‘Circular economy’ technology business that has pioneered the reuse and recycling of unwanted books
- Investment StrategyPrivate Equity, Sustainable Growth
- ThemeSustainable Planet
- Date of Initial InvestmentNovember 2016
- Bridges ExecutivesOliver Wyncoll
Henry Jones
Thesis
For years, economies have enjoyed growth based on an assumption that resources are effectively infinite; a culture has developed where we endlessly create, consume and discard. Around 50m tonnes of waste goes to landfill each year in the UK, significantly contributing to CO2 emissions, while just 9% of the global economy is considered circular. So there is a huge opportunity – and a clear imperative – to convert the remaining 80 billion+ tonnes of material extracted for use annually to a more sustainable lifecycle.
The circular economy is growing across different sectors, from re-commerce to plastic, electronic waste to clothing – striving to reduce the consumption of raw materials and energy, and protect or even regenerate our natural environment. Moreover, consumers are increasingly choosing to purchase from more sustainably-minded brands, giving those businesses a competitive edge.
Investment
World of Books Group is a circular economy technology business that has pioneered the reuse and recycling of used books. It has grown to become one of the biggest sellers of used books globally – selling a book somewhere in the world every two seconds. WOB’s market-leading algorithms, built upon over two decades of innovation and sales data, have made it a best-in-class re-commerce technology business.
Outcomes
World of Books has seen strong growth and momentum through the expansion its website worldofbooks.com, ‘direct from consumer’ sourcing via its app, and a successful launch in the US.
Crucially, World of Books’ model means that items don’t end up in landfill, reducing CO2 emissions and waste. In FY24, it rehomed 31.4m books, diverting over 13,000 tonnes of books from waste – equivalent to saving over 225,000 trees. It also donated another 1m books to good causes via its Foundation and supported more than 50,000 authors.
WOB is a certified B Corporation, meaning that it meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.