How to become a Green SME in a Circular Economy

Summary

このビデオ脚本では、環境に優しいグリーンSMEとして成長する方法と、循環経済におけるその役割について解説しています。EU-27の雇用の2/3以上を占めるSMEは、資源効率性、製品のエコデザイン、サプライチェーンの改善に取り組むことから始めます。また、ビジネスパートナーと協力して産業生態系に貢献し、製品のリサイクルやレンタルサービスを通じてリソースを再利用する循環経済のモデルに移行することが求められます。EUは、グリーン経済におけるSMEを支援する包括的な計画を発表し、経済的インセンティブと資金調達の機会を提供しています。

Takeaways

• 🌟 SMEはヨーロッパ経済の重要な部分を占めており、緑色なSMEになることは環境保護と経済発展の両方にとって重要です。
• 🔄 循環経済とは、資源の抽出を最小限に抑え、環境と健康への悪影響を軽減する経済システムです。
• 📈 原材料価格の上昇は、資源効率を高める必要性を示しており、プロセス改善、デザイン改善、サプライチェーン改善が鍵となります。
• 📊 物質フロー分析は、プロセスを視覚化し、資源、材料、エネルギー、水の消費を削減するのに役立ちます。
• 🛠 エコデザインの原則により、製品とシステムを再設計し、環境への影響を軽減し、リソース効率を高めることができます。
• 🔍 サプライチェーンの脆弱なポイントを特定し、重要な原材料に依存していないかを確認するためにツールを使用できます。
• 🔄 代替品やリサイクル資源を探すことで、サプライチェーンを強化し、環境に優しい製品を提供できます。
• 🤝 ビジネスパートナーと協力し、産業生態系に参加することで、循環経済への移行を促進できます。
• 🔧 逆物流システムの構築は、製品を回収し、リサイクルすることでリソースを再利用する機会を提供します。
• 💼 機能経済へのシフトは、製品を売るのではなく、レンタルやリースするビジネスモデルに変えることで、持続可能な成長を実現します。
• 💪 ヨーロッパ連合はSMEを支援しており、環境への挑戦をビジネスの機会に変えるための計画を提供しています。

Q & A

グリーンSMEとはどのような企業ですか？

グリーンSMEとは、環境に配慮した経営を行っている中小企業を指します。スクリプトでは、EU-27の雇用の2/3以上を占めるSMEが環境に配慮し、循環型経済に貢献するべきだと述べています。

循環型経済とはどのような経済システムですか？

循環型経済は、資源の網羅抽出を最小限に抑え、環境と健康への悪影響を軽減するように生産、消費、貿易が設計されたシステムです。

SMEが自社で行うことができる環境に配慮した取り組みにはどのようなものがありますか？

SMEは、プロセスの改善、デザインの改善、サプライチェーンの改善に取り組むことができます。また、材料フロー解析を行い、資源効率を高めることも重要です。

材料フロー解析とは何ですか？

材料フロー解析は、企業のすべてのプロセスの材料フローと損失を可視化する手法です。これにより、無駄や損失を減らし、資源・エネルギー・水の消費量を削減することができます。

エコデザインとはどのような原則に基づいていますか？

エコデザインは、製品やシステムの環境への影響を減らすために、製品のライフサイクル全体を考慮したデザイン原則に基づいています。これには、CO2排出量、土壤や水の汚染、酸性化、有害廃棄物などが含まれます。

サプライチェーンの改善にはどのようなアプローチがありますか？

サプライチェーンの改善には、サプライチェーン内の脆弱なポイントを特定し、重要な原材料に依存していないかを確認するアプローチがあります。また、代替品やリサイクルからの供給源を見つけることも重要です。

産業生態系とはどのような概念ですか？

産業生態系は、異なる企業が協力し、廃棄物をリソースとして再利用することで、エネルギーと資源を節約する概念です。これは1つの企業の排出物が別の企業の入力となるエコシステムです。

リバースロジスティクスとはどのようなビジネスモデルですか？

リバースロジスティクスは、販売した製品を取り戻し、リサイクルや再利用するビジネスモデルです。これにより、リソースを回収し、将来の商品に再利用することができます。

機能経済とはどのようなモデルですか？

機能経済は、製品そのものを売るのではなく、その機能を提供するサービスとして顧客に提供するビジネスモデルです。これにより、顧客は廃棄物の処理を心配せずに製品を使用することができます。

