How smart technology can help drive a green revolution

In the latest edition of Marketing Derby’s Innovate Magazine, we meet Andy Flinn whose company, Circulayo, is on a mission to make Derby the first place in the UK to end single-use plastics.

As Innovate discovers, Circulayo’s model aims to drive sustainability by harnessing digital smart technology to track a product right the way through its lifecycle, encouraging reuse and then, ultimately, ensuring it can be successfully recycled.

Its goal is to encourage uptake through a process which is as “frictionless” as possible for the consumer while also demonstrating benefits for business.

Initial roll-out has concentrated around reusable plastic drinking cups – and organisations like Derby City Council and Derby County have already embraced the concept.

Circulayo’s system has been introduced at Pride Park Stadium and events run by Derby LIVE.

The plan now is to extend that to reusable takeaway cutlery and packaging, poly kegs utilised in the brewing sector, plastic tote boxes used in logistics and other applications across retail, fashion and industry.

Andy told Innovate: “There have been a number of previous attempts to bring reusable solutions into play.

“The problem is that they generally tend to have friction for the customer. They are not easy to adopt.

“We found that consumers do want to do more around making things more recyclable and reusable, but for it to be successful, it has to interact with the customers, be a process people can buy into, adopt and not have to change a lot of what they do on a day-to-day basis.”

Andy believes that as a city acclaimed for its innovation, Derby is a fitting place to lead this green revolution powered by technology.

He told Innovate: “Derby has always been a centre for innovation. And, for a city which helped lead the industrial revolution, it would be fitting for Derby to now help drive a green revolution.

“That would be a strong strapline for the city… the birthplace and also the future.”

To read the feature in full visit https://heyzine.com/flip-book/e95ffdaf1d.html#page/32 .