The idea of a circular economy, where everything is built with re-use in mind and endlessly recycled, is gaining traction. As Katie Puckett reports, it presents a massive challenge for the industry – but also the opportunity to change the way we live. Illustration by Nick Lowndes.
Imagine a world where a manufacturer is happy to replace a product after 10 years, and not because there’s anything wrong with it, but simply because a better version has come on to the market.
It may sound far-fetched but this is a serious idea proposed by some of construction’s soberest minds. It’s part of a concept that has become known as the “circular economy”, in which the link between economic prosperity and resource consumption is severed. In a circular economy, the traditional linear process of “take-make-dispose” is transformed into a closed loop where no resource is wasted and everything is reused or recycled.
On one level, “waste not want not” is far from a new idea. Swiss architect Walter Stahel first propounded the economic benefits of a closed loop economy in the mid-1970s, and terms such as resource efficiency, life cycle assessment, cradle to cradle (C2C) and the blue economy have since become familiar, to sustainability specialists at least. The construction sector has steadily been reducing the waste it sends to landfill for over a decade, and many manufacturers already operate take-back schemes for products at the end of their lives.
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But the circular economy goes further than reducing waste to eliminating it altogether, extending the life of products, enabling them to be reused over and over again, and “upcycling” them to increase their value each time.
Something about the circular economy seems to have captured the popular imagination, and there are signs that it is making the leap from deep-green niche to mainstream concern. As one of the world’s heaviest users of resources and producers of waste, construction is in the front line. But is a genuinely closed loop for building materials possible? Can construction products really be reused as easily as cans of coke or cars?
Unlike many ideas about sustainability, the circular economy appeals because it responds to a pressing concern for all industries: the increasing competition for resources. According to a report by management consultant McKinsey & Company — Towards a circular economy – rising commodity prices since 2000 have wiped out the real decline in prices that took place over the whole 20th century. With the global population continuing to grow and urbanise, and 3 billion new middle class consumers expected to enter the market by 2030, high prices and volatility will be here to stay unless action is taken, says the report. On the other hand, the European Union could save up to US$630bn each year by implementing circular economy principles, it says.
The report was commissioned by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, established in 2010 to promote the circular economy, inspired by the round-the-world yachtswoman’s keen awareness of her finite resources at sea. Its founding partners were B&Q, BT, Cisco, National Grid and Renault and it has now signed up nearly 50 global companies to its business programme, the Circular Economy 100, including contractor BAM.
Brummen Town Hall in the Netherlands has a 20-year service life and is described by BAM as a “semi-circular” building. The client pays for elements such as lighting in a performance contract
Its campaign seems to be reaching critical mass. In July, the European Commission issued a proposal for a future EU directive, Towards a circular economy: A zero waste programme for Europe. This proposed a new target of recycling 70% of municipal waste and 80% of packaging waste by 2030, banning the sending of recyclable waste to landfill by 2025, and was accompanied by a specific proposal on developing a framework for resource efficiency in the construction sector. In the same month, a group of MPs in the UK published Growing a circular economy – ending the throwaway society, which recommended lowering VAT on recycled products, extending consumer warranties and banning food waste to landfill.
Applied to construction, the circular economy would demand nothing less than a radical shift in how buildings are designed, maintained and even owned. Buildings would be designed to be more adaptable and durable, and eventually to be disassembled into components which could be reused or recycled. Rather than selling products, manufacturers might undertake to provide a guaranteed level of service, upgrading components as more efficient ones become available and taking back the old materials.
Going full circle
The UK Contractors Group (UKCG) has established a task group to explore how the construction supply chain could become more circular, and promote the idea to its 30-strong membership. Mace sustainability director Andrew Kinsey is one of the group’s leaders. “In essence, it’s fundamentally different to what we currently do [already],” he says. “There is no waste in a circular economy because every output becomes another input. The whole industry is a long, long way from that ideal at the moment.”
"An awful lot of this is to do with ownership. If somebody’s designing something with a brick, who owns it?"
