The Circular Economy Show: Recent Episodes
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation welcomes you to The Circular Economy Show, a podcast about a new way to design, make, and use things, and how we can build an economy that's fit for the 21st century.
How can businesses sell circular propositions in a world that's rapidly changing? This episode of the Circular Economy Show tackles the marketing challenges and opportunities head-on. Pippa sits down with Jonathan Hall, Managing Partner at Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice, and Amanda Gandolpho, former Head of Brands at bike subscription service Swapfiets, to explore how to connect with today's consumers and drive demand for circular products and services.
In this episode you'll discover:
- The surprising shift in societal values that's reshaping consumer buying habits
- How to overcome marketing roadblocks like the value-action gap (where consumers say they want sustainability but don't always buy it) and the greenwashing problem
- Practical strategies for marketing circularity effectively: Focus on consumer benefits, convenience, and solving real problems
- Real-world examples: Learn how Swapfiets is using a circular business model (bike subscription) to disrupt transportation and prioritise customer experience
This August on the Circular Economy Show, we’re revisiting four conversations that help to navigate the marketing challenges and opportunities of switching to a circular economy. So listen in if you want to learn how to take something from a good idea to something that actually sells.
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This August on the Circular Economy Show, we’re revisiting four conversations that help to navigate the marketing challenges and opportunities of switching to a circular economy. So listen in if you want to learn how to take something from a good idea to something that actually sells.
For years, the circular economy conversation has generated significant research, policy development, and business action around finite materials. But the same attention has not been given to bio-based materials. How can products and components made from these materials circulate and create value in a circular economy?
In this episode of The Circular Economy Show, Fin is joined by Guilherme Suertegaray, co-author of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's new report — Circular by nature: a policy agenda for bio-based materials in a circular economy — and Beto Bina, CEO and founder of Farfarm, to explore why circular economy and bio-based material policies have developed in silos, and what's needed to align them.
We cover the policy gap on both sides, real supply chain examples, and the social stakes for smallholder farmers and rural communities. We also explore bio-based resource production as a key driver of biodiversity action as well as the policy recommendations the report puts forward ahead of COP17 — where we’ll be demonstrating that the circular economy offers a practical route to tackling biodiversity loss and meeting national biodiversity targets.
For more on COP17, listen to our previous episode on this topic — Circular economy, biodiversity, and the road to COP17 — and look out for the next one in September.
If you enjoyed this episode, then please share it with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
Circular by nature: a policy agenda for bio-based materials in a circular economy
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Individual pilots are great, but they don't scale themselves. So, how do you shift an entire system to move an unmovable market?
This week on the Circular Economy Show, Lou and Fin explore the critical foundation of shared infrastructure. Whether it’s launching scalable refill coalitions with Aldi and Ocado, aggregating future demand to bring 90% emission-reducing fuel to ocean transport, or rewriting retail habits at checkout counters across the US, to truly scale the circular economy, we have to stop building in silos and start building the shared infrastructure that allows everyone to win.
Tune in to hear how three trailblazing women, Catherine Conway (GoUnpackaged), Ingrid Irigoyen (ZEMBA), and Kate Daly (Closed Loop Partners) are laying down the shared motorways that will allow everyone else to drive their own circular vehicles forward.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a comment, give us a like or tell your work colleagues and friends, and don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to or watch your podcasts.
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This month: three stories worth your time.
The WEF published a piece on EV battery recycling that reframes the whole conversation. These batteries contain the critical minerals governments are scrambling to secure. The recycled minerals market could be worth $200 billion by 2050. That value needs to be designed for now, not chased later.
Up until now the policy agenda for bio-based materials, wood, paper, natural fibres, rubber and leather has largely been ignored. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has published a report that sets out to fix that.
And the International Finance Corporation, alongside five major development banks, put a number on circular economy employment: 121 to 142 million people. Nearly half in repair and maintenance. Over half in the informal economy. The opportunity is real. So is the gap.
Plus four quick headlines on Scotland's material flows, Europe losing critical minerals through its own waste streams, fashion resale and repair policy, and flexible packaging.
Story 1: EV Battery Recycling
Why recycling EV batteries is an industrial opportunity, not a waste challenge (WEF): https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/06/ev-battery-recycling-waste-challenge-industrial-opportunity/
Story 2: Circular by Nature — Bio-Based Materials
Circular by nature: a policy agenda for bio-based materials (Ellen MacArthur Foundation): https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-by-nature-a-policy-agenda-for-bio-based-materials-in-a-circular-economy
Story 3: Circular Economy Jobs
Circular Jobs: How MDBs Are Supporting Job Creation through a Circular Economy (IFC): https://www.ifc.org/content/dam/ifc/doc/2026/how-mdbs-can-support-job-creation-in-a-circular-economy.pdf
Quick Headlines
Scotland’s Material Flow Accounts (Zero Waste Scotland): https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/zero-waste-scotland-publishes-nations-most-depth-material-flow-accounts-date
Europe losing critical minerals in its waste streams (Yahoo Finance / The Cool Down): https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/europe-losing-hidden-stockpile-lithium-222500520.html
The New Bottom Line: Policy levers for resale & repair in fashion (Ellen MacArthur Foundation): https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/policy-levers-for-resale-and-repair/report
Unilever and PepsiCo on the challenges of flexible packaging (Packaging News): https://www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/markets/household-products/unilever-and-pepsico-unlock-the-potential-of-paper-based-flexible-packaging-across-the-globe-01-06-2026
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In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, Pippa speaks with JJ Freijo, Chief Sustainability and Product Innovation Officer at Brambles. JJ explains how the company rents, rather than sells, pallets, crates and containers, creating a continuous loop of reuse across global supply chains.
Having achieved 100% certified timber procurement across 64 countries, Brambles began asking a bolder question: what if supply chains could actively restore nature, rather than just reduce harm? JJ walks through their regenerative forestry project in Tabasco, Mexico, and makes the hard-nosed business case, from attracting top talent to deepening customer partnerships and opening doors with sustainability-focused investors.
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Today, amid cost inflation, geopolitical conflict, and an ever-changing global business landscape we are staring down a massive shift in corporate sustainability and it’s starting to prompt some pretty big questions.
Does navigating the triple threat of media, politics, and boardroom backlash mean we need to change the playbook?
In this episode Lou is joined by Mark Lancelot from Better Business Design. Together, they unpack how the traditional role of the Chief Sustainability Officer is changing to survive, and how we might reshape the narrative around sustainability and circular economy goals to land positively in our global boardrooms.
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Trade wars, resource shortages, and the AI-driven scramble for critical minerals are exposing the fragility of our current economy. And for businesses still operating on a linear model, the vulnerabilities are becoming impossible to ignore. The global economy isn’t just being disrupted, it’s being restructured.
In this episode, Seb is joined by Julia Binder, Professor of Transformation at IMD Business School, and Manuel Braun, entrepreneur and co-author of The Circular Business Revolution, to explore why circularity has moved from the sustainability agenda to the boardroom.
They discuss:
- Why today's disruptions are structural, not episodic, and what that means for supply chains
- How the circular economy offers a direct answer to resource dependency and geopolitical risk
- The shift from an impact case to a business case, and how to have that conversation with your CFO
- What companies like Hilti are doing differently, and what executives can act on tomorrow
Mentioned in this episode:
IMD circular value creation courses for leaders: https://www.imd.org/sustainability/cvce/creating-value-circular-economy/
Material Advantage: How circular strategies drive business value: https://www.imd.org/ibyimd/innovation/material-advantage-how-circular-strategies-drive-business-value/
Circular Business Revolution book: https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/books/the-circular-business-revolution/
Startup landscape: https://www.circular-republic.org/insights/circular-startup-landscape-2026
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This edition of Circular Snapshots covers a lot of ground. Mexico passed landmark circular economy legislation in January — and it deserves far more attention than it got. We also look at Circle Economy's latest report, which puts a €25.4 trillion price tag on the value destroyed every year by our linear economy, and the EU Circular Economy Act as it heads toward autumn adoption.
Plus a quick run through of four shorter stories: HP mining its own e-waste to build new laptops, the UK Packaging Pact launching with 100 founding organisations, a new fashion industry initiative to scale textile-to-textile fibre recycling, and fresh data on what's really driving the secondhand boom.
Show notes:
Circularity Gap Report 2026 (Circle Economy): https://dashboard.circularity-gap.world/report/2026/cgr-2026-overview
EU Circular Economy Act: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/eu-circular-economy-act
Mexico Enacts General Law for the Circular Economy: https://mexicobusiness.news/sustainability/news/mexico-enacts-general-law-circular-economy
HP mining its own e-waste: https://www.fastcompany.com/91501080/hp-is-mining-its-own-e-waste-to-build-its-latest-laptops
UK Packaging Pact launches: https://www.wrap.ngo/media-centre/press-releases/uk-packaging-pact-launches-unlock-progress-transforming-packaging
Circular Fibre Collective launch: https://www.thefashionpact.org/industry-leaders-launch-the-circular-fibre-collective-to-scale-t2t-recycled-materials-by-2030/
ThredUp 2026 Resale Report: https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/articles/thredup-spots-worrisome-trend-consumer-150700654.html
Flexible plastics are hard to collect, harder to recycle, and leaking into our oceans at scale. Could paper step in? And can it do so without creating a whole new problem?
In this episode, Pippa is joined by Laura Smith, Programme Manager for Plastics and Packaging at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Jonathan Gill, Global Head of Sustainability, Plastics, at Unilever and Valerie Langer, Strategic Lead, Next Generation Solutions at Canopy. Together they discuss the six critical criteria for responsible paper-based packaging, the innovation and collaboration needed to scale solutions, and why there's no silver bullet.
Read the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s report on paper-based flexible packaging
E-waste is our fastest-growing waste stream, expanding five times faster than we can recycle it. But it's also one of our greatest untapped opportunities.
With the demand for critical minerals showing no signs of stopping, recovering materials from the billions of dollars’ worth of mobile phones hibernating in our drawers is increasingly important.
In this episode, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Danielle Holly, Executive Lead for North America, and Wen-Yu Weng, Executive Lead for Critical Minerals, join Pippa to explore how the circular economy can transform how we produce, use, and recover electronics, and the critical minerals inside them.
Find out more about the Foundation’s work in Critical Minerals.
Sign up to the Foundation’s North America newsletter.
If you enjoyed this episode, then please share with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
Why is it that despite the success of individual circular business models, we simply aren’t seeing a wider shift across the entire economy? In this episode Lou is joined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Strategic Finance and investment team, Emily Healy and Joe Rodgers.
Together, the team explores how systemic investing and capital orchestration could be the tools we need to take this transition forward, and look at where we are currently seeing this thinking brought into ‘on the ground’ demonstration projects.
Emily and Joe also explain how in many cases the right financing is out there, but more thoughtful allocation and coordination could result in better, more resilient outcomes.
If you enjoyed this episode, then please share with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
In a world of rising tariffs and supply chain disruption, could circularity be one of the smartest business moves a company can make? Danielle Holly, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s North America Lead, is joined by Tensie Whelan, founder of the Center for Sustainable Business at NYU Stern and former President of the Rainforest Alliance, to explore this and more.
Tensie explains the ROSI (Return on Sustainability Investment) framework, developed at NYU Stern to help companies track and monetise the full value of sustainability strategies. This includes operational efficiency, risk reduction, new revenue and customer loyalty. Together, they explore how circular approaches can shorten supply chains and reduce exposure to tariffs and geopolitical shocks.
They also tackle the harder questions: why do most companies still not act, even when the numbers stack up? And what will it take to bring finance, governance and the boardroom along for the journey?
Sign up to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's North America newsletter to keep up with the latest on circularity in North America. And if you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review or share it with a colleague to help us spread the word.
What if buying second-hand felt exactly like buying new?
In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, we explore how IKEA is embedding circular principles into its core commercial strategy. Fin is joined by Conor Hill, Global Director for Circular and Sustainable Living at IKEA, who shares how the brand is delivering measurable impact, all while making circularity affordable and accessible for their customers.
Watch the full episode to find out how implementing a Buyback & Resell model has enabled IKEA to:
- Allow their consumers to become active participants in the circular economy.
- Use tailored marketing tactics to drive increased brand awareness and business resilience.
- Use data to understand friction points, optimise loyalty strategies, and keep customers engaged.
If you enjoyed this episode, then please share with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
In a circular economy, products may not be sold just once, but multiple times. This enables businesses to generate more revenue from one item. As a result, businesses are shifting their metrics beyond short-term profit to embrace the long-term strategic advantages of circular business models.
In this episode of The Circular Economy Show, host Fin is joined by Emily Hill, Director of Sustainable Transformation Practice at Kantar, to discuss measurement guidance that will allow marketing teams to support the shift to circular business models and behaviours at scale, while delivering on their key priorities.
Emily explains how marketers can redefine success across four key areas: Commercial, Brand, Creative, and Consumer Insight. From building a compelling business case for pilots, to using creative campaigns to shift consumer behaviour, we explore how measurement can be a powerful tool to unlock resources for circular initiatives.
If you enjoyed this episode, then please share with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
Learn more about the measurement guidance, developed in collaboration with Kantar
Explore 'The marketing playbook for a circular economy'
Other episodes on the marketing playbook:
Ep 176: Driving demand for circular economy: What marketers need to know | Kantar and Swapfiets
Ep 185: How can marketers turn ideas into impactful action?
Ep 186: How do we make circular behaviours irresistible?
We are currently seeing a shift where circular economy policy is moving out of purely environmental ministries and into the hands of economic planning authorities and ministries of industry.
In this episode, Lou is joined by Joss Blériot, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Executive Policy Lead, who cuts through the noise of global headlines and looks at what’s actually moving on the ground.
Together, they explore why there has been a 35% surge in national circular economy strategies worldwide. From the Global North to the Global South, the conversation highlights how circularity is currently being implemented and how we might address regional and international fragmentation to harmonise definitions. We also hear which specific policy tools we should be prioritising right now to go further and faster.
If you enjoyed this episode, then please share with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
Biodiversity loss is accelerating at an alarming rate, but could circular economy solutions help turn things around?
In this episode of The Circular Economy Show, Lou speaks with Marianne Kettunen, Biodiversity Lead for Policy at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Bianca Brasil, Programme Manager at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
They explore why around 90% of biodiversity loss is linked to the way we extract and process resources, how circular business models can support the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework, and what needs to happen before the COP17 Biodiversity Conference to accelerate action.
The conversation also looks at the growing role of businesses in biodiversity discussions, why circular economy and biodiversity strategies must be better connected, and how global supply chains could help scale solutions worldwide.
Explore the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s recent policy paper, Scaling action for nature.
Learn more about the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Over the past decade, leading businesses have shown that progress on plastic pollution is possible. And while individual company action has been successful, even the most ambitious businesses are running up against the same obstacles.
As a result, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has rallied leading businesses behind an evidence-based, ‘2030 Plastics Agenda for Business.’
In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, taken from a Foundation’s webinar, we explore that Agenda, and evaluate the plan and priority actions for business and policy to drive implementation at scale.
If you enjoyed this episode, then please share with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
Learn more about the 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business and how your organisation can play a role.
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What do some of the more surprising stories of scale teach us about implementing the circular economy?
In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, Fin is joined by Rachel O’Reilly, Global Human Sustainability Design Director at Accenture, to discuss their upcoming report. The report, titled ‘Circularity is Working’ provides direction on how to improve the consumer adoption of circularity.
From musicians in Liverpool reinvesting savings from second-hand instruments, to informal sharing systems in Hamburg, the conversation explores businesses and communities where circularity is succeeding. Rachel shares insights into the hidden drivers of circularity and explains why they could be the secret to normalising, embedding, and scaling circularity.
If you enjoyed this episode, then please share with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. The report will be attached in the show notes upon its release in Spring 2026.
Welcome back to The Circular Economy Show and another episode of Circular Snapshots, where we unpack the headlines shaping the transition to a circular economy.
This month, Seb explores the EU’s upcoming Circular Economy Act and its shift toward positioning circularity as industrial strategy, not just environmental policy. We look at new global data revealing rapid growth in national circular economy roadmaps, and why implementation is now the real test.
We also dive into the growing link between circular economy and critical mineral supply chains — from insights at the World Economic Forum to new analysis on EV batteries and material security. Finally, we examine a major UK industry push for a mandatory textiles Extended Producer Responsibility scheme, and what it could mean for transforming one of the economy’s most linear sectors.
