Material Matters: Developing Business for a Circular Economy

Our planet is a closed system with limited material resources, yet our current economic model is designed in a one-way direction from resource extraction to disposal, leading to resource depletion. This book proposes a new economic model, offering an alternative to this linear ‘take-make-waste’ economy.

Material Matters shows a way of creating a circular economy by using the unlimited resources we have: renewable energy, data and intelligence. It describes a system based on circular business models centred on selling performance rather than ownership, designing products and buildings as resource banks, and equipping products with a ‘material passport’ to ensure their usability for future generations. Businesses thereby become custodians of materials, rather than consumers of materials and sellers of products. The book evokes the vision of a radically new economic model based on a compelling narrative, supported with cases that have been developed in conjunction with major companies, for example, convincing Philips to sell light instead of lamps, saving energy and materials by creating a whole new business model, a case which has become iconic for the circular economy.

Material Matters is not a sombre analysis of the state of the planet but a concrete and comprehensive agenda for change, offering perspectives for taking action for business and individual consumers alike.