyone first.
02:54So, to my right is Camille Richard, who is head of sustainability at Back Market,
03:02refurbished gadget marketplace, which is now valued at $5.7 billion,
03:08and one of France's very well-known unicorns.
03:11To my immediate left is Celine Alvey.
03:14She's a PhD in artificial intelligence, head of data science at Actionable,
03:21a B Corp, green tech, and award-winning consulting firm
03:25that helps companies tackle climate change with data and AI.
03:30They are headquartered in Paris and also have offices in Montreal, Canada.
03:34And, finally, Ellen Muller, who is head of Europe at Watershed,
03:39which helps businesses across the world create climate programs across measurement,
03:45target setting, deep reduction planning, and access to carbon removal projects.
03:51They are backed by the famous Silicon Valley venture capital firms Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins,
03:58and Watershed is already helping companies such as Klarna to reduce their emissions.
04:06So, let me start with you, Camille.
04:10Looking at today's consumption levels, sustaining our current growth trajectory
04:16would require the ecological resources of 2.3 planets by 2050,
04:23according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
04:28The good news is that it's possible to decouple our world's growth
04:34from the consumption of the Earth's resources
04:37by shifting from a linear take-make-waste economy
04:43to a circular reduce-reuse-recycle one.
04:48So, tell us how back market's doing that.
04:50Yes. Are you hearing me?
04:53Okay, yes, of course.
04:55I just said it.
04:56The production of electronic devices is highly impactful for the planet.
05:00And what we are trying to do at back market is actually
05:03make the circular product more attractive.
05:07Yes, better.
05:08So, the idea is not to make the consumer feel guilty,
05:13but to give actually good reasons to buy refurbished.
05:17So, what we are trying to do is to give the same experience with refurbished products
05:24that the consumer or customer would have get with new devices.
05:31So, it means all choices, guarantees, after-sales services, quality, etc., etc.
05:40So, what we are trying to do is to make circular economy sexy
05:44and with also a strong marketing strategy showing the good advantage we can have.
05:53And also very important to give the information to the customer
05:56what the customer is actually avoiding,
05:59choosing circular economy versus linear economy
06:02in terms of e-waste, carbon emission, raw material consumption, or water consumption.
06:09How many countries are you operating in?
06:12And are you seeing a difference in, say, the motivation of your consumers?
06:16Of course, yes.
06:17Our platform is live in 16 countries, mostly in Europe, but also in the U.S. and in Japan.
06:26And, yes, we are observing a driver's difference, let's say.
06:31So, you have Europe, in Germany, in France, for instance,
06:34we have a strong impact or looking for a better impact driver.
06:40People are actually trying to reduce their own footprint.
06:43And in countries like the U.S., for instance, the price is the biggest driver for now.
06:49But we are working to also raise awareness regarding impacts with our U.S. customers.
06:56Thank you.
06:57So, now let me turn to the whole idea of helping companies reduce carbon emissions.
07:03And so, can you tell us how actionable does that?
07:06Yeah.
07:08Actually, today, AI is facing a paradox.
07:11On one hand, there are unlimited opportunities to tackle climate-related topics with AI.
07:18On the other hand, we have unsustainable externalities and risks that have to be measured and mitigated with AI.
07:26But at Actionable, we have proven through three different use cases
07:31that the balance can be positive for our plants and our environment.
07:35I start with the first one for energy efficiency.
07:38In fact, we are supporting one of our clients in the water sector, SOAR,
07:45to control the wastewater treatment plants,
07:50and especially the process of iteration using some control variables
07:54to take data-driven decisions, leveraging AI,
07:58in order to have significant energy savings.
08:04And the second use case, it is how to increase resilience facing climate change.
08:09In fact, we are being supported by the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management for these projects.
08:16And I mentioned two of them.
08:18The first one, we were realizing for insurance company, Allianz,
08:22in order to increase and adapt their response to natural disaster declarations related to drought events,
08:30and so they can adapt their damage coverage to their policyholders.
08:36Another example, we are implementing other projects for Orano, our clients in the nuclear sector,
08:45in order to adapt their cooling production processes to the rise in temperatures,
08:52which is a result for global warming.
08:56The last, but not the least, is related to decarbonization,
09:00and specifically predictive maintenance, another project that we are realizing for Orana 2.