Jane Thornback, Construction Products Association
There are isolated examples of circular business models. In the aerospace industry, Rolls-Royce has offered an engine and accessory replacement service on a fixed-cost per flying hour basis since 1962, while Michelin started leasing tyres on a per kilometre basis in the 1920s. More recently, Dutch electronics giant Philips worked with RAU Architects on a “pay per lux” model for its lighting products, where it doesn’t sell the light fitting and luminaire as products, but as part of package with a guaranteed light level. While the Dutch are the undisputed leaders of the circular economy, London does have some excellent examples of best practice in the form of the temporary venues for the Olympics, where 99% of materials were reused or recycled.
The potential benefits of a circular approach to construction are many. Owners and occupants get a better building, and can spread the costs over the lifetime of the building. Manufacturers are incentivised to provide more efficient, better quality products because they will be more durable and require less maintenance, and in return enjoy a more fruitful long-term relationship with clients and a reliable supply of raw materials.
From a contractor’s point of view, the circular economy is a more outward-facing, positive message than merely reducing waste, says Nitesh Magdani, director of sustainability at BAM Construct. “We wanted to create something that we could take forward to promote our company and what we can do for clients, rather than just being less bad. It’s one way to demonstrate that we’re not just going to give them the keys and move on, we want to make sure the building works. Contractors are really well placed to lead this because we make the agreements with the supply chain.”
BAM was involved in a “circular” project in the Netherlands, at Brummen Town Hall, completed in March 2013 and designed by RAU Architects as a “raw materials depot”. The municipality asked for a temporary facility with a service life of 20 years, so the building is constructed of high-quality, reusable and renewable materials, largely prefabricated timber components which will be dismantled and returned to their manufacturers at the end of the building’s life. This did mean small but significant changes to the design: “For example, the timber frame structural beams were designed to be an inch thicker than they needed to be,” says Magdani. “That way, when it’s deconstructed, they can be resold again as a standard product.”
The transition to a circular construction industry is far from an overnight process, however, and construction is far more complicated than many industries. “Construction products are not like retail products, it’s a quite different business model,” says Jane Thornback, sustainability policy adviser at the Construction Products Association. “They’re around for many generations and are going to way outlive the companies or people who made them. An awful lot of this is to do with ownership. If somebody’s designing something with a brick, who owns it? The people who made the brick, the people who made the brick into something else, or the people who demolish the bricks 300 years later?”
Construction is also a very diverse sector, and circular economy principles are likely to be more easily applied on an out-of-town retail shed than a Cambridge college, for instance. Equally, the service contract model will work better for non-structural elements, such as internal partitions or M&E systems in which individual components can be replaced.
There are many legal and commercial issues to be addressed, such as intellectual property rights, and standards and warranties for reused components. Ensuring suppliers are financially stable enough to complete a building project is always a concern for a main contractor – what kind of safeguards would be needed to make sure they’re around to honour a 20-year service contract? And if they do go bust, would occupants find the receivers knocking on the door to reclaim parts of the building?
"Contractors are really well placed to lead this because we make the agreements with the supply chain."
Nitesh Magdani, BAM Construct
But first there are a whole host of practical and technical challenges to be overcome, to create buildings that can be dismantled and reused, without compromising on their lifetime performance or stability. “Designers need to start thinking about the lifecycle of a product, focusing on dismantling and reuse,” says Philippa Stone, group head of sustainability at ISG. “For example, products that are glued are notoriously hard to recycle so we need to think about how we put things together. At the moment, the focus tends to be on cost, waste and carbon efficiency during the life cycle and not really at the end of life.”
This is already being tackled. In 2013, the BSI issued part 1 of a new British Standard, BS 8895, Designing for material efficiency in building projects, with part 2 due in early 2015, and parts 3 and 4 to follow in 2016-17.
This was also the thinking behind a recent competition, “New designs for a circular economy”, funded by the government’s Technology Strategy Board, which challenged designers to rethink products, components and systems to make use of resources. One of these was piloted in B&Q stores over the August bank holiday last year. For a one-off DIY job, people tend to buy the cheapest tools available, which then sit in the shed or garage gathering dust. With ProjectBox, they take home all the materials for a given job and guidance on how to complete it, as well as a set of high-quality tools. When they’ve finished, they return the tools and the unused materials.
The TSB is now planning a construction-specific circular economy competition. “We’ve increasingly seen construction sector businesses applying to circular economy competitions,” explains Mike Pitts, lead specialist, sustainability. “I think the construction sector will be one of the pioneers in achieving the circular economy – the potential advantages are huge and the opportunities are strong.”
