The Circular Economy, Biodiversity and HUTIRA

The concept of sustainability and business with an environmental face is the foundation stone for all our activities. That’s why the principles of the circular economy, such as reducing waste, regenerating the countryside and circulating materials, are close to us. The next episode of Hotspot Talks from the workshop of the Circular Economy Institute, of which we are a member, was devoted to this and more.

Biodiversity, meaning the variety of life, is a basic prerequisite for the functioning of ecosystems. Its loss could have serious consequences for ecosystems and human existence. Heavy industry has a negative influence on biodiversity through destruction of the natural environment and water, air and soil pollution. Chemicals used in agriculture also cause environmental pollution and extinction of species.

Zdroj: lindstromgroup.com

That’s why we try to take a responsible approach to business with respect for the countryside. “Every company can start behaving a little more responsibly. It’s necessary to change one’s viewpoint and, for example, start looking at waste as a renewable resource. Manure, expired foodstuffs and leftovers can all be used to create biomethane, which has the potential to replace up to twenty percent of natural gas consumption in the Czech Republic in 2030, according to Czech Association for Biomass (CZ BIOM),” explained Monika Zitterbartová, executive director of HUTIRA green gas and marketing director of the HUTIRA brand.

We are also trying to find ways to reduce the energy demand of our processes as a part of our innovative water management technologies. “For part of the recycling process, we use energy from waste heat, for example steam escaping from a boiler room or heat discharged outside a production plant in order to prevent equipment overheating. In some cases, the excess waste heat energy can be used in other parts of production as well,” explained Petr Hajný, director of the WATER Division – Water Treatment Technology and Water Management at HUTIRA.

Zdroj: blog.o2.cz

We try to show that we care what kind of environment the next generation will grow up in through other activities as well. In September 2019, HUTIRA executive officer Ivo Hutira gave the members of the board of the Brno Regional Chamber of Commerce a proposal for business with an environmental face. This resulted in the creation of the GO GREEN! initiative, which has been contributing to reductions in the environmental burden and improving the environment in the form of workshops, lectures and seminars for four years.

More than a year ago, we became members of the Czech Circular Hotspot, for which the INCIEN Circular Economy Institute acts as an umbrella. Thanks to regular meetings and workshops, we have the opportunity to put the ideas of the circular economy into practice more effectively. At the start of June, another part of the Hotspot Talks cycle of workshops took place. The workshop provided a new view of the connection between the circular economy and biodiversity. A presentation entitled “Circularity and Its Positive Impact on Biodiversity” was based on current studies that deal with the connection of the two concepts. The workshop’s aim was, among other things, to show that the principles of responsible business can stop the decline in biodiversity and boost the opposite trend.

“In order to turn it round, it is necessary to make relatively fundamental changes in economics, society, politics and technology. It is no longer enough to care for biodiversity only by protecting areas and trying to restore the original ecosystems in the way that has been done until now,” said Petr Novotný, head of INCIEN’s consultation department, during the Hotspot Talks.

According to him, the circular economy can also help separate economic growth from the constant production of primary resources, such as oil, glass and aluminum. “Among the principles the concept brings are reductions in waste and pollution, the circulation of materials, products and the regeneration of the countryside,” said Novotný, adding that agriculture, processing and production of primary raw materials represent 90% of the responsibility for biodiversity loss.

Zdroj: pruvodcepodnikanim.cz