From policy to supply chains to industry coalitions, this episode highlights one clear trend: the circular economy is becoming central to competitiveness.
Stories referenced in today’s episode:
EU Circular Economy Act
https://www.brusselstimes.com/1937610/europes-new-circular-economy-act-getting-the-basics-right-for-eu-competitiveness
National Circular Economy Roadmaps
https://www.unido.org/sites/default/files/unido-publications/2026-01/Stocktake%20CE%20Roadmaps%202025.pdf
Critical minerals and the circular economy
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/circular-economy-clean-energy-supply-chain-critical-minerals/
Circular economy and EV batteries
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiehailstone/2026/01/27/circular-economy-could-prevent-an-ev-battery-minerals-bottleneck-study-finds/
Textiles and EPR
https://resource.co/article/uk-textiles-industry-group-publishes-10-point-blueprint-mandatory-epr-scheme
Wen-Yu Weng, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Critical Minerals Lead, joins Lou to explain why critical minerals are currently taking centre stage in global political conversations.
They explore:
- How we can create secure and resilient supply chains to close the gap on fast growing demand
- The circular opportunities that currently lie in shaping supply chains to capture value right now
- The enabling factors that have opened windows of opportunity for immediate action
If you enjoyed this episode, then please share with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
Join Seb as he speaks to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s CEO, Jonquil Hackenberg about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the circular economy in 2026.
What are your priorities for 2026? Let us know in the comments or on our LinkedIn page.
It's been a pivotal year for the circular economy, full of big ideas and practical breakthroughs.
Before we fully dive into 2026, we’re hitting pause for a moment of reflection.
Join Fin, Lou, and Pippa who have hand-picked their favourite, most insightful, and memorable moments from the conversations they’ve had this year.
This episode may show condensed snippets, but it is packed with big ideas, practical breakthroughs, and the highlights that defined the circular economy in 2025.
Thanks for listening to the Circular Economy Show from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Help us grow our audience in 2026 by sharing your favourite episode with your friends and colleagues.
Explore the episodes discussed in order of appearance:
Ep 201: Why do circular business models fail to scale? Going it alone
Ep 188: “It’s a no-brainer”: Arc’teryx on bringing repairs in-store
Ep 197: Stop minding your own business
Ep 179: How are small start-ups, SMEs, and large corporations working together to change the food system?
Ep 185: How can marketers turn ideas into impactful action?
Ep 174: Material security in a circular economy | Energy and competitiveness
It’s easy to look at the news headlines and feel like everything is going backwards, but in this episode we ask you to look a little deeper and see the story beneath the headlines. Progress is possible and happening everywhere from plastics to fashion to the automotive sector, and even at COP.
Listen in to hear:
- Whether COP still matters, and if so, for what?
- Why Honda’s circularity center in Ohio is an important step
- What we learned from Patagonia’s first ever environmental and social progress report
- Why many of the world’s biggest brands are backing a new agenda for plastics
Explore the articles Seb mentioned in this episode:
1) Circular economy thematic day at COP30 (Circular Online)
https://www.circularonline.co.uk/news/cop30-marks-first-ever-circular-economy-day-as-global-climate-talks-intensify/
2) Honda opening its circularity center (Trellis)
https://trellis.net/article/honda-recycling-ohio-plant-opens-circularity/
3) Analysis of Patagonia’s environmental and social report (Trellis)
https://trellis.net/article/patagonias-comprehensive-plan-counter-rising-emissions/
4) Reuters on businesses supporting the Foundation’s 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/global-companies-push-regulation-plastics-reduction-report-shows-2025-11-04/
Recorded live at Climate Week New York, in this episode we ask ‘why should retailers embrace the circular economy?’
The global food system is responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions, and is vulnerable to supply chain shocks.
Our guests discuss why circularity must be easier, more convenient, and more irresistible than the linear option, and why retailers and brands need to invest in shared solutions to scale a circular economy for food.
Joining the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Executive Lead for Retail, Reniera O’Donnell, are:
- Nate Hurst, Chief Sustainability Officer at Visa
- Burgess Davis, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer for North America at PepsiCo
- Scot Case, Vice President of Sustainability for the National Retail Federation
Learn more about retail and the circular economy
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Help us spread the word about the circular economy! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
Recorded live during Climate Week NYC, this episode explores how technology can accelerate the transition to a circular economy, not as a bolt-on fix, but as a built-in business strategy. Host Danielle Holly, Executive Lead for North America at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, is joined by Jen Huffstetler (Chief Sustainability Officer, HP), Jim Sullivan (Head of Product Management, SAP), and Vrushali Gaud (Global Director of Strategy and Operations for Net Zero, Water, and Circularity, Google).
Tune in to hear:
- Why AI and digital growth make circular strategies essential to meet rising material and energy demands
- How companies such as HP and Google are embedding circular design and open data into products and services
- What it takes to move from ‘bolt-on’ fixes to ‘bolt-in’ circular systems across business and finance
- The biggest blockers and how collaboration can help solve them
- Why pragmatism and focused collective action are key to turning ambition into measurable impact
Listen back to the series on why circular business models fail to scale
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This is the fourth and final part of our mini series on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s new report: How not to fail: Avoiding 10 common pitfalls when scaling circular business models.
In this episode, the report’s lead researchers, Maddy Oliver and Ella Hedley, explain how success at scale demands more than a strong model – what really matters is who is empowered to deliver it and how well are they aligned.
If you enjoyed this series, then please share with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
Circular business models can drive new revenue streams, build brand strength, customer loyalty, and market traction, while also unlocking value through resource efficiency, cost savings, and reduced risk to supply chain volatility. But there is often too much focus on short-term gains in revenue or sustainability and waste reduction metrics, while overlooking their full business value.
In the third part of our mini series on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s new report: How not to fail: Avoiding 10 common pitfalls when scaling circular business models, we hear how, when circular business models are pitched primarily around sustainability, internal commitment is lower.
Pippa is joined by the report’s lead researchers, Maddy Oliver and Ella Hedley, to explore why circular business models rarely scale without a strong, broad financial case.
They also talk about the need for more commercial collaboration. Find out more by listening to episode 196, HolyGrail: see it, sort it, scale it, to learn how one business-led partnership came together to align on the technology and achieve scale.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Circular business models often fail when they’re designed without factoring how the business works, what the customers want, and what the product requires.
These need to be considered together, not in isolation, to ensure that delivery, adoption, and revenue generation are possible at scale.
Thinking about fit might feel obvious, but in this episode, we hear how many businesses often overlook these elements.
In the second part of our mini series exploring the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s new report: How not to fail: Avoiding 10 common pitfalls when scaling circular business models, Pippa is joined by Maddy Oliver and Ella Hedley, who led the research on the paper.
You’ll hear about three common pitfalls around strategic misalignment, and how to avoid them.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
What makes circular business models fail to scale? In this new four-part series, we’ll be exploring the common mistakes businesses make on their journey towards circularity.
Based on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s new report: How not to fail: Avoiding 10 common pitfalls when scaling circular business models, Pippa is joined by Maddy Oliver and Ella Hedley, who led the research on the paper.
You’ll hear about the experiences of pioneering companies, and learn about the practical steps that businesses can use to avoid common pitfalls and enable circular business models to reach transformative scale.
In this episode, we explore:
- What opportunities circular businesses can offer
- How the report came about, and why it focuses on failure
- Why lacking a plan of scale from the outset is the first pitfall and some solutions to consider
- What happens when circular business models don’t align with the existing strategy of the business, and how to avoid this
Explore the report
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Have the current political and economic shocks actually created enormous opportunities for change?
Can businesses currently working on transforming themselves, work together on driving an entire market transformation?
And what role can the rest of us play in resetting the system and helping to shape that change?
In this episode, Jonquil Hackenberg, CEO of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Lindsay Hooper from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership discuss how catalysing market interventions and designing out competitive disadvantages can work to reshape our system.
We know that complete market transformation is possible, we have already seen renewable energy progress, but no single business or group can do this alone.
In this episode hear how:
- Market transformation differs from the incremental changes we’ve seen so far
- A system change will require building pre-competitive coalitions who all have a vested interest in change and supporting market making value chains
- By harnessing the power of both business and the private sector, we can work together for real transformation
Learn more about commercial collaboration
Read CISL’s report Competing in the Age of Disruption
Scaling the circular economy requires more companies to launch circular products and services, but many competitors transitioning towards the circular economy face similar barriers to scale.
One way to address this is commercial collaboration, where businesses work together on issues that are not tied to their competitive advantage.
In this episode, we’ll hear from Sarah Dodge and Mark Buckley from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation about how this can help to scale a circular economy.
We’ll also explore how one initiative has helped address a bottleneck in post-consumer recycling.
Hear how companies from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Plastics Mission worked together to develop a unified vision and enable high-quality plastic waste sorting at scale with HolyGrail 1.0. This evolved into HolyGrail 2.0, where joint investment in R&D was crucial in helping it get from concept to market in just a few years.
To discuss the project, Sander Defruyt, Lead of Strategy & Thought Leadership for the Plastics Mission, is joined by Gian De Belder, Technical Director of Packaging and Sustainability at Procter & Gamble, and Margherita Trombetti, Project Manager at the European Brands Association (AIM).
Watch or listen to the full episode to learn how:
- Cross-value chain collaboration was essential to align on the technology and achieve scale
- Growing interest allowed participation to grow from 31 companies in HolyGrail 1.0 to 176 in 2.0
- The European Brands Association (AIM) facilitated the governance, confidentiality, and communications of 2.0
Learn more about this business-led partnership, which was funded through member contributions and philanthropic funding from the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and the City of Copenhagen.
Explore the full commercial collaboration collection
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
It was a busy summer for the circular economy. In this episode, Seb brings you up to speed with some of the headlines and all in less than 10 minutes!
Listen in to hear about:
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The latest EU policy breakthrough: EPR for textiles
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How new business models continue to gain traction across the retail sector
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Why a group is advocating to scrap VAT on repairs in the UK
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Why all of the news around critical minerals makes the circular economy an even more urgent solution around the world
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What happened at the latest round of Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in Geneva
Explore the articles Seb mentioned in this episode:
1) EPR in EU (Vogue Business)
2) Wider circular economy momentum in retail (The Conversation | BBC News | Trellis
3) VAT on repair (The Guardian)
4) Critical minerals geopolitics (circular economy link) (BBC News | Hindustan Times | BBC News)
5) What plastics treaty talks mean for circular economy and high ambition countries and businesses (BBC News)
As Climate Week NYC kicks off, what’s momentum like for the circular economy in North America?
In this episode, Pippa’s joined by Danielle Holly, Executive Lead for North America at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, to explore how circularity is moving from theory to practice across the continent — and why that matters for business leaders looking ahead.
They discuss:
- Circular economy progress in the US, Canada, and Mexico and why it’s a non-partisan issue
- Why the language matters less than the on-the-ground action
- Supply chain resilience, critical minerals, and business opportunity
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s work in North America by signing up to the newsletter
Waste and pollution aren’t accidents—they’re the result of design. Which means we can design them out.
Design is where it all begins – and where real change can happen. In this episode, host Pippa sits down with Joe Iles, Head of Design Activation at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, to discuss what circular design really means.
In this episode hear about:
- How it differs from the traditional approach
- Where the creative crossovers are
- Why designers hold the power to shape a better system
Find out more about circular design
This conversation originally featured in episode 172: Circular design essentials: What every designer needs to know, published in February 2025.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Amid rising emissions, rising temperatures, and the rapid rollout of material-intensive renewable energy systems that promise to curb them both, climate mitigation and adaptation are a central priority for China’s government.
In this episode, host Seb talks to Lei Chen from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s China team. They go behind the headlines to look at:
- The role China could play in accelerating global circular transitions
- Why the circular economy could offer China a ‘triple win’ in achieving its climate ambitions.
China probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think of a circular economy. But maybe it should be.
Read more in ‘The circular economy: a ‘triple play’ solution for achieving China’s climate objectives’
This conversation originally featured in episode 166: China, climate, and the circular economy, published in November 2024.
We hope you enjoyed the fourth of our five-part Circling Back series. If so, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Could rethinking our cities through a circular lens be the key to future-proofing Europe whilst offering exciting investment opportunities?
Join us in the third of our five-part Circling Back series of the Circular Economy Show, to hear host Lou Waldegrave speak with Julia Okatz from Systemiq and Joss Bleriot, Executive Lead for Policy and Institutions at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
They discuss how circular economy strategies can, by bringing nature back into our built environments, help us adapt to extreme weather—cooling down cities, restoring green space, and building resilience into every street—while generating substantial economic, environmental, and social benefits.
From Paris to Berlin, and cities across the continent, Europe’s urban centres are feeling the effects of heat domes and climate stress. But, the circular economy offers a powerful, nature-positive way forward.
Find out more about circular cities.
This conversation originally featured in episode 159: How to build a nature-positive circular economy for Europe, published in September 2024.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
The circular economy can no longer be sidelined as a ‘nice to have’. Not only can it future-proof individual business operations, it can also help entire industries stay competitive and resilient in a fast-changing world.
In this episode we’re going back to the beginning of the year, when Seb caught up with Lindsay Hooper, CEO for the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and Joe Murphy, Executive Lead of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s business network. Together, they discuss why the end of the ESG hype bubble, far from being the end of business-led action, could mark a real shift in corporate circular economy approaches.
Join us to hear about:
- How the commercial and competitive case for the circular economy is becoming more compelling by the minute
- And, at the same time, what still needs to happen to shift market-level dynamics at scale
Learn more about CISL.
This conversation originally featured in episode 170: ‘What should businesses do to scale a circular economy?’ published in January 2025.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
In this episode we’re bringing together two top-of-mind topics: the scramble for critical minerals, and how circular economy strategies can help us secure and stabilise their supply.
Humans have been mining metals and minerals for thousands of years. Today, critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, and rare earth elements are essential for not only renewable energy products like wind turbines and EV batteries but the infrastructure and systems needed to power them.
As part of our Circling Back series, over the next five weeks, we’re revisiting some key conversations from our archive that feel especially relevant right now. Join us in Episode 189 to hear:
From Ke Wang at the World Resources Institute about why the circular economy is central in the energy transition
How economics and competitiveness are driving that transition, and examples of where that is already happening in practice
As the rollout of renewable energy scales at pace, e-waste continues to increase, and the first generation of EV batteries and wind turbines start to reach the end of their lives, we have a window of opportunity to build a better system, based on the principles of a circular economy.
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's work on Critical Minerals
This conversation originally featured in episode 174: Material security in a circular economy, published in April 2025.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Building circular business models - where products are rented, repaired, resold and remade - is key to transforming our economy from a take, make, waste linear system, to a circular one.
In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, we’re seeing what this looks like in practice with Canadian outdoor clothing and equipment company Arc’teryx.
Pippa heads to Arc’teryx’s flagship store in London to learn how the business is bringing repair in-store. Seb speaks to Katie Wilson, the company’s Director of Social and Environmental Sustainability, to hear about the strategic decisions behind this pivot.
In this episode hear about:
- How Arc’teryx’s in-store ReBIRD service centres work for the business and customers
- How ReBIRD is fostering deeper customer loyalty and making products accessible to new customer bases
- The strategic decisions behind Arc’teryx’s shift to circular business models
- The operational hurdles of implementing circular business models at scale
Arc’teryx is a participant in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Fashion ReModel. Listen to episode 187 to find out more about the demonstration project, or visit the website.
Explore the guide to scaling circular business models for fashion leaders
Learn more about ReBIRD
The Circular Economy Show will be back in a few weeks. Let us know what you’d like to hear more about in future episodes by leaving us a review, or emailing podcast@emf.org.
How do we keep clothes in use at their highest value and make money without having to make new clothes? In this episode of The Circular Economy Show, we explore the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s demonstration project, the Fashion ReModel, and hear from one of its participants: H&M Group.
Pippa is joined by Chloe Holland from the Foundation’s fashion team to discuss how The Fashion ReModel participants are working to scale circular business models like resale, rental, repair, and remaking. We also hear from Sara Eriksson, Business expert, Circular business models at the H&M Group, a participant of The Fashion ReModel.
Listen to this episode to hear about:
- The ambitions of The Fashion Remodel, including how its participants are embracing the long-term strategic advantages of circular business models
- Sellpy, the H&M Group resale platform
- Some of the challenges of applying circular economy principles to fashion in a linear economy
- The role of policy and finance in making circular business models commercially viable at scale
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s The Fashion ReModel.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, our guests Georgie Rose from Selfridges and Simon Davies from VISA tell us how they have been working together to find out.
