|
Space
Ecological Development
Union International
A
vision for a clean, resource efficient and recycling economy
The Ecological Development Union International (EDUI)
aims to 'develop a clean, resource efficient and recycling economy',
both at national and global level.
This involves a creative transition to a new model of
economic growth: one that is based not on the high production of goods
and consumption (with associated environmental degradation) but on
delivering higher output and more value with much lower input: on 'doing
more with less'. It is about delivering more services to achieve
economic growth and alleviate poverty, with
- less consumption of resources such as energy,
water, materials and land;
- less environmental impact such as pollution and
waste, and
- less cost.
At the same time, this will achieve social
development and contribute to a harmonious, all round well-being
society. Thus, the recycling economy does not only seek economic and
environmental benefit but also encompasses issues of quality of life,
society, science and technology, and shared ethics .
In such a resource circulating and environmentally
friendly society, there will be incentives for more efficient resource
use that, at the same time, delivers social and economic benefits.
Tools will be available to measure economic, social and resource
efficiency, and the most successful schemes and products will be those
that have high resource productivity, expressed as more services (S)
with lower material or resource input (MI). Such innovations will be
fostered by preferential taxation policies and the like, and in criteria
for financing and investment.
This will enable a measurable 'Factor 4' or greater
shift in resource productivity, whereby wealth or prosperity may be at
least doubled, with resource use being halved. Pathways towards
achieving national and global targets will be established, and progress
towards these goals will be gauged and reported.
Progress towards a recycling economy involves a shift
from a linear towards a circular economic development model of
'resource-product-resource reproduction', demonstrating the 5Rs of
reduce, reuse, repair, recycle and rethink. This can be facilitated by
the provision of sustainable services rather than on the sale and
consumption of more and more material goods.
Through a radical change in consciousness and
behavior, 'consumers' will become 'customers' who want less goods, which
encumber their lives, but more efficient and economical services.
Over-consumption and extravagance will be viewed as anti-social
behavior, as depriving the needy, and restrained, moderate and
'sufficient' lifestyles will be highly valued, as will the quality of
compassion. In turn, producers will find additional profits from the
delivery of more efficient services and leaner solutions rather than in
the amount of goods produced, and will gain increased business by
demonstrating corporate social responsibility. Manufactured products
and replaceable parts of the built environment will be designed in
modular form for ease of take-back, disassembly, reuse, remanufacturing
and technological upgrading. Utilities will derive increased profit by
providing more efficient energy and water services to customers, rather
than by the sale of greater quantities of energy and water. The change
to a service and recycling economy is also expected to generate
increased employment opportunities.
At the urban scale, more resource efficient and
affordable infrastructure services, such as mobility, energy, water,
health, education and shelter, will enable urban areas to grow to cater
for increasing urbanization, but with more compact, integrated and
efficient forms of urban development. Smarter ways of delivering
services with less physical infrastructure, such as through the use of
information and communications technology, will be highly valued.
Not only will this new society reduce or eliminate
future environmental damage, and to tread lightly on the planet, but
also it will seek to repair past environmental damage. This will be
facilitated by proper accounting for natural resources in the economy,
and the externalities associated with economic activities.
Food husbandry and production will become more
efficient with developing countries being provided with technologies to
repair and replenish degraded soils and environments. More local
production of foodstuffs and other necessities of life will be
encouraged, assisting the economic development of local communities, and
addressing rural-urban imbalances.
In such a society, developed nations will drastically
reduce both their consumption, as measured by ecological footprint, and
their greenhouse emissions. Though equitable allocation of emissions
permits on a per capita basis, accompanied by emissions trading, there
will be a global 'shift and share' in consumption, with developed
countries reducing their footprint and emissions, enabling developing
countries to grow and achieve an equitable standard of living. Equity
will form the cornerstone of multi-lateral global collaboration.
More about us
Aims
How EDUI may promote innovative approaches to Circular Economy
EDUI registered in Hong Kong
Space
|
|
|
