EGADE circular economy project gains worldwide recognition

A circular economy project from a professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey’s EGADE Business School has been recognized by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International).

The Sustainable Wealth Creation Through Innovation and Technology (SWIT) initiative from emeritus professor Carlos Scheel was given a prize as part of the 2021 Innovations That Inspire program.

Each year, AACSB International, the largest global accreditation body for business schools, recognizes institutions leading change in business education.

Dr. Scheel explained to CONECTA what this award means for his journey with SWIT, a circular economy and systems thinking model.

“This award gives the SWIT group further visibility which will help achieve our goal of bringing together a critical mass of experts in the circular economy and systems approaches for Latin American countries.”

“Right now, we need methodologies, processes, and human resources with a systemic, innovative, disruptive, and high-impact vision. I believe that we’ve been given this award because of these characteristics,” he said.

What is the SWIT model?

The circular economy aims to positively impact society, the environment, and economic reactivation through increased reuse and recycling of materials in manufacturing cycles.

The SWIT model, created in 2007, uses methods which take advantage of manufacturing waste in the communities where industry happens.

“SWIT aims to create economic income for a region using the waste generated there,” explained Scheel.

“SWIT started as an initiative to generate prosperity, mainly in developing countries that don’t have enough resources to develop strategies for innovation,” Scheel explained about the model.

This innovative project is supported by 5 key concepts:

1. Sustainable, disruptive innovation inspired by nature
2. A systemic view of growth
3. Extended circular economy systems
4. Grouping industrial ecology systems
5. Business approaches to problem solving

“We developed a concept called a circular value system. For example, how can we ensure that a plastic bottle never gets into nature? If it’s always in circulation, then it isn’t garbage. As long as I have it and use it, it is re-processed and reused.”

The process consists of detecting the potential value of waste generated by the industries in a particular area.

“First, it identifies sustainable initiatives and then turns them into businesses. We found that waste and garbage can form an important opportunity, especially in regions where there is lots of waste to be found,” explained the professor.

“The waste is analyzed to determine its value. It’s difficult because there is no quality control for waste or it could be contaminated, and it has to become something valuable.”

“We developed a concept called a circular value system. For example, how can we ensure that a plastic bottle never gets into nature? If it’s always in circulation, then it isn’t garbage.”

The SWIT model’s impact in other places

The SWIT model has already been used in different industries and countries, the following areas being of note:

- The circular production of coffee and palm oil in Colombia

- A sustainable model for single-use plastics in Mexico and Ecuador

- Various sustainable startups in British Guyana.

- A circular economy community in Higueras, Nuevo León, Mexico

“For example, we developed processes to transform nejayote, waste from tortilla production, in many businesses in Mexico; or glycerin, African palm waste, in Colombia”, explained Scheel.

“(As well as) implementing circular economies in cities or towns such as Higueras, Nuevo León, where the largest industry is goat’s milk and cheese. The idea was how to transform whey, milk waste, into probiotic foods for the same population,”

“SWIT has played several roles: it’s been a Think Tank that has developed methodologies; it’s been a Do Tank in which the group has diagnosed and executed applications in Latin America; and it has been a training group for specialists.”

“I think that these concepts show why SWIT was selected for this award, because we cover the three axes: research, development, and training specialists.”

The SWIT project received an award, as one of the Tec research projects that are transforming Mexico, at the 49th Tec de Monterrey Research and Development Conference.

Researchers, master’s students and doctoral candidates have worked on the project, carrying out at more than 23 projects in 4 countries.

EGADE as an example of business education

Osmar Zavaleta, acting dean at EGADE, points out how SWIT aims to promote economic growth without generating waste or affecting the natural resources of communities in developing countries.

“It’s a program that is closely aligned with the Conscious Companies program promoted by EGADE and Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Vision for 2030,” Zavaleta highlighted.

“We want to congratulate Dr. Carlos Scheel and everyone who has participated in this initiative, which has been recognized for being the most innovative,” he said.

Caryn L. Beck-Dudley, AACSB President and CEO, emphasized how the winning schools show that business education can be a “force for good.”

“Business schools around the world are defining high-impact objectives and strategies which are aligned with the communities they serve,” she explained.

The EGADE Business School is the only business school in Latin America among the 24 institutions from around the world given awards this year by the international accrediting body for their positive contributions to society.

Click here to find out more about AACSB’s Innovations That Inspire program and to see the complete list of 24 winners recognized at the 2021 awards.

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