Collaborating with Mindworks Marketing to optimise messaging and branding for promoting circular shopping behaviours, Georgie and Simon discuss how their behavioural lab has been bridging the gap between customer intent and action.
Listen to this episode to hear:
- How the behavioural lab initiative focuses on subtle language variations to influence customer behavior towards circularity
- How current efforts are focusing on beauty products to make refills as appealing as buying new ones
- How the initiative is working to embed circular shopping as a norm and make it more intuitive and exciting
Learn more:
- Read ‘The marketing playbook for a circular economy’
- Don’t miss last week’s episode, Ep 185: How can marketers turn ideas into impactful action?
- Check out episode 176: Driving demand for circular economy: What marketers need to know
- Make sure you’re subscribed to the Circular Economy Show to find out about our future episodes on the marketing playbook
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
For years, marketers have been helping to shape how consumers think and feel about products that are driving the linear economy. However in this episode of the Circular Economy Show, we explore how they can harness their skills to unlock the opportunities that the circular economy provides.
We’re joined by experts Deb Caldow, Global Marketing Director at Diageo, and Rachel O’Reilly, Global Research Lead at Accenture Song. Their experiences provide an insight into how we can turn ideas into impactful actions that deliver both economic growth and environmental benefits.
Join us to find out:
- How marketers are leveraging storytelling to inspire interest in circular products
- Why they should engage closely supply teams to ensure innovations align with market demand
- The importance of internal buy-in and a willingness to experiment when scaling circular solutions
Learn more:
- Read the ‘The marketing playbook for a circular economy’.
- Check out episode 176,’ Driving demand for circular economy: What marketers need to know’ to hear more about the playbook with Kantar and Swapfiets.
- Make sure you’re subscribed to the Circular Economy Show to find out about our future episodes on the playbook.
In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, we explore the intersection between fashion, business, and technology - revealing why shoes are central to systemic innovation.
Live from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Network event in Amsterdam, Kenny Arnold is joined by Dr Yuly Fuentes-Medel and Lewis Campbell from The Footwear Collective.
Together, they unpack the urgent need for innovation and collaboration in the footwear industry.
You’ll learn:
- What The Footwear Collective is doing to tackle industry roadblocks head-on
- How success is measured by unprecedented collaboration, robust data collection, and active participation from rival companies
- Why their new tool will help companies pinpoint their next steps in their circular economy journey
Explore The Footwear Collective’s Circular Pathways tool https://thefootwearcollective.earthdna.org/
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
To truly transform the food system, we need retailers to sell food that enables nature to thrive.
In this episode, learn how leading retailers from around the world are embracing circular design for food, and facing the challenges that occur on the journey.
Our guests are Helly McAlister, Senior Buyer at Fortnum & Mason, and Susy Yoshimura, Senior Sustainability Director at Grupo Carrefour Brazil, two pioneering businesses from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Big Food Redesign Challenge.
Find out:
- Why investing in circular design for food is a strategic move that defines the future of retail
- How top retailers are cultivating customer demand for products that keep nature in mind
- The fundamental importance of cross-team collaboration within organisations
- Ideas for engaging suppliers and scaling circular economy initiatives far beyond pilot projects
Useful links:
- A guide to using circular design for food to build business resilience
- Explore the products from the Big Food Redesign Challenge
- Ep 177: Beyond business as usual: Biodiversity, collaboration and visionary leadership in the food system
- Ep 179: How are small start-ups, SMEs, and large corporations working together to change the food system?
The circular economy is one of the most powerful tools we have to tackle the climate crisis—but you wouldn’t know it from the carbon accounts.
In this episode, we’re joined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s João Murilo Silva Merico, who explains how current accounting frameworks—like the Greenhouse Gas Protocol—often fail to recognise or reward the emissions benefits of circular practices such as reuse, remanufacturing, and sharing models.
You’ll hear:
- Why emissions reductions from circularity don’t show up where they should
- Real-world examples of how this distorts decision-making
- What needs to change at a policy and reporting level
- What businesses can do right now to align climate strategies with circular action
Download the paper to find out more.
The circular economy is no longer just a theory; it’s becoming a reality across an increasing number of sectors, from tech and materials to retail and marketing.
In this episode, Seb shares four recent stories highlighting the importance of a circular economy across businesses.
Join us to find out:
-How rethinking product design could help future-proof tech such as iPhones
-Why it’s necessary to increase global recycling rates of copper
-How consumers are paying more attention to ads with a social or environmental theme
-How one household name is adding digital product passports to their clothing
Help us spread the word about the circular economy, by giving us a review on Apple Podcasts, or leaving a comment on YouTube or Spotify.
Mentioned in this episode:
Hear more from Ke Wang on material security in a circular economy in episode 174
Listen to the full conversation with Kantar’s Jonathan Hall on how marketers can drive demand for circular economy in episode 176
Mashable: How much would the mythical made-in-the-U.S. iPhone cost?
EurekAlert: The influence of copper recycling on prospective resource supply and carbon emission reduction
Sustainable Brands: In 10-Year Study of Most Effective Brand Campaigns, Sustainability Is a Win
Trellis: Why Target is tagging 35 million pieces of clothing with digital IDs
In order to bring the circular economy to life, we need more circular economists. But what does that mean? Who might these circular economists be? And what are their opportunities and challenges?
In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, we hear from “The Circular Economist”, Vojtech Vosecky, author of the newsletter The Loop. He has built his career around bringing the circular economy, working with stakeholders across innovation, business and policy.
Listen to learn more about:
- How Vojtech got started on his journey
- Where he sees the greatest momentum in the circular economy
- What he thinks the big challenges are for circular economists today
Find out more about Vojtech’s work by following him on LinkedIn.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Big Food Redesign Challenge set out to demonstrate how redesigning products in line with circular economy principles, can create a food system that allows nature to thrive.
In this episode, hear from one of those redesigners, Chloe Stewart from Nibs etc, alongside Katie Carson, Director of Corporate Affairs for Food and Climate Policy at Tetra Pak, to learn more about:
- The role of upcycled ingredients in designing brand new food products
- The challenges startups and SMEs face in the food industry
- The importance of collaboration across the food industry to implement circular design for food principles
- What enablers and resources are needed to scale food that keeps nature in mind
- How larger organisations can support small start-ups and SMEs to foster innovation
Find out more about the Big Food Redesign Challenge.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
The idea that stories are powerful is an uncontroversial idea. But what does it really mean to harness story to shift mindsets and inspire positive action towards a circular economy inside and outside of an organisation?
In this episode, hear from Poppy Mason-Watts, Chief Growth Officer at WaterBear and Alex Cramwinckel, Global Circularity Strategy Lead at Heineken to find out:
- Why storytelling is such an important part of the circular champion’s toolkit
- What brands can do to bring this to life in a circular economy
- How this extends to supporting the internal transformation of organisations to make them circular ready
To receive more information about Campus, send an inquiry email to campus@emf.org.
The future of food is not predetermined – it's being shaped by the decisions being made today. This episode challenges food industry decision-makers to embrace a new vision for their businesses and the sector as a whole, whether your organisation is big or small. With insights from Rob Cameron, Global Head of ESG Engagement at Nestlé, and Sean Patrick, founder of Gabanna Foodworks, we examine the critical role of leadership in driving the shift towards a more diverse, resilient, and prosperous food system.
In this episode we discover:
- How diversifying ingredients can transform food production and consumer choices
- The power of collaboration between large corporations and agile startups to drive innovation
- Strategies for companies to work effectively with farmers and suppliers to support nature and build resilient food systems
- The potential for new processing technologies to support the use of a wider variety of crops
- Examples of how businesses are creating new food concepts that are both nutritious and delicious
- How circular design for food can help companies meet their environmental targets
Find out more about about the Big Food Redesign Challenge.
How can businesses sell circular propositions in a world that's rapidly changing? This episode of the Circular Economy Show tackles the marketing challenges and opportunities head-on. Pippa sits down with Jonathan Hall, Managing Partner at Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice, and Amanda Gandolfo, Head of Brands at bike subscription service Swapfiets, to explore how to connect with today's consumers and drive demand for circular products and services.
In this episode you'll discover:
- The surprising shift in societal values that's reshaping consumer buying habits
- How to overcome marketing roadblocks like the value-action gap (where consumers say they want sustainability but don't always buy it) and the greenwashing problem
- Practical strategies for marketing circularity effectively: Focus on consumer benefits, convenience, and solving real problems
- Real-world examples: Learn how Swapfiets is using a circular business model (bike subscription) to disrupt transportation and prioritise customer experience
Read the The marketing playbook for a circular economy and make sure you’re subscribed to the Circular Economy Show to find out about our future episodes about the playbook.
Circular business models hold immense potential to reshape the fashion industry. In this episode, we explore the exciting opportunities for brands in rental and resale, moving beyond the challenges of getting started. Host Emma Elobeid is joined by guests Andrew Rough from Advanced Clothing Solutions (ACS) and Ryan Atkins from SuperCycle to discuss how brands can capitalise on this shift to unlock new revenue streams, build stronger customer relationships, and create a more sustainable future.
Tune in to hear Emma, Andrew and Ryan explore:
- The significant economic opportunity for brands in circular fashion, including rental and resale models
- How circular models can enhance brand profitability by better using assets and meeting evolving customer demands
- The importance of brands owning the customer relationship and data in circular commerce
- How enabling services and technology are making circularity more accessible and profitable for brands
- The evolution of circular business models and the importance of continuous learning and adaptation
Learn more:
- Listen to episode 131, when Seb went to visit ACS’s warehouse to learn more about the business.
- Explore the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's latest demonstration project, The Fashion ReModel, which explores making the economics work for circular business models.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Find out about the critical role that the circular economy can play in the shift to renewable energy, pairing the EU’s decarbonisation agenda with economic competitiveness and material security.
In this episode, host Seb hears from Ke Wang from the World Resources Institute (WRI) about:
- Why the circular economy is important in the energy transition
- How this is fundamentally driven by economics and competitiveness
- Examples of what it looks like in practice
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Learn more:
- Read Ke’s paper More Than Ore: The Pivotal Role Recycled Copper Can Play in the Energy Transition
- Want to find out how this topic applies in regions outside of Europe? Read the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s recent publication on the circular economy as a triple play opportunity for China.
The food industry is one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss and accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. But what if food could be designed to regenerate nature rather than harming it?
That’s the vision behind the Big Food Redesign Challenge.
In this episode of The Circular Economy Show, our guest host Lucy Parker, Senior Partner and Sustainable Business Global Lead at Brunswick Group, explores how we can take learnings from the Challenge to create a food system that is better for people, nature and climate.
We hear from:
- Jonquil Hackenberg, CEO of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, who shares insights about the Big Food Redesign Challenge and what it has helped achieve
- Wendy Schmidt, President and Co-Founder of the Schmidt Family Foundation, who supported the Challenge, explores the power of philanthropy as a catalyst for innovation
- Douglas McMaster, Michelin-starred chef and owner of the world’s first zero waste restaurant, Silo, who was a participant in the Challenge, tells us why it’s important to ask the question ‘what if we could do the whole thing differently?’
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Learn more about the Big Food Redesign Challenge and explore products that keep nature in mind.
Find out more about the Challenge participants, or watch a video version of this episode, on our YouTube channel.
Circular design is a hot topic, but moving beyond the buzzwords to practical implementation can be a real challenge. In this episode, we go deep with Joe Iles, Head of Design Activation at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, to unpack the essential principles and skills every designer should have in their toolkit.
Joe shares a compelling perspective on circular design - it's not just about creating durable products, but rather reflecting the complex, interconnected systems that make up our world. He explores why circular design ideas often struggle to scale, despite the abundance of innovative concepts out there.
He also shares the key design competencies that are crucial for driving the transition to a circular model, from systems thinking to prototyping and collaboration.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Links mentioned in this episode:
- The Circular Design Guide
- The Jeans Redesign
- The Circular Buildings Toolkit
- From ambition to action: an adaptive strategy for circular design
In this episode of the Circular Economy Show we meet Zero Waste Scotland, who are working with government, businesses, and communities to make the shift to a circular economy as easy as possible for all.
We're joined by Peter McCafferty, Business Support Manager at Zero Waste Scotland, and Dr Michaela Hruskova from the University of Stirling. Together we'll discuss the barriers that are stopping businesses from adopting circular practices at scale, informed by the findings of their report: ‘Scotland’s Circular Economy Practices Ecosystem.’
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Read the report ‘Scotland’s Circular Economy Practices Ecosystem'.
How do we move from pilots and beyond the ESG hype bubble to scale the implementation of the circular economy and how do businesses lead in this space? In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, host Seb is joined by Lindsay Hooper, CEO for the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), and Joe Murphy, Executive Lead of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s business network.
Together, they’ll explore the insights from CISL’s Competitive Sustainability report and the Foundation’s business network, offering perspectives on the state of the circular economy and related efforts. What will it take to scale? Join us to find out!
Read the full report discussed in this episode: Survival of the Fittest: From ESG to Competitive Sustainability.
Join Fin, Lou and Pippa from the Circular Economy Show as we look back at a year in the circular economy.
In this episode, the team shares highlights from this year’s show, and talks about some of the moments you might have missed.
Thanks for listening to the Circular Economy Show from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Help us grow our audience in 2025 by sharing your favourite episode with your friends and colleagues.
If you’d like to get in touch, email us at podcast@emf.org
Explore the episodes discussed:
Ep 159: How to build a nature-positive circular economy for Europe
Read the paper.
Ep 157: Inside the world of industrial symbiosis
Ep 149: Scaling refill and return with GoUnpackaged
We also mentioned our episode with Vincent from Dunia Bora - who features in episode 150: Creating nature-positive nutrition from cacti with Dunia Bora.
Watch the Redesigning Food Series, which Fin mentioned.
In this episode of the Circular Economy Show we discuss Arda Biomaterials' journey of transforming beer by-products into sustainable materials. Brett Cotten, co-founder at Arda, details the company's origins, challenges, and successes, including raising pre-seed investment in 2023 and scaling operations. Amy Tsang from The Mills Fabrica highlights their 360-degree support for innovators, emphasising investment, collaboration, and showcasing technologies. Both discuss the importance of scalability, impact measurement, and the commercial viability of biomaterials, with Brett noting the potential of chemistry-based approaches and Amy highlighting innovative startups including Epoch Biodesign.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
In this special episode of The Circular Economy Show, we’re sharing a conversation between Ellen MacArthur and Christiana Figueres from the climate podcast Outrage + Optimism.
Christiana was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 2010 to 2016, where she oversaw the delivery of the historic Paris Agreement. In this episode, the pair reflect on the outcomes of the INC-5 negotiations for a global plastics treaty, the role businesses play in addressing plastic packaging pollution, and why a global, legally-binding treaty is necessary to address this global challenge.
Listen to episode 165 to find out more about why the INC-5 negotiations matter, or visit the Ellen MacArthur Foundation website.
Find out more about a circular economy for plastic.
Check out the Outrage + Optimism podcast.
In this episode, we discuss the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s latest publication, The circular economy: A 'triple play' solution for achieving China's climate objectives. We’ll explore how adopting a comprehensive circular economy framework can play a pivotal role in achieving both China’s climate and economic goals.
Lei Chen and Seb Egerton-Read highlight the triple play benefits of applying the circular economy in China. These include reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the country’s climate goals, securing the supply of critical raw materials for the renewable energy transition and transition to electric vehicles, and the increased resilience of China’s economy.
Head over to our website to read the full report mentioned in this episode.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
At the end of this month in Busan, Korea, INC-5 will take place. For the fifth and final time, the United Nations international negotiating committee will reunite to create a legally binding global treaty that ends plastic pollution.
In this episode, Marta Longhurst, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Global Treaty Manager, tells us what opportunities a well designed treaty could unlock to tackle the world’s plastic waste crisis.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
The circular economy can be a powerful climate mitigation strategy. But what about the other side of the climate action coin? In this episode, we explore the connection between circular economy activities and climate adaptation outcomes.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
When we talk about durable materials, products, and services, what do we really mean? This episode unpacks the physical and emotional dimensions of durability and explores how this key design principle can help set circular business models up for long-term success.
Would you like to know more about Back Market, the circular business model example mentioned in this episode? Listen to our episode 126: Changing the way we buy and use technology with Back Market.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Is the circular economy just another form of sustainability?