09:07The goal of the project is to use AI in order to predict breakdowns of different assets in an industrial
09:15plant,
09:15so we can optimize schedule shutdowns of production for maintenance.
09:22And so they are, for this project, it is double circular.
09:25First of all, we need to extend the lifespan of assets.
09:29And the second one is that the assets that are concerned of this project are used in recycling nuclear fuel,
09:36so more than 95% of its composition would re-enter the cycle in order to produce zero emission electricity.
09:44Thank you for explaining.
09:46Ellen, tell us how Watershed is working with companies and helping them to reduce their emissions.
09:53Yeah, happy to.
09:54And first of all, just happy to be here.
09:56We're two also very great companies.
09:58Continue some fun discussion we were having actually behind in the speaker room.
10:02But to share a little bit more on Watershed,
10:05so we believe that ultimately for businesses,
10:09getting to decarbonization first starts with really good data.
10:12And so we think of our platform,
10:15which helps companies run best-in-class climate programs,
10:18as four distinct steps.
10:19And the first one is on the measurement side.
10:22And so we have a software-driven approach that helps us get very deep,
10:26very granular, specific data about a business's scopes one, two, and three,
10:31so through their supply chain emissions.
10:34From there, the next place that we work with companies is in reductions.
10:37And so this is obviously the meat of the discussion and the real thing you want to get to as
10:42a business.
10:42But what we want to avoid is companies setting targets without any idea how they're going to actually meet those
10:48targets.
10:49And so we work with companies through the software to understand what it's going to take to hit those targets
10:54and giving them the tools then to take that to investors, to the finance team, to the C-suite,
10:59and have really meaningful, real conversations.
11:02The third component is that for any business that is trying to reach net zero,
11:07carbon removal is a very important component of that for many of them.
11:11And so after kind of reducing as much as possible,
11:15we also have a marketplace for access to carbon removal projects,
11:20as well as clean energy.
11:22And then the final piece, which is critical, especially here,
11:25where businesses, about kind of any business above the about 250 employees
11:30is going to have to report and publicly disclose within the next few years,
11:34the software platform also makes it very easy to report on everything,
11:38helping with transparency for investors, for regulators, for customers as well.
11:43So, Ellen, I'd like to jump back on one of the points that you made.
11:48I'm connecting companies to carbon removal projects.
11:51So, you know, one of the things that is very difficult for many startups in the clean tech space
11:57is to scale up their innovative approaches to carbon removal,
12:01and they really need the help of big companies.
12:04So you're connecting them with that.
12:07That's absolutely right.
12:08So the carbon removal space is early in its life,
12:13and we really believe that more investment, more R&D in the space is going to be very critical.
12:20I mean, the IPCC was very clear that carbon removal was going to be a very critical component
12:26to decarbonism, or excuse me, to us hitting the targets that we need to hit by 2050.
12:31And so through our platform, we give access to our customers to carbon removal projects,
12:37which may otherwise be difficult to access,
12:39and therefore also improving and increasing the funding toward those projects.
12:44Do you want to comment on some of these emerging new carbon removal projects?
12:50Well, actually, I find these startups are really promising,
12:55and these approaches are really providing us with solutions,
13:00right, in parallel with cutting down carbon dioxide emissions.
13:06As a scientist, I'd say that they have some time in front of them
13:12in order to answer some of the questions related to their scaling up.
13:19On one hand, we have the energy efficiency, for example,
13:24and on the other hand, we have also the risks that have to be measured
13:30and mitigated to the environment and the society.
13:34But I think it's fair to say that if they don't get the funding
13:37and they don't get the chance to test and pilot these technologies
13:44with big corporate customers, we're never going to know
13:48whether they're going to work or not.
13:50I think that's right.
13:52I mean, we definitely believe at Watershed that reducing is kind of
13:58the most critical first step, right?
14:00So carbon removal is not going to be the only solution,
14:04but it is a critical component.
14:05And so as part of a company's overall climate journey,
14:09their overall climate plan,
14:10the focus on deep reductions is going to be a critical component,
14:13and that's where we spend a lot of time with our customers.
14:17But we also know and believe that increased R&D,
14:20increased investment to carbon removal is going to be critical,
14:23and businesses are a really important avenue to getting that funding.
14:27Thank you.
14:28So we're going to come back to the issue of carbon emissions in a minute,
14:32but I want to come back to you, Kami.
