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We just reached 100%, thank you so much, you guys rock ! Thanks to you, we will keep on with the project in Asia and meet with 30 entrepreneurs that show that it is possible to develop in harmony with our environment.

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New target: 150%. This will enable us to pursue our work in Latin America, meet 20 additional projects there and give 3 conferences in different universities.

Game on!

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CONTEXT

Circul’R is an association which mission is to achieve the 1st circular economy world tour: travelling across 22 countries during 17 months meeting up with 100 circular economy initiatives.

So far, we have been travelling in 3 different continents, met with 80 circular entrepreneurs and discussed with 800 students worldwide.

WHY SUPPORTING US?

By participating to our Crowdfunding Campaign, you will help us:

- supporting all the projects we have met and increase their visibility.

- identifying 50 additional circular entrepreneurs in Asia and Americas.

- giving conferences to a maximum of students and encourage them to take action to solve our current economy challenges !

The official Teaser of Circul'R, the first circular economy world tour

OUR OBJECTIVES

1) Identify:

Discovering and highlighting solutions that will change the world thanks to: 16 video reports and various articles on the entrepreneurs we met.

2) Connect:

Enabling circular entrepreneurs to get connected to each other and share their best practices while creating community of leaders on that topic.

3) Raise Awareness:

Organizing conferences for students around the world in 20 universities to discuss about this topic and creating a collective awareness on the need of moving toward a circular economy.

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Our itinerary: 22 countries in 17 months travelling in the 5 continents

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Getting ready before leaving for 17 months around the world

When Jules was a child, he used to treasure hunting on the Basque coast beaches. For him, old fishing nets and pieces of plastic washing ashore were treasures, not trash.

20 years later, after finishing his studies in Brazil, Raphael met Joao who was part of the “Catadores”, these men and women who collect cans on the streets to resale them. This system ranks Brazil at the highest recycling rate in the world.

A few years later, in 2013, Jules and Raphael met in Mexico, where they were both working for a famous aircraft manufacturer. They discussed their experiences, their journeys, the depletion of natural resources and this earth that humans are exhausting. This economic model, that is not viable anymore, pushed them to take action and to quit their job.

Circul’R is born and our two friend decide to go and meet with the « circular » women and men who implement concrete solutions for a sustainable growth that does not put our planet in danger.

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It is the science of using our natural resources in a smart way in order to live in a world without waste.

Today, we live in a linear economic model: we take; we consume; we throw away; which results in an increasing waste production and an unsustainable consumption of natural resources.

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Jules in the Mbeubeuss landfill in Senegal

In 2015, the Overshoot Day, which is the annual moment when humankind's use of natural resources exceeds the planet's ability to produce and replenish them, was reached on the 12th of August.

In other words, it takes 1.6 Earth today to support humanity’s demand on nature. But we have only 1 Earth...

As the world population is expected to grow from 7.5 billion people today to more than 9 billion in 2050, natural resource consumption should keep on growing and the situation should not improve...

Good news! Today, we do have the solutions to change the situation. Circular economy is one of them by transforming our waste into resources and by designing products or services that use few or no natural resources! So what are we waiting for?

A short video presenting what circular economy is

It is not easy to define circular economy… When we started to meet different actor of this new model, we realized that everyone had its own definition of what circular economy was.

Keeping this in mind, we will better provide you with key knowledge, in a simple way, so that you can build your own definition out of it ;)

Key notions of Circular Economy

Circular economy gathers several principles that enable us to use the minimum of natural resources and to produce a minimum of amount of waste:

Eco-Conception: Starting at the design stage, the product is designed to have a minimum impact on the environment (or a positive impact) and this during all its lifecycle. (Ex: 100% biodegradable shoes)

Industrial Ecology: The wastes of some entities become the resources of the others. This approach aims at limiting the impact of the industry on the environment (Ex: the industrial eco-park of Kalundborg in Denmark).

The service economy: Renting instead of buying. In the economy of functionality we don’t buy a product but we rent the service it gives us. (Ex: Car sharing enables the reduction of raw materials and C02 print.