Pitts believes that BIM will play a key supporting role by providing a detailed record of exactly what a building is made of, but also by demonstrating the choices available at design stage and their impact on whole-life costs.
The TSB works on a 10-20-year timescale – the typical period that it takes to highlight an issue and work through the business challenges. Pitts expects that within 10 years, there will be many more examples of the circular economy in action. “The key challenge is demonstrating that something can work,” says Pitts. “Once that’s been done, it doesn’t take long before it becomes much more commonplace.
“The businesses we’ve been talking to have very much said that this is how they see it going in future. This is a new way of business evolving, there’s no two ways about that.”
Wazo la uchumi wa mviringo, ambapo kila kitu kimejengwa kwa kuzingatia matumizi ya tena na kutumiwa tena bila kikomo, linapata traction. Kama Katie Puckett ripoti, inatoa changamoto kubwa kwa sekta <unk> lakini pia nafasi ya kubadilisha njia tunaishi. Picha iliyochorwa na Nick Lowndes. Hebu wazia ulimwengu ambapo mtengenezaji anafurahi kubadilisha bidhaa baada ya miaka 10, na si kwa sababu kuna kitu kibaya nayo, lakini kwa sababu tu toleo bora limekuja kwenye soko. Inaweza kuonekana mbali lakini hii ni wazo kubwa iliyopendekezwa na baadhi ya akili soberest ujenzi. Ni sehemu ya dhana ambayo imekuwa inajulikana kama "uchumi mviringo", ambapo uhusiano kati ya ustawi wa kiuchumi na matumizi ya rasilimali ni kukatwa. Katika uchumi wa mviringo, mchakato wa jadi wa linear wa "kuchukua-kufanya-kuondoa" hubadilishwa kuwa mzunguko uliofungwa ambapo hakuna rasilimali inayotupwa na kila kitu hutumiwa tena au kuchukuliwa upya. Katika ngazi moja, "mchanganyiko si wanataka si" ni mbali na wazo jipya. Walter Stahl, msanifu wa Uswisi, alianzisha uchumi wa mzunguko uliofungwa mnamo miaka ya 1970, na maneno kama vile ufanisi wa rasilimali, tathmini ya mzunguko wa maisha, cradle to cradle (C2C) na uchumi wa bluu tangu wakati huo wamekuwa wa kawaida kwa wataalamu wa uendelevu. Sekta ya ujenzi imekuwa ikipunguza kabisa taka inayotumwa kwenye majumba ya taka kwa zaidi ya miaka kumi, na wazalishaji wengi tayari wanaendesha mipango ya kuchukua bidhaa zao mwishoni mwa maisha yao. Lakini uchumi wa mviringo unaenda zaidi ya kupunguza taka kwa kuiondoa kabisa, kupanua maisha ya bidhaa, kuwezesha kutumiwa tena na tena, na kuzifanya ziwe na thamani zaidi kila wakati. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""kiwango cha uchumi wa mviringo kinaonekana kuwa kimechukua mawazo ya watu wengi, na kuna ishara kwamba inatoa kuruka kutoka niche ya kijani kinachozama hadi wasiwasi wa kawaida.""" Kama moja ya watumiaji mkubwa wa dunia ya rasilimali na wazalishaji wa taka, ujenzi ni katika mstari wa mbele. Lakini je, kuna uwezekano wa kutengeneza vifaa vya ujenzi kwa njia iliyofungwa? Je, kweli bidhaa za ujenzi zinaweza kutumiwa tena kwa urahisi kama vile makopo ya koksi au magari? Tofauti na mawazo mengi juu ya uendelevu, uchumi mviringo unavutia kwa sababu inajibu wasiwasi wa haraka kwa viwanda vyote: ushindani unaoongezeka kwa rasilimali. Kulingana na ripoti ya McKinsey & Company, kuongezeka