Circular economy: Industry is revving things up. Here's how.

In a panel on “Canada’s potential to create an integrated environmental and economic vision,” Jérôme Pelletier, President of BBA Consultants, shared his ideas on ways to accelerate the industrial sector’s transition to the circular economy. The event was organized by the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - Canada (ACEC-Canada) and hosted many industry leaders.

The energy and natural resources sector is currently undergoing a rapid transformation with many of its key players revving things up toward the green transition. The circular economy, which is all about limiting resource use and waste when producing goods and services to ensure sustainability and community well-being, is now emerging as one of the cornerstones for achieving a green future.

Consulting engineering firms play a significant role in this transition by supporting industrial players. This includes:

• integrating sustainability and transparency into projects using key performance indicators (KPIs) to stimulate circular initiatives.
• leveraging technology to maximize responsibly how we use available resources along the entire value chain.
• developing integrated strategies that address resources and energy use as a whole.

The engineering industry must also reinvent itself. It needs to become more collaborative and adopt a holistic approach, because its future depends on being multidisciplinary. It’s also vital to foster breakthroughs in innovation to remain proactive in the search for increasingly resilient and carbon-neutral solutions. Protecting the environment must be a priority that guides our thinking.

Having ended 2022 with two COPs, one on climate and another on biodiversity, we are once again faced with the urgency of climate change. We need to act and apply existing solutions that promote resilience, greenhouse gas reduction and decarbonization. The circular economy is part of that.