Shaping the Future: Insights and Innovations from the crQlr Awards

When mentioning the term “circular economy,” it may conjure complex images of progressive efforts in advanced countries and regions overseas. But it doesn’t have to be! Sometimes we just need a few examples and expert insights to understand what is needed for a circular economy.

We gained access to the roundtable discussion of the judges for crQlr (“Circular”) Awards 2023, an international award for circular projects, which is now in its third year in Japan. The award is open to entrepreneurs and artists from around the world who are striving to create a circular economy, with the three values of “Circular not linear,” “Action, not prestige,” and “Gain from global perspective.”

The judges discussed the personal criteria they used to screen the entries, what projects inspired them, and their hopes for the future of the circular economy. In this discussion, there are insights for us to see what the experts think about the “circular economy.” After reading their discussion, perhaps we can even walk away as a smarter consumer.

Introducing the crQlr Awards 2023

The aim of the crQlr AWARD is not to award the “best” projects, but to discover and support creative, unique and promising projects that give a new perspective to society and individuals aiming for a circular economy. The following points, as well as the jury’s individual points of view and areas of interest, are used as the basis for evaluating the applicants:

• Is the work creative? Does it show an insightful understanding of circular economy or novel collaborative relationships? for People
• Does it have an overall positive and measurable impact on the environment? for Planet
• Does the work provide solutions to the challenges faced by society and business for activating a circular economy? for Profit

The award saw a large number of responses with a total of 140 entries. The entries were filled with creative ideas, many of which are directly related to our daily lives. The projects covered various perspectives and genres, including materials, products and services, art, education, community development projects, and system-focused applicants. The judges chose up to five winners for each as “Judge Prizes” and voted on the following three projects for the FabCafe Global Special Awards, which celebrated projects that honored the practitioners of “New Relationship Design.”

Sea vegetable Circulation (Japan)

Sea Vegetable Company collects and researches seaweed, which is currently declining due to saltburn, reviving it through cultivation on land and at sea with reduced environmental impact. A key activity of the Sea Vegetable company is their proposal of new ways to eat seaweed. A number of experts, including specialists in seaweed collection and classification, researchers in algae seedling production, and experts in water quality and nutritional analysis, are working across disciplines to conduct basic seaweed research and establish cultivation techniques.

Guilty Flavours (UK)

Shown in the photo is the first food sample to use 20 mg of PET plastic waste to flavor ice cream, an artwork that suggests the human body as a machine that can break down plastic, asking the question, “how humans can adapt to the decomposition of plastics that are all over the planet while other living things are forced to adapt to it?” The ice cream is in a locked refrigerator, hinting at the urgent need for food safety tests with new technology, especially since humans are already consuming microplastics. The artwork appeals to how important it is to make rapid changes in the food system and politics surrounding food and dealing with plastic waste.

Forest Circulation, Forestry Revitalization, REWOOD (Taiwan)

REWOOD is a project from Taiwan that explores the promotion of a circular economic model for forest residues through local development. The project aims to create a superior business model that supports the sustainable development of local communities, circular production, and consumption of timber. In collaboration with the Forestry Conservation Bureau and other key partners, the project has generated more than $8 million in added value.

Getting to know the judges of crQlr Awards 2023

Participants of the roundtable discussion included Guillaume Charny-Brunet (co-founder of the Danish innovation lab SPACE10), Sachiko Hirosue (Osaka Namari-Suzu Seirensho Co., Ltd President and CEO), and Lucy Lu (Director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Chiayi City, Taiwan). The crQlr Awards Chairman, Kelsie Stewart from FabCafe Global, facilitated the retrospection on the awards’ selection process.

Introducing the judges:

Guillaume Charny-Brunet

Participating for the second time after being a judge of the crQlr Awards in 2021, Charny-Brunet has been helping large companies anticipate change and develop new solutions for 15 years. Since then, as Strategy & Development Director, he has been working at the intersection of design, business and sustainability, both in collaboration with IKEA and with his extensive network of talented people around the world.

Sachiko Hirosue

Promoting global collaboration through DIY Open Science to advocate the role of the environment in human health, Hirosue serves as the fourth president of Osaka Lead and Tungsten Carbide recycling company. She is facing head-on the challenging future of lead and tungsten carbide recirculation.

