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critically discuss in what ways the circular economy can provide a solution to it

Home, - Explore one major environmental issue - melting ice caps

Explore one major environmental issue (melting ice caps.) and critically discuss in what ways the circular economy can provide a solution to it.

The global market is facing a gradual change and shift in the manner in which the environment functions. This has been due to the rising case in instances of environmental pollution. One of the main issues in the environmental conservation spheres has been the rising case and risks of ice and glacier melting. This has predominantly been due to the rising and changes in temperatures in the global market (Jacob et al, 2012). One of the roles of a glacier and ice o the earth polar is to create a balance in the existing global temperatures through controlling the temperatures. However, with the rising instances of polar ice melting, the challenges in global warming have intensified which has created a ripple effect and circular motion on increasing the melting rates. In addition, the melting has been linked to the rising instance of rising sea levels, that has posed a significant threat to flooding on low lying areas and the loss of land to rising water levels in the global market and land mass.

These are challenges that if they are allowed to progress into the future are bound to create a challenge in the fact that there will be intolerable high temperatures and very high sea levels that would make most of the global part in land mass inhabitable. There is, therefore, the strategic need for controlling and addressing this challenge (Rahmstorf, 2010) This essay develops a critical evaluation of the manner and process through which this could be resolved. One of the challenges in the global markets has been the adoption of a circular economic model. This essay creates a foundational framework on the manner and theoretical basis for which it is asserted that the changes would allow for mitigation of the stagey. Further, it evaluates how the application of three of the model variable dimensions, reduce, recycle and re-we could be applied to help mitigate the ice melting challenge into the foreseeable future. 

Theoretical Discussion of the Circular Model Role

In order to understand the approaches and avenues through which the adoption and the use of the circular economy could play a critical role in handling and mitigating these risks and challenges in the rising case of ice melting on both polar ends of the globe, it is critical to understand the variables and the guiding principles for the establishment and the use of a circular economy. Overall, the differences between a circular and a linear model economy are on the focus areas. On the traditional concept, the linear model was guided and based on the tenants of exploiting the existing resources to maximize profits. The theory and model could be best explained through the adoption of the Marxist theory (Bonviu, 2014). The Marxist theory and philosophy argue that an economic model. Especially the capitalism model is based and pegged on the concept and basics of exploitation. In this case, the economic drivers are the capitalists who invest in the market for economic gains. Once the ventures are established, they are focused on the exploitation of the existing resources in the market to allow for the maximization on gains and profits accrued by the leading global players in the for-profit ventures categories. Therefore, the overriding and superseding goals of such entities are to ensure that they exploit resources to the merit and advantage of the entrepreneurs. This is often through the application of the shareholders' view where the only variables and goals that mattered were those of the shareholders and their need for profits maximization. This is an issue that has been strategically led to the melting ice case (Stahel, 2016). The melting ice case is predominantly a direct impact of the global warming challenge and the rising global temperatures. This emanates from the destruction of the o ozone layer and the emission of carbon and greenhouse gases respectively. The challenge has been that under the linear model, the focus has been less on the long term implications on the society and the environment and more on the short term implications and value delivered on the shareholders.

Thus, under the cost-benefit analysis model, the linear model focus is only for the short term period and on the direct implications of their activities. This is largely attributed to being a course for the rise in melting ice cases on the globe polar. This is due to the underlying principle of the exploitation of capitalism. The focus is to exploit the existing rescues at the lowest costs possible to maximize the possible supplier in the exploitation that is regarded as profits. In this regard, there is little and minimal concern on the process of emissions and the use of unclean energy as well as disposal. Focusing on these variables would lower profitability and thus negate from the guiding principles of an exploitative capitalism model.

Bocken, de Pauw et al (2016) noted that in resolving the emerging challenges under the liner model, there was the need to create and design an alternative model and economic strategy. This was a strategy that would reduce on the principle of exploitation and instead focus on the elements of collaboration and creating a balance for all in the market as well as in creating a balance for both the present, the foreseeable future, and the distant future market contexts. This was through the formulation and the designing of the circular economic model. The circular model is fundamentally developed and designed in a manner that sees to address the challenges emerging from the adoption and use of the linear model in the global market base. On its part, the model is designed under the stakeholders' view approach over the shareholder's view approach. On its part, rather than standing guided by the shareholders need and demand profit maximization, the module underpins its strategy and functioning on the need to ensure that all its stakeholder needs are met. The stakeholder includes both internally the shareholders and externally players such as the customers, the society, the regulators, and the environment respectively (Lieder and Rashid, 2016). Thus, the applied strategies and activities by a business venture are ones that offer the best and most positive value to as many stakeholders as possible. The litmus test in the adoption of this strategy is to create a balance between the needs of the internal stakeholder and the internal needs of the shareholders to create profits. An additional dimension is the use and application of a long term strategy orientation. I this regard, although pursuing profits in the short term period, the adoption and use of a circular economic module are pegged on ensuring that there is sustainability in the long term period. As such, the applied strategies implications on the long term goals and welfare of the different stakeholders is a critical and a guiding component in the decision-making process (Geissdoerfer et al, 2017)

Theoretically, the above analysis demonstrates that the application in the adoption of a circular economic model helps in resolving the existing challenges and issues that have been created and propelled by the application of a linear economic model. As such, this indicates that the challenges under the linear model are easily mitigated and addressed under the circular economic model. This includes the challenges and the rising case of melting ice on both global polar. The next section develops a critical exploration and evaluation of the exact nature and extent to which the use of a circular economy helps in addressing and resolving the challenges on melting ice. This is as demonstrated in the subsequent section in this analysis.

