Tyumen scientists modeled the development of a circular economy

by time news

In mid-March, Tyumen scientists will take part in the International Economic Forum of the CIS Member States “Green Agenda in the CIS countries: cooperation in development”. The topic does not lose its relevance, although the concept of green economy came to Russia in the early 2000s, and ten years In everyday life, another concept has appeared – the circular economy. Their essence is close: the main vectors are the development of environmental thinking and human culture, the greening of production processes. But the concept of green economy is still broader, while the circular one is focused on the closed use of technologies and resources, notes Associate Professor of the Department of Economics and the organization of production of the Tyumen Industrial University Maria Guryeva, a young scientist who has been working on the topic of sustainable development of enterprises for several years, and recently, together with colleagues, within the framework of a presidential grant, built a dynamic model that allows predicting different scenarios for the development of the circular economy of the whole region.

Maria, what is the essence of your research?

Maria Guryeva: To begin with, the circular economy, like, say, the population, cannot be calculated manually, without relying at least on statistical data. And in the meantime, you need to evaluate. In the theoretical part, we considered the foundations of the formation of such an economy, its transformation in time and space. And in practice, they created a dynamic model that helps to build a predictive development scenario – negative, target or ideal, based on official data from Rosstat.

To begin with, the team classified all subjects of the Russian Federation into groups with similar features. The road maps existing in the regions were taken as a basis. The developers of the Tyumen region chose people, the economy and space as priorities. Our group for each priority identified tasks and goals into which the concept of a circular economy can be integrated. If we are talking about a person, then the goals for achieving the best scenario are raising the standard of living and developing human capital, and the tasks are well-being, effective employment, human resources, affordable and comfortable housing, education, a healthy lifestyle, and longevity. For the priority “Economy” in the Tyumen region, the goal is rational nature management, and the tasks are environmental education, environmental ecology, production ecology (ecobusiness). For “Space” – an effective system of distribution of productive forces, the development of interregional and foreign economic relations.

When we sorted the statistical data from 2013 to 2019 according to certain indicators (among them, for example, there is the share of MSW that is regularly collected and properly disposed of in the total mass of urban waste; the cost of overhaul of environmental protection funds; the number of environmental – educational activities and educational tourism in state nature reserves and national parks, etc.), then at the output we got a curve for the development of a circular economy, which has a positive trend.

Ecoculture and self-consciousness of an individual can transform the whole model of the economic system not only of an enterprise, but also of a state

Who can benefit from this data?

Maria Guryeva: Different departments and companies can use the universal model, especially since it immediately demonstrates the result of human activity. It is not difficult to draw the appropriate conclusions.

Do you plan to continue this work?

Maria Guryeva: Yes, we want to develop the methodology further, to create specific developments. Such studies are on the current agenda of the country, by the way, in early February, solid federal funding was allocated for the development of the circular economy.

Why is it so important?

Maria Guryeva: The role of science is to observe, try to understand the directions of the necessary changes and then gently push society towards them. The perception of the world is changing: what used to surprise and even repel, is now becoming familiar: communicate with the doctor online, use electronic document management, go to the store with a shopping bag, separate garbage into several packages. The world is changing and so are we. This became especially noticeable during the pandemic: we wanted a different, improved environment, for example, more parks, bike paths in cities, etc.

How to find a balance between human economic activity, which is often harmful to the environment, and the term “sustainable development”?

Maria Guryeva: A counter question: how to assess the environmental performance of any industrial enterprise? And can it be argued that only the reduction of emissions and discharges is a positive result of such activities? It seems to me that in the 21st century this is no longer enough. It is necessary to evaluate not only environmental aspects, although they are certainly important. Here, the personal interest of the management, its life position and attitude to maintaining the ecological balance, as well as the behavior of each employee at the workplace, are much more remarkable. Ecoculture and self-awareness of an individual can transform the whole model of the economic system not only of an enterprise, but also of a state. Moreover, there are inspiring examples of the transition to a circular economy in the world.

What Russian enterprises would you classify as environmentally responsible?

Maria Guryeva: Almost all large oil and gas companies not only comply with the conditions of environmentally friendly work, but also follow the principles of sustainable development. Gazprom, for example, has a fund that supports green initiatives. It also publishes a rating of the environmental responsibility of all such structures in the country. SIBUR has adopted a circular economy program, that is, it works on the principle of a closed cycle. Remember, in 2020, there were accidents at Norilsk Nickel facilities? At the time of the oil spill, the company’s shares fell significantly. But, after she paid an environmental fine with a lot of zeros, the shares began to cost more than before the unfortunate events. Approximately in this way society reacts to the environmental and social responsibility of enterprises.

Perhaps in the near future they will also be hired according to “green templates”?

Maria Guryeva: If you open the “Atlas of Occupations” in the latest edition, among the required competencies as the main skill of the future is “environmental thinking”. So your prediction will probably come true.

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