Lucy Lu

Holds a key position in the cultural and creative landscape of Chiayi City, Taiwan, and plays an important role in shaping the artistic direction of the city as the Director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau. Lu was the chief curator of Taiwan Design Expo ’21 and led the organization of an innovative and engaging exhibition in Chiayi City. Currently, as Deputy Secretary General of the Taiwan Design Alliance, she is committed to fostering collaboration and excellence in Taiwan’s design community. She also takes a leadership role as the Director of Demeter Design Consultant Co. Ltd.

Kelsie Stewart (Facilitator)

crQlr Awards Chairman/Loftwork Sustainability Executive. Stewart joined Loftwork and FabCafe in 2017. As FabCafe Chief Community Officer, she is responsible for holding together the FabCafe Global Network which fosters local creative communities and connecting those communities to the global network. In addition, she is the organizer of the Global Goals Jam (GGJ) in Tokyo, a two-day designation aimed at creating short-term solutions to the Sustainable Development Goals, and has organized and implemented this event in multiple cities, including Bangkok, Hong Kong, and online.

Roundtable discussion on crQlr Awards 2023 and circular economy

Q) What were your personal criteria for selecting the winners from 140 entries?

Guillaume Charny-Brunet: “Apart from the essential three pillars of Circular Economy (3P’s: People, Planet, Profit), I evaluate the applications based on three additional criteria: infrastructure, flow, and ingenuity. Efficient infrastructure is crucial for success in the circular economy, looking realistically at the type of resources, machines, logistics and people the project needs to be sustainable and profitable at scale. The creation of new infrastructure, where it was lacking before, especially for specific byproducts, excites me. Or if it makes smart use of an existing infrastructure managed by public authorities and creates new shared value.

“In terms of flow, I appreciate projects that show a fluid system for material flows and clear value proposition. Whether materials be sourced/collected, transformed and resold efficiently and locally, and whether all stakeholders find enough value in it to be increasingly engaged over time. A successful circular economy project involves various stakeholders who are pieces of a chain that is only as strong as its weakest link.

“Ingenuity, or originality, is another criterion I value. I’m drawn to projects that bring something surprising or innovative to the table, or significantly do much better at what has already been done. I believe in the importance of contextual solutions that create local value from local dynamics and challenges, while having the potential to scale.

“Speaking briefly about scale, I emphasize that scalable solutions, encompassing infrastructure, flow, and ingenuity, indicate a market fit and broader impact. The scalability of a project contributes to its overall success, attracting further investments and multiplying its impact.”

Sachiko Hirosue: “I have 32 years of experience as a biomedical and chemical engineer in the United States and Switzerland. I have also been involved in fields such as gene therapy, and am currently the fourth president of a lead and tungsten carbide recycling company in Japan. As a scientist, I’ve always been interested in how art guides our scientific imagination, thus is prescient of, or at least, influencing our futures. Art can also provide the space to deepen discussions of global issues.

“In judging the applications, I focused on the environmental aspect, which is directly related to our health, and the circulation design aspect, which is necessary to make the business financially viable. The visualization of waste was also a consideration. What we cannot see, we tend to forget. In addition, I looked for social design and historical aspects of the projects and ideas, and placed importance on whether or not they were rooted in the local community.”

Lucy Lu: “As the director of the city government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, I am currently working on a circular economy project utilizing a 100-year-old Japanese-style wooden structure in Chiayi City, Taiwan. Given my background, I focus on whether the project creates a unique circular quality or ecosystem, involving recycling, regeneration, collection, or the use of creative materials for daily products.

“In my role in the municipal government, I share Guillaume’s emphasis on the importance of flawless infrastructure. We’ve learned that designing a product should extend to creating an ecosystem for its sustainability. I also appreciate cross-border utilization, such as using traditional Japanese buildings for urban revitalization, with culture as a foundation.”

Q) Were you inspired by or surprised by any of the entries during the judging process?

Hirosue: “I was impressed by the diversity of the ideas, business models, and unexpected collaborations that came from different perspectives and cultural backgrounds. I really enjoyed reading all the projects and ideas. Even if they were looking at the same waste stream, coming from different  perspectives offered a breadth of approaches to circular design.

