3FOOD

Third Industrial Revolution Consulting Group
biodiversity-rich developing countries, threatening acceleration of the destruction of intact
wilderness regions. 326
Interactions with other pillars
Industry
First, companies can contribute to the switch from fossil or nuclear energy to renewable
energies. One of the first steps should be to convert current heat losses into a usable energy
source for further use. Industry is a key actor in the circular economy as the highest impact is
created if products are designed for continuous cycles. Beyond the technical issues, the actual
business model will have to be adapted toward a new approach: product as a service.
Finance
The finance sector often plays the role of business enabler. The development of new business
models requires different views and approaches towards financing. Circular economy projects
might need higher initial investments but will have important returns in the longer term. The
funding sector might be interested in investing in ‘circular’ companies, creating positive
impacts. Therefore, it will be important for the finance sector to understand the underlying
circular approach. Tools for evaluating how circular a business really is, will be needed. The
financial industry should investigate how the blockchain technology can be used in a large
range of applications, where data privacy and transparency are required. Virtual currencies
could help to make sharing platforms work.
Mobility
Reverse logistics, car/truck pooling, multimodal transport, and driverless and electric and
hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, are commonly identified areas that need to be pursued in ushering
in the Mobility Internet. Electric cars don’t need fossil energy (if the electricity is produced by
326 Lambin, Eric F. and Patrick Meyfroidt (2011) Global land use change, economic globalization, and the looming
land scarcity, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, vol. 108, no. 9, March 1, 2011,
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1100480108.
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