14:34And so one of your competitors in Europe is refurbed,
14:40and, you know, they also refurbish electronics,
14:48but they're now branching out into other areas,
14:51such as furniture, clothing.
14:57Do you see back market doing something similar?
15:04Maybe, but for now it's not at all what we are trying to do.
15:08There is much to do still in improving the share of refurbishments
15:15in the technological market, in the electronic market,
15:19and we are trying to raise the quality to build this trust with the customer,
15:25and this takes a lot of energy, a lot of money as well.
15:28We are financing huge R&D programs to do so.
15:33So for now, we think that we still have a lot to do in this sector,
15:39and we want to do it well,
15:41and we actually want for the refurbish to be a real alternative,
15:47so electronics and appliances are our priority.
15:50Our model is second-hand car markets.
15:54We want the electronics and the appliances to have the same kind of lives as cars.
16:0170% of people are actually buying their car as a second-hand car,
16:06and we wish it the same for electronics.
16:10So you told us backstage that you just came from a board meeting
16:16where you were kind of talking about the company's vision for the decades to come.
16:20without revealing company secrets.
16:23Can you give us kind of some idea of what backmarket hopes to achieve going forward?
16:30Of course.
16:31What we want to do is to extend the categories of appliances and electronics
16:36we are actually selling right now,
16:38improve the repairability of the product as well,
16:42because today there is a lot of electronic products that are not repairable.
16:46We also want to open the platform in more countries,
16:51because for us, this circular revolution will come
16:56if we are able to offer this to the more people we can.
17:00So this is what we were talking about yesterday.
17:03Well, I think there is still a lot to do in terms of helping consumers repair their appliances.
17:11I just read, you know, Apple has finally decided to make it easier for people to repair their phones,
17:19but a journalist at one of the major U.S. newspapers tried to do it himself,
17:26and it was a disaster.
17:28So I think there is a clear need for someone in the middle to help get this done.
17:37Yeah, of course.
17:38I think there is still a lot to do from the constructors' parts
17:41to make the devices more repairable and these kind of things.
17:46but our job is actually to help the repairer to improve the way they are repairing the devices,
17:57to put the pressure a bit also on the constructors,
18:00saying, okay, we are actually able to do it,
18:03so you have to let us do it a bit.
18:06But there is still a lot to do
18:08and a lot of discussion to have with constructors,
18:11but we have hope that the world of repair will gain share on the technology market.
18:20Okay, thank you.
18:21So let's get back now to carbon emissions.
18:24So, you know, every large company now, you know,
18:29is in the process of setting targets if they haven't already done so,
18:33but most of them freely admit they have no clue how they're going to get there,
18:37how they're going to fulfill those targets.
18:38So it's not surprising that suddenly now we have a ton of startups
18:42that are focused on tracking and tracing carbon emissions.
18:48It's getting to be quite a crowded field.
18:51So I'd like the two panelists to tell us, you know,
18:55what do you see as your key differentiators from companies like, say,
19:00France's Sweep or Plan A in Germany?
19:05I'm happy to start if that's it.
19:07Sure.
19:08Yeah, I mean, for us, we don't spend too much time
19:11thinking about competitors or other players in space.
19:14We spend the most time deeply with our customers
19:16and understanding where their challenges lie.
19:18I will say with Watershed, you know,
19:21we've been doing this now for several years
19:22and we've been doing it for, frankly,
19:24some of the most advanced and ambitious climate programs in tech,
19:28the likes of Stripe, the likes of Spotify, of Dereku, of Klarna,
19:34who are really advanced in their thinking
19:36and have been thinking about this for some time.
19:37And we've been getting very deep and in the weeds with them.
19:40But we also have a platform that supports companies
19:44no matter where they are in their journey.
19:46And so whether you have just an intern
19:49or half a person's time focused on sustainability,
19:51we know that's the case with many companies.
19:53The whole point with Watershed is that
19:55we can kind of be your outsourced sustainability team
19:57and help you navigate the process end-to-end
20:00that I described earlier.
20:01Or if you're a very large business
20:03with multiple sustainability teams like Spotify has,
20:06we can also really help up-level your climate program.
20:10And so it's that end-to-end that I spoke about,
20:12but it's really starting with a deep software-driven data approach
20:16and also one that you can know is future-proofed for the future.
20:19We've been through many audits with our companies.
20:21We've reported to CDP and SBTI.