 

Circular Model in Resolving the Melting Glacier and Ice Challenge

The practical application and process through which the adoption of a circular model helps in resolving and addressing the melting ice challenges are best explained using the five guiding pillars of a circular model. The variables and dimensions are on the reduce, recycle, re-use, repair and refurbish respectively. This section develops a critical evaluation of the extent to which the application of these principles would ensure that there are a reduction and potential future elimination of the risks of melting ice on both global polar. 

The Reduce Dimensional Strategy

This is a basic strategy that is based on the need of creating a reduction on the causes of unsustainability in business. In the traditional context, as demonstrated above, there as the over-exploitation of resources in the market at the expense of the welfare of such resources and stakeholders in the market. This is a challenge that has been addressed through the reduction strategy. Basically, it involves the reduction of the concept of exploitation of resources (Molina et al, 2009). Strategically, in addressing the challenges on the melting ice and glaciers on the global polar, the reduction strategies pegged on two main aspects. They are a reduction in the use of unclean energy and a reduction in the emissions rates. On the one hand, one of the cases of greenhouse emissions in factories and other commercial centres as well as in households has been the adoption in the use of unclean energy. As Reid and Brock (2010) noted, one of the traditionally applies sources of energy in the global market has been the use of gasoline. Unfortunately, although offering a lower cost of operations to most layers, the resulting emissions contain greenhouse gases that have a global warming impact. In this regard, the adoption of a circular economy encourages a reduction in the use of raw materials, inputs and resources that have a long term negative impact on any of the players, in this case the use of gasoline although delivering value to the shareholders has social negative implication as well as a devastating environmental implication. Therefore, the adoption of this model would create a basis on which the use of this source of energy would be reduced in the long term period. Secondly, there is the concept of reduction on the actual missions into the environment. As Hanova and Dowlatabadi (2007) asserted, one of the challenges in the global market has been the rising case of green gases houses emissions by factories in the global market. Under the traditional linear model, there as minimal control at the end of a production system was at the point in which the final product was obtained. Thus, the entities had no responsibility for the emerging by production and emissions as they were not part of the final product availed in the market. However, the adoption and the application of a circular economy helps in resolving this challenge. In this case, the model argues the need to create internal control systems to reduce emissions and toxic nature and rates. In this content, the system's would include creating internal control system's to reduce the waste emissions such as through improving the prosecution process to cut down on the final greenhouse emissions or the creation of an internal purification process where there is the application of chemical reactions in the factories. This creates a neutralizing effect on the emitted gas end as such makes the emissions either neutral and considerably less harmful (Bahr, Dyurgerov and Meier, 2009). A critical evaluation of the reduce strategies described in the above analysis demonstrates that through the combination of both an elimination and reduction on the use of unclean energy as well as the creation of internal control system's by entities to reduce and neutralize their gas emissions into the environment, the melting glacier and ice challenge would be addressed and resolved into the foreseeable future. 

Recycling and Re-Use Strategies

The second strategic model and dimension in the adoption of a circular economic model is the use of a recycling strategy. This is a dimension in which ventures create a feedback loop in the form of reverse logistics. Once the products have been availed to the customers, they are then consumed based on the utility value of the products. Each of these products, although some could be durable than others, have a usage and utility deplenishing point. Once this is reached, the products need to be disposed off since they no longer offer the value in utility intended by the customers (Pritchard et al, 2012). In the traditional linear model, the business responsibility on their products ended once purchase and sale as actualized in the market. This meant that the ventures were not concerned about the usage and disposal strategies applied by the customers once the utility on such products was diminished. This led to the poor disposal of highly harmful products such as electronics whose decomposition process include chemical reactions and emission of harmful gases and ending up in the water bodies and raising the global warmth levels, under the global warming process. As such, the traditional model encouraged the funnel of the problem. Under the application of a circular economic model, there would be strategic changes in the process (Radic and Hock, 2011)

One of the changes is through recycling the products. As such, once the products are recycled, it would mean that the entities gain control of their finished use products and can use the products to reduce on the exploitation in the market and as such control the emission of gases in the exploitation and acquisition of such products in the market. Such recycled products can be recycled to make completely new products or be re-used for other strategic functions in the market (Mangerud et al, 2008) The second instance of recycling has been in the emitted gases in the global manufacturing and production industries. There is a high opportunity for the purification and re-use of the emitted gases rather than exposing and disposing of such gases on the environment. In this case, rather than disposing of the highly dangerous and harmful greenhouse gas such as carbon and Sulphur gases, the use of a circular economy would encourage organizations to apply a strategic change and as such create a loop through which the gases would be re-applied and re-used in the venture. This means that rather than just focusing on emitting the gases, the manufactures would acquire and have additional and alternative uses for the gases in the long run period (Lambeck et al, 2014).

 These are strategic avenues that would result in tow main implications in the global market. This is through reducing the emissions of harmful greenhouse gas that led to the melting of ice and glaciers on the market. 

Conclusion

 In summary, this essay has developed a critical evaluation of whether the use of a circular economy application could help resolve the melting ice challenge. The essay development is informed by the realization that the ice melting challenge is bound to spiral to uncontrollable levels and will as such make the global market inhabitable. This is guided by the understanding that the theoretical basis for its development help resolves the challenges of the linear model that is highly linked with the rising melting ice and glacier levels. The essay established that through three of the variables namely the recycling, re-use, and reduce the challenges of using unclean energy and greenhouse emissions respectively. Thus, this essay concludes that the use of these strategies will help in overcoming and significantly reduce the instance sand rates of ice and glacier melting in the foreseeable future.

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