Beyond Waste Lab
A Circular Resources Lab
What if we could redesign our economy into a regenerative and circular model?
Current processes of production and consumption are linear and therein produce a lot of waste. A transition is required to move towards more sustainable solutions. Through some of its principles like reuse, recycle, repair and reduce, circular economy offers an alternative model that treats resources in a smart way leaving less or no waste. Shifting to this model will require a systemic approach, a fundamental transformation of our production and consumption patterns as well as change in our mindsets. Waste affects everyone - citizens, students, academics, entrepreneurs, corporates, policymakers, activists, artists, thought leaders, innovators and change-makers, therefore we are to tackle this challenge jointly in order to stimulate true systemic change.
This situation was the driver for a Social Innovation Lab with the following quest: Explore the potential of ecosystem awareness and facilitate the co-creation of solutions for circular economy transformation in Canton de Vaud.
What we did
Beyond Waste | Circular Resources Lab was a Social Innovation Lab on the topic of circular economy, located in the region of “Lac Leman”, that we have co-organised and co-held in 2018 with Sustainable Living Lab of Impact Hub Lausanne & Genèva and the Living Lab Lausanne of the EPFL. It was a four month experimental journey (Sept - Dec 2018) which consisted of a blended learning environment combining online and offline sessions, using social technologies drawn from various approaches and tools, namely Theory U. Over these four months, 21 participants learnt how to let go of old convictions and judgements to be able to open up to new ways of understanding and tackling the issue. In accessing resources that come into existence when a group of people connects deeply on a social level they formed four teams around specific topics.
What we have learned
To better co-design solutions to a complex challenge, our participants developed humans capabilities such as, but not limited to: collaborating in diversity (across disciplines, sectors and organisational cultures), creativity, experimentation, authenticity, trust in others, deep listening, benevolence, facilitating mindset change and seeing from a whole perspective and mindfulness.
Testimonials
Read more about our participants’ experiences in some their personal blog posts:
1) From Ego-to-Eco: my lived experience
2) Transformative evidence: how Theory U brought me back to the essential(s)
Find more blog posts about the Beyond Waste Lab here.
Additional readings and sources
Contact
Do you want to know more about this Social Innovation Lab or connect with us on the topic of Circular Resources reach out to hello@collaboratio.ch