I couldn’t help but feel happy relief when strong rain causes work to be called off, because that meant my evening classes would also be called off. Some storms I appreciated more than others as a working student then, as I was attending to tax clients in PwC during the day, and attending law classes at the Ateneo de Manila University in the evening, at full load.
So work was called off rather late that afternoon because of heavy downpour. I left my car at the office parking area as I did not want it to take on floodwater again. I rode a jeepney to Washington area in Makati and began walking from there to the apartment we were renting along the flooded J. Victor Street.
Under heavy downpour, I needed to tread the street where the water level was up to my leg (which is up to the knee of a taller person).The floodwater was brown and had floating debris. But what made it scary for me was the flood’s strong current, and the possibility of falling into an open manhole. I thought that if I didn’t die from the open manhole, I could die of bacteria if I lose my balance and be swept away in flood water. I obviously survived that, and more than two decades later, here I am, relating that experience today, when things are definitely still not better.
I use that backdrop to discuss this Sunday the “circular economy”. While plastic and trash are main culprits of flooding, this article is not necessarily about plastic and trash making a vengeance by circulating back to us. It’s about abandoning the mentality of take-use-and-throw away for the take-use-and circulate for as long as possible – to save on raw materials and energy, to reduce trash, and to avoid the bad environmental impact of wasteful practices and of having an abundance mentality.
What PwC UK has done over the past 10 years as a pioneer practitioner in the circular economy is actually inspiring and worth emulating. It’s not just about their excellent literature that explains the relevance of all of it, but it’s the practical, yet groundbreaking things that they are committed to.
For example, their “take back” program for uniforms and office clothes is a fine example of reuse or repurpose. They were able to encourage all their service providers (caterers, cleaners, security, hospitality, etc.) to return their old uniforms, and in the case of their staff, their worn-out clothes. They work with a service provider that harvests the buttons (which are sold afterwards to a company in India), cuts out parts that can be sold to rug manufacturers, and shreds unusable parts that will become part of the insulation for speakers.
PwC UK also has a refurbishing program for their old laptops or those out of warranty. They work with a manufacturer to refurbish their old laptops – data is removed, repairs are made, and the units are conditioned, certified, and boxed for resale as preowned goods. This nets them a not too shabby annual revenue of £500,000. They have a similar refurbishing program for their old mobile phones, too. Those that can no longer be refurbished are harvested for parts, plastic and aluminum.
If you adopt the circular economy principles, you would hate going to the “casas” (or authorized service centers) of your vehicle brands, where all they know is to replace parts with trouble (sometimes even those that are still good) and give you the replaced parts as if you know what those are or what to do with it. They do not prefer to repair because their revenue is better if they sell parts. We are all better off finding good and honest mechanics elsewhere.
In a circular economy mindset, you would also hate products that appear more costly to repair and cheaper to replace. These are your electric fans, certain television brands, and even very cheap, brand-new vehicles made from you know-where. Manufacturers must care and have business models to make their products durable and repairable, rather than replaceable.
The “circular” thinking would further fuel the global trend (powered by millennials) of access instead of ownership. Apart from cars or rooms, more sharing would be acceptable for things such as books and tools, and even a pair of jeans, app or no app.
So you see, circular does not mean recycling, although recycling (to harvest the material and make a new product out of them) is at the tail end and just as important before anything is thrown as trash. I read about this plastic recycling plant put up by an environment group and some companies. It’s a good start and should be an advocacy and initiative of all manufacturers.
There should be an incentive for people to gather their plastic sachets and containers, and food packaging materials to be exchanged for points or discounts, no matter how small, to jumpstart that recycling habit.
Every big conglomerate that takes governance and stakeholder responsibility seriously should have one refurbishing and recycling arm for their group. I pick on conglomerates and big companies as they can be real game changers, being uniquely positioned to influence both supplier and customer behavior at a large scale. We in the firm will create our own ripple effect, no matter how small.
Our country is reported to rank number three among the top polluters of the ocean, and our population will balloon to about 145 million over the next two decades. How much of the inputs to products go to waste? No need for statistics – just look at the garbage, the worsening flood problem, wasted food and stuff around in a country crying for inclusivity.
Mahatma Gandhi said the Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs but not every man’s greed. What could be worse than greed is apathy. I, for one, should have learned that as early as the first time I almost swam in dirty floodwater to get home.
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Alexander B. Cabrera is the chairman and senior partner of Isla Lipana & Co./PwC Philippines. He is the Chairman of the Tax Committee, and the Vice Chairman of EMERGE (Educated Marginalized Entrepreneurs Resource Generation) program, of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). Email your comments and questions to aseasyasABC@ph.pwc.com. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.