In this premiere episode of the Circular Curious season, Emma Elobeid and Lou Waldegrave explore the key overlaps and core differences between sustainability and the circular economy and discuss some of the common pitfalls in conflating these two vital yet distinct practices.
Would you like to learn more about the key ideas that form the circular economy? Head to our website for more information.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Ever wondered what the difference is between sustainability and the circular economy? Or whether circular economy activities can help us adapt to the effects of climate change at the same time as tackling it at source? Have you ever considered what we really mean by designing for durability?
In this season of the Circular Economy Show for the circular curious, we’ll be talking around the edges, peeling off some layers, and unravelling some common misconceptions around the circular economy – at both an ideological level and in implementation terms too.
In this episode of The Circular Economy Show, we uncover the power of collaboration in scaling the design of products that are fit for a circular economy. Host Pippa Shawley is joined by Megan Dawson-Elli, Product Sustainability Manager at Tapestry, and Steven Bethell, Co-founder of Bank and Vogue, to discuss their groundbreaking partnership that led to the creation of Coach’s sellout Soho bag. Learn how post-consumer denim, innovative design, and a shared vision resulted in a product with a 95% reduction in water usage and 80% less carbon emissions. Tune in to find out how circular design is fundamental to both circularity and commercial success.
Learn more about Tapestry and Bank & Vogue.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
With New York Climate Week underway, this episode of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy Show, dives into the growing momentum of the circular economy in the US.
Host Pippa Shawley is joined by Jon Smieja, Vice President of Circularity at Trellis Group and Danielle Holly, North America Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Together, they’ll discuss the need for systemic change, the opportunities for circular business models, and how this transition can help meet climate goals.
Join us as we unpack the opportunities ahead and explore how the US can lead the transition to a circular economy, creating lasting environmental and economic benefits.
Do you want to learn more about the different sources mentioned in this episode? Head over to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation website to learn more about the Foundation’s Industrial Decarbonization Report. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Ellen MacArthur North America newsletter to keep up to date with new developments in the circular economy in North America.
Learn more about the work Trellis does to accelerate the just transition to a clean economy in the US.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
In this episode of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy Show, we’ll explore the critical relationship between a healthy economy and a thriving natural environment. With biodiversity declining at unprecedented rates, we will delve into the Foundation’s latest report, "Building Prosperity: Unlocking the Potential for a Nature Positive Circular Economy for Europe." We’ll be joined by Julia Okatz, a director at Systemiq, who led the analysis for the report, and Joss Bleriot, the Foundation's Executive Lead for Policy and Institutions. Together, we will explore the report's key findings, illustrating how cities and built environments can contribute to a circular economy that benefits both nature and people. Discover how innovative nature-enhancing strategies can transform urban spaces, reduce material consumption, and regenerate nature, all while creating economic opportunities.
Do you want to know more about the Building Prosperity report? Head to our Building Prosperity page to learn more.
Head to our website to read the transcript for this episode.
Want to watch this episode? Find it on YouTube
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Get ready for the launch of our new season on The Circular Economy Show! Join us as we explore wider outlooks for the circular economy. We’ll hear about the case for a circular economy in the US and how rethinking the way we build in Europe offers huge potential for change. Plus we’ll explore how collaboration, when done right, can help companies scale their circular ambitions.
The new season starts on Tuesday 16th July. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts, or if you prefer to watch your shows, then you can catch the Wider Outlooks season on YouTube and Spotify.
At the heart of the circular economy is the need to retain the value of goods and materials, so that we can slow down the use of the Earth’s resources. Selling performance instead of products could be a way to achieve this. In this season’s finale, we’ll discuss this and other insights from Walter Stahel, author of The Performance Economy.
Join us as we discuss how retaining the value of goods and materials can transform industries, boost job creation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We’ll explore the idea of sustainable taxation, and learn why selling performance, not products, could be the future.
If you like this episode, please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
In nature, symbiosis refers to two or more species benefiting from living closely together. In this episode, we explore how the same thing can happen in business, through something called industrial symbiosis.
We’re joined by Lisbeth Randers from Kalundborg Industrial Park, one of the best-known examples of industrial symbiosis. Plus, Radu Godina, Associate Professor at NOVA School of Science and Technology, highlights the potential of industrial symbiosis in a circular economy by sharing resources and reducing waste within a local community. Hosts Colin and Pippa discuss the financial incentives, environmental benefits, social advantages, and challenges of this school of thought that has shaped the circular economy as we know it,
If you like this episode, please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
In today’s episode, we’re placing nature in the centre of the conversation. Joined by Sean Quinn, Director of Regenerative Design at HOK, we’re exploring the role of regenerative design in creating infrastructures that are in harmony with our communities and the planet.
Notes: In today’s episode, we’re placing nature in the centre of the conversation. Joined by Sean Quinn, Director of Regenerative Design at HOK, we’re exploring the role of regenerative design in creating infrastructures that are in harmony with our communities and the planet and the importance of building technologies that restore natural systems instead of overpowering them. But we’re not stopping there, join us as we discover an exciting case study that uses regenerative design.
Do you want to know more about Building Prosperity, the Foundation’s report mentioned in this episode? Head to our Building Prosperity page to learn more.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Are Cradle to Cradle and the Circular Economy essentially the same thing? In this episode off our Origins season, we’ll explore the key differences and similarities between the two system change solutions.
Join us as we sit down with Katja Hansen, Circular Economy & Cradle to Cradle expert, to explore nuances between the two systems, their relationship with the sustainability movement and how this might have been co-opted by companies to mean “business as usual”.
Have a look at the butterfly diagram mentioned in this episode!
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Where did the concept of the circular economy come from? In our new season “Origins: The ideas shaping the circular economy”, we dig into the different ideas that have inspired the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s concept of a circular economy.
In this season premier, we'll learn more about biomimicry, the practice of looking to nature for solutions to human problems. Join us as we discuss the origins and broader implications of biomimicry with Stefano Semprini, Co-director at Biomimicry, and delve into its practical applications with Chad Wasilenkoff, CEO of Helicoid Industries Inc.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Get ready for the launch of our new season on The Circular Economy Show! Join us as we dig into the different ideas that have inspired the circular economy. Over five episodes, we'll explore the origins of this movement through the schools of thought that influenced its creation: Biomimicry, Cradle to Cradle, Regenerative Design, Industrial Symbiosis and the Performance Economy. We’ll learn what the circular economy took from those influences and about the differences between them. But it’s not just theoretical. We’ll also meet the organisations applying those schools of thought to their work today.
The new season starts on Tuesday 16th July. Subscribe to the Circular Economy Show now so you never miss an episode.
How can a company as large as Microsoft help to regenerate nature? In this episode, we discuss how the organisation is designing its rapidly-growing number of data centres to become sanctuaries of biodiversity with Kaitlin Chuzi, Microsoft’s Director of Biomimicry and Advanced Ecosystems, and Alessandra Pistoia, Microsoft’s Circular Economy Lead. We’ll hear how data centres, often seen as energy-intensive infrastructures, are being leveraged to rejuvenate natural ecosystems. We’ll also learn how excess heat from data centres is being repurposed to support agricultural activities and renewable energy projects, and how data centres can play a pivotal role in environmental monitoring and restoration projects.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
Around the world, more than 80% of textiles leak out of the system when they are discarded. We need a new approach: a circular economy for textiles. A key part of this solution is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
Mandatory, fee-based EPR policy places responsibility on producers with regard to the collection, sorting and recirculation of the products they place on the market. EPR also creates transparency and traceability on global material flows, and helps to attract capital investments in the infrastructure needed to reuse and recycle at scale.
In today’s episode of the Circular Economy Show, we are joined by Anjali Krishnan, the Programme Manager for IDH Alternate Materials in India, Tomás Saieg, Head of the Circular Economy Office in the Ministry of the Environment for Chile, and Matteo Magnani, co-author of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's report "Pushing the boundaries of EPR policy for textiles". Together, they will look at the global challenges and opportunities in developing a circular economy for textiles.
Do you want to know more about EPR for textiles? Head to our website and download the full report Matteo co-authored: Pushing the boundaries of EPR policy for textiles.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
As the circular economy gains momentum, we’re often faced with questions about how it could or should work. In this episode, some of the team from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation answer these frequently asked questions. Host Pippa is joined by the Foundation’s Institutions Lead, Sarah O’Carroll, and Content Lead, Seb Read to discuss topics including the role of the consumer, recycling and nature in the circular economy.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.
And if you have any burning questions for the team at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, drop us a line a podcast@emf.org.
Dunia Bora means a better world, and that’s what Vincent Muhoro, Dunia Bora’s Founder, is aiming to achieve with his nutritious cactus juice drinks and cookies. Vincent joins us in this episode of the Circular Economy Show to explain how creating nature-positive nutrition from the cactus plant is helping to tackle the devastating effects of climate change, while creating resilience and economic opportunities for his local communities. Do not miss how Vincent came up with this brilliant idea and the challenges he’s encountered on his way to nature positive innovation.
Do you want to know more about the Big Food Redesign Challenge? Head to our website to meet other creative food business owners like Vincent who are participating in the Challenge.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy. And if you have any burning questions for the team at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, drop us a line a podcast@emf.org.
As the Director and Reuse Lead at GoUnpackaged, Catherine Conway has become one of the leading voices in the world of return and refill. In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, Catherine reflects on the goals of the Refill Coalition, the critical role of design in reusable packaging, and how we can scale these solutions for a more circular future.
For more information about the UN plastic treaty mentioned in this episode and the role of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in leading it forward, have a look at our resources here.
Do you want to know more about the Foundation’s four reuse models? Head to our website for more information.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy. And if you have any burning questions for the team at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, drop us a line a podcast@emf.org.
Deborah Dull is the supply chain super hero we’ve been waiting for. As co-founder of the Circular Supply Chain Network, she brings together supply chain professionals to discuss the circular economy in their work. In this episode, she shares what supply chains in a circular economy could actually look like.
From the importance of optimising repair networks to innovating product design, Deborah highlights the crucial role of supply chain professionals in changing the system. She brings a positive perspective to the transition from linear supply chains to circular ones that you won’t want to miss.
For more information on supply chains, head to our website to read the white paper Deborah mentions in this episode.
Do you want to learn more about the work Deborah does at the Circular Supply Chain Network? Find out more here
Circular economy business models have been around for a long time, but we're not seeing the promised gold rush of new product-as-a-service models taking over the marketplace - even where the economic and environmental rationale appears super clear.
In today’s episode of the Circular Economy Show, we explore the subject of scaling product-as-services with Mats Linder and Marta Bergfors from Stena Circular Consulting. The pair discuss the consultancy’s report on the challenges of scaling PaaS with solutions for businesses to take up the product-as-service opportunity.
For more information about Stena’s research on how to scale product-as-service, make sure to read the report mentioned in this episode here.
From decorations to infrastructure, food and local business connections, there’s a lot to think about when hosting an event the size of the Eurovision Song Contest. There are also lots of opportunities to make a circular impact with it. In today’s episode of the Circular Economy Show, we travel to Malmö, the city hosting the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. We’re joined by Malmö’s sustainability coordinator, Veronika Hoffmann, to explore how the city has applied circular principles when planning this internationally acclaimed event.
Do you want to read about other examples of circular cities? Don’t miss out on our examples of circular economy in cities.
Find out more about how the City of Malmö’s plans for Eurovision.
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Welcome back to The Circular Economy Show! In our new season premiere, we’re diving into the crucial intersection of climate change and the circular economy. Join us as we sit down with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Climate Lead, Miranda Schnitger, to find out how the circular economy can help meet climate targets, why it needed to be noted in the official COP28 negotiation outcomes text, and why it’s important to stay optimistic while facing huge challenges.
For more information about the role of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation at COP28, go to The circular economy at COP section on our website.
Join us for a new season of the Circular Economy Show! New episodes drop every Tuesday, so make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.
Just search for the Circular Economy Show on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
In the last episode of our series sharing some of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's most popular articles, we explore the world of reuse and repair. Travelling to the African continent, we find out how people and businesses have been embracing strategies to maximize material use for a long time
Reuse and repair are critical aspects of a circular economy, but despite clear benefits, they've yet to gain a foothold in the Global North. Whilst greater awareness and new legislation are beginning to shift the needle, driving better use of products and materials in the North, African companies have long been applying creative and innovative approaches to maximise material usage. So what can be learnt?
Read the full article
In part two of our series sharing some of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's most popular articles, we dig deep into the psychology behind why we like to own things. We’ll also explore the alternatives that the circular economy offers.
Read the article here
In our new three-part series, we’re sharing three of the most popular articles written by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s editorial team. In today’s episode, we explore how a circular economy can keep us stay within the nine planetary boundaries set out by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, such as climate change, novel entities (otherwise known as pollution) and ocean acidification.
Read the full article
In this episode, we hear from Rudo Nondo, a creative design practitioner and the acting Managing Director of Fashion Revolution. She tells us how her upbringing in Zimbabwe has shaped her clothing philosophy and explains why she’s passionate about circular design for fashion.
Learn more about Rudo Nondo in the Foundation’s Fashion Book
Watch our Circular Economy Show episode with Rudo Nondo
Is there a better way to produce our food? Today, we circle back to one episode of our award-nominated Redesigning Food series in this episode. We’ll rediscover what a circular economy for food would look like, meet the people working to make it happen, and we’ll look at how it can be scaled to feed a growing population.
Find out more about the Big Food Redesign Challenge, which has now entered its production phase. Successful participants are working hard to turn their product designs into reality and will have the opportunity to bring products to market with supportive Challenge Retail Partners.
Did you miss out on our Redesigning Food Series? Listen to the other 4 episodes on our website. Our podcast series 'Redesigning Food' has been shortlisted for Best Limited Series at the Lovie Awards 2023.
If you're passionate about the transition to a circular economy, why not give us a review or leave a comment on Spotify? It'll help us reach more people who can make a difference!
How can optimism and creativity help us transition to a circular economy? In this episode, model, actress and activist, Lily Cole joins Ellen MacArthur and Emma Chow to discuss her journey from fashion model to environmental activist. They discuss progress towards a circular economy, emphasising collaborative efforts among businesses, citizens, and policymakers.
Join us as we delve into the possibilities and challenges of transitioning to a more circular world. Thanks for tuning in to the Circular Economy Show!
What if we could design our belongings to elongate their useful life? In this episode, we delve into the world of repair, shifting the focus from disposable products to ones that are designed to be repaired. Join us as we explore the potential for third-party repairs to flourish. Hear from Conny Bakker, Professor of Design Methodology for Sustainability and Circular Economy at TU Delft and Sojo’s co-founder Josephine Phillips, who are both calling for repair to play a greater part in our economy.
Your support helps us get to more people interested in the circular economy, so please leave us a review, or leave us a comment on Spotify!
How do we shift today’s economic system to one that helps to regenerate nature? In this episode, we’ll meet three companies developing materials that work in harmony with our environment and learn how such innovations can be scaled.
Co-founder of Materiom, Liz Corbin, spoke to her fellow co-founders Alysia Garmulewicz, Julia Marsh from Sway and Ehab Sayed from Biohm at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Innovation Day in 2022.
Your feedback helps us reach more people interested in the circular economy, so please take a moment to leave us a review!
In this week's episode, we circle back to understand the third principle of a circular economy: 'regenerating nature', and its application in the fashion industry. Our guest, Josie Warden, former Head of Regenerative Design at the RSA, joins us as we explore how circular design offers a way to create a fashion industry that can flourish in harmony with nature.
Learn more about The RSA and their work to create an impact.
If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more like it, please take a moment to leave us a review on your preferred podcast platform. Your feedback helps us reach more people interested in the circular economy!
In this first episode of our Circling Back season, Christiana Figueres and Ellen MacArthur bring us an inspiring conversation about the role of circular thinking in addressing the causes of climate change and in finding its solutions. Join us as we explore the role of the circular economy in decarbonisation and the need for optimism to fix our climate.
If you want to hear from more insightful guests like Christiana Figueres, please leave us a review! Let's spread the word and inspire positive change together.
Are you interested in knowing more about the latest COP? Our Climate Lead, Miranda Schnitger, has collected the outcomes of COP28 in one of our latest editorials:
COP28: Key takeaways
Welcome back to the Circular Economy Show! In our first series of the year, we're circling back to some of our most exciting conversations with leading thinkers from the world of technology, fashion, material design and climate.