“It was nice to see that there were some concrete ideas and projects that were already being implemented. Having moved from academic research field to manufacturing, I was impressed by the people who applied for this crQlr award, who are also actively putting ideas into practice.”

Charny-Brunet: “I agree with Sachiko on all the points: the diversity, business models with different flavors, etc., but I particularly resonate with her point on ‘unexpected collaborations.’ Also, I think it is important as judges to try seeing applications for what they are. Some might have beautiful visuals and writings that make a project look awesome. But they require a little bit of digging and I enjoy that process.

“But I have to admit, the most holistic excitement I felt was from the Sea vegetable Circulation Project from Japan because it contained everything. You can tell that the people have found their calling from the video shown in the application. They are working in harmony with the sea, the land, tastebuds, the labs, and elderly people. You can see the flow with meaning. When you look at their website, you can see that they are already working with chefs to publish recipes and collaborating closely with scientists and biologists. Among many other projects, I found that the Sea vegetable Circulation Project created a level of inspiration that is commendable.”

Lu: “I would like to mention three projects that surprised me. The first one is “Creating a sustainable society ‘Circular Action in daily life’,” which is a system that encourages reuse and recycling. It struck me from a design perspective, as it generates profit through the recycling system itself rather than through the sales of products.

“The second one is the Sea vegetable Circulation Project. It has established itself as a successful circular project while excelling in a number of aspects. For example, the project provides more potential job opportunities, regenerates the ocean ecosystem, and is beneficial to human well-being and health.

“The last project that gave me a wow moment was the REWOOD project, a forest circulation/revitalization project from Taiwan, which has successfully established an economic model and a circular system. It works hand-in-hand with the government to create win-win situations by tackling issues together. As a designer working in the government, I was impressed by how many applicants looked beyond their projects to consider the circular system as a whole, which is more complicated.”

Q) What do you think is the future for these winners and the circular economy?

Charny-Brunet: “I am hopeful after seeing the applicants today, witnessing the rising level of maturity and quality of applications over these years. I envision a future where a circular economy is so commonplace that we no longer discuss it as an alien concept compared to the capitalistic, wasteful, extractive economy.

“I hope that all the amazing projects, especially those that have not been selected despite the quality of their propositions, will find their flow, resources to increase their impacts, and visibility. crQlr Awards is a good platform for that. For example, in crQlr Awards 2021, I saw this very small company called Impossible Materials, with two people from Cambridge labs. I loved the project but did not select it as a winner because it was still quite small. However, it eventually grew to become interesting enough as an investment case. Eventually, IKEA saw value in Impossible Materials’ proposition and became a minor investor for its first investment round. That is also what I hope for, that small projects starting as lab projects, grassroots projects, or community projects will find what works, continue to refine it, and find the right support to allow them to keep expanding towards accelerating a circular economy.”

Hirosue: “There were many similarities between the projects, and I hope the crQlr Awards become a platform for building a community where members can learn from or collaborate with each other. To promote the circular economy as a mainstream economy, we need a cultural movement. For that, we need actors from all walks of life collaborating, such as business professionals and artists sharing their skills. I hope the crQlr Awards applicants view applying not only as a destination but also as a means to connect with one another.”

Lu: “Like Guillaume stated, I agree that the circular economy should be considered an economy in its own right. It shouldn’t be seen as unconventional, but as a foundation for circulative capabilities. Several projects, while extremely creative, had incomplete economic models. For example, numerous projects related to the wood industry showed promise. I see opportunities for these projects to connect and address the gaps in their models. I hope that the crQlr Awards becomes a larger platform for these projects to find collaborators. Chiayi City is also interested in and welcomes these projects for idea exchanges.”

Charny-Brunet: “There is something quite exciting and revealing for the future: designs are becoming circular, which changes everything. For decades, we’ve designed things for consumption and disposal. However, designing products and services to stay in the loop is a major catalyst for a circular economy. For instance, one applicant, MATR, established a circular solution for mattresses, specifically for hotels. They focused on designing out waste from the project’s onset.

“Mattresses are challenging to recycle and reuse due to psychological factors. Traditionally, they have been designed for maximum comfort, often with a negative environmental impact. I am impressed with MATR’s approach, using a working subscription model to control material flow and keep refurbishment costs low. As the business scales, the longer the material stays in the loop, the lower the cost for customers, and the faster the implementation. I believe that the circular economy movement hinges on small changes that, cumulatively, will make a significant difference. And it all starts with design.”