EUが提供する環境に配慮したSME向けの支援プログラムにはどのようなものがありますか？

EUは環境に配慮したSME向けに、グリーン起業家精神からグリーンSME向け市場へのアクセスまで、多岐にわたる支援プログラムを提供しています。また、EUの財政支援ツールも利用可能です。

EUのグリーンアクション計画とは何ですか？

EUのグリーンアクション計画は、環境への課題をビジネスの機会に変え、SMEが環境に配慮したビジネスを展開できるように支援する包括的な計画です。

企業が循環型経済に貢献するために行う取り組みは経済的にもリターンをもたらす可能性がありますか？

はい、スクリプトでは環境と経済の両面から得られる節約が例示されており、多くの取り組みが経済的にもリターンをもたらす可能性があると述べています。

Outlines

00:00

🌿 グリーンSMEへの道のり

この段落では、EU-27の雇用の2/3以上を占めるSMEが環境に優しいビジネスモデルに移行するよう促します。特に、循環経済の概念とその重要性が強調されています。循環経済とは、資源の抽出を最小限に抑え、環境と健康への悪影響を軽減する経済システムです。ビデオは3つのパートに分けられており、まず自社の制御できること、次にビジネスパートナーとの協力、最後にEUがSMEを支援する取り組みについて説明しています。原材料価格の上昇や資源の限界についても触れられており、プロセスの改善、デザインの改善、サプライチェーンの強化が求められます。

05:01

🔄 資源効率とサプライチェーンの改善

第2段落では、SMEが独自に資源効率を高める方法とサプライチェーンを強化する戦略について詳しく説明しています。マテリアルフロー解析を使用してプロセスを可視化し、廃棄物を削減する方法が紹介されています。また、エコデザインの原則に従って製品とシステムを再設計し、環境への影響を軽減する例も示されています。さらに、サプライチェーン全体を評価し、重要な原材料に依存しているかどうかを確認するツールも提案されています。代替品やリサイクル資源を見つけることでサプライチェーンを強化するよう促します。

10:01

💼 ビジネスモデルの転換とEUの支援

最後の段落では、SMEがビジネスモデルを転換し、循環経済の核心となる方法について語られています。リバースロジスティクスの導入、製品のレンタルやリース代替の販売、機能経済へのシフトなどが提案されています。これにより、使用済の製品が廃棄物から原材料へと変わり、循環経済の一环となります。また、EUが提供する支援プログラムや資金調達の機会についても触れられており、グリーン経済への移行を促進する意図が示されています。

Keywords

💡グリーンSME

グリーンSMEとは、環境に優しい経営手法を実践し、持続可能な経済活動を推進する中小企業を指します。ビデオでは、SMEが環境負荷を軽減し、循環型経済への貢献を図る方法について議論されています。例えば、リソース効率の向上や製品のエコデザインなど、グリーンSMEとして取り組むべき分野が紹介されています。

💡循環型経済

循環型経済とは、資源の新規抽出を最小限に抑え、環境への負荷を減らす経済システムです。ビデオでは、生産、消費、貿易を設計し、重要な資源の網羅抽出を最小化する経済モデルとして定義されており、その実現に向けた具体的なアプローチが説明されています。

💡リソース効率

リソース効率とは、必要以上の資源を使わずに同じ成果を得る能力です。ビデオでは、プロセスのマッピングやマテリアルフロー解析を通じてリソース効率を高める方法が紹介されており、例えば塗装作業の見直しによって塗料の無駄を減らす例が挙げられています。

💡マテリアルフロー解析

マテリアルフロー解析とは、製造プロセスにおける材料の流れと損失を可視化する手法です。ビデオでは、この手法が資源、エネルギー、水の消費量の削減に役立つと説明されており、塗装の例を使って具体的な適用方法が示されています。

💡エコデザイン

エコデザインとは、製品やシステムの設計段階で環境への影響を最小限に抑えることを目指した設計手法です。ビデオでは、トラックの重量を減らし燃料消費を削減する例など、製品のライフサイクル全体を考慮したデザインの重要性が強調されています。

💡サプライチェーン

サプライチェーンとは、製品やサービスを提供するために必要な材料、情報、資金の流れを管理するプロセスです。ビデオでは、サプライチェーンの見直しがリソース効率の向上に寄与すると説明されており、rare earth mineralsへの依存度を特定するツールの例も紹介されています。