Join us every Tuesday for a new episode. Subscribe to the Circular Economy Show so you never miss an episode.
If you've been enjoying the show, we would love it if you could take a moment to leave us a review. Your support helps us accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
This year on the Circular Economy Show Podcast we’ve heard from people working across many different industries, from farming to fashion, policy to plastics. In this episode, we explore some of our favourite moments from 2023.
Thanks for joining us this year. We’ll be back in 2024 with more stories from the circular economy. If you’d like to get in touch with us, you can email us at podcast@emf.org
Have a listen to all episodes mentioned during this episode:
Ep 104: Could we grow a building? How Biohm is using biotechnologies to advance the circular economy
Ep 105: Creating better packaging from seaweed with Notpla
Ep 107: Is there a better way to produce our food? | Redesigning Food series
Ep 117: Es Devlin on the power of art to inspire change
Ep 126: Changing the way we buy and use technology with Back Market
Ep 132: How Troquer became Latin America’s leading preloved fashion start-up
In the final episode of our fashion series, we go to London to meet Patrick McDowell, a pioneering British high-end designer who has been applying circular design for fashion since starting their career. They tell us about their journey and their vision for the future of the fashion industry.
Learn more about Patrick McDowell’s brand and journey
Have a look at Patrick's collection for Rambert Dance Company
In the second episode of our fashion series, we head to Mexico City to meet Troquer’s co-founders, Lucia and Ytzia. They discuss how they’ve become Latin America’s leading resale marketplace for quality fashion items and the challenges they’ve faced on their journey.
Learn more about Troquer
Welcome to our new fashion series, where we'll meet three companies working towards a circular economy for fashion. In this first episode, we visit Europe's largest circular fashion hub, Advanced Clothing Solutions (ACS), to learn how they’re helping businesses to make money without making new clothes.
Learn more about ACS
In this episode, we hear from Reuben Chorley, Sustainable Industrial Operations Director at Jaguar Land Rover. Together we will dive deeper into the world of i-Pace Jaguar car batteries, and how these are being given a second life in the renewable energy sector.
Back to basics: Circulate products and materials
Time for something a little different in this episode! Join us as we head to Copenhagen to meet Julie Hjort, Director of Sustainable Transformation at the Danish Design Center. From her office in the Danish capital, Julie reflects on how design is key to creating new pathways towards a circular economy, and how she works with her multi-disciplinary team to find solutions to tricky problems.
Learn more about the Danish Design Center
In this episode, we’ll join Gianmarco, Luigi and Cristina from the Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo to learn how the circular economy has become a strategic priority for them and discuss the critical connection between the circular economy, biodiversity loss and climate mitigation in relation to finance.
Learn more about the Foundation’s work on financing the circular economy.
In 2018, the Foundation alongside the UN Environment Programme launched the Global Commitment, the biggest global voluntary effort to tackle plastic waste and pollution. In this podcast episode, we hear from Sander Defruyt, Plastics Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, who reflects on the progress and learnings to date from five years of the Global Commitment, the need for a legally binding global treaty to end plastic pollution, and what makes him feel optimistic about the last five years.
Learn more about the Global Commitment Five Years In
Welcome to The Circular Economy Show Podcast.
Join the team from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as each week we explore the innovations that can address issues such as climate change, waste, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
Get ready to be inspired, informed, and empowered. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode.
In this week’s episode, Jess Mevel travels to Bordeaux, France, to learn how Back Market is working to make refurbished tech better than new.
Back Market is an online marketplace founded in 2014, who are on a mission to help make refurbished electronic products more reliable, affordable, and better than new.
To conclude this bite-sized series on regenerative design, in this week’s episode, Neil Harwood, Associate Director at Arup, elaborates on his company’s efforts to deliver nature-positive projects in different parts of the world. We’ll have an insight into their results with A30 in Cornwall and the Sea Wall project in Shenzhen, South China.
Arup is a global collective of designers, engineering and sustainability consultants, advisors and experts dedicated to sustainable development, and to using imagination, technology and rigour to shape a better world.
Have a look at the projects Neil describes in this podcast episode
Learn more about the work of Arup in developing a circular economy for buildings
In the penultimate episode of our bite-sized series on regenerative design, this week we hear from Janine Benyus, author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, on how to combine ambition and biomimicry to create regenerative infrastructures in our cities.
Learn more about the connection between circular economy, biomimicry, and doughnut economics
Find out more about biomimicry and the work of Janine Benyus
As part of our bite-sized series on regenerative design, this week, we hear from Nicole Miller at Biomimicry 3.8's Project Positive about key ways it can be scaled within companies and communities.
Project Positive is a group of change agents dedicated to raising the bar on what acting sustainably means—driven by a sense of urgency to move beyond arbitrary reduction goals to science-based targets and actions that are generous to the ecosystems, employees, and communities we operate.
Learn more about how biomimicry can help us develop regenerative built environments.
In this week’s bite-sized episode we hear from Michael Pawlyn, known for his work in biomimetic architecture and innovation. Michael uses nature-inspired design to create fundamentally different results for business, people and the environment in spaces and buildings.
Ep 92: Redesigning the future
What dynamics prevent us from moving from a linear to a circular economy? In this episode, Kate Raworth, author of the book Donut Economics, shares with us an inspiring reflection on how we need to collectively rethink our economy to ensure that no one falls short of life's essentials without overshooting the boundaries of our environment.
Shifting mindsets: a regenerative future - Summit 22
Systems and the circular economy: Deep dive
In this episode, we hear from Costa Samaras from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to learn how policy is helping the circular economy to take hold in the USA.
Find out more about the role of policy in the circular economy.
As the brand behind products including Ben and Jerry’s, Hellmann’s and Marmite, Unilever represents an important opportunity to scale a circular economy for food. In this episode, we’ll hear from the company’s Vice President & Managing Director, Eric Soubeiran, about how the business is shifting towards a regenerative and nature-positive approach in the creation of its products. We’ll also hear from The Sustainable Food Trust’s Patrick Holden, who partnered with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to launch the Big Food Redesign Challenge earlier this year.
Join the Big Food Redesign Challenge
Listen to the Redesigning Food series
How can we use storytelling to get people to move away from the problems of a linear economy to explore the solutions offered by a circular one? In this episode, we’ll hear from Sam Sutaria, chief executive of streaming platform Waterbear, and Hannah Harrison, Chief Sustainability Officer at WPP, about the opportunities around sharing experiences from the circular economy.
Visit the Circular Economy Show Podcast back catalogue
Explore the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s channel, Full Circle, on Waterbear
When we talk about the circular economy, we often think about the technical aspects of transitioning away from the linear economy. In this episode, the artist Es Devlin talks to curator and author Francesca Gavin about the power of art to inspire change.
Find out more about the power of art in driving systems change
Learn more about how art can change the economy for the better
As we heard in our recent Redesigning Food series, our food system needs to be redesigned to help nature and people thrive.
In our final episode from London, we meet Julie Brown, Director of Growing Communities, and Danny Fisher from Better Food Shed, about how they’re working to supply Londoners with healthy, regeneratively-produced fruit and vegetables.
Find out more about circular economy in cities
One of the biggest challenges facing London is the need to provide housing and infrastructure for the city's residents and workers. To deal with increasing demand, we need our buildings to be designed with the circular economy at their heart.
In this episode we’ll hear from Andrea Charlson, ReLondon's former Commercial Manager and Built Environment Lead, and Meanwhile Space’s Executive Director, Eddie Bridgeman, about how they are putting a circular economy approach into action.
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Useful links
Learn more about Meanwhile Space
Visit ReLondon’s website
Find out more about the Circular Buildings Coalition and apply for the Blueprint Projects funding programme by 20th July 2023
Wayne Hubbard, CEO of ReLondon, is on a mission to help Londoners revolutionise their relationship with stuff. His organisation, which is a partnership of the Mayor of London and the London boroughs, is designed to transform the city into a leading low carbon circular economy, and to improve its waste and resource management.
In this episode we’ll hear from Wayne and his colleague Ali Moore, ReLondon’s Head of Communications and Behaviour Change, about some of the initiatives they’ve taken to help Londoners engage in a circular economy.
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's work with cities
Learn more about ReLondon
In this episode, we visit the London Borough of Hackney to find out about the possibilities for a circular economy in the UK’s capital city.
We’ll hear from the borough’s mayor, Philip Glanville, about how the area is looking beyond waste and recycling in transitioning to a circular economy.
We’ll also meet Charlotte Thorpe from social enterprise Library of Things to find out more about the initiative and why it’s proving popular in London.
Let us know what you’d like to hear about in future episodes
With the second round of negotiations for a UN treaty to end plastic pollution underway, in this episode we’ll explore how the INC-2 event taking place in Paris this week marks a crucial stage in the negotiations.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WWF has convened the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty to bring together businesses and financial institutions committed to supporting the development of an ambitious, effective and legally binding UN treaty to end plastic pollution.
We’ll hear from Eirik Lindebjerg, Global Plastics Policy Manager at WWF, and Carsten Wachholz, Business Coalition Secretariat Co-Lead at the Foundation, about the recommendations the Business Coalition has made, and why a treaty is so important.
Find out more about the negotiations
Learn more about the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty
Over the last four episodes, we’ve heard how we need to change our food system to one that is nature-positive. But how can we scale a circular economy for food to feed the global population, which the UN estimate will reach 10 billion by 2057?
In the final episode of our Redesigning Food series, we hear from Professor Tim Benton, Research Director of the Environment and Society Programme at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and Mikel Hancock, Walmart’s Senior Director for Sustainability Initiatives, about the role policymakers and big businesses can play.
This episode was supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Learn more about a circular economy for food
Sign up to hear about the Big Food Redesign Challenge
Let us know what you’d like to hear about in future episodes
Find out more about our contributors:
- Professor Tim Benton
- Mikel Hancock, Walmart
What if there were no bad choices in your shopping basket? What if every bite of food had been designed in a way that helped to regenerate nature?
In this episode, we hear from Waitrose and Natoora about the steps they’re taking towards a circular economy for food.
This episode was supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Learn more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s food work
Sign up to hear about The Big Food Redesign Challenge, launching soon.
Find out more about our guests
- John Lewis Partnership and Waitrose
- Natoora
In a circular economy, food ingredients should be diverse, low-impact, upcycled, and produced in a regenerative system. But what does that look like in practice?
In this episode we meet three brands - Rubies in the Rubble, Grounded Ingredients and Hodemedod’s, to find out how they are applying the principles of Circular Design for Food to their products.
This episodes was supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Learn more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s food work
Sign up to hear about The Big Food Redesign Challenge, launching soon.
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What is regenerative production? And how can farmers help address the damaging effects our industrialised food system has on the climate and biodiversity?
In this episode, we’ll hear from Philippe Birker, co-founder of Climate Farmers, an organisation working to empower farmers. We also visit Nunwell Home Farm to learn how they are using regenerative methods to improve biodiversity and soil health on their farm.
This episode was supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
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Welcome to the first episode of our new series looking at the need to redesign our food system.
In the episode, we look at what’s wrong with the current system, and learn how a circular economy for food can help address some of today’s biggest global issues, such as biodiversity loss and climate change.
We’re joined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Food Lead, Reniera O'Donnell, Ecology, Social, Governance Advisor, Dr Catherine Chong and we’ll also hear from Climate Farmers Co-Founder Philippe Birker.
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This episode was supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. Find out more about who we work with
Our current linear food system is failing us. It is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, accounts for a third of greenhouse gas emissions and, while 10% of the planet’s population goes hungry, we waste almost one-third of the food we produce.
What if there was a better way? What if we could produce food to help nature thrive?
In a new five-part podcast series, we’ll explore how a circular economy for food can help address these challenges.
Join us from Tuesday 25th April, as we meet the people creating a future food system that's good for people, farmers, nature, and business.
The current fashion system is broken. Every year the fashion industry misses out on hundreds of billions of dollars and contributes significantly to waste and pollution through the linear take-make-waste economy.
In this episode, Chloe Anderson from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s fashion team joins us to discuss the business opportunities around applying circular principles to the fashion industry, and helps address some of the myths around these ideas.
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Earthshot prize winner Notpla is revolutionising the way we think about packaging.
In this episode of The Circular Economy Show Podcast, we hear from Pierre Paslier, the company’s co-founder, about how the is using seaweed as a viable alternative to plastic packaging, how that works in a circular economy, and how they plan to scale.
This conversation featured in episode 59 of the Circular Economy Show. Watch it here.
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Imagine if one day we could grow our buildings! In this episode, hear how one company is already developing radical biotechnologies to innovate the construction industry and beyond.
Dr Ehab Sayed, Founder and Chief Evolution Officer at BIOHM, discusses how biotechnologies such as mycelium - the root structure of fungi - help to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, his personal journey to this space, and how one day we might be able to grow our own buildings.
This conversation also appears in episode 61 of The Circular Economy Show, which will be broadcast TODAY at 3pm GMT. Watch it here.
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With 45% of global greenhouse gas emissions coming from how we make and use things, design has huge potential to influence our transition to a circular economy.
In this episode of the Circular Economy Show Podcast, we explore why design is important, what ‘circular-ish’ means, and hear about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s six design leverage points.
In a conversation taken from a recent episode of the Circular Economy Show, hosts Seb and Lou talk to the Foundation’s Design Lead, Joe Iles, about how these leverage points can support designers in their journey towards circularity.
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The term ‘open source’ is often linked to the development of software. But what about hardware? In the final part of this series, Colin meets two experts working in this space to hear how, much like in the natural world, collaboration can be used to address some of the problems of a linear economy, and help to accelerate a circular one.
Colin is joined by Alastair Parvin from WikiHouse, an online service that provides blueprints of houses for free, and by Pilar Bolumburu from Materiom, a company sharing locally-appropriate material recipes that anyone can use.
If you’ve enjoyed this series, please leave a review as it helps other people find it. We’ll be back with more episodes soon!
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There are significant material, energy, labour and carbon savings to be made by reusing, rather than remaking, a product.
How does this work in business? And how does it fit into a circular economy?
In this episode, Colin Webster from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation speaks to José Manuel Moller from Algramo about the role of reuse in household shopping, and to architect Nitesh Magdani about reuse in the built environment.
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The circular economy is often wrongly characterised as a tech solution, or a solution for tech, but it’s about much more than that.
As we heard in episode 97, there are two cycles: the technical and biological one. In this episode, we’re exploring the latter.
Colin Webster from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation talks to farmer and soil advocate Abby Rose, and Gero Leson, Vice President of Special Operations at Dr. Bronner's, to hear about the benefits and practicalities of agriculture in a circular economy.
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What do you do when something you own, say a toaster, breaks? You’ve usually got two options: fix it, or replace it. It often feels like replacing an item is easier than repairing it, and the most cost-effective solution. But in a circular economy, we want goods and materials to stay in circulation at high value for as long as possible. So how does that work in reality?
In this new series, Colin Webster from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation explores individual elements of the circular economy.
In this episode, he’s joined by Dr Conny Bakker, Professor of Design Methodology for Sustainability and Circular Economy at TU Delft, and Josephine Philips, the founder and CEO of Sojo, a UK-based third party clothing repair service, to discuss the role of repair.
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Sometimes the concept of a circular economy seems so large that it's difficult to get to grips with it. It's never about one thing. It's about a million things at once.
We're back next week with a new look, and a new series!
Over the next four episodes, Colin Webster from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s learning team helps break the concept down into smaller chunks.
He’ll speak to experts from the fields of repair, agriculture, open source, and reuse to find out how they relate to the circular economy.
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In the final part of this series, our founder Ellen MacArthur and Circular Design Lead, Joe Iles, discuss what individuals can do to make the circular economy happen, and the role design has in accelerating this transition.
Ellen also looks back at some of the progress that has been made since launching the Foundation a decade ago.
If you missed the previous episodes, where we learned what we mean by a circular economy, and what the butterfly diagram is, then we recommend listening to those first!
We’ll be back with a new series in a few weeks' time. Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.
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How can a mobile phone be made in a circular way? What about a sandwich?
In this episode, our founder Ellen MacArthur and Circular Design Programme Lead, Joe Iles, look at these two different elements of the circular economy. They discuss the flow of materials in the system, from technical processes such as reuse and repair, to regenerating nature.
If you missed the previous episode, where we went back to basics and learned what we mean by a circular economy, then we recommend listening to that first!