The 3 R (reduce, reuse, recycle): these are 3 methods that give a new life to products that were supposed to become waste.

Cradle to Cradle: Close to the eco-conception principles, the idea is that the product is designed to be recycle indefinitely and so that it has a neutral or a positive impact on the environment (ex: the Interface carpet that is indefinitely recyclable)

Biomimicry: This discipline analyses the solutions provided by nature to have a positive impact on the environment (ex: how to imagine the construction of a building in the desert inspiring by cactus from whom the vertical branches are working as a shadow, which will reduce consumption of air condition.

Congratulations, you are now a Circular Economy Pro!

We now suggest you to come with us and meet these persons that make this change possible!

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Interface: The indefinitely recyclable carpet ?

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Raphaël with Geanne Van Arkel, Interface head of sustainable development, Holland

Interface is the world leader in carpet sustainable design and manufacturing. In the 90’s, the company has implemented a transition toward a circular business model with its « Mission Zero » program which consists in eliminating any negative impacts the company may have on the environment by 2020.

The company has developed a new fibber that can be recycled indefinitely. Instead of selling their carpet, they are renting it so they keep being the owner of their products. Therefore, when the carpet is no longer usable, Interface takes it back from its customers and reintegrates it in its production cycle.

The impact? No need of new resources and a minimum need of water and energy to produce a new carpet. Since 1996, Interface has achieved a 94% reduction in waste sent in landfill and an 83% reduction regarding its water consumption.

The bonus? Thanks to this new model, Interface is a company that keeps growing without damaging the environment !

For more information regarding Interface, feel free to have a look to our article: http://www.circul-r.com/INTERFACE/

Orange Bleue: When Permaculture turns a landfill into a biological garden

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Meeting with the Orange Bleue team in a poor neighborhood of Casablanca, Morocco

Industrial agriculture is one of the most polluting sectors in terms of CO2 emissions right after the industrial and the transport sectors. It also accounts for 70% of our water consumption worldwide. The good news is that concrete and sustainable alternatives do exist. Permaculture is one of them.

What is exactly permaculture? It is the development of agricultural ecosystems that are sustainable and self-sufficient. By looking at the natural ecosystem interactions (plants, animals, insects) you learn how to develop a regenerative and self maintained habitat. No insecticides or pesticides are needed to protect your crops; nature is doing it for you for free and in a sustainable way.

Through the implementation of a permaculture garden in a poor neighbourhood of Casablanca, Orange Bleue is showing that it is feasible to create a sustainable agricultural ecosystem out of a former landfill. The association managed to turn a 2500m² landfill into a biological garden where organic fruits and vegetables are now growing. « Thanks to permaculture, we transformed nearly dead fields into a biological bomb » said Hassan, one the founder of Orange Bleue. Another objective of this project is to teach people how to grow a food in harmony with nature and show how urban agriculture can have a positive effect locally.

For more information regarding Orange Bleue, feel free to have a look to our article: http://www.circul-r.com/ORANGE-BLEUE/

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Our first video that explains our project some weeks before the beginning of our adventure

We have 3 objectives during our journey that comes from 3 different observations.

1) Identify the circular economy best practices worldwide

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Circul'R and PETCO, an innovative company that recycles plastic bottles in South Africa

Problem identified: If in both Europe and Northern America, circular economy companies are well identify, it is not the case for circular economy projects in emerging countries despite their innovative business models.

What we do: We go on the field in order to meet these circular economy entrepreneurs which have created innovative solutions. We identify their challenges and we highlight their solutions on our social medias.

Our current results: We already went to three 3 continents and met with 80 entrepreneurs in 12 countries.

2) Connect the entrepreneurs together so they can share their best practices and help each other

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Participation to a social entrepreneurs meeting in Dakar, Senegal

Problem identified: The circular economy entrepreneurs often face the same challenges even if they are not located in the same country. So far, it does not exist any network that makes it easy for them to be connected and facilitate knowledge sharing.

What we do: We connect these entrepreneurs together so that they can share their expertise and solve common challenges.

