Arun Mahato: "Creative professionals are the ones who can adapt to the new market situation"

Photo: © Prognos

Everyone is talking about the circular economy - products should either be designed in such a way that they can be broken down into individual parts or be biologically recyclable. What role do the cultural and creative industries have to play in this? We spoke about this with Arun Mahato, a member of the Analysis & Trends department at the Federal Government's Competence Center for Cultural and Creative Industries, which has produced a study on the topic of circularity in the cultural and creative industries.

InterviewJens THOMAS

CCB Magazine:More and more companies want to become sustainable or circular. You have conducted a study on the circularity of the cultural and creative industries. What did you find out?

Arun Mahato:Our conclusion is that more and more creative companies also want to become circular, but the submarkets are at different stages. A lot is already happening in the design industry and the architecture market - designers are producing compostable clothing, for example, and architects are committed to recycling materials in the construction industry. But there is still a lot of potential to be exploited in the other submarkets. The avoidance, intensification and reuse of materials are the principles of many players involved in the topic. On the one hand, they contribute to the avoidance of natural resources and increase resource efficiency. On the other hand, they intensify use and slow down resource cycles by extending product lifetimes. Resource cycles are also closed through recycling and reuse.

CCB Magazine:In your study, you were able to identify three types that operate at the interface between the creative and circular economy. What are these types and how do they differ?

Arun Mahato:The first group are the users (Anwender) who create products and services for a circular economy and gradually switch to a circular economy. These could be the architects or designers mentioned above. The second group are the enablers who enable others to do business in a circular way. Consultants, for example, fall into this category. The design industry also has a key role to play because a significant part of a product's circularity is already built into its design. The third group is made up of multipliers, who have a multiplying and mediating function for the submarkets of the creative industries - such as the games, press, advertising, film and book markets. The multipliers ensure that the circular economy is applied more widely in other areas.

There are three types at the intersection of the creative and circular economy: the users who create products and services for a circular economy, the enablers who enable others to do business in a circular way, and the multipliers who ensure that the circular economy is applied more widely in other areas

CCB Magazine:Is there a figure on how many players in the cultural and creative industries are already circular? And what are the reasons why quite a lot is already happening in the design and architecture market, but less in the other sectors?

Arun Mahato:Data on this is scarce in Germany, which is why there are still no precise figures. The design and architecture sectors are so predestined because they use specific materials that can be designed to be recyclable. But this does not mean that nothing is happening in other sectors. For example, festival planners are increasingly trying to promote recyclable processes by avoiding and recycling waste. Or in the software/games industry, circular economy principles are being applied through the sustainable procurement of hardware and repair options. Last but not least, the advertising market plays a key role in marketing the circular economy when advertising practices aim to conserve resources and contribute to awareness-raising processes. And in the press and book market, more resource-efficient production of print media is increasingly leading to a longer useful life - or the products can even be composted.

CCB Magazine:The circular economy comes primarily from waste management. The first Circular Economy/Waste Act dates back to 1996, and the areas of technology, collection, transportation and street cleaning, waste treatment and recycling and the wholesale of used materials still dominate today. Is the role of creative companies in a circular economy not overestimated?

Arun Mahato:I wouldn't see it that way. Of course, the creative markets do not compete with the markets mentioned above. However, creative companies in particular play a key role by contributing to the avoidance, intensification and reuse of products. In addition, the circular economy as an idea can only be realistically implemented in the context of society as a whole if there is a change in awareness - and creative companies make a major contribution to this.

CCB Magazine:However, the circular economy is about traditional economic activity, from which submarkets such as the performing and visual arts are far removed. The circular economy employs around 314,000 people in Germany and grew by around 14 percent between 2010 and 2022. In which areas could new employment opportunities arise for creative professionals or collaborations with other sectors?

Arun Mahato:Creative professionals are already at the forefront of social innovation, and collaborations with SMEs are also conceivable. It is true that creative professionals are not engineers or specialists in solar systems or waste sorting. Nevertheless, they are developers of new business models, processes and procedures. Design thinking in particular, in which solutions to complex problems are found by developing new ideas, is becoming increasingly important for a circular economy. I see numerous points of contact and potential for cross-industry collaboration here.

Creative companies in particular contribute to the avoidance, intensification and reuse of products. In addition, the circular economy as an idea can only be realistically implemented in the context of society as a whole if there is a change in awareness - and creative companies make a major contribution to this

CCB Magazine:Can you give an example?