💡リサイクル

リサイクルとは、廃棄物を再利用可能な資源に変えるプロセスです。ビデオでは、リサイクルが循環型経済において重要な役割を果たし、再生可能エネルギーの使用や再生プラスチックの購入など、リサイクルを促進する取り組みが議論されています。

💡リバースロジスティクス

リバースロジスティクスとは、製品の返品やリサイクルのために顧客から製品を取り戻すプロセスです。ビデオでは、リバースロジスティクスがリソースを回収し、循環型経済の実現に寄与する仕組みとなっていると説明されています。

💡機能経済

機能経済とは、製品そのものを売るのではなく、製品の機能を提供することで顧客にサービスを提供するビジネスモデルです。ビデオでは、製品をレンタルするという形で機能経済が紹介されており、その例として金属洗浄用ソルベントのレンタル事業者が成功を収めているとされています。

💡EU資金調達

EU資金調達とは、ヨーロッパ連合が提供する資金援助を受けるプロセスです。ビデオでは、グリーンなビジネスに貢献するSMEに対してEUが提供する資金援助プログラムやサポートプログラムについて触れられており、環境に優しい取り組みを促進する仕組みとなっていると説明されています。

Highlights

99.8% of Europe's private companies are SMEs, accounting for over two-thirds of employment in the EU-27.

SMEs play a crucial role in becoming green and transitioning to a circular economy.

A circular economy minimizes the net extraction of key resources and reduces environmental and health impacts.

Raw material prices are increasing, making resource efficiency essential for SMEs.

SMEs can improve processes, design, and supply chains to enhance resource efficiency.

Material flow analysis helps visualize material flows and losses in processes.

Eco design principles can reduce the environmental impacts of a product throughout its life.

Life cycle analysis enables better end-of-life management for products.

SMEs can benefit from using third-party verified eco-labels for greener procurement.

Industrial ecology connects businesses to create a cleaner and more efficient ecosystem.

Reverse logistics allows SMEs to recover and recycle products, turning waste into resources.

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) holds companies accountable for their products' end-of-life.

Functional economy or product-as-a-service models can provide steady income and design for longevity.

The European Union supports SMEs with various initiatives and funding opportunities for a green economy.

Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) offers advice and assistance for SMEs to internationalize and access funding.

Circular economy represents an opportunity for SMEs to build a more robust and resilient business model.