Our results so far: We connected 30 circular entrepreneurs together from different countries.

3) Raise the public awareness on circular economy

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Live conference from Copenhagen for the Sustainable Development Students Summit at Toulouse Business School

Problem identified: The way we consume has a key role to play to protect our planet. If the consumer is aware of the current issues linked to circular economy and how it can have a positive impact on the environment and on our daily life, then he will have the key to make a difference at his own scale. Let’s be consum-actor rather than just consumer!

What we do: We communicate on the solutions we discover during our journey and make it accessible to the largest public through our social medias and by making video documentaries and articles. We also make conferences to students in each country we are going, to discuss this topic with them.

Our results so far: 20 videos on the field, 11 conferences realized to 800 European, African and Asian students.

Our 3rd video documentary that presents the circular entrepreneur we met in Spain and Portugal

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Thanks to our social medias, you can follow us live from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Join us on Facebook (Circul’R), on Instagram (circulr) and on Twitter (@CirculR).

And let’s not forget our official website www.circul-r.com !

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The circular economy word tour is just a start !

The Circul’R Photo Exhibition

Once back, we will make a photo exhibition on our journey to share with you the solutions we discovered during our 17-month journey. A simple way to highlight the entrepreneurs that are changing the world!

Take part to conference to share our experience

After our 17-month journey, we want to share our knowledge and expertise in order to promote circular economy. We will do it through conferences during events linked to sustainable development but also with students by giving talks in universities.

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The Circul'R team doing a workshop with the student of the London School Of Economics

Keep developing the Circul’R community worldwide

This journey makes it possible for us to launch a community of leaders on circular economy. We want to continue growing it in order to have a larger impact and to bring a sustainable alternative to our economic model that is short of breath.

Create the Circul’R start-up

On the field, we are trying to understand the challenges that face the circular entrepreneurs. Once back, the final objective is to create a Circul’R company that will provide these entrepreneurs with concrete solutions and that will promote an economic model that respect both human beings and our planet.

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RAPHAËL

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He comes from: Clamart Town!

His background: MSc in Finance and Strategy @ Sciences Po Paris

His favourite country: « o Brasil meu irmao! »

His speciality: The Samba « French touch »

His challenge during the journey: Stay unbeaten at rock-paper-scissors against Jules

His biggest fear during this world tour: That the Yakusas steal his passport when he is in Japan

His little secret : He went to a Justin Bieber concert in Mexico City...

His lucky charm that will protect him from the mosquitoes and bandidos : his bracelet that a shaman gave him in Amazonia !

JULES

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He comes from: Anglet, French west coast !

His background: MSc Supply Chain @ Toulouse Business School

His favourite country : « Australia mate ! »

His speciality : Batman

His challenge during the journey : Learn the Senegalese youkoulele

His biggest fear during this world tour: That Raphael starts snoring

His little secret : Brushes his teeth under the shower

His lucky charm that will protect him from the mosquitoes and bandidos: his pink underwear he got in high school.

THE CCC : The Circul’R Crowdfunding Crew

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Circul’R it’s also an incredible team based in France and coordinated by Chloé, which helps us growing the Circul’R community and which represents us during circular economy events. CCC, we love you !

Finally, Jérôme is our webmaster and take a great care of our website: www.circul-r.com !

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A big thanks to our partners that have made possible that journey to meet the circular change makers around the world !

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Since the launch of the project, we had the chance to get various article in French and international newspapers. Thanks a lot to our press agency Batida & Co !

To have direct access to the articles, please click on the links below :

The Guardian: "Top circular economy account to follow on Twitter" - http://bit.ly/1LPGevS

Challenges : "Deux jeunes utopistes à l'assaut de l'économie circulaire"- http://bit.ly/1iy11g2

Le Figaro : "Ces jeunes font le tour du monde pour promouvoir l'économie circulaire" - http://bit.ly/1TMN6Au

We Demain : "A 27 ans, ils réalisent le premier tour du monde de l'économie circulaire" - http://bit.ly/1LPGevS