The Butterfly Diagram
Mapping the SMEP Programme's projects onto circular economy processes
The butterfly diagram, developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation based on research by Michael Braungart and William McDonough, provides a comprehensive framework for circularity across sectors. Using this model, the SMEP Programme has mapped its projects in Africa and South Asia, showcasing how organic and technical material loops complement each other.
The percentage and colour theme allocations help map the scope of project activities/focus within the broader SMEP Circular Economy framework (i.e., the Butterfly).
Individual SMEP projects are listed under the “SMEP PROJECTS” bar (at the bottom of the page) with each project number corresponding to the numbers on the wings of the butterfly.
There are two cycles represented on each antenna and wing of the butterfly: ‘Renewables Flow Management’ (on the left) and ‘Stock Management’ (on the right) and each have their own cycle stages. These cycle stages are colour coded to correspond to the percentages shown under “PROJECT PERCENTAGE ACROSS CYCLE STAGE” (next to the butterfly wings) and the percentage bars under the “SMEP PROJECTS” bar.
The percentages shown under “PROJECT PERCENTAGE ACROSS CYCLE STAGE” indicates the proportion of all SMEP projects that contribute towards that cycle stage. Project 3’s work on cascades (light pink) makes up the entire 8.3% of SMEP’s overall focus on renewables as it is the only project addressing this. Meanwhile, the extraction of biochemical feedstock (dark pink) has the biggest share (33.4%) of SMEP project focus under this cycle as there are four projects working on this area.
The percentages under “SMEP PROJECTS” bar show how much each project contributes within a given portfolio. For example, under tanneries there are four project thereby representing 25% each. Of these four projects, two contribute towards SMEP’s work on biochemical feedstock (light brown) and therefore together contribute 50%. Meanwhile, only one project, and therefore only 25%, contributes towards extraction of biochemical feedstock (dark pink).