The Carlsberg Circular Community

12th May 2015

Today's business models are not fit for purpose if we are to deliver the transformational change needed to create a sustainable future, and firms need to be willing to step out of their 'comfort zone' to drive positive change.

That was the view of Charlotta Lyon, vice-president of corporate affairs for Western Europe at Carlsberg Group, put forward in her presentation at Sustainability Live last month. Lyonbelieves businesses will need to re-establish themselves and their value networksto achieve sustainability success.

Since joining Carlsberg in July 2014, she has overseen the delivery of the ‘Carlsberg Circular Community’, which has seen the brewer effectively take the lead on resource effectiveness and the circular economy; using a ‘Cradle-to-Cradle’ design framework to partner with suppliers, create clean material streams optimised for reuse and recycling, and support the sharing of sustainable innovations between companies – all in pursuit of zero-waste. 

“I was very curious about the Circular Community concept when I joined the group,” Lyon said. “But I think it’s making headway, definitely. “It’s a great example of approaching an area within your business and exploring how you can change the way you’re working to achieve different results than if you’d continued to do what you’ve done previously.

“It’s become something that everyone talks about because it’s outside of the normal scope of business. The team that have developed the Community and are leading the effort have been realistic and also very focused on moving it forward – progressing the cradle-to-cradle certification and engagement in new opportunities, such as the green fibre bottle we launched earlier in the year.

“There’s still so much work to do and we are really still at the start of the process, but in terms of taking those key steps, we have made the ‘leap of faith’. It’s inspiring for our partners and it sends very important messages internally as well – this is not something that just comes and goes, sustainability really is being driven in a professional way.”

This presentation takes a closer look at the Carlsberg Circular Community, with details of the various clollaborative partnerships the group has had to form in order to progress towards a more sustainable future.

Read the full Charlotte Lyon interview here.

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