On the road of adding value

Adding value is one of the key aspects of my company, it is even in my slogan “Design infinite value”. I recently finished reading the book The Upcycle (follow up on Cradle-to-cradle: remaking the way we make things)and I would like to explain to you the current concept of sustainability which is based on reducing and how to turn this in adding value.

A lot of companies work with the concept of reducing their impact, aiming for zero waste, no use of toxic substances or as less CO2 emissions as possible. They try to minimize their impact. This is good, but it is a short term solution on the road towards a healthy and happy world. Try to maximize your impact!

In the book the Upcycle (Dutch version here) they visualized adding value with a scheme[1]

Currently companies strive for zero. That is the end goal. In this scheme zero is the middle line, it is a crossing point. After zero a company starts adding value. Wondering how this can be done?

Minus
Using energy from crude oil


Fetching rainwater for production and releasing it in nature with a few toxic chemicals

Zero
Using solar energy for 100% of the production capacity

Fetching rainwater for production and releasing it in nature with the same values as it came into the factory by using a filter or changing the chemicals used in production.

Adding value
Producing more solar energy which others could use.

Fetching rainwater for production and releasing it in nature cleaner then when it came into the factory by using a better filter or changing the chemicals used in production.

Another aspect that influences the impact you can have is the limited resources we have on Earth.
Take a look at these drawings, it is a road with at the end a wall. 
This wall represents the limited resources we have on earth (e.g. crude oil for plastics or energy), the road represents the journey of life.

A company who starts with minimizing their impact is going 50 km/u towards the wall of no return instead of 100 km/u, but in the end they will still hit the wall and there are no resources anymore to use.

To avoid hitting the wall it would be best to make a turn and start driving in circles. Reusing your resources and not creating waste. This way a company is not harming human and environment.

By adding value to human and environment the company will make the circle it is driving on bigger. The company creates a wider range and will be able to reach more places.

When you work in a linear line you are still able to add value, as you can see in the examples above (energy and water). But sometimes this is not possible. A simplified example: a fashion company that earns money with selling as much clothes as possible. 

Minus
Selling non-recycable clothes.

Zero
Selling recyclable clothes.
You cannot continue to sell more and more recyclable clothes without using more resources.

Adding value
Let your customers share the clothes as not everybody is able to wear all his clothes at the same time. 
Then you do not need to use more and more resources.*

In this case a new (business) strategy is needed to be able to add value. For example a clothing library.

Another great example to illustrate adding value is a group of explorers who go into the mountains. During a storm their guide leads them to a hut. When they enter the hut there is a pile of dry wood left behind by the previous visitor. Thanks to this wood they were able to keep themselves warm in the storm. When they left the hut the guide was astonished that the explorers wanted to leave without placing a wood pile to dry for the next visitor. The guide learned them that you always have to leave a place behind as you found it or even better (adding an extra piece of wood).[2]

What do you leave behind in the world for the next visitor (maybe your children)?

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[1][2] The upcycle: Beyond sustainability - designing for abundance, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, 2013
* A discussion point here is the rising amount of people living on the planet. We have enough resources only we manage them in the wrong way. I will explain more about that in another blog article.