Explore the Butterfly Diagram
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What is the circular economy? In this three-part series from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, we’re revisiting conversations between our founder, Ellen MacArthur, and Circular Design Programme Lead, Joe Iles.
Over the next few episodes, they will discuss what a circular economy is, how it works, and share some examples of it in action.
In this episode, we hear how Ellen’s experience of sailing around the world led her to explore the circular economy, and go back to basics on what the term means.
This series is great for beginners who want to learn more about the subject, and also serves as a good refresher for anyone looking for inspiring stories, so why not share it with your friends and colleagues?
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How do large multi-national companies help the transition to a circular economy?
Over the last few episodes, we’ve heard from policymakers, designers, and global changemakers about their role in shifting from a linear take-make-waste economy, to a circular one, where waste is eliminated, resources are circulated, and nature is regenerated.
In this episode we hear how two large organisations are adapting the way they do business to scale circular economy solutions.
Charlie Downes-Jackson, Global Director, Advanced Concepts at Timberland, discusses how the business and its parent company, VF Corporation, is working towards ensuring its key materials are regenerative, renewable or recyclable by 2030.
But first Wouter Vermeulen, Senior Director Sustainability Europe at The Coca-Cola Company, shares some of the ways the business is moving away from single-use plastic, and what he has learned on the journey so far.
This is the final episode in this series featuring conversations recorded at Summit 22 — the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's flagship annual event — which brought together business leaders, policymakers, innovators, and global changemakers to explore how we can redesign our economy so that it regenerates, rather than destroys, the natural world.
We’ll be back soon with more episodes featuring stories from the circular economy. Until then, explore our back catalogue for more inspiration. Thanks for listening.
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To accelerate the transition to a circular economy, we need the materials to help us get there.
In this episode, we hear from three companies about how their work contributes to taking us away from the linear take-make-waste economy, to a circular one.
We’re joined by Pascal Chalvon Demersay, Chief Sustainability & Government Affairs Officer at Solvay; Liz Corbin, the Co-CEO & Founder of Materiom; and Neekta Hamidi, Associate Director of Policy & Partnerships at Ginkgo Bioworks.
Our guests discuss how science not only helps to develop regenerative materials, but also provides data to learn from.
This is the fourth in a series of podcast episodes recorded at Summit 22 — the Foundation's flagship annual event — which brought together business leaders, policymakers, innovators, and global changemakers to explore how we can redesign our economy so that it regenerates, rather than destroys, the natural world.
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It's quite difficult to do business on a dead planet,' says Helena Braun, Member of the Cabinet of Frans Timmermans, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission leading the work on the European Green Deal.
In conversation with Miranda Schnitger, the Foundation's Government Lead, Helena discusses the Commission's recently-announced Nature Package, and how policy plays a vital role in creating a nature-positive economy.
We are also joined by Shardul Agrawala, Head of the Environment and Economy Division at the OECD, and Andrea Liverani, Lead Sustainable Development Expert at The World Bank Group, who explore the power of policy to accelerate the industrial transformation needed to scale a circular economy.
Calling for more ambitious policies to provide upstream solutions, rather than looking downstream, is key — as Andrea says, what's the incentive to keep waste out of landfill when it doesn't cost anything?
This is third in a series of podcast episodes recorded at Summit 22 — the Foundation's flagship annual event — which brought together business leaders, policymakers, innovators, and global changemakers to explore how we can redesign our economy so that it regenerates, rather than destroys, the natural world.
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In this episode, IDEO Chair and Co-CEO, Tim Brown, speaks to Joanne Choukier, RSA Director of Design and Innovation, Michael Pawlyn, architect and author of Biomimicry in Architecture, and David Wilkinson, VP of Agriculture and Dairy at Pepsico Europe, to explore the power of design to transform the system.
This is second in a series of podcast episodes recorded at Summit 22 — the Foundation's flagship annual event — which brought together business leaders, policymakers, innovators, and global changemakers to explore how we can redesign our economy so that it regenerates, rather than destroys, the natural world.
In this panel discussion, these leading designers explore how a regenerative circular economy requires a whole system shift from take, make, waste to one based on three principles: eliminate waste, circulate products and materials, and regenerate natural systems.
This mindset sets a new goal across business, design, policy, finance, and other key intervention points in the economy that is transformative rather than incremental.
What does it look like for businesses to compete on regenerative principles? And how do we scale up these new models?
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Listen to Ellen MacArthur, Janine Benyus and Kate Raworth in conversation with Lucy Parker
Michael Pawlyn appeared on the first ever episode of this podcast - listen to that here
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In this episode, we are joined by our very own three wise women — the Foundation's founder and chair of trustees, Ellen MacArthur, Doughnut Economics author and co-founder of the Doughnut Economics Action Lab, Kate Raworth, and the co-founder of Biomimicry 3.8, the world's first bio-inspired consultancy, Janine Benyus.
This is first in a series of podcast episodes recorded at Summit 22 — the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's flagship annual event — which brought together business leaders, policymakers, innovators, and global changemakers to explore how we can redesign our economy so that it regenerates, rather than destroys, the natural world.
In an inspiring conversation facilitated by Brunswick Group senior partner, Lucy Parker, Ellen, Kate, and Janine discuss, in Kate's words, the 'profound connections' between the circular economy, biomimicry, and her own doughnut economic model.
Together, they explored the ways in which the three approaches offer a vision of a world that works for all — one that requires a mindset shift, from our current take, make, waste economy to one in which waste is eliminated, products and materials are circulated, and nature is regenerated. An economy that recognises that doing less harm simply isn't good enough, that we must work together to create solutions that actively improve the world we live in.
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The Circular Economy Show Podcast is back with a new series that looks at the solutions and innovations that can scale, and who’s already doing it.
We'll hear from business leaders, policymakers, innovators, and global changemakers about how we can accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
The first episode drops on Tuesday 9th August. Subscribe now so you don't miss it!
In the meantime, why not check out our library of 90 episodes featuring inspirational stories from the circular economy, or visit our website ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
Designers and creatives can have an important impact in the circular economy, but how do we put that into action?
In this episode, Philippe Meunier, co-founder and CEO of creative agency Sid Lee, shares 10 tips with us on how to find more creative solutions.
From removing fear around new projects, and why it’s important to embrace fun in creative work, grab a pen and take note of Philippe's excellent tips.
Philippe was in conversation with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Circular Design Programme Lead, Joe Iles, as part of Summit 2020.
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How is the world’s largest furniture retailer embracing circular economy principles?
In this episode, we hear from Hanna Ahlberg, IKEA’s Circular Product Development Project Leader.
In a conversation with Joe Iles, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Design Programme Lead, Hanna discusses materials innovation, piloting furniture rental, and why IKEA is standardising its parts.
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When talking about the circular economy, we often hear about science, engineering and policy. But what about the role of the creative industries? What part does advertising, branding and marketing play in transitioning from a wasteful linear economy, to a circular one?
In this episode we'll hear from Farah Ramzan Golant, president of Kyu, a collective of creative organisations including IDEO, Sid Lee and Kepler; and Chris Riley, founder of Studio Riley, and former head of strategic planning at Apple.
Chris and Farah spoke to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Circular Design Programme Lead, Joe Iles, at Summit 2020, about why people are ready for businesses to go circular.
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In the first of a 4-part series looking at the role of creatives in building a circular economy, we hear from Lily Cole.
Lily, who made her name as a fashion model, spoke to Ellen MacArthur and Emma Chow about her book, ‘Who Cares Wins: Reasons for optimism in our changing world,’ and why she became interested in environmental activism.
This conversation was originally part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Summit 2020, and you can watch it here.
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We can’t recycle our way out of the plastic pollution crisis. We need a circular economy for plastic — one that eliminates problematic and unnecessary plastic, innovates to ensure the plastic we do need is reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and circulates the plastic items we use to keep it in the economy and out of the environment.
Unilever, which has signed the Foundation’s Global Commitment to create a circular economy for plastic, has increased the recycled content in its packaging from 1% to over 11% — with a target of 25% by 2025. The company has also pledged to halve the amount of virgin plastic it uses.
In this episode, Pablo Costa, Vice President for Packaging at Unilever, discusses the company’s ambitions and challenges, the importance of CEO leadership, and the need for innovation and collaboration to scale circular economy solutions and bring them to consumers.
Pablo also reveals the moment that changed his professional life — when he saw a plastic bottle from one of his brands on a remote beach while holidaying with his family — and the circular economy legacy he would like to leave at Unilever.
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Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Global Commitment
Learn more about a circular economy for plastic packaging
Across this mini series on the podcast, we’ve been exploring the potential of a circular economy that is regenerative by design and discussed examples of where it is already happening today.
In this episode, we dig into what will be needed to make that happen. Featuring perspectives from a large business, city policymakers and investors - but also successful circular economy startups - we aim to challenge the perception that this is only about activating more money and explore the wider shift that is needed to really make the economics work.
Guests include; Safia Qureshi (ClubZero), Jessica Viera (Apeel), Oriana Ramano (OECD), Lamia Sbiti (ReLondon), Jamie Butterworth (Circularity Capital), Georgia Sherwin (Closed Loop), and Aline Casegrande (ABinBev).
This is the final part of a four-part podcast series revisiting some of the highlights from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Innovation Day event at the Roundhouse on March 31st. Subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode!
Learn more about Club Zero
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What if the materials we used were not finite? What if the more material we used, the better it was for the environment? And what might it take to make this a reality at the scale of fossil-based materials today?
In this podcast, we explore these themes and more in the context of a regenerative material landscape that is increasingly moving from concept to actuality with an ever growing number of solutions hitting the market. We’re joined by guests with real seaweed and mushroom-based solutions in the marketplace, as well as the people behind the world’s largest open source database of regenerative materials.
The conversation is hosted by Materiom’s Liz Corbin and guests include; Alysia Garmulewicz (Materiom), Julia Marsh (Sway) and Ehab Sayed (Biohm).
This is part three of a four-part podcast series revisiting some of the highlights from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Innovation Day event at the Roundhouse on March 31st. Subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode!
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Hear more from Alysia in this episode of the podcast
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Fast fashion is arguably one of the poster children of a linear economy, but circular economy innovation is already hitting the market and demonstrating that a different future is possible. In this episode, we explore some of the innovations that are disrupting the market from rental to resale to entirely different conceptions of the sector.
In part two of a four part series on this podcast, we'll hear how and where circular economy innovation is happening today demonstrating the possibility of a future fashion industry where businesses make money without making new clothes.
Guests include ByRotation's Eshita Kabra-Davis, Vestiaire Collective's Dounia Wone, Fashion for Good's Brittany Burns, Diana Armini from the H&M Foundation and Josefine Olsson from Accenture.
This is part two of a four-part podcast series revisiting some of the highlights from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Innovation Day event at the Roundhouse on March 31st. Subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode!
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The Foundation’s Big Food Redesign report showcases the possibility of healthier food that provides greater resilience, better outcomes for farmers, all whilst contributing to the efforts to reverse biodiversity loss and tackle climate change. In this episode of the podcast, we speak with Gaelle Le Gelard from the Foundation, Andy Cato and George Lamb from Wildfarmed who are actively practices regenerative agriculture on over 100 farms, and Guus Ter Haar from ReNature.
In part one of a four part series on this podcast, we are revisiting some of the highlights from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Innovation Day event at the Roundhouse on March 31st. Hear how circular economy innovation that is regenerative by design can be better for the economy, reverse biodiversity loss and tackle climate change.
In this episode, we explore topics including life-friendly chemistry, optimising materials using AI, and how we can develop and scale biomaterial use. Alysia Garmulewicz — the Founder of Materiom, and Associate Professor of High Tech Entrepreneurship at the Facultad de Administración y Economía, Universidad de Santiago de Chile — joins us to explain more.
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All the food we eat is designed. Food brands and supermarkets design everything we eat — how it looks and tastes, and how good it is for us and for nature. The top ten food brands and supermarkets influence 40% of agricultural land use in the UK and EU — which means they have the power to make nature-positive food the norm.
So, what do we mean by ‘regenerative natural systems’ — and how does it tackle global challenges including climate change and biodiversity loss?
In this episode, Patrick Holden, Founding Director of the Sustainable Food Trust, joins us to discuss the role of leading food companies in adopting regenerative agricultural practices, the role of farmers, and the role of policy and finance in supporting the scaled transformation towards regenerative farming — plus the need for clear metrics and labelling to help consumers understand how nature-friendly their food is.
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Watch Patrick in conversation with the Foundation's Emma Chow
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The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted that linear supply chains in a linear economy are brittle and vulnerable to shocks. In this episode, Bill McRaith — the former CSO of PVH, the US company that owns fashion brands including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger — explains how the circular economy offers opportunities to transition from fragile supply chains to more resilient supply ‘lattices.’
Tune in to hear Bill’s advice to companies that are trying to restructure their supply chains — and the change in mindset it requires in global boardrooms.
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Watch Bill speaking at the Foundation's Summit21
Explore how the circular economy offers a recovery strategy from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
Why are we still demolishing buildings when we can design for deconstruction? In this episode, Arup structural engineer Grace Di Benedetto explains that we need to change our mindset and recognise buildings as valuable sources of materials rather than rubble.
Together, we discuss material passports and the structural engineering opportunities offered by the circular economy.
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Renewable energy is vital in order to address climate change, but it’s only half the story. Almost half of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the way we make and use things — we need a circular economy to tackle those emissions and achieve the targets set out in the Paris Agreement.
In this episode, Ellen MacArthur is joined by Christiana Figueres, Global Optimism Co-founder and former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Together, they discuss the crucial role of the circular economy in the fight against climate change, financing climate action, Christiana’s role in the Paris Agreement — and why we should be optimistic about the future.
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This week, governments from United Nations member states are meeting in Nairobi to negotiate a legally binding UN Treaty on plastic pollution. This is an unprecedented opportunity to build on the already successful voluntary agreements towards a circular economy for plastics
The time to act is now. With over two million people, almost 1000 civil society organisations, and over 100 global companies calling for a UN Treaty on plastic pollution, we must seize this opportunity.
In this episode, Laura Franco Henao is joined by Eirik Lindebjerg, the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Global Plastic Policy Manager, who has been a key player in the campaign calling for the UN Treaty. Together, they explore what a successful treaty would look like.
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Find out more about the Foundation's collaboration with the WWF on this campaign
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High street and online fashion giant H&M Group has big ambitions — to be a circular business by 2025 and climate positive by 2040. But how is it going to get there?
In this episode, Head of Sustainability Leyla Ertur explains how the company aims to design all its products for circularity by working with its value chain and suppliers to embed circular business models — discussing both the opportunities and the challenges.
She also talks about her personal journey, and the circular economy legacy she would like to leave at H&M.
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How can we reimagine and rebuild our towns and cities? In this episode, we talk to Eric Corey Freed, Senior Vice President of Sustainability at CannonDesign and Co-Author of Circular Economy for Dummies, about a key circular economy topic — construction and the built environment.
What’s wrong with the way we currently design and construct buildings? And what are the challenges in doing things differently? We discuss how we can learn from nature as a model for construction, and how buildings can regenerate nature as part of a circular economy.
Eric explains that it’s time to change the paradigm from construction to prostruction, moving from harmful construction practices to an approach inspired by nature.
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“Some people say ‘business is big, that’s not good.’ On the other hand, I’d say that means we can drive scale, we can make meaningful change, and we have the resources to do it.”
-Bea Perez, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications, Sustainability and Strategic Partnerships Officer, The Coca Cola Company
Operating in more than 200 countries and territories around the world, serving over 1.9 billion drinks every day, The Coca Cola Company has been hugely successful in the linear economy.
So what are the challenges in transitioning to a circular way of doing business?
In this episode, Bea Perez explains how she joined Coke as a conflicted young adult, only to discover it was her dream job, and discusses the vital role of big business in the global transition to a circular economy.
As the company’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, it has been Bea’s role to drive change at scale within the company for the past decade — and it’s not always an easy job. We discuss how her role has involved challenging the status quo, how the Covid-19 pandemic has curbed progress in reducing the use of virgin plastic, and how far the company has to go to meet its plastic targets.
We’ll also learn more about the reusable Universal Bottle, first introduced in Latin America in 2018, and why Bea is optimistic about changing the business for the better.
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For an in-depth look at the progress The Coca-Cola Company is making, explore its entry in the Global Commitment 2021 Signatory Report
Learn more about the Universal Bottle mentioned in this episode
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Big businesses hold the key to promoting action in building a regenerative future. When will we see this action though?
