Circular Economy Report Wins Sustainability Award

The 2020 Sustainability Awards program takes place under the aegis of the Business Intelligence Group and is judged by active working professionals who are experienced and knowledgeable in their fields.

 

It aims to reward companies that successfully place sustainability at the heart of their business practices and to recognize that they are setting themselves apart from their competitors in a very real way.

 

Our Circular Economy Report is a way of extending that commitment to our clients and of boosting the number of companies that undertake to protect the planet as they go about their business.

The circular economy is an idea that has come into its own in recent years as awareness has grown that resources available on “Spaceship Earth” are not infinite. A linear system based on “take, make, dispose” industrial processes is therefore not sustainable.

 

The circular economy model seeks to remove waste and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions, at the design stage. This helps explain why we put renewable power sources at the heart of our energy offering.

 

The circular economy also aims to keep products and materials in use for as long as possible. This means designing for durability, reuse and recycling in order to keep components and materials circulating through the economy.

At Enel X we focus on extending the useful life of products. We also promote the use of platforms where users and owners can work together to save money and ensure resources are used efficiently.  For us, the product is a service, an approach which seeks to overturn traditional ownership models by allowing several users to exploit the same item at the same time. The increasing prevalence of digitalization, decentralization and electrification means energy consumption becomes more efficient and the impact of mobility declines. It also means lower costs, both for the client and for the environment.

Our Circular Economy Report is a detailed assessment of the extent of a client’s circularity, from design and procurement policies to how products are handled at the end of their useful life. The criteria employed cover the use of recyclable or biodegradable materials, the exploitation of renewable resources, as well as forms of utilization that encourage sharing, efficiency, and the reuse of materials.

The Report then sets out ways of boosting circularity -- a roadmap for improvements based on innovative solutions to the issues identified. We follow that up by monitoring progress toward circularity. The award for Sustainability Service of the Year is an endorsement of our efforts as an accelerator and amplifier of this new approach.