NewGen Surgical, Inc., Commended by The 2015 Circular Economy Awards, an Initiative of the World Economic Forum
January 30, 2015 – San Rafael, California – NewGen Surgical, Inc., has been commended by the judges of The Young Global Leaders Award for Circular Economy Entrepreneurship 2015. In addition, Kim Chase, CMO of NewGen Surgical, has also been invited to be a guest member of their taskforce for 2015. The Circulars is an annual event recognizing individuals and enterprises from commerce, civil society and academia that have made a notable contribution to driving circular economy principles.
“Our company demonstrates a strong industry and customer value proposition as we are integrating sustainability into our product design,” said Rob Chase, Founder and President of NewGen Surgical. “Sustainable purchasing in hospitals is on the rise – by 2016, more than 80% of hospitals in the United States are expected to increase their purchase of sustainable products. NewGen Surgical is poised to innovate, transform and support a circular economy, in a large, trash-producing industry. Our first product is based on cradle-to-cradle thinking, and uses bagasse—a by-product of sugarcane production—as the primary material.”
“It is immensely encouraging to see just how much great work is going on worldwide, and in recognition of the great work NewGen Surgical is doing to advance the Circular Economy, they’ve been recognized as ‘Circulars 2015: Commended’,” said the YGL Circular Economy Taskforce Co-Chairs Peter Lacy, Global Managing Director of Accenture Strategy and Sustainability; David Rosenberg, CEO of Aerofarms; and Ida Auken, MP & Former Environmental Minister in the Danish Parliament.
Other companies commended in the Entrepreneurship category are the Closed Loop Fund, Durabilit, HighStreet, MudJeans, Royal HaskoningDHV, TerraCycle, and The Agency of Design.About Circular Economy
Circular economy is an alternative to traditional linear economy. It decouples growth from scarce resource use, thus allowing economic development within natural resource limits. Furthermore, a circular economy allows companies to innovate, enabling customers and users to adopt sustainable products and services.
There’s growing consensus that the only way forward with sustainable production and growth is to switch from our current industrial linear model to one that is less dependent on primary energy and natural resources, and is also regenerative to reduce waste. There are strong signs that the circular economy is going to have an impact within business. Organizations like Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and an array of large companies, like Accenture, Philips and McKinsey, support the idea. Companies on the forefront of this wave can unleash innovations, like new product-to-service approaches, new materials recovery methods, and smarter projections and preparedness for future costs, such as waste disposal or raw materials prices.
The Circulars consist of five categories: Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Pioneer, Digital Disruptor and Cities/Regions. The awards were presented at the Young Global Leaders gala at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The ceremony was covered by Fortune Magazine at http://fortune.com/2015/01/20/davos-man-embraces-the-circular-economy/
