Centre d'études et de recherche intersectorielles en économie circulaire - Melding the economy and the environment? Yes, it can be done! Français
MONTRÉAL, Oct. 5, 2020 /CNW/ - The economic restart is stirring up numerous environmental concerns: On the one hand, there are those who champion growth at any cost; and on the other hand, those who think the way forward must be based on a new economic approach. The team at the Centre d'études et de recherche intersectorielles en économie circulaire (CÉRIÉC – Centre for intersectoral study and research into the circular economy), which was recently created at École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), believe that it is possible to reconcile the two visions by adopting a new model: the circular economy.
Daniel Normandin, Director of the CÉRIÉC and a recognized expert in the circular economy, firmly believes in the merits of this model for producing increases in gross domestic product (GDP) and new jobs while reducing global impact on the environment, including greenhouse gas (GHG)1 emissions.
The circular economy is an economic model that seeks viable compromises between economic development and protecting resources and the environment, taking into account the finite nature of resources and planetary limits.
Toward this end, the circular economy aims to optimize the productivity of resources that are already present on the market in such a way as to reduce the need to exploit untouched resources. This a accomplished by analyzing the flow of materials at the value chain and territorial scale, along with the "circularization" potential, or in other words, the capacity for reinserting materials back into the economic system so that their final destination is neither underutilization nor a landfill site.
Better known in Europe and some Asian countries, this commercial model is slowly gaining traction in North America. This is an issue that the CÉRIÉC must face head-on by enlisting the efforts of more researchers, companies and governments in promoting this economic model from the perspective of sustainable development. In light of this, it is important to exercise patience, because the transition toward the circular economy is only in its infancy. Experts believe that it will take 15 to 20 years before this model becomes predominant and replaces the current linear model of extraction, consumption and disposal.
A new Research Unit at ÉTS
In the meantime, Daniel Normandin and the CÉRIEC team will bring together professors-researchers from a number of universities and fields of expertise to accelerate the development of knowledge and the competencies required for the transition toward the circular economy.
To achieve this goal, they will be organizing workshops with professors-researchers in order to develop an interdisciplinary research program. In addition, they plan to raise awareness among companies and governments with respect to the circular economy while mobilizing other practitioners in the field around this common project.
A number of living labs will also be organized over the next five years, made possible by a $2 million donation from Desjardins. These living labs will bring together all of the main stakeholders from a single value chain around the same table with a view to accelerating "circularization" and consulting "closed loops". Through this approach, manufacturers, distributors, citizens-consumers, cities and researchers, among others, will be able to work together to develop solutions based on the circular economy.
For the researchers and engineering students, the circular economy represents an ideal sandbox. According to the Director of the CÉRIÉC: "By way of example, aircraft carcasses are piling up in deserts, like the one in Arizona, because we still don't know what to do with the metal alloys that are used in fabricating them. The same holds true for numerous modern consumer goods, like cell phones. If a team of engineers could develop a technology that would allow for recovery of the original metals that went into the composition of these alloys, we could tap into a veritable gold mine of raw materials."
"More than 90% of extracted resources either end up in landfill sites, dissipated into the environment in the form of pollution or inefficiently stored within the market. That has to change", the Director concluded. He also pointed out, in passing, that we extract more than 100 billion tons of natural resources annually around the world, and that this number is expected to increase if things don't change.
About Daniel Normandin, Director General
Daniel Normandin is recognized as an expert in the circular economy and a specialist in assembling research groups with an industrial interface, including the International Reference Center for Life Cycle of Products, Services and Systems (CIRAIG), the BIOPRO Research Centre and the NSERC Industrial Chair in Site Remediation and Management at Polytechnique Montréal. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from HEC Montréal and an MS in Biological Science (Environmental Biotechnologies) from Université Laval. He was Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Institut de l'environnement, du développement durable et de l'économie circulaire (IEDDEC – Institute for Environment, Sustainable Development and Circular Economy) on the Université de Montréal Campus (2014-2019), after being involved in the establishment and deployment of Quantis (2009–2014), an international consulting firm that specializes in life-cycle analysis. Daniel is a member of the Expert Panel on the Circular Economy for the Council of Canadian Academies, and the "Circular Economy Leadership Coalition". He is also Co-Founder and has headed the Pôle de concertation québécois sur l'économie circulaire (Québec cluster on the circular economy) since 2015, and has been Co-Founder and Manager of the quebeccirculaire.org web platform since 2018.
1 Économie circulaire au Québec : opportunités et impacts économiques. https://www.cpq.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/economie-circulaire-au-quebec.pdf
SOURCE École de technologie supérieure
Chantal Crevier, ÉTS Communication Service, 514-396-8800, extension 7893
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