In this episode, Seb Egerton-Read takes us back to COP26 where he was in conversation with two key players in the business world. Our guests today are Karrie Denniston, Senior Director of Sustainability at Walmart.org, and Jim Andrew, Chief Sustainability Officer at PepsiCo.
Karrie tells us why she chose to pursue a career with Walmart.org in order to achieve that opportunity for impact. We will also tackle that question you’re probably asking now; how can a company thriving in the linear economy, possibly become regenerative?
Jim will run us through how PepsiCo is much more than a one-product brand. We’ll also hear about the Pepsi Positive and the NFL Trash Talk campaigns that PepsiCo is working on.
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Catch up on COP26 highlights
Design is at the forefront of the transition from a linear economy to a circular one. But how can communication assist this change?
In this episode Laura Franco Henao hears from two guests working in this space, looking at the business opportunities available as a result of circular design and also the power of social media in catalysing change.
Rebecca Garner is Circularity Partner at ASOS, who talks us through the circular journey of ASOS, including their Circular Design Guidebook. Laura's also joined by Marina Testino, Creative Director and Artivist at Point Off View, Inc, taking a look at some of Marina's iconic campaigns, such as #OneDressToImpress and #YellowLikeALemon.
Our two guests are both contributors to the Circular Design for Fashion book, launched by The Ellen MacArthur Foundation towards the end of 2021. Find out more about the book at https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/the-circular-design-for-fashion-book.
Please note that this episode contains explicit language.
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Discover more about the work of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
In this episode, Laura Franco Henao explores the intersections between fashion, regenerative design, the importance of context and the power of storytelling.
She’s joined by Josie Warden, the Head of Regenerative Design at the RSA and Rudo Nondo, the Creative Design Practitioner at The African Rack and Country Co-Ordinator of Fashion Revolution Zimbabwe, who also feature in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s new book, Circular Design for Fashion.
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Learn more about the Circular Design for Fashion book
Explore the RSA’s Regenerative Futures programme
Find out more about Fashion Revolution Zimbabwe
Discover more about the work of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
In this episode, we take a look back at some of the conversations we had at COP26. We’ll be discussing how businesses are making the important link between the circular economy and climate change.
These conversations are from November 2021, when Seb Egerton-Read went to the climate change conference in Glasgow to meet some of the leading individuals in the climate space.
First, we'll hear from Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, about where we are with the Planetary Boundaries, how optimistic he is and the role he thinks the circular economy can play in tackling climate change.
We’ll also hear from Wouter van Tol, Head of Government, Community Affairs and Sustainability at DS Smith, and Stephen Jamieson, Global Head of Circular Economy Solutions at SAP.
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Watch highlights from COP26
Explore circular economy examples and case studies
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Discover more about the companies featured in this episode:
- Planetary Boundaries
- DS Smith
- SAP
In this episode, we discuss the role of nature-positive food in providing a solution to global challenges such as biodiversity loss and climate change.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation recently published The Big Food Redesign, highlighting the critical role that food manufacturers and retailers can play in catalysing the shift to a regenerative food production system.
We will be joined by Garbriela Hernandez-Galindo, Global Sustainability Director for Essential Dairy & Plant Based at Danone and Karen Cooper, R&D Program Manager for Climate Change at Nestle. They both share how their work is catalysing this shift to regenerative food production through redesigning product portfolios, developing iconic products and creating a new dynamic with farmers.
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Explore more circular economy examples and case studies
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Discover more about the companies featured in this episode:
- Nestle
- Danone
In this episode, we’ll hear how innovation is key to transitioning from a take, make, waste linear economy, to a circular economy where, through design, we can eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials, and regenerate nature.
During the recent COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, the Foundation’s Emerging Innovators Manager, Ella Hedley, hosted an innovation session showing how disruptive start-ups around the world are demonstrating viable circular economy business models.
Ella spoke with Josephine Philips, Founder and CEO of clothing alterations and repair app Sojo, and John Atcheson, Founder and CEO of Sellalong, which works with retailers to keep products and materials in use.
We’ll also hear from Morgan Stanley’s Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer, Audrey Choi, Infinited Fiber Company’s CEO, Petri Alava, and Zalando’s Head of Circularity, Laura Coppen.
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Watch highlights from this session at the New York Times Climate Hub, held alongside COP26.
Explore more circular economy examples and case studies
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Discover more about the companies featured in this episode:
- Infinited Fiber Company
- Morgan Stanley
- Sellalong
- Sojo
- Zalando
More than 90% of biodiversity loss is due to the extraction and processing of natural resources. Can a shift to the circular economy help to reverse biodiversity loss altogether?
In this episode, we’re joined by The Nature Conservancy’s Robert Jones to discuss the potential role of restorative aquaculture can play in rebuilding the health of our oceans.
We’ll hear how aquaculture is effectively the regenerative agriculture of our oceans, with the potential to eliminate greenhouse gases and help to restore ocean biodiversity.
It also has the potential to be a long-term source of healthy food, and can help create jobs in vulnerable fishing communities around the world.
We’ll also hear from Soukeyna Gueye, lead author of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s latest biodiversity report, The Nature Imperative: How the circular economy tackles biodiversity loss, to explore how the way we extract and process resources can impact biodiversity.
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This episode is based on episode 39 of the Circular Economy Show. Click here to watch the full episode.
Explore our report The Nature Imperative: How the circular economy tackles biodiversity loss
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy
Discover more episodes of the Circular Economy Show
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
The way our food is produced and designed is one of the largest contributors to some of our most significant global challenges from biodiversity loss to climate change. But what if it was possible to reverse that and to create food that was nature and climate positive?
In this episode, we explore how this can be achieved through better design, which also represents a significant opportunity for food manufacturers and retailers to make food that’s better for customers, better for farmers, and better for business.
We'll be joined by Emma Chow and Gaelle Le Gelard from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's team to discuss our new publication, The Big Food Redesign, which demonstrates how companies can take a design-led approach that takes nature-positive food into the mainstream.
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This podcast is based on episode 41 of the Circular Economy Show. Watch the full episode here.
Explore the Big Food Redesign report
Hear Amanda Ravenhill from the Buckmaster Fuller Institute on the Circular Economy Podcast
Discover more episodes of the Circular Economy Show
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
What role do cities play in the transition to a circular economy?
Currently, cities consume of 75% of the world’s natural resources and emit 60-80% of global greenhouse gas emissions in the linear system.
It’s estimated that two-thirds of the population will be living in cities by 2050, so it’s vital that cities tackle the issues of the current take, make, waste economy.
In this episode we’ll hear from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Cities Lead, Sarah O’Carroll, who will guide us through how cities can benefit from switching to a circular economy.
We’ll also be joined by representatives from our three Strategic Partner Cities-London, New York City, and São Paulo-about the work they are doing to advance the circular economy and mobilise systems solutions.
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Watch the full episode of the Circular Economy Show
Learn more about cities and the circular economy
Discover more episodes of the Circular Economy Show
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Ellen MacArthur talks to Wolfgang Blau about what growth looks like in a circular economy. The pair discuss what the risks and costs are for businesses transitioning to a circular economy, and whether the leaders of the transition are being supported enough. Plus, what impact has Covid-19 had on the circular economy, and how does shifting to a circular approach help to fix the climate and improve biodiversity.
A shorter version of this conversation featured in the Foundation's Summit 21, which explored how we collaborate to connect government and industry to tackle our biggest global challenges while creating resilience and wellbeing.
Explore more content from Summit 21
Discover more episodes of the Circular Economy Show
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
In a circular economy,we need dedicated, ongoing, and sufficient funding for the collection, sorting, and recycling of packaging – otherwise the economics simply do not stack up – it costs more to do than the money it makes.
That’s where Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) comes in. In this episode, the Foundation's Maya Adams and Ambrogio Miserocchi introduce the concept of EPR and how it works in a circular economy.
We'll then hear from guests Matthew Demorais, Corporate Affairs Director at Unilever; Dr. Maarten Dubois, Project Lead Circular Economy at OECD; Guillermo González, Head of Circular Economy Office, Ministry of the Environment, Chile, and Sara Wingstrand, Programme Manager, New Plastics Economy at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Together they reflect on the watershed momentum around EPR for packaging as an essential part of a circular economy.
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Read the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's statement and position paper on EPR
Learn more about a circular economy for plastics
Watch the full episode of the Circular Economy Show
Discover more episodes of the Circular Economy Show
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Circular design is a key enabler in the transition to a circular economy. It provides the opportunity to rethink how products are made and systems can be designed. But who are the designers leading this transition?
In this episode, Anne Asensio, Head of Design at Dassault Systemes, joins us to talk about what circular design means to her. Sean Carney, Chief Design Officer at Philips, will also showcase examples of Philip's journey to circularity so far.
The Foundation's Design Network and Creative Lead, Simon Widmer, will be on hand to talk us through circular design and the importance of circular design leaders.
Explore the Circular Design Toolkit
Join the Circular Design LinkedIn group
Discover the Circular Design Guide
Watch the full episode of the Circular Economy Show
Discover more episodes of the Circular Economy Show
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
In the lead up to COP 26, more and more companies and organisations are coming together to discuss how they can have a positive impact on the environment and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
In this episode of The Circular Economy Show podcast, we'll explore how circular economy practices can contribute to meeting companies’ climate targets.
We'll hear from Chad Frischmann from Project Drawdown, who will provide insights into the solutions to climate change that most of us don’t talk about.
We'll also speak to Laura Vicaria from MUD Jeans about the company’s circular business model and to James Lundström from Volvo Cars about the circular economy solutions that the automotive manufacturer has adopted to address its climate impacts.
Find out more about the circular economy and climate change
Watch the full episode of the Circular Economy Show
Discover more episodes of the Circular Economy Show
Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
The textiles industry remains anchored in the linear take-make-waste economy. According to the European Environment Agency, the sector has the fourth most significant impact on primary resource materials and water after food, housing and transport.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has recently set out five universal circular economy policy goals around which governments and businesses can align to scale the circular economy. One goal is to ‘make the economics work’ by creating economic incentives and setting regulatory requirements that enable circular economy business models (such as resale, rental and repair) to become the norm rather than the exception. How can this be achieved in the fashion and textiles sector?
In this episode, we'll hear from the European Commission, the European Environment Agency, and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, who will share their perspectives on the enabling role of policy to increase the adoption of circular business models.
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Watch the full episode of the Circular Economy Show
Find out more about the Universal Policy Goals
Discover more episodes of The Circular Economy Show
Learn more about our work
Measuring progress against targets is vital for any business. You track your company’s sales figures, cost base, and carbon emissions — but what about your circular economy performance? As the circular economy gains momentum globally, with more businesses developing circular strategies that create growth and also benefit society and the environment, circular economy performance is becoming increasingly important.
In this episode we hear from Cecilia Brännsten, the Environmental Sustainability Manager for the H&M Group, Marianne Richeux, Brambles' Zero Waste World Programme Director for Europe, and Ellen Jackowski, Chief Sustainability Officer at HP Inc.
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This podcast is based on a recent episode of the Circular Economy Show, watch the full episode following this link.
Click here to learn more about Circulytics.
Find more episodes of The Circular Economy Show here.
More about our work on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation website.
If you came home to find that your apartment was flooding, would you immediately start mopping up the water?
Probably not! That would be a futile effort without first finding out what is causing the flooding and stopping it. This is the essence of tackling the root cause of a problem — moving upstream.
In a circular economy, upstream innovation is about tracing a problem back to its root cause and tackling it there. Why deal with a pile of waste when we can prevent it from being created in the first place? Good for the environment, good for the economy: shifting just 20% of plastic packaging from single-use to reuse is an upstream innovation opportunity worth ~USD 10 billion.
In this episode, we'll explore worldwide cutting-edge upstream innovation examples to tackle plastic pollution. We will hear from Jessica Vieira from Apeel, who disrupts food systems by extending the life of fruit and vegetables without any single-use plastic. Also joining us is Dieuwertje Nelissen from Enviu, who will share their reuse projects and how they are tackling plastic pollution from Indonesia to The Netherlands.
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This podcast is based on a recent episode of the Circular Economy Show, watch the full episode following this link.
Explore our Upstream Innovation Guide.
Find more episodes of The Circular Economy Show here.
More about our work on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation website.
From farm to plate, our food plays an important role in how we tackle climate change. Since the beginning of the agricultural revolution, we have used extractive, traditional farming practices in order to produce enough food to meet the needs of an ever-increasing global population.
People are eating more food with less nutritional value. Is it possible to grow our food in ways that provide more valuable nutrients through regenerative and restorative practices?
Join us in this episode as we explore examples of regeneratively sourced food, that sequester carbon and restore soil health. We will be joined by Sheena Shah, the Permaculture Design Consultant and Director at Harvesting for Good East Africa, to discuss regenerative agricultural practices and examples from East Africa. We will hear from Nicole Gobeth to understand the role of policy and how her initiative, Connect the Dots, is creating a circular economy for food in São Paulo. We will also welcome Jeanette Coombs-Lanot from Danone to discuss the role played by large consumer-facing businesses and learn how they are ensuring that the food they produce for our plates is managed regeneratively.
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This podcast is based on a recent episode of the Circular Economy Show, watch the full episode at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNcJfu0xwJA
Find out more about food and the circular economy: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/our-work/activities/food
Find more episodes of The Circular Economy Show: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/our-work/activities/the-circular-economy-show
More about our work here: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
As the circular economy continues to gain momentum, designers, creatives, and innovators have seized the opportunity to rethink the way in which products are made and used. But there is still much to do — we need pioneers to demonstrate what is possible, and most of the innovation we need to scale the circular economy transition has not yet been established. In this episode, we will discuss the opportunities and challenges in circular design and ask the question: what does the journey towards circular design look like?
In this episode, we hear from Joe Iles, Circular Design Programme Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, plus Lay Koon Tan, co-founder of Nature Squared, and Katie Treggiden, author of Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure.
This podcast episode includes highlights from our Circular Economy Show, streamed live on our channels on 2nd March.
Watch the full show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTgK7...
Find out more about circular design at: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/design-and-the-circular-economy
Explore our circular design toolkit: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/resources/learn/circular-design-toolkit
Discover all episodes of The Circular Economy Show here: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/our-work/activities/the-circular-economy-show
Find out more about our work here: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/
The circular economy has gained a great deal of momentum in the Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) region, with many national and city governments developing and scaling policies, strategies, and roadmaps.
As a response, eight institutions have launched the LAC Circular Economy Coalition, aiming to support countries and foster multi-stakeholder collaboration. In this episode, we have compiled the best moments of our discussion panel on the subject that was streamed live on our channels on 16th February. We discuss the coalition with representatives from three of the strategic partners, Adriana Zacarias Farah from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Rose Mwebaza from the United Nations Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), Luisa Santiago, Latin America Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Rolando Castro, Vice Minister from the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) of Costa Rica.
Find out more about the coalition here: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/lac-circular-economy-coalition-launches
More episodes of The Circular Economy Show here: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/our-work/activities/the-circular-economy-show
More about our work here: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/
Our recently published set of five Universal circular economy policy goals will enable governments to benefit from the circular economy as they pursue a resilient recovery from the COVID-19 crisis that offers solutions to key global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
In this episode, we have compiled the best moments of our discussion panel on the subject that was streamed live on our channels on 2nd February. Seb Egerton Read and Laura Franco Henao introduce us to the conversation between Steven Schonberger (World Bank), Roberta Dessi (Inter IKEA Group), and Miranda Schnitger (Ellen MacArthur Foundation) on the importance of building sub-national, national, and international policy alignment to scale the transition.
Find out more about the Five Universal circular economy policy goals here: https://policy.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/universal-policy-goals
More episodes of The Circular Economy Show here: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/our-work/activities/the-circular-economy-show
More about our work here: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/
In the fifth and final episode of our fashion-focused series, we're looking at how to apply circular design to fashion.
Design will shape the fashion industry’s transformation to a circular economy. More than 80% of all environmental impacts from products are determined at the design stage. While traditional design focuses on considering and meeting the needs of the end user, circular design takes a much broader perspective, considering not only the user but the system within which the design will exist.
To achieve a transition to a circular fashion industry requires unprecedented collaboration. In this episode, contributors to the Foundation’s upcoming Circular Design Guide for Fashion book join us to explore what circular design means for the fashion industry.
