A Northern Ontario Circular Economy Symposium was virtually held last week where topics such as economic recovery, future growth, job creation and sustainability were discussed. The goal of the symposium is to make northern Ontario its own supply chain through a concept called circular economy.
Circular economy is a movement in the works that promotes the idea of sustainable thinking, reducing waste and generating prosperity for future generations. As a result, this will help in creating more jobs, minimizing waste, ensuring prosperity for future generations and reaping all the regional benefits.
The symposium was hosted by the Northern Policy Institute and DE Design and Environmental Inc., a climate technology centre based in Vancouver and Montreal. The symposium was attended by many professionals in sectors such as mining, business, technology and health.
The attendees discussed how innovation in these sectors contribute to the success of a potential circular economy in northern Ontario.
Aaron Henry, senior director for natural resources and sustainable policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said a circular economy will not only provide opportunities for the resources sector to build upon and play with, but speaks to the reality of labour changes.
“No industry is immune to the fourth industrial revolution,” Henry said. “More remote work and automation. We need to integrate circular solutions.”
Marc Serré, Nickel Belt MP, served as the honorary event champion. He said a circular economy highlights the intersectionality between a healthy environment and a healthy economy across various sectors like mining, health and business.
“We can support job growth by investing in green technology and encouraging businesses to explore models that focus on sustainability and innovation,” Serré said. “Looking forward to continued work with partners, industry, and all levels of government to put these concepts into action.”
To achieve a circular economy, the usage of waste materials, products and equipment should be used for longer and channeled in a closed-loop system.
In a circular economy, waste becomes an important factor in the production cycle. This maximizes the use of available resources and reduces emissions that harm the environment.
Peter Xavier, Vice President Glencore and Chair of Ontario Mining Association, gave an example of waste that could be reused to achieve circular economy.
He said that Sulphur is a waste from construction projects and in a circular economic system, the Sulphur waste will be reused as sulphuric acid to emend farmland.
As a result, three goals towards a circular economy were achieved: the waste product was not discarded, the environment was not harmed and farmers did not buy a product that is readily available for them at a lower cost.