20:25We kind of know what best-in-class looks like,
20:27but we can meet you where you are in your climate journey.
20:30Okay, thank you.
20:31Cam?
20:33As for actionable, I'd say we are the glue.
20:36We're the glue between software owners,
20:39because we are not software owners for actionable,
20:43with our clients too,
20:44and on the other hand, the impact.
20:46In fact, we have expertise and experience in data and AI on one hand
20:51and in sustainability on the other hand.
20:53So we can support and help our clients all over the project,
20:59starting from building their business case,
21:01helping them convince decision makers
21:04in order to make larger steps towards sustainability,
21:08and then choose the right platform,
21:12the right product, for example, like Watershed,
21:14in order to adapt it to their context,
21:17or even help them develop their own custom solution according to their goals.
21:24And finally, and this is the huge step of any project,
21:27is to help them train the final users how to adopt the technological solution on a daily manner.
21:34So we can provide consulting services all along of the project,
21:41starting from ideation into deployment and even improvement,
21:47continuous improvement of the project.
21:49Okay, thank you.
21:51So let's turn now to what the role of government can be or should be.
22:02In Europe, regulatory changes are guided by a circular economy action plan
22:08that was adopted by the Commission in 2020,
22:11and it's one of the main building blocks of the European Green Deal.
22:15And the plan aims to make sustainable products the norm in the EU
22:21through laws that ensure that goods are designed to last longer,
22:26are easier to reuse, repair and recycle,
22:29and incorporate as much recycled material as possible.
22:32What else would the three of you like to see regulators and policymakers do
22:38to support a circular economy?
22:42Should, for example, consumers pay less for second-hand goods,
22:47like no TVA or lower TVA?
22:52Are there incentive programs that would entice more corporates
22:56to support carbon removal startups to help them scale up?
23:01What should the governments be doing?
23:04Actually, you're right.
23:06Public authorities also have a responsibility to support circular economy.
23:13VAT is a very good example to lower VAT on sustainable products.
23:17It can also be about putting pressure on the constructor
23:22to make the spare parts more accessible,
23:26cheaper, to make more repairable devices.
23:31And actually, in France, we have this very good example
23:35with the repairability index.
23:38Now, the constructor have to put a note
23:43of how reparable is an electronic device.
23:49So, this kind of information to the customer
23:53can also be something that can be pushed
23:55and encouraged by the public authority.
24:00Yeah, well, I'd say that regulations are a must-have
24:05in order to attain the goals of Paris Agreement,
24:09as you've already mentioned.
24:12What I'd say that we need more transparency,
24:15we need more standards
24:16in order to put in place relevant reporting
24:21that can be comparable with the clear benchmarks.
24:29I'd say that we, as individuals,
24:33as citizens, as voters,
24:35we can put pressure on our politicians,
24:40on our policymakers,
24:41in order to go further more
24:43and make larger steps towards sustainability.
24:46And so, in that way, we can have more responsible corporates
24:53that would make more actions
24:57towards more sustainable business models and practices.
25:03Ellen, what's your point of view?
25:05I would largely agree.
25:07I think the two things that come to mind for me
25:09as I think about regulation in the space
25:11are harmonization and transparency.
25:13And that's really what regulation can help us achieve.
25:17And so, through more companies being asked
25:21and forced to report,
25:23and there being a level of harmonization across standards,
25:25you can actually understand apples to apples
25:27in a way that hasn't always been particularly easy.
25:30I think that is what actually then
25:32sort of continues to drive change.
25:34We find that with many of the companies
25:36that we work with,
25:37a lot of what they're doing to decarbonize
25:39is actually engaging their supply chain.
25:41That's really where a lot of their emissions sit
25:42are in their scope three.
25:44And actually, where regulation can be very helpful
25:46is creating the kind of standards
25:48across how different companies are reporting.
25:50And so, we're very big proponents of that.
25:53And there is obviously work underway right now
25:55to bring that into effect.
25:57Maybe we could dig deeper
25:59into the whole idea of scope three.
26:02Because I think this is something
26:03that a lot of corporations are struggling with.
26:06That whole,
26:08how do you get everyone in the supply chain to do it?
26:11Can either of you maybe talk about
26:13some case studies with your clients
26:16on how you want to...
26:19Who wants to go first?
26:21Okay.
26:22I'm happy to.
