Researching Postcapitalist Possibilities

Tag: circular economy

  • Measuring Circular Economies: a new report provides insights from food and fibre industries in Aotearoa New Zealand

    Measuring Circular Economies: a new report provides insights from food and fibre industries in Aotearoa New Zealand

    Waste is a visible symptom of deeper systemic issues. Across Aotearoa New Zealand, organisations, councils, iwi and communities are striving to move beyond the linear logic of take–make–dispose toward circular ways of organising production and consumption, mindful of care for both land and people. However, intentionality alone provides no guarantee of systems transformation. In reality, decision makers still face a host of practical barriers – e.g., energy limitations, infrastructure gaps, supermarket led packaging systems, and policy settings attuned to linearity – as well as conceptual roadblocks that favour status quo over the often complex, relational work required to make circularity real.

    Our report is an attempt to shift that reality. We explore where and why circularity is hindered, what types of social and technical innovation are currently emerging, and how ‘better’ measurement can help us identify ‘better’ investments. We begin by situating circular economy as more than just a design toolkit or a new label for recycling. At its strongest, circularity calls for integrated, place-based systems in which resources are reduced, repaired, reused, and only then remanufactured or safely returned to nature.

    In Aotearoa, such aspirations intersect with Māori economic thinking that is regenerative, relational and inherently circular – spirality: cycles that return and evolve rather than simply close. Recognising this heritage challenges narrow interpretations of circular economy and highlights reciprocity, kaitiakitanga and rangatiratanga as foundational for transition.

    In this industry insights report, we summarise insights from our 2025 Measuring Circular Economies Symposium, featuring keynote speaker Dr Jay Whitehead (Matatihi), and keynote respondents Assoc Prof Stephen Healy (Western Sydney University) and Professor Abby Mellick Lopes (UTS). The report finds that many of the challenges of measuring circular economies come from uncertainty about what to measure and how to measure it. The report was funded by Massey University and was part of a one year project carried out by a team including Kelly Dombroski, Nitha Palakshappa, Derrylea Hardy, Sita Venkateswar, Georgia McLellan and Gradon Diprose.

    We hope to use the insights from this report to inform future work in the area of circular economy return on investment tool design.

    Download the report at:

    https://communityeconomies.org/publications/reports/measuring-circular-economies-industry-insights

    If video is more your thing, further information and recordings from the symposium can be found on Youtube.

  • When we think about circular economies, we must consider social innovation

    When we think about circular economies, we must consider social innovation

    This is a plain language summary for the article Expanding Circular Economies Through Transformative Community Investment authored by Gradon Diprose, Kelly Dombroski, Dean Stronge and Alison Greenaway. There are 50 free copies available from here.

    This article is all about how we can make our economies more circular and sustainable. It’s not just about fancy new tech or being super efficient with resources. It’s also about social innovation and making sure everyone benefits.

    Key Points:

    • Three Cool Examples: The article looks at three different enterprises in New Zealand – one in transport, one in energy, and one in food. There’s a regular business, a social enterprise, and a charity. Each one is doing awesome stuff with their profits to help people and the planet.
    • Reinvesting Surplus: Instead of just pocketing the profits, these enterprises are putting their extra money back into circular economy innovation. They’re supporting social equity and helping to build a circular economy where waste is designed out. This is NOT about designing new products for consumption, but about innovation in services: car-sharing, energy hardship programmes, and vegetable distribution.
    • Social Innovation: These businesses are coming up with creative ways to use their surplus. They’re challenging the old-school, take-make-waste model and showing that we can do things differently. The innovation is in the organisation and logistics, rather than new materials or tech.
    • Equitable Practices: They’re all about refusing, reducing, re-using, sharing, and repairing. It’s not just about recycling – it’s about changing how we think and act to create a fairer, less wasteful world. The organisations have an eye to equity and justice, making sure that a wider range of people can be empower to use more ‘circular’ and low-waste services.

    By documenting what’s happening in these examples, the article shows how enterprises can use surplus in smarter, fairer ways to support the transition to circular economies. This article contributes to the goals of moving towards a caring, postcapitalist economy — but uses contemporary business language like ‘innovation’ and ‘investment’ in order to reframe these ideas for people and planet!🌱