Hirosue: “MATR was one of the projects that I almost chose but didn’t, so I am happy to see other judges choosing it. What I really appreciated was their long-term business model. All the things Guillaume mentioned were on point, and the time frame of the business model and how materials are designed to be circulated are very well thought through.”

Lu: “I agree with both of you. They took an item we take for granted in our daily lives that can create so much waste, and then created a circular system for collection and reuse. There were many excellent projects, and I almost picked this one as well. I am very glad to see that other judges picked them as well.”

Q) How do you think we can move forward with a circular economy in Japan?

Hirosue: “Raising awareness of the lifecycle of products after we let go of them could be one of the key aspects of moving forward. This discussion in Japan is complex due to many factors, including legal, historical, geographical, and financial aspects. That’s why I was excited to see projects with a focus on traceability: to know where materials come from and where they end up.

“And I believe that unexpected collaborations and partnerships are another key to the Circular Economy in Japan. I have great hope for the young people in Japan who bring their own perspectives, as their curiosity and their ability to synthesize ideas are palpable.”

Charny-Brunet: “I don’t have a thorough understanding of the circular economy specifics in Japan, but I can share my observations from the past decade. Ten years ago, it was the age of awareness when we started with Space10. We began to realize the true cost of things, such as understanding that one hamburger requires 4000 liters of water and emits over 100 times its weight in CO2.

“However, the material world did not reflect this reality, and environmental and social impacts were not factored into the cost of things. But our generation today is fully aware of the consequences of the wasteful design of the current economy, and now we have entered an age of radical change. Changing mindsets takes time, but a ripple effect occurs once changes begin. Designers start designing for a circular economy, and investors begin to understand that waste can be a source of profit. Ultimately, this alignment of interests creates transformative opportunities.”

Lu: “Speaking specifically from the perspective of the wood circular economy, studies show that traditional wooden Japanese houses produce a much lower carbon footprint than new concrete buildings. Wood projects also preserve culture by utilizing wooden structures. Not only do they contribute to the city landscape, but they also offer benefits for a circular economy and revitalization. Currently, we are working locally, but we look forward to future opportunities for international collaboration between Taiwan and Japan.”

crQlr Awards over the past three years and its future

After the roundtable discussion, we asked Kelsie Stewart, crQlr Awards Chairman and Sustainability Executive, about the past three years of the crQlr Awards and her vision for the future.

Q) First off, what are your thoughts after the roundtable discussion?

Kelsie Stewart: “One of the big points for me, and it is very much related to [last] year’s special prize keyword as well, is about ‘New Relationship Design.’ Whenever we think about this word, ‘relationship,’ it can have so many different meanings: ‘Is it the relationship we have between fishermen and someone who wants to sell seaweed?’ ‘Is it the relationship between a local Taiwanese person dreaming of being a furniture maker and the city providing wood that would otherwise become waste?’ ‘Or is it the relationship between the consumer, their electronics, and who they pass their used up batteries to?’ and so on.

“The term ‘Relationship Design’ can be translated, expressed, or activated in many different ways. Coming from someone who’s been working at Loftwork for 6 years, one of the most inspiring aspects for me is how to engage and activate various communities for collective impact. For me, this is the core value that we as Loftwork can offer to the winners and to the judges: to try to activate communities together to co-create ecosystems that will have a longer-term impact.”

Q) What are reflections on the last three years?

Stewart: “The first year we did the crQlr Awards, it was mostly an online affair. We had one summit at FabCafe Tokyo with a small group of people and streamed it online to a larger audience. It was a very excellent effort. We had a huge number of applicants, the most out of the three years, but creating tangible outcomes with the community was challenging due to the online format. Of course, with COVID, there was a lot of innovation in how we connect online, yet the circular economy discussion has many inherently physical challenges. We can talk about products and services, but ultimately, the waste in dumps or batteries being recycled are physical realities.

“So, looking back at the last three years, I am very grateful that COVID has ended because the supply chain disruptions during the pandemic have had time to pivot and find new win-win situations. The second point is that with the end of COVID, we have the opportunity to more effectively engage with the community, bringing them closer together. What I hope to achieve through the exhibitions happening not only in Tokyo but also in Bangkok and Barcelona, is to bring people together. This way, we can sit at the same table to discuss each other’s challenges and value propositions.”