26:23I'll pass it on to you.
26:24But definitely.
26:26So, as I mentioned,
26:26scope three ends up being,
26:27and particularly for our tech companies
26:29that we work with,
26:31more than 90%,
26:32if not more than 95%
26:33of their emissions typically sits.
26:35And so, maybe as a...
26:36Taking a step back for anyone
26:37who doesn't know what scope three is,
26:39that really means where your emissions lie
26:41in your upstream
26:42or your downstream supply chain.
26:43So, thinking about kind of
26:44how your products are used
26:46or where you're actually purchasing from as well.
26:49So, that's what we think about
26:50when we say scope three.
26:51And that's typically
26:52where most companies' emissions will sit.
26:56We had one case of a business
26:58that we worked with,
26:59a big fintech company,
27:00that when they looked at their scope three
27:02with Watershed,
27:03they were able to kind of see
27:04where their emissions were concentrated.
27:07And there was a particular business
27:08that they worked with
27:09as an infrastructure partner
27:10who didn't have any climate program in place,
27:14but was a meaningful component
27:15of their scope three emissions.
27:16And so, what we were able to do with them
27:18is actually work with that provider.
27:20And that provider actually now
27:22has a climate program in place
27:23and is working toward a target
27:24which benefits the scope three emissions
27:27of the initial fintech
27:28we were working with.
27:29And, of course,
27:30has the side effect
27:31of getting another company
27:32to be looking across their supply chain
27:34and trying to decarbonize.
27:35So, there's a really exciting network effect
27:38that happens in terms of decarbonization
27:40when companies start actively engaging
27:43their supply chain.
27:44And it can be one of the most powerful tools
27:46in decarbonization for businesses.
27:48Thank you.
27:50Yeah.
27:51Well, as for scope three,
27:52it is one of the scopes
27:54that we take into consideration
27:56while measuring
27:57and making recommendations to our clients.
28:00What I'd like to add
28:01is that for this scope,
28:04eventually,
28:05the firms are not of large size in usual.
28:11And so,
28:12most of the time,
28:14they don't have the obligations
28:17for transparency
28:18and for reporting,
28:19for example,
28:21measurement of carbon dioxide emissions
28:25or others.
28:26So,
28:26in our work with our clients,
28:29we go further
28:30in our investigation.
28:31We try to communicate
28:32with all of the stakeholders
28:34in order to collect
28:36the maximum of the information
28:38we can have.
28:39And so,
28:39I think that
28:40with enlarging application
28:42of transparency reporting,
28:44as I said before,
28:46we can also cover
28:47the scope three
28:49and supply chain
28:50in order to have
28:51more information
28:52about their practices.
28:54So,
28:55I'd like each of you
28:57to now talk about
28:58where you see
29:00other opportunities
29:03in the circular economy space.
29:06There's so much waste.
29:08And even if your own business
29:10is not tackling them,
29:12you know,
29:12what would you like to see happen?
29:15I'll start with you.
29:17Actually,
29:18I work in a company
29:19which is tackling it very hard.
29:22I think for me,
29:23it's like,
29:24it's the future actually.
29:25Like,
29:26we already have
29:28this amount of resources
29:29where we can reuse,
29:31repurpose,
29:32repair.
29:33What I want to see
29:34is big brands
29:35and it's starting
29:36to happen.
29:38Like,
29:38Dyson,
29:39for instance,
29:39like say,
29:40okay,
29:40we can propose
29:41to our customer
29:45objects,
29:45products
29:46that can have
29:46an extended lifespan
29:48maybe forever,
29:49infinite lifespan.
29:50we want to see
29:52more eternity
29:53for the machines
29:54because the impact
29:55of their production,
29:56producing new
29:57and it's worth
29:58for machines
29:59but for clothes,
30:00furniture,
30:01has such a big impact
30:03on the planet
30:04that we have to
30:05rethink our relationship
30:07to this kind of product.
30:08And I think
30:09the change
30:10will come first
30:11through citizens
30:12and customers like us.
30:14We are not responsible
30:16for everything,
30:17of course,
30:17but we have the power
30:19to make pressure
30:21on the states
30:23and on the companies
30:25to make this change happen.
30:27Okay.
30:28Yeah,
30:29I'd say that
30:30even AI
30:31can be more
30:32and more circular.
30:33You know,
30:34we have
30:36a back market
30:37for secondhand
30:38AI models.