kwa bei ya bidhaa tangu mwaka 2000 kumepunguza kupungua kwa bei kwa kweli kwa karne ya 20. """Kwa kuwa idadi ya watu duniani inaendelea kuongezeka na kuongezeka kwa idadi ya watu wanaoishi mijini, na watumiaji wapya bilioni 3 wa tabaka la kati wanatarajiwa kuingia sokoni ifikapo mwaka 2030, bei za juu na kutofautiana kutakuwa hapa kukaa isipokuwa hatua zitachukuliwa,"" ripoti hiyo ilisema." Kwa upande mwingine, Umoja wa Ulaya unaweza kuokoa hadi dola bilioni 630 kila mwaka kwa kutekeleza kanuni za uchumi wa mviringo. Ripoti hiyo ilitolewa na Ellen MacArthur Foundation, iliyoanzishwa mwaka 2010 ili kukuza uchumi wa mviringo, iliyoongozwa na ufahamu wa mwendeshaji wa meli wa dunia wa rasilimali zake za mwisho baharini. Kampuni hiyo imeshirikiana na kampuni za B&Q, BT, Cisco, National Grid na Renault na sasa imesajili karibu makampuni 50 ya kimataifa katika mpango wake wa biashara, Circular Economy 100, ikiwa ni pamoja na mkandarasi BAM. Jumba la Jiji la Brummen, Uholanzi, lina maisha ya huduma ya miaka 20 na linaelezwa na BAM kama jengo la "nusu mviringo". Mteja hulipa kwa vipengele kama vile taa katika mkataba wa utendaji Kampeni yake inaonekana kuwa kufikia wingi muhimu. Tume ya Ulaya imetoa pendekezo la mkataba wa EU kuelekea uchumi wa mviringo: Programu ya Zero Waste kwa Ulaya Mkataba huo ulipendekeza lengo jipya la kuchakata 70% ya taka za manispaa na 80% ya taka za ufungaji ifikapo 2030, na kuharamu kutuma taka zinazoweza kuchukuliwa tena kwenye mahali pa kuondoa taka ifikapo 2025, na ulifuatana na pendekezo maalum la kuendeleza mfumo wa ufanisi wa rasilimali katika sekta ya ujenzi. Katika mwezi huo huo, kundi la wabunge nchini Uingereza lilichapisha kitabu kinachoitwa Growing a Circular Economy: Ending the Throw-away Society, ambacho kilipendekeza kupunguza kodi ya VAT kwenye bidhaa zilizotumiwa tena, kupanua dhamana za watumiaji na kupiga marufuku taka za chakula kutupwa kwenye majumba ya taka. Kwa mujibu wa utafiti huo, uchumi wa mviringo unahitaji mabadiliko makubwa katika jinsi majengo yanavyopangwa, kudumishwa na hata kupewa umiliki. Majengo yatatengenezwa kwa njia ambayo yatabadilika na kudumu, na hatimaye yatakatwa na kutengenezwa vipengele vinavyoweza kutumiwa tena au kutumiwa tena. Badala ya kuuza bidhaa, watengenezaji wanaweza kujitolea kutoa kiwango cha huduma iliyohakikishwa, kuboresha vipengele kama vile vifaa bora zaidi vinapatikana na kuchukua nyuma vifaa vya zamani. UK Contractors Group (UKCG) imeanzisha kikundi cha kazi cha kuchunguza jinsi mlolongo wa usambazaji wa ujenzi unaweza kuwa mviringo zaidi, na kukuza wazo hilo kwa wanachama wake 30 wenye nguvu. Mkurugenzi wa uendelevu wa Mace Andrew Kinsey ni mmoja wa viongozi wa kikundi hicho. "Kimsingi, ni tofauti kabisa na kile tunachofanya sasa [kwa tayari]," anasema. Hakuna taka katika uchumi wa mviringo kwa sababu kila pato inakuwa input nyingine. Sekta nzima ni mbali sana, mbali sana kutoka kwa lengo hilo kwa sasa. <unk> "Mengi ya haya yanahusiana na umiliki. Ikiwa mtu fulani anatengeneza kitu kwa matofali, ni nani anayemiliki?" Jane Thornback, Construction Products Association Kuna mifano ya kutengwa ya mifano ya biashara mviringo. Katika sekta ya anga, Rolls-Royce imetoa injini