The first day of the 2018 Youth BSF forum concluded with a panel/open format discussion on the possibility of smart communities driving sustainability, although it evolved into a more general debate on sustainable or circular economy as such.
Simon Mokorel of the Arctur company, who started developing smart solutions for communities about a decade ago, indicated at the outset that progress in the field has been rather slow, since such large projects require extremely strong support by mayors and municipal councils. The public’s understanding of the concept and the issues it addresses has also been modest, with opposition also rising to the term “smart”, which Mokorel says is being replaced by “cooperative communities”. Mokorel strongly believes that more cooperation is the only way forward.
Ladeja Godina Košir, the founder of the Circular Change platform, stressed that a joint effort is needed to preserve the planet. Bringing together different stakeholders, who would be ineffective alone, has been the focus and one achievement of Circular Change in Slovenia has been a national roadmap for a transition to circular economy. As the debate turned to the crisis of values and its ramifications Godina Košir warned against a revolutionary approach. “We should not be encouraging changing things over night, but encourage small steps,” she said, while also noting the need for a global leadership.
Massimiano Tellini, who works at Intesa Sanpaolo Bank, argued it was crucial to first be clear about what we define as success, to see whether “we are sure that we are smart” citizens, to reflect on what our purpose of making business really is. “My personal ambition, from my perspective, circular economy is about reconnecting business and society.” The definition of smart communities proved elusive in the debate and Tellini, who highlighted the confines of linear thinking, contributed his view of “smart” as “a sort of self-consciousness and being able to understand the context where we are living”. Tellini feels the key to change lies in looking into ourselves and starting to act out circular economy. On a wider level a move needs to happen “to creating a positive impact rather than diminishing the negative one.”
Martin Mössler of Science Park Graz highlighted the gap between the lip service that is being paid to sustainability and the lifestyles people actually live. “I came here taking three different planes to talk about sustainability,” he illustrated, warning against sustainability remaining an empty concept that “allows some people to make careers”. He touched on the systemic backdrop of the situation, arguing “the circular approach is about much more than only getting cleaner, it is about how we treat each other, what we see as success, as careers”. Mössler pointed out that sustainability ideas go back half a century – to no avail – to the club of Rome. He however does have hope that a push for change will come from banking, from industry as well as education.