Transcripts

how to become a green SME in a circular

economy ninety-nine point eight percent

of Europe's private companies are SMEs

accounting for more than two-thirds of

employment in the eu-27 well then as an

SME what are you doing to become green

how could you become a green SME in a

circular economy moreover what is a

circular economy a circular economy can

be defined as a system in which

production consumption and trade are

designed to minimize the net extraction

of key resources such as fossil fuels

raw materials water land the environment

and pollutants along with diminishing

negative environmental and health

impacts this video has been split into

three parts firstly what can you do on

your own what is in your control

secondly what can you do with your

business partners lastly what is the

European Union doing for you

you might have noticed that prices of

raw materials are increasing for

instance since 2000 metal prices have

risen by one hundred and seventy percent

rubber has risen by two hundred and

sixty percent and many other materials

are following suit it's always tricky to

put an expiration date on certain

resources like there will be no more

silver extracted in 15 years yet what is

certain is that companies will

increasingly have trouble sourcing raw

materials at affordable prices you'll

need to think about improving processes

improving design improving supply chains

we are all familiar with the old saying

what gets measured gets managed well the

first thing to do on your way to

resource efficiency is to map your

processes

what Natural Resources do you use how

much do you need where could you improve

material flow analysis can help you to

visualize the material flows and losses

of all your processes take the example

of painting a car in an auto repair shop

the left side shows the flow of paint

before the analysis the red arrows show

how much is wasted or lost in emissions

out of 10 kilos of paint purchased only

one kilo remains on the car the right

side illustrates how much of this can be

spared if you reduce losses within the

paints preparation and application and

if you limit overspray you will only

need to buy 3.2 kilos of paint instead

of 10

material flow analysis is a good way to

reduce material energy and water

consumption going beyond improving

existing processes and redesigning

products and systems can bring even

greater benefits this is the principle

of eco design which is illustrated in

the following example a refrigerated

truck company managed to reduce the

weight of their trucks in semi trailers

by 16 percent this brought about other

positive changes such as less fuel

consumption due to their lighter trucks

as the German architect miss van der

horse ed less is more better design is

another step forward expanding the focus

beyond materials eco design considers

all the main environmental impacts of a

product throughout its life such

environmental impacts include co2

emissions soil and water pollution

acidification and hazardous wastes based

on life cycle analysis eco design also

gives you some influence over what will

become of your product once it has left

the factory or shop eco design can make

it easier to reuse or recycle your

product at the end of its life for

instance one particular company has

designed a laptop that when it reaches

the end of its life is at least 70%

reusable or recyclable this particular

laptop was designed with the support of

the EU funded zero wind research project

clearly redesigning your products and

processes to use less material will

benefit both the environment and your

bottom line however improving your

supply chain goes beyond simply reducing

quantities better supply is also about

identifying the weakest points within

your supply chain take rare earth

minerals as an example most SMEs as well

as their immediate suppliers are

completely unaware of to what degree

they are dependent on critical raw

materials some tools have been developed

to help SMEs tackle the issue for

instance an example in France can be

found at the following address

furthermore in a recent report of the

European Commission 20 raw materials

were identified as critical including

cobalt gallium indium tungsten etc use

one of these tools to check that your

main inputs are not on the list and what

if they are well better supply above all

means that you should look for

substitutes or other sources of supply

such as from recycling instead of buying

virgin plastic material you could buy

recycled plastics instead of buying

virgin paper you could buy recycled

paper instead of using fossil fuel in

your plant you could use renewable

energy as for rare earth minerals there

is ongoing research and development to

find synthetic substitutes to natural

elements anyways the changes that you

can make will depend on your operations

there is no one-size-fits-all solution

as an SME you may find it helpful to

rely on proven sources to improve your

supply for instance if you buy products

awarded with third-party verified

eco-labels it ensures that you use the

greenest products that fit your needs

for example the EU eco label covers more

than 30 product groups including

detergents floor coverings lubricants

paper products and more therefore when

launching a procurement process to

secure your supply you could include

environmental criteria

let's imagine that you are now fully

resource-efficient SME you consume as

few resources as possible you design

environmental friendly and easy to

recycle products all of this as we said

is in your control however there are

still many areas where you will need a

little help from your business partners

to make a change by definition you

cannot make the change to a circular

economy alone a circular economy is all

about being open to new business

opportunities and there are many ways

for you to be part of a broader and

cleaner industrial ecosystem you may

wish to turn your neighbors into

business partners this is industrial

ecology turn products you sell into

resources you recover this is reverse

logistics turn your business model from

for sale to for rent this is a

functional economy

Industrial ecology or industrial

symbiosis aims to save energy and

resources by transforming one company's

waste into another's resource output

becomes input in a different part of the

ecosystem the most famous eco industrial

park in the world is located in

kallenberg denmark nowadays it includes

nine private and public enterprises

which are linked together with other 30

material exchanges for instance fly ash

from the power station is sent to a

local cement company which turns it into

gypsum boards also water reuse schemes

have been developed within collenberg

together with many other cooperative

solutions the eco industrial park of

colin borg enabled many economic

benefits in environmental savings for

example over 240 thousand tons of co2

emissions are avoided each year which is

equivalent to the emissions of over

32,000 European people this success is

not unique to Denmark and could be

reproduced near you have a look at other

examples of industrial parks in Europe

on the ECAP website at the address on

the screen also some country specific

initiatives have been set up to connect