na vifaa vya kubadilisha huduma kwa gharama ya kudumu kwa kila saa ya kuruka tangu 1962, wakati Michelin ilianza kukodisha tairi kwa kila kilomita katika miaka ya 1920. Hivi karibuni, kampuni kubwa ya umeme ya Uholanzi Philips ilifanya kazi na RAU Architects kwenye mfano wa "kulipa kwa kila lux" kwa bidhaa zake za taa, ambapo hauuzi vifaa vya taa na taa kama bidhaa, lakini kama sehemu ya kifurushi na kiwango cha taa kilichohakikishwa. Uholanzi ni kiongozi wa uchumi wa mviringo, lakini London ina mifano bora ya mazoezi bora katika aina ya maeneo ya muda kwa ajili ya Olimpiki, ambapo 99% ya vifaa vilitumiwa tena au kurejeshwa. Faida zinazoweza kupatikana kutokana na mbinu ya ujenzi ya mzunguko ni nyingi. Wamiliki na wakazi kupata jengo bora, na wanaweza kusambaza gharama juu ya maisha ya jengo. Watengenezaji wanahamasishwa kutoa bidhaa bora zaidi na bora zaidi kwa sababu zitakuwa na kudumu zaidi na zinahitaji matengenezo kidogo, na kwa kubadilishana kufurahia uhusiano wa muda mrefu na wateja na ugavi wa uhakika wa malighafi. "Kutokana na hali ya sasa, ""mfano wa uchumi wa mviringo ni muhimu zaidi kuliko kupunguza taka,"" anasema Nitesh Magdani, mkurugenzi wa uendelevu katika BAM Construction." <unk>Tulitaka kuunda kitu ambacho tunaweza kuchukua mbele ili kukuza kampuni yetu na kile tunaweza kufanya kwa wateja, badala ya kuwa mbaya kidogo. Ni njia moja ya kuonyesha kwamba sisi si tu kwenda kuwapa funguo na kuendelea, tunataka kuhakikisha jengo kazi. "Kama mteja wa kampuni ya BAM, BAM inashiriki katika mradi wa ""mzunguko"" huko Uholanzi, katika Jumba la Jiji la Brummen, lililokamilika Machi 2013 na iliyoundwa na RAU Architects kama ""depo ya vifaa vya mbinu.""" Jengo hilo lilijengwa kwa vifaa vya hali ya juu, vinavyoweza kutumiwa tena na upya, na sehemu nyingi za mbao zilizotengenezwa mapema zitakatwa na kurudishwa kwa watengenezaji wao mwishoni mwa maisha ya jengo hilo. Hii ilimaanisha mabadiliko madogo lakini muhimu kwa muundo: <unk>Kwa mfano, beams za muundo wa muundo wa mbao zilitengenezwa kuwa inchi nene kuliko zilivyokuwa zinahitajika,<unk> anasema Magdani. "Kwa njia hiyo, wakati ni deconstructed, wanaweza kuuzwa tena kama bidhaa ya kawaida. " Mabadiliko ya sekta ya ujenzi mviringo ni mbali na mchakato wa usiku mmoja, hata hivyo, na ujenzi ni ngumu zaidi kuliko viwanda vingi. "Bidhaa za ujenzi si kama bidhaa za rejareja, ni mfano tofauti kabisa wa biashara", anasema Jane Thornback, mshauri wa sera ya uendelevu katika Chama cha Bidhaa za Ujenzi. <unk>Ziko karibu kwa vizazi vingi na zitaishi zaidi ya makampuni au watu waliozitengeneza. Mengi ya haya yanahusiana na umiliki. Ikiwa mtu anaunda kitu kwa matofali, ni nani anayemiliki? "Watu ambao walifanya matofali, watu ambao walifanya matofali kuwa kitu kingine, au watu ambao wanaharibu matofali miaka 300 baadaye? ""Ujenzi pia ni sekta tofauti sana, na kanuni za uchumi wa mviringo zinaweza kutumika kwa urahisi zaidi kwenye kibanda cha rejareja nje ya mji kuliko chuo cha Cambridge, kwa mfano." Vivyo hivyo, mkataba wa huduma ya mkataba wa huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma ya huduma. Kuna masuala mengi ya kisheria na kibiashara ya kushughulikiwa, kama vile haki za mali ya akili, na