Q) What were the differences from the last two crQlr Awards and crQlr Awards 2023?

Stewart: “For [last] year, the big change is that we are doing things more in-house. We are actually having the exhibition inside the FabCafe. We have already established a number of different kinds of communities, some dealing with sustainability and some not, which I think provides a great first perspective. Hosting the exhibition [last] year and creating the touchpoint for [last] year’s winning projects in Japan, Bangkok, and Barcelona is a new challenge for us. Also, particularly for FabCafe, everybody can come in and be inspired by the works, but this year we are also going to host exhibition tours in an effort to identify shared challenges and new partners to tackle those challenges.

“Earlier, we were talking about the diversity of business models. For me, this aspect is significantly important and cannot be iterated enough. In the upcycling world, we talk about finding new value by reusing, composting, or recycling waste, etc., and having someone with the idea of how to use that waste is one important aspect. However, having someone who can think on a larger scale about how to create a business from this or how to develop a mutually beneficial situation is even more crucial. The number of people in the crQlr Awards thinking from this perspective has increased, partly due to how we frame our questions, and I really want to invite people to look at these business models and see where they can participate, whether as a consumer, a business partner, or as someone who provides feedback and asks questions. This is an exciting point for me, delving deeper than just looking at the winners themselves, but considering their business models and how one might participate in them.”

Q) Could you tell us about the future prospects and challenges of Loftwork?

Stewart: “In the crQlr Awards, we design the application process in such a way that encourages people to express their widely diverse projects. This approach allows the general public, experts, and everyone in between to be moved, inspired, and find insights. However, there’s still a lot of work to do in creating a common language. And this is something that I don’t think will ever be perfectly solved because as we create new languages, new technologies will emerge, necessitating more new languages. So, what I hope is that by tightening the communities, we can start addressing issues together, whether we’re talking about Carbon Credits, Digital Passports, or preparing for new policies from the government, etc. If we are together as a community, it is much easier to tackle these challenges in unique and exciting ways.

“Last year (2022), following the crQlr Awards, after over a year and a half of discussions, I had the chance to collaborate on a project with crQlr Awards judge David Benjamin for his students at Columbia University. This collaboration is one of the ideal outcomes of the crQlr Awards. In this case, the stakeholders included David Benjamin, a crQlr Awards judge, his students at Columbia University, INOW (an educational program provider at Kamikatsu), and Hirakuma, a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) company between Hida city, Loftwork, and Tobimushi.

“From the start, David Benjamin mentioned that circularity isn’t just about materials or technologies but also about a way of life. To explore this point further, we organized a 4-day Japan circular ecosystem tour. During the tour, students from Columbia University visited the Zero Waste Center in Kamikatsu, experienced Kayabuki making by preparing actual straw used as parts of roofs, and learned how those Kayabuki houses are living organisms. But most importantly, the tour was designed in a way that allowed students and local people to have equitable discussions and exchange knowledge. In the future, what I really hope is that we can take it to the next step. I want to create prototypes together and, to do so, we need to engage the community and explore the different business models available for collaboration.’

Writer’s Note

The crQlr Awards featured a plethora of amazing applications, complemented by an equally impressive panel of judges. These judges are leading experts from around the world, and I had the rare opportunity to listen in on a roundtable discussion with them. The topic of circular economy holds great interest for both Zenbrid Media and myself. The roundtable discussion was full of learning points and keywords, all essential to the future development of the circular economy in Japan. My key takeaway is a quote from one of our judges, Charny-Brunet: ‘The Circular Economy movement isn’t a silver bullet but a collection of small actions. Small actions can bring about big change.”

Visit the upcoming exhibition “crQlr Awards Exhibition: New Relationship Design”!

From March 1-24, the “crQlr Awards Exhibition: New Relationship Design” will be held at Shibuya FabCafe Tokyo, focusing on the new relationship between the circular economy and design. The exhibition will primarily feature projects that won special awards at crQlr Awards 2023 , along with other project introductions. There will also be online talk events featuring judges and award recipients during the exhibition. For more details, click here.