January 16, 2017
Accenture Strategy Announces Circular Economy Winners at The Circulars in Davos
Awards recognize achievement in the Circular Economy
DAVOS; Jan 16, 2017 – The World Economic Forum’s Community of Young Global Leaders, in collaboration with Accenture Strategy (NYSE: ACN), has awarded the Circulars at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters. The awards recognize individuals and organizations that have made notable contributions to the circular economy.
The third annual Circulars awards ceremony showcased advances from the private sector, public sector and civil society that drive innovation and growth while reducing dependence on scarce natural resources. The seven Circulars were awarded as follows:
The Fortune Award for Circular Economy Leadership: William McDonough, Chief Executive of McDonough Innovation, a globally recognized leader in sustainable development. He advises leaders worldwide through McDonough Innovation and with MBDC and introduced the concepts of biological and technical cycles to the circular economy field.
The Accenture Strategy Award for Circular Economy Multinational (Joint Award): NIKE, Inc., for leading work on material efficiency and waste reduction and aiming to double their business with half the impact through adopting circular economy principles. Patagonia, for a long track record of sustainable innovation in the industry and embedding the principles of the circular economy into their business strategy through the likes of their ‘Worn Wear’ initiatives.
The Young Global Leaders Award for Circular Economy SME: MBA Polymers, Inc., for up-cycling complex plastic waste streams to the same quality, and at the same price, as virgin plastic with the potential for scale and impact in plastics globally.
The AB InBev Award for Circular Economy Governments, Cities and Regions: Scottish Government, for leading a coalition across business and government to drive the circular economy in Scotland with clear impact demonstrated and ambitious targets for the future.
The CNBC Award for Circular Economy Investor: SJF Ventures, for investing in circular economy businesses across their target sectors that simultaneously scale social and environmental impact whilst delivering sound financials.
The Ecolab Award for Circular Economy Digital Disruptor: Rubicon Global, for providing a sustainable waste and recycling solution that utilizes cloud-based technology and big data to connect customers with haulers.
The Dell Circular Economy People’s Choice Award: Bioelektra Group, chosen by public vote for developing and promoting a technological solution that enables the treatment of unsegregated municipal waste.
“The Circulars demonstrate that the days of the ‘take, make, waste’ business models are over. The path to innovation, growth and competitiveness starts by creatively reducing the strain on scarce natural resources,” said Peter Lacy, managing director, Accenture Strategy. “Digital technology is increasingly critical to the success of the circular economy, and these awards also showcase technology innovation.”
The Circulars attracted 237 entries from 37 countries. The judging panel was drawn from the Young Global Leader community of the World Economic Forum and leading experts across business and civil society. In addition to Accenture Strategy, The Circulars are sponsored by AB InBev, Dell and Ecolab. This year’s media partners are CNBC and Fortune Magazine.
“The circular economy is now established as one of the major ways organizations, cities and economies pursue sustainable growth. The rapid progress in advance sciences, industrial design and digital innovation has been matched by a swift application of circular models at a large scale.” said Dominic Waughray Head of Pubic Private Partnership at the World Economic Forum. “The Circulars remain an important initiative of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders to recognize and celebrate such cutting edge innovation and impact.”
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 394,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
Accenture Strategy operates at the intersection of business and technology. We bring together our capabilities in business, technology, operations and function strategy to help our clients envision and execute industry-specific strategies that support enterprise wide transformation. Our focus on issues related to digital disruption, competitiveness, global operating models, talent and leadership help drive both efficiencies and growth. For more information, visit www.accenture.com/strategy
About the Forum of Young Global Leaders
Established in 2004 by Professor Klaus Schwab, The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a unique, multi-stakeholder community of the world’s most extraordinary young leaders who dedicate a part of their time to jointly address global challenges and who are committed to devote part of their knowledge and energy to collectively work towards a better future. Together the Young Global Leaders work to discover innovative solutions to today’s most pressing problems through various initiatives and workstreams, as well as catalyzing the next generation of leaders. Find out more at: http://www.weforum.org/community/forum-young-global-leaders
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Contacts:
Tourang Nazari
Accenture
+ 1 202 322 4640
tourang.nazari@accenture.com