viwango na dhamana kwa vipengele vilivyotumiwa tena. Kuimarisha utoaji wa huduma kwa kampuni ya ujenzi ni muhimu kwa kampuni ya ujenzi, na ni nini kinachohitajika ili kuhakikisha kwamba kampuni hiyo inaheshimu mkataba wa miaka 20? Na ikiwa watafilisika, je, wakazi watapata vipokezi vikibisha mlango ili kudai sehemu za jengo hilo? "Wakandarasi wako mahali pazuri sana kuongoza hili kwa sababu tunafanya makubaliano na mlolongo wa usambazaji". Nitesh Magdani, BAM Construct: Lakini kwanza kuna changamoto nyingi za vitendo na za kiufundi zinazopaswa kushindwa, kuunda majengo ambayo yanaweza kuvunjwa na kutumiwa tena, bila kuathiriwa na utendaji wao wa maisha au utulivu. "Wavumbuzi wanahitaji kuanza kufikiria mzunguko wa maisha ya bidhaa, wakizingatia kuondoa na kutumia tena", anasema Philippa Stone, mkuu wa kikundi cha uendelevu katika ISG. <unk>Kwa mfano, bidhaa ambazo zimeunganishwa ni ngumu sana kuchakata kwa hivyo tunahitaji kufikiria jinsi tunavyoweka vitu pamoja. Kwa sasa, lengo ni juu ya gharama, taka na ufanisi wa kaboni wakati wa mzunguko wa maisha na sio mwisho wa maisha. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika sehemu ya kwanza ya kiwango cha Uingereza cha ""Utaratibu wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi wa Ujenzi.""" "Hii pia ilikuwa ni kufikiri nyuma ya mashindano ya hivi karibuni, ""Miundo Mpya kwa Uchumi wa Mzunguko,"" iliyofadhiliwa na Bodi ya Mkakati wa Teknolojia ya Serikali, ambayo iliwazuia wabunifu kufikiria tena bidhaa, vipengele na mifumo ya kutumia rasilimali." Mfano wa hii ni ile ya B&Q ambayo ilifanya majaribio katika maduka ya B&Q wakati wa likizo ya benki ya Agosti mwaka jana. Kwa kazi ya DIY ya mara moja, watu huwa wanunuzi wa vifaa vya bei nafuu, ambavyo kisha hukaa katika kibanda au karakana kukusanya vumbi. Pamoja na ProjectBox, wao kuchukua nyumbani vifaa vyote kwa ajili ya kazi fulani na mwongozo juu ya jinsi ya kukamilisha, kama vile seti ya zana ya ubora wa juu. Wanapomaliza, wanarudisha vifaa na vifaa visivyotumiwa. TSB sasa inapanga mashindano ya uchumi wa mviringo maalum wa ujenzi. "Tumeona biashara za sekta ya ujenzi zikijitolea kwa mashindano ya uchumi wa mviringo", anaelezea Mike Pitts, mtaalamu mkuu, uendelevu. """Nafikiri sekta ya ujenzi itakuwa moja ya waanzilishi katika kufikia uchumi mviringo, faida za uwezekano ni kubwa na fursa ni nguvu,""Pitt anasema, ""Pitts anaamini kwamba BIM itacheza jukumu muhimu la kusaidia kwa kutoa rekodi ya kina ya nini hasa jengo ni kufanywa, lakini pia kwa kuonyesha chaguzi inapatikana katika hatua ya kubuni na athari zao juu ya gharama ya maisha yote." TSB inafanya kazi kwa muda wa miaka 10-20 - kipindi cha kawaida kinachohitajika kuangazia suala na kufanya kazi kupitia changamoto za biashara. Pitts anatarajia kwamba ndani ya miaka 10 kutakuwa na mifano mingi zaidi ya uchumi wa mviringo unaofanya kazi. "Kitu kikuu ni kuonyesha kwamba kitu kinaweza kufanya kazi", anasema Pitts. "Mara tu hilo limetendeka, haichukui muda mrefu kabla ya kuwa jambo la kawaida zaidi. <unk> Biashara ambazo tumekuwa tukizungumza nazo zimesema sana kwamba hivi ndivyo wanavyoona ikitokea katika siku zijazo. Hii ni njia mpya ya biashara kuendeleza, hakuna njia mbili kuhusu hilo.