Circular Economy Latam
Circular Economy
The circular economy is part of Enel Americas' Strategic Plan. The Company considers it as an accelerating element of the energy transition and the electrification of consumption. It is an accelerator because it makes it possible to influence decarbonization and the efficient use of energy and resources in industrial processes. Along the same lines, the circular economy is a tool that aims to break down and analyze production processes throughout their life cycle, thus detecting the gaps between their linearity and their circularization potential.
It is an important change that requires an internal review of the conventional way of thinking about the relationship between the business, the market, customers and the planet, integrating the principles of circularity to generate economic, environmental and social benefits. Thus, the circular economy is considered as a competitive advantage for companies that integrate it into their business model. Specifically, the circular economy is presented as a paradigm shift that revolutionizes the way goods and services are designed, produced and consumed. The linear model based on raw material extraction, production and finally waste is a model that has generated irreversible impacts on the biosphere.
For this reason, it is necessary to move from this linear model to a circular model based on eliminating waste from the design of a product or service, maintaining products and materials in use over time, repairing, reusing or recycling them and contributing to regenerate natural systems. For the integration of the circular economy in the business model, Enel Americas has defined a specialized team in the sustainability function in each country, which collaborates with all business lines to promote the change of vision in the Company's processes throughout the value chain, through an action plan focused on five pillars.
1. Sustainable inputs: Incorporate renewable energies, renewable materials, biomaterials, reused and recycled materials as inputs.
2. Life extension: Design and management of a product in such a way as to extend its useful life and facilitate reinsertion in consecutive cycles, for example, through modular design, repairability or predictive maintenance.
3. Product as a service: Business model in which the customer acquires a service for a limited time, while the company maintains the properties of the product, maximizing the utilization factor and seeking to extend the useful life.
4. Shared-use platforms: Use among multiple users of an underutilized product, increasing its utilization factor. It can be supported by information technologies.
