Eliminating waste and promoting the continual use of resources. . . this is the overall goal of a circular economy. But is this regenerative approach possible? How would this look in real, daily life? We talked about this with Alexandra Kick, co-founder of Thinkubator and a socio-economist currently expanding her scientific knowledge on climate change at BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna).
“The circular economy is a complex system that cannot be achieved alone. For the energy transition, you install solar panels on your roof or set up a wind farm. Then you’ve already achieved something. For the circular economy, you need the cooperation of your customers and your supply chain. You need to exchange data, perhaps even share sensitive information with competitors. In any case, you have to admit to yourself that you can’t do it alone,” said Alexandra Kick. This contrasts with the traditional linear economy, which follows a ‘take, make, dispose’ model.
In Austria, a practical example of the circular economy can be seen in the wine industry. The 2022 fellowship program from Thinkubator analyzed the carbon footprint of wine bottles, revealing that their emissions were equivalent to double the CO2 output of Liechtenstein. “Why do we have this system and not a deposit system like for beer bottles?” Alexandra asks.
Examples of successful and good practices in the circular economy already exist. One of them is Refurbed, which specializes in refurbishing and reselling electronic devices. Another example is Caterpillar, a global company that has been taking back and refurbishing its machines since the 1970s.
But what does an ideal circular economy day look like? Alexandra puts it in simple words: “Imagine a normal day. I wake up and drive to work. My car breaks down, which is frustrating if I own it. Now I have to deal with it, and it will be expensive. In the afternoon, I do my laundry, and the washing machine leaks or the dishwasher breaks. These are all things you don’t want to deal with. In a circular economy, you don’t have to, because the ownership structures change. The retailer remains the owner and is responsible for repair and disposal.”
As co-founder of Thinkubator, Alexandra explains that the concept of a circular economy is gaining relevance. However, the willingness to invest in it is still low. Thinkubator exists to help turn this around.
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Thinkubator is a think tank for the circular economy, co-founded by Alexandra Kick and Felix Ambros. It operates on three pillars: education, research, and counseling. According to Alexandra, Thinkubator addresses the knowledge-action gap in the climate sphere. “There is a lot of research, but only a fraction of it gets implemented,” she said. To bridge this gap, Thinkubator brought together experts and potential founders, creating a fellowship program that involves young people and experts working on four-month challenges that can be addressed through circular economy solutions. This initiative has been successful and recently completed its fifth edition.
In addition to the fellowship program, Thinkubator conducts Rethink workshops for companies. They analyze processes, map production waste, and examine material flows. They explore whether recycling materials can be integrated into products and whether options like the sharing economy or product-as-a-service models are feasible.
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