businesses and shape opportunities to

learn about the national industrial

symbiosis program in the UK follow this

address or this additional address which

provides guidance by the French Ministry

of sustainable development other

interesting information and examples can

additionally be found at the EU cluster

portal address

just as life does not stop at your

business's door your business does not

stop once your product is sold you may

prefer to not think about the future of

your products you may think it's none of

your business in fact you could be

ignoring a profitable opportunity since

the resources and the products you sell

today can be recovered and recycled into

resources for products you will sell

tomorrow one option is to create a

reverse logistics system on your own

where you take back the products that

you sell to your customers this may be

easier to do if you are operating in a

business-to-business operation if for

example you provide company offices with

homemade apple juice you could take back

the empty bottles rather than letting

your customer throw them away you could

formalize this process through a

contract or systems like deposits once

you get the empty bottles back you just

wash them and reintegrate them back into

the supply chain this is a simple case

but if your product is more complex or

if your business is too small to set up

a reverse logistics circuit on your own

you can pool resources and have a shared

organization that collects and recycles

on your behalf the following example

from France is a good one

six main manufacturers of mobile homes

have joined forces to collect dismantle

and recycle old homes this reverse

logistics system is financed through an

environmental contribution of 100 euros

for each new mobile home sold now

whether you apply reverse logistics on

your own or if you partner with similar

manufacturers for certain waste flows

you don't even have a choice indeed

there is a principle in Europe known as

extended producer responsibility or EPR

according to which you're responsible

for the products you place on the market

at the end of their life this is the

case for a growing number of products

including packaging electric and

electronic equipment batteries etc under

these requirements you have to take back

the products you sell yourself or you

have to join an organization which takes

care of waste collection and recycling

last but not least be it mandatory or

voluntary be it on your own or with

others reverse logistics ensures that

recovered resources feed loops that

facilitate better supply as was seen in

the first part of the video if you start

including reverse logistics in your

operation your old products don't simply

become waste they become raw materials

for a new product you are now at the

heart of

circular economy

however revolutionary green you have

been so far you may still be selling a

product with a functional economy you

can go one step further you don't sell

your product you rent or lease it to

your customers take a German company for

instance which provides chlorinated

solvents used for high precision metal

surface cleaning as this industry sales

started to decline in the mid 1980s the

newly founded company got the idea to

rent their solvent filled containers to

their customers instead of selling them

this resulted in the short-term

closed-loop lending of solvent

containers in which their customers were

able to rent the containers to clean

their metal pieces without worrying

about waste disposal the shift to a

service-oriented business model made the

company a big success story as it

achieved a growth in revenues and a

decrease in solvents use if you sell

your products and take them back as

waste as we previously defined as

reverse logistics you become responsible

for them even after they have been sold

to consumers if you rent your products

you are going one step further by

keeping them as your property this

radically changes the way you design

your products if you continue owning

your products throughout its functional

and end-of-life phases you will want

them to last as long as possible and you

will design them so they have as long a

life as possible furthermore in some

cases long term rentals and

subscriptions can provide a steady

stream of income making your monthly

accounting more constant and easier to

manage

the aim of the circular economy is to

minimize the net uptake of resources and

their associated negative environmental

impacts SMEs have a crucial role to play

in achieving a circular economy and as

you can see there's a lot of work to be

done

fortunately as the concept of circular

economy is rapidly rising on political

agendas you will not be alone in Europe

just look at what the European Union is

already doing for you

in July 2014 the European Commission

released a general plan targeting SMEs

in a green economy the overall objective

of the green action plan is to enable

SME is to turn environmental challenges

into business opportunities it sets out

a list of EU actions supporting SMEs in

a green economy ranging from green

entrepreneurship to access to the

markets for green SMEs all in all it

provides a favorable environment for

green business across the European Union

you can learn more about the green

action plan for SMEs on the European

Commission's website by following the

address on the screen

you'll also get more information on how

the European Commission is addressing

the circular economy at this address

a circular economy comes with financial

incentives of its own as you have seen

throughout the video there are many

examples of environmental and economic

savings resulting from material flow

analysis eco design industrial ecology

reverse logistics in the functional

economy most initiatives can be quickly

paid off however even if they should not

be the first reason why you should get

involved in a circular economy European

funding programs do exist you can have a

quick overview of funding opportunities

within the EU on the ECAP website at the

address on the screen there is also a

recent video on the euro news business

planet channel which is dedicated to EU

financial support tools for SMEs that

you can watch at this address

beyond direct financing there are also

plenty of support programs that can help

you to achieve higher environmental

performance some of them are sponsored

by the enterprise Europe Network

een a general support for SMEs which

offers advice to internationalize your

business and assistance to apply for

funding opportunities it has close to

600 member organizations across the EU

and Beyond including Chambers of

Commerce and Industry technology centers

universities and development agencies

you will learn more on EE ends website

at this address

in contrast to today's larger linear

take make use disposed economy a

circular economy represents a great

opportunity to transition into a

business model that will be more robust

and resilient in the years to come

there are many initiatives that you can

do on your own other initiatives where

you can partner with other businesses

and finally there are many initiatives

where the EU will be glad to support you

all what's left for you to do is to get

started

you