30:39I'd give as an example,
30:41Hugging Face,
30:41for example,
30:42where you can
30:43pick up
30:44huge models
30:45for artificial intelligence
30:47with high potential
30:48in performance
30:49that you can test
30:50and evaluate
30:51in your context
30:52with very low
30:54carbon footprint.
30:57And I'd say
30:58that AI
31:00and data,
31:01of course,
31:02have a very high potential
31:04in helping
31:05in circular economy.
31:06For example,
31:07we can use
31:07machine learning
31:08in order to accelerate
31:10the process
31:11of iterations
31:13on design
31:14and testing
31:14new products
31:15that can fit
31:16more
31:17in a circular economy.
31:19So they can be
31:20recycled,
31:21they can be
31:21remanufactured
31:23and so
31:24with a longer
31:26lifespan,
31:28of course,
31:28so we can
31:32really go further
31:34with these iterations
31:35and faster
31:36towards developing
31:38more fit products
31:39to the circular economy.
31:41Ellen.
31:42Yes.
31:43Well, I'll just say
31:44I think the work
31:44being done by Eximble
31:46and back market
31:47is really exciting
31:47for this exact topic
31:49and this space.
31:50I'll maybe just add
31:51as a kind of final note
31:53on that,
31:54not to be too intimidated
31:55by the circular economy
31:56even if you're
31:57a very early stage startup
31:58or you're just getting started.
31:59It doesn't have to be
32:00a total upending
32:01of your business
32:02to start dipping your toe.
32:04A little micro example
32:06of this,
32:06for Watershed,
32:08we were,
32:08you know,
32:08we're a tech company,
32:09tech companies have
32:10a lot of swag,
32:11I'm sure you're all
32:11going to go around
32:12and pick a lot of swag
32:13up today,
32:13sweatshirts and mugs
32:15and the like
32:15and, you know,
32:16one thing that bothered us
32:17about that
32:18was just it felt like
32:19it had the potential
32:20for a lot of waste
32:21and so we said,
32:22actually,
32:22why don't we tell
32:23all of our employees
32:24to bring in old clothes
32:25and we'll screen print
32:26our logo on it
32:27and they can make
32:28the old new again
32:29and they can wear,
32:30you know,
32:30the old t-shirt
32:31that they like
32:32and that fits them
32:33well already
32:33and so I'd say
32:35for the circular economy
32:36specifically,
32:37there are lots of different ways
32:38to kind of get going here.
32:40We've also worked with
32:42one of our fintech customers
32:44actually on looking at
32:44recycled plastic
32:46for their cards,
32:47that type of thing as well.
32:47so it can be everything
32:49from sort of micro
32:50within the business
32:50all the way
32:51to kind of your core
32:52business operations.
32:54So if you wanted
32:56to leave the people
32:58in this room
32:59with one thought
33:01about the circular economy,
33:03what would it be?
33:05It may sound a bit cheesy
33:07but we are actually
33:09part of the solutions
33:10and circular economy
33:13is one of the best way
33:15to fight climate change.
33:17So let's do it.
33:18Okay.
33:20Well, I'd say that
33:21data and AI
33:22are great accelerators
33:24to circular economy
33:25and ecological transition.
33:28Okay.
33:30I think it's going to be
33:31a critical part
33:32of the future.
33:34No, the first step
33:35is understanding
33:36where you can make use of it,
33:37understand that data,
33:38understand where you have
33:39opportunities to lean in
33:40more to the circular economy
33:41and then continue
33:43to build from there.
33:44Do we have any questions
33:47from the audience?
33:53No one?
33:56How many people
33:57in the room
33:58are doing something
34:00that is part
34:01of the circular economy?
34:06Okay.
34:09And do any of you,
34:12you know,
34:13feel like you have something
34:14to contribute
34:14to the conversation?
34:18Sure you do.
34:22Do you want to
34:23add something?
34:25Please.
34:26Stand up.
34:27And we'll lend you
34:28a microphone.
34:35Can you hear me?
34:37Okay.
34:37Can you just identify yourself?
34:39Okay.
34:40I'm starting a business
34:42right now.
34:43So,
34:43it's,
34:45yeah,
34:46it's inside
34:47the circular economy.