Arun Mahato:The company sendmepack, for example, develops shipping boxes from existing materials in order to avoid packaging waste from online retail. To do this, the company buys up cardboard boxes in order to resell them - this is where the creative industry meets e-commerce. Another example is the company Rokbox, which has worked with restorers, artists and industrial designers to develop an art shipping box made from both recycled and recyclable materials. And in the area of gamification, users can digitally test processes that are important for implementing a circular economy.

CCB Magazine:Let's talk about money. Many creative companies have been exposed to high precarity risks for years. Can creative companies make a decent living from circular concepts?

Arun Mahato:We don't have any reliable figures on this. What we can say is that the circular economy is also increasingly paying off economically - whether in the more sustainable design of processes, in material savings or in circular design through the use of recycled materials. This allows new products to be created and costs to be reduced. Creative professionals certainly need to continuously discover and occupy new niches.

CCB Magazine:In your study, you write that the first steps towards a circular economy are avoiding the use of resources, extending the useful life and reusing materials. In the past, there have been numerous examples from the creative industries of products lasting so long by extending their useful life that not enough were sold in the end. Is the creative industry failing because of its perfection?

Arun Mahato:I wouldn't see it that way either. There is certainly a need for new business models that focus on the longevity of products and are profitable at the same time. On the other hand, producing fewer and more durable products may also mean that there are lower costs for the expenditure and use of raw materials - which in turn can be worthwhile from a business perspective. It can also make sense to offer additional services to generate further income and retain customers. For example, the tire manufacturer Michelin produces tires with a long service life, but had to assert itself against low-price competition for a long time. This is why Michelin now provides transport companies with tires free of charge, but charges by the kilometer - the company has implemented chips in the tires to measure the distance and maintenance requirements. On the one hand, this has resulted in numerous customers becoming loyal to the company. Secondly, this solved a long-standing problem for hauliers: as a result, significantly higher fuel efficiency was achieved and costs were reduced. Profitability improved and carbon emissions were reduced.

There is no way around the fact that creative professionals need to position themselves broadly and remain open to experimentation. Reinvention, a willingness to take risks and a role as a driving force are inscribed in the DNA of creative companies

CCB Magazine:But many creative companies, for example in the fashion sector, now also have to compete with large suppliers who also focus on sustainability or circularity. Companies such as C&A and Benetton have continuously increased their organic cotton content over the years. H&M introduced a take-back system back in 2013, which gives customers a 15 percent discount voucher for their next purchase for every bag handed in. How can creative companies still find their niche?

Arun Mahato:There is no way around the fact that creative professionals need to position themselves broadly and remain open to experimentation. Reinvention, a willingness to take risks and a role as a driving force are inscribed in the DNA of creative companies. That's why I don't think that creative professionals can no longer occupy niches - there is potential, for example, in the production of new organic materials such as leather from mushrooms, paper from grass or the development of alternatives to concrete. The consumption of clothing and shoes is also expected to increase by 63 percent from 62 million to 102 million tons by 2030 - making an expansion of the circular principle unavoidable. As far as the architecture market is concerned, around 30 to 35 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in Germany are attributable to the construction, maintenance and operation of buildings. At the same time, additional living space needs to be created in Germany today and in the coming years. Architects who develop circular and efficient concepts are needed here.

CCB Magazine:Finally, a forecast please: Where will we be in terms of the circular economy in ten years' time? What role will the creative industries play in this?

Arun Mahato:The IT and software services sector will become more important and the interlinking of digitalization and sustainability will continue to increase. And this not only applies to markets that are predestined for digital processes, such as the advertising market or the music industry. It also applies to areas such as architecture, where digital solutions will be able to optimize information flows for circularity and create transparency in the future. In addition, professions are becoming more multidisciplinary, requiring a wide range of skills and extensive technical knowledge - and creative professionals in particular can adapt to this. According to a report by the global impact organization Circle Economy, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank's Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE), the increased reuse and reprocessing of products and materials could create up to 7 or 8 million new jobs worldwide. The need for continuous upskilling will remain essential for the circular economy sector. Professions such as C2C architect, circular designer, sustainability, narrative or interaction designer will be indispensable in the working world of tomorrow. They will enrich the labor market many times over.