34:48I'm trying to
34:50recycle the sneakers,
34:51the shoes,
34:53so I can,
34:54you know,
34:56make the,
34:57I don't know how to say
34:59in English,
34:59I'm sorry,
35:00my English is not really good,
35:01so maybe I can continue
35:03in French?
35:05You can say in French,
35:06I'll translate.
35:08Okay,
35:09so I'm starting a business
35:10that recycles the basket,
35:12the sneakers,
35:13to be able to put them
35:14to new,
35:14to be able to recondition
35:15to the back market.
35:17And it allows people
35:18to offer their basket
35:20at a much higher price
35:22than the new pairs
35:23and to make the circular economy
35:27so if I understood correctly,
35:29you're basically
35:30starting a new business
35:31to repurpose,
35:33refurbish sneakers.
35:35Yes.
35:36Yeah.
35:36Do you have any questions
35:37for back market?
35:39Well,
35:40no,
35:41I don't have any questions,
35:42but I love back market
35:43and,
35:44yeah,
35:45actually,
35:46I try,
35:47I'm trying to apply
35:48the model of back market
35:50inside my business,
35:51so thank you for everything.
35:53I don't have any questions.
35:55Okay,
35:55well,
35:59can I ask something?
36:02Who here
36:03has a refurbished smartphone?
36:07Okay.
36:08Okay.
36:09We have a question over here.
36:12No,
36:13I asked.
36:14Okay.
36:15Great.
36:15No,
36:15interesting,
36:16yes.
36:17Okay.
36:18We have one,
36:18a question in the back.
36:20We have one minute to go,
36:21so make it,
36:22make it quick,
36:23please.
36:29thank you for the discussion.
36:31I'm Hannah,
36:32I'm from Austria,
36:33from Austrian Startups.
36:34So,
36:34we are an ecosystem player,
36:36and my question is,
36:37what can governments
36:39and ecosystem players do
36:41in order to foster
36:42the transition
36:43to a circular economy?
36:45so,
36:46well,
36:46we kind of answered it,
36:47but,
36:49yeah,
36:50actually,
36:50yes,
36:50we talk a bit about it,
36:51but,
36:52I think,
36:54the biggest
36:55and easiest way
36:57right now
36:57would be to
36:59go on
37:01lowering
37:01the taxes,
37:03the VAT
37:03on a
37:04sustainable product,
37:06I think,
37:06could be a great help.
37:08Changing the law,
37:09we talk a lot about it,
37:10like putting standards
37:11as well
37:12and putting labels
37:13to actually
37:14build trust
37:15with the customer
37:15would be great as well
37:17because there is
37:18a lot of practices
37:20and I think
37:21it's something
37:22that's very important
37:23and the big thing
37:25as well
37:25would be to
37:27pressure a bit
37:28the constructor
37:30to make
37:31more standards
37:32and more eco-conception
37:33on the devices
37:36and it's the same
37:37for a lot of
37:38products,
37:39not only electronics
37:41and to make
37:42the spare parts
37:42more available as well
37:44because it's a big thing,
37:45like,
37:45if you want to repair
37:46your phone
37:47that you have
37:47for five years,
37:48you won't find
37:49the good spare part
37:50because it's
37:51just stopped producing it
37:52and also to
37:53fight the
37:54program obsolescence,
37:55I think,
37:56it's a big thing
37:57that we can do.
37:58Thank you
37:58and so,
37:59you know,
38:00we have to wrap up
38:01but I'm happy
38:02to see that
38:03there are a number
38:04of entrepreneurs
38:05in the audience
38:06who are being
38:07inspired by the ones
38:08up here on the stage
38:10and I think
38:11the message here
38:11is very clear,
38:12we are all part
38:14of the solution.
38:15Thank you very much
38:16and let's have
38:17a nice round of applause
38:18for the panelists.
38:22So,
38:23thank you so much
38:23to Jennifer,
38:25to all of you
38:25for being on the set.
38:26I don't like standing
38:27in front of you
38:27but obviously
38:28I need to just
38:29conclude here, guys,
38:30in a couple of minutes
38:31our fourth session
38:32on this race
38:34to net zero topic
38:35will start.
38:36It's going to focus
38:36on ways to foster
38:38innovation for carbon
38:40neutrality.
38:40So, if you're in the room
38:41and you want to stay
38:41with us, that'd be great.
38:42We're just going to take
38:43a five minutes break
38:44and we'll be back
38:45just after that.
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