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
More about our work on fashion here.
To learn more about what a circular economy looks like for fashion visit our learning path.
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The current system for producing clothing is putting increasing pressure on natural resources, while polluting and degrading the natural environment. In this episode, three guest speakers share new ways in which materials and processes can tackle these issues. This includes; turning old clothes into new, making the most out of agriculture, and keeping all chemical substances in a closed loop.
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
More about our work on fashion here.
To learn more about what a circular economy looks like for fashion visit our learning path.
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In this episode, we're joined by three representatives from pioneering circular business models in the fashion industry: Sara Eriksson from the H&M Group, Lulu O'Connor from Clothes Doctor and Mikaela Larsell Ayesa from Hack Your Closet.
We’ll discuss what key customer trends are impacting the industry right now, what the potential of circular business models within the industry is, and what would be the impact of these on our future wardrobes.
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
More about our work on fashion here.
To learn more about what a circular economy looks like for fashion visit our learning path.
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The Jeans Redesign creates solutions for a world where clothes never become waste. The guidelines, as set out by over 80 denim experts, establish the minimum requirements for the durability, material health, recyclability, and traceability of denim jeans. To date, over sixty leading brands, manufacturers, and fabric mills are using the Jeans Redesign Guidelines to produce jeans that will be available on the market by May 2021.
In this episode we’ll hear from the Make Fashion Circular team working on the project as well as Jeans Redesign participants, including Gap and Guess.
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
More about our Jeans Redesign Project here.
To learn more about what a circular economy looks like for fashion visit our learning path.
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The way that clothes are made today is extremely wasteful and polluting. For the fashion industry to thrive in the future, we must transform its current take-make-waste model into one where clothes are kept at their highest value and designed to never end up as waste.
In a circular economy for fashion, products (apparel, footwear, and accessories) are used more, made to be made again, and made from safe and recycled or renewable inputs.
In the first episode of this five-part series, the Foundation's Make Fashion Circular (MFC) team explain how a circular economy for fashion works.
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
More about our work on fashion here.
To learn more about what a circular economy looks like for fashion visit our learning path.
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Bonus episode!
Economist and author of Doughnut Economics: 7 Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist, Kate Raworth joins us to explore if it's possible to include both people’s wellbeing and planetary boundaries whilst striving for a thriving economy.
In this episode, Kate will discuss the Doughnut Economics framework's role in shaping circular economy policies and business practices at city level. From Europe to Costa Rica, countries and cities around the world are reaching out to align their development strategies with it.
Kate also shares how the Doughnut Economics Action Lab will help more cities such as Amsterdam develop their Doughnut City Portraits.
Part of this conversation previously appeared in our Explore the Circular Economy show. Here's the full 40-minute conversation as a bonus piece of content following the end of our second season.
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
Click here to watch the full interview with Kate Raworth on our YouTube channel.
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Resource flow analysis in cities relies mostly on quantitative methods which often overlook informal sector activities. However, informal actors provide vital services in African cities, and must be part of our future imaginaries of cities. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing challenges for this sector such as access to food and limitations to transport and infrastructure. To achieve urban resilience, food-, water- and energy-security, and successful decision making, we need to include analysis methods that bring to light hidden resource flows in our cities.
In the final episode of the current series we are joined by experts from ICLEI Africa, Solophina Nekesa, Professional Officer with the Urban Systems team and Paul Currie, Manager of the Urban Systems Unit. We’ll explore how photography and storytelling can complement quantitative understanding of livelihoods, resources, and infrastructures in cities from across Africa.
To view the Hidden Flows exhibition discussed in the episode, visit https://www.thenatureofcities.com/hidden-flows-rise-africa/
Do we really understand the economy? Do we truly know how money works? Join us in this episode as Stephanie Kelton discusses the role of Modern Monetary Theory in shifting common misconceptions around government deficits. We tend to associate deficits with negative connotations such as rising taxes and destabilisers of the economy. However, is this the result of the deficit itself or rather the decision making of governments? Is it possible to shift our use of government deficits towards boosting job creation, driving innovation, and propelling us towards an economy of regeneration and restoration; a circular economy?
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
More about our work on design here.
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Design has the power to enable systemic change at individual, business and community levels. Join us for this episode as we hear from Malin Nordin, Head of Circular Business Development at Inter IKEA Group, on the ability of large organisations to scale up the circular economy through designing affordable furniture. We will be discussing how the circular economy can shift the perception that ‘affordable’ means cheap and poorly made, to one that gives rise to quality design. We will also hear from Emily Pilloton, founder of Girls Garage. Emily promotes design with inclusivity, encouraging economic development for all with emphasis on the importance of exercising voice and power, bringing communities together.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
More about our work on design here.
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Follow us online on these channels:
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We need alternative ways of economic thinking to solve our current challenges. Is it possible to include both people’s wellbeing and planetary boundaries whilst striving for a thriving economy? Kate Raworth, the author of Doughnut Economics: 7 ways to think like a 21st-century economist, will be joining us to discuss the framework's role in shaping circular economy policies and business practices at city level. From Europe to Costa Rica, countries and cities around the world are reaching out to align their development strategies with it. To demonstrate, we will draw upon insights from Amsterdam, a city that recently implemented and published their Doughnut City Portrait during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
More on C-19 economic recovery: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/our-work/activities/covid-19
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In this episode, we will discuss the opportunities for financing the circular economy. We will look at the recent rapid growth in circular economy financing, and showcase examples of how the financial services sector is seizing the opportunities of the circular economy. Join us and expert guest speakers to explore actions that the financial services sector, businesses and policymakers can take to further scale financing for the circular economy and for more key insights from our recent paper, ‘Financing the circular economy: capturing the opportunity’.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 27th October 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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Janez Potočnik was European Commissioner for Environment from 2009 until 2014, and during his tenure initiated the European Resource Efficiency Platform, which resulted in the adoption of the first European Circular Economy Package. He currently acts as co-chair of the International Resource Panel (IRP) and serves as a special advisor on sustainability to European Commissioner for the Environment & Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius.
In this episode, we will be looking back on almost 10 years of European circular economy development, asking Janez what fundamentals of the economy need to be challenged to reach scale... and what mechanisms or governance models need to be leveraged in the process.
More on C-19 economic recovery: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/our-work/activities/covid-19
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 20th October 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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In this episode, we discuss how cities are measuring their progress towards a circular economy, based upon a recent report by the OECD, what are the different drivers and obstacles that cities face, and how they are overcoming them. Guest speakers are Oriana Romano, OECD Head of Unit for Water Governance and Circular Economy and Janet Ågren, the Deputy Mayor of the City Umea in Sweden, one of the case study cities in the OECD’s report.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 13th October 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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Walter Stahel is globally recognised as one of the key people who first formulated the concept of a circular economy. Amanda Ravenhill is the executive director of the Buckminster Fuller Institute and was the co-founder of Project Drawdown, both focused on solutions that regenerative the earth’s ecosystems and combat climate change. We’ll be asking them about systems change, recent successes and what needs to change.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 6th October 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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In this episode, we will discuss how the circular economy can tackle large scale global challenges. We’ll hear from Nigel Topping, the UK Government’s COP26 High-Level Climate Action Champion, and share examples of circular economy investment opportunities across transport, buildings and much more.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 29th of September 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
To read more about our work on Covid-19 and economic recovery, visit: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/our-work/activities/covid-19
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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Global demand for water is exceeding that which is easily accessible. Yet water remains one of the keys to life. Join this session to hear from inspiring innovators from around the world changing the ways that we interact with the world’s most valuable resource, making water more accessible to all.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 22nd of September 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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Circular economy innovation is cropping up everywhere; from how we grow our food to the way we design our electronics to the way in which we package and deliver our everyday products. In this episode, our team breaks down seven of the best examples in action.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 15th of September 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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Over the months of June, July and August 2020, Emma Hislop, a multidisciplinary artist from Glasgow and the Foundation’s first-ever Artist in Residence, has had the difficult task to unearth the connections that exist between art and the circular economy. In this episode, we hear what Emma has been working on during her residency and also what is next for her and the artist in residence programme. As a reflective process, she discusses her residency and her experience at the Foundation and beyond.
Agbogbloshie is one of the largest e-waste dumpsites in the world, providing an income to thousands of people in the area. However, workers dealing with e-waste face dangerous working conditions. E-waste is just one example of the systemic challenges of our time with no easy solution. In this episode, Reniera O'Donnell and Sarah O'Carroll discuss with our guests, Joseph Awuah-Darko and Joshua Palfreman, some of the steps being taken to help ensure economic prosperity and better conditions for the people directly affected.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 21st of July 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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Latin America is in many ways a rich region with abundant natural resources, human capital, and bio-economy assets. However, the economies within it are predominantly linear and highly extractive - depleting and degrading the environment. In this episode, Laura Franco Henao and Michael Oliveira discuss how can the circular economy provide an alternative pathway that is regenerative by design and creates value that is inclusive and distributed. In this session, we ask those questions to people working in the region and highlight the significant roles of innovation, policy and finance.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 14th of July 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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China is a leading global superpower and also one of the pioneering countries of circular economy implementation. In this episode, we will dive deeper into how the circular economy started in China, and how China’s circular journey has differed from that of the EU’s. In this episode, we draw upon the positive steps China has taken to implement a circular economy in cities and the potential for an EU-China circular economy collaboration with Reniera O'Donnel and Ilma Stankeviciute from the learning team, and Jie Zhou and Vigil Yangjinqi Yu, both Research Analysts at the Ellen Mac Arthur Foundation.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 7th July 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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Medium Circulate News: medium.com/circulatenews
How can we learn from the exposures of the Covid-19 crisis and rethink more resilient and diverse supply chains? In this episode, we will be discussing how we can redesign our food system based on the principles of the circular economy enabling it to actively contribute to the regeneration of natural systems and to a thriving economy. We will draw upon some of the actions being taken around the world, including a deep dive on China.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 30th June 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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Medium Circulate News: medium.com/circulatenews
There have been many calls to build back better after the Covid-19 crisis. More than 50 global leaders — including CEOs, policymakers, NGOs, academics and philanthropists — have joined the Foundation and signed a statement saying that now is the time to do more, not less, to build a circular economy. In this episode, we discuss this statement and exploring how we can build back better with the circular economy with Rob Opsomer, Systemic Initiatives Lead at the Foundation, Cecilia Brännsten, Environmental Sustainability Manager at H&M Group and Veronique Cremades-Mathis, Global Head of Sustainable Packaging at Nestlé.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 23rd June 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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In this 5th episode of the foundation's weekly show, we focus on the role of art in the world. How both art and design steer values, change perceptions and stimulate scientific thought. Laura, the host of this podcast, leads the conversation with Fanny Breteau, designer and art director at the foundation and Emma Hislop, artist in residence 2020 and tentatively begin to explore the roles writers, poets, painters, designers and artists can play in illustrating and helping to further the transition to a circular economy.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 16th June 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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The need to transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy to mitigate climate change is well understood, but this is only one part of the picture. In this episode, we discuss why we need to fundamentally rethink how we produce and use our everyday products to tackle the climate crisis.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 9th June 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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While the Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to adapt our daily lives in ways we could not have imagined and has, of course, had huge global health implications, it has also exposed vulnerabilities in our current economic system, and is challenging us to rethink the systems that underpin it. In this episode, we will be talking about the opportunity circular economy offers to create more robust, shock-resistant systems and highlighting some of the positive actions that are already being taken by governments and businesses around the world.
This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 2nd June 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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In this episode of our Explore The Circular Economy Weekly Show, Seb Egerton-Read and Laura Franco Henao, are asking the question: Can we build a better food system? To Emma Chow and Nick Jeffries, both members of the Food Initiative team at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Listen to this episode to hear about intriguing examples of circular economy in our natural systems. We will be exploring how to create a resilient, healthy and regenerative food system, with attention drawn to cities in facilitating this shift.
This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 26th of May 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
You can find all the case-studies mentioned on this show on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's case-study library:https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/case-studies
Thank you for listening to this podcast. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here:www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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In this first episode of our Explore The Circular Economy Weekly Show, Season 1, Seb Egerton-Read and Laura Franco Henao, hosts of our weekly show, are talking through real world examples of the circular economy with Nick Jeffries and Ashima Sukhdev bringing the concept to life.
This show was recorded and streamed live on our YouTube channel and social networks on the 19th of May 2020. We are pleased to offer the episode repackaged as a podcast for you to enjoy.
You can find all the case-studies mentioned on this show on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's case-study library: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/case-studies
Thank you for listening to this podcast. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy. Find out more about our work here: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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Increasingly adopted as a powerful framework to address the world’s most pressing challenges, the transition towards the circular economy is well underway. However, a key ingredient is still very much in the early stages of exploring the topic - the world of finance.
Luigi Riccardo is an industrial engineer. In early 2016 he joined the Innovation Center in Intesa Sanpaolo as innovation specialist and project manager. He is part of the team that developed the bank’s strategy on Circular Economy as a force for good, with the delivery of a dedicated plafond to finance circular projects and the launch of the Circular Economy Lab in Milan. Luigi is also a PhD student in the “Innovation for the Circular Economy” programme at the University of Turin, member of the local Global Shapers Community by WEF and manager in TEDxTorino conferences organisation. His aim is to shape a better world starting with local actions.
In this session, hear how Intesa Sanpaolo has made the topic of circular economy central to their strategy, and how they aim to support businesses, especially SMEs, in making the transition.
The wastefulness of takeaway paper coffee cups and issues of recyclability have regularly featured in the headlines in recent years as topics like ocean plastics become increasingly prominent. Better design and reuse are clearly on top of the agenda, but there's demands for better recycling are also firmly on the agenda of governments, organisations and consumers.
Listen to this podcast to hear the story of how DS Smith has aimed to tackle this issue, starting by finding a solution to recycling coffee cups at scale in a standard paper mill, and then moving on to consider the system that sits around that technology with the launch of their Coffee Drop Box solution. We'll also be joined in the studio by the Head of Environment from one of the UK's largest coffee retailers, who will talk about the challenge of single use takeaway cups and the respective roles that reuse and recycling can play in changing a consumer's relationship with those products.
An all too familiar story is told about our data and how various organisations are capturing it, harvesting it, and using it in ways to influence us - some positive, but many perceived as negative. What does a more hopeful vision of a data dominated world look like?
Mara Balestrini is an expert on this topic. She works as a Human-Computer-Interaction researcher, and founded an organisation devoted to the issue called Ideas for Change. Watch this conversation to hear about some of the examples of citizens taking hold of and being empowered by their data to create positive impacts for their everyday lives in their cities.
How we think shapes the world around us, and our ways of thinking are formed through our learning. If we are to adopt a new economic model like the circular economy, we all need to go through a learning journey to explore, understand and ultimately apply a concept that requires new practices and a significant mindset shift.
At the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, we have spent a lot of time supporting people to shift their mindsets. Our Learning Team's work covers schools, universities, businesses and informal learning. Listen to this podcast to find out more about what we do and why we do it.
Latin America didn't get much chance to participate in the first three Industrial Revolutions, besides being a supplier and exporter of valuable resources. Petar Ostojic argues that the combination of the circular economy and the Fourth Industrial Revolution provides a unique moment in history for Latin America to enter a new era of prosperity.
Petar Ostojic is co-Founder and CEO of Neptuno Pumps, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Innovation and Circular Economy - CIEC. He is recognised as the first promoter of the circular economy in Latin America by the World Economic Forum and selected Highly Commended for Circular Economy Leadership by The Circulars 2017 in Davos.
Can insect farming reduce the stress on fish stocks across the Southern Hemisphere? How do you even get 8.4 billion flies to live together and operate in a way that makes it easy to capture their larvae?
Described by Forbes magazine as 'Lord of the Flies’, Jason Drew is an innovator and serial entrepreneur. Before becoming CEO of AgriProtein – a company he co-founded in 2009 – Jason held leadership roles in several international businesses, including General Electric, BUPA and Egg.
In this conversation, he and the Foundation's Joe Iles explore how Agriprotein's plant replicate a natural process, replace the need for much of the fishing that happens today, and create a product that can help to regenerate our soils.
What can we do to start trying to think differently and to start thinking in a way that is more circular rather than linear? Joe Iles and Ellen MacArthur cover a range of topics in the final part of their conversation about the circular economy, including emerging trends in design, technology, business models and the wider changes already happening in the economy.
What does the circular economy look like? Joe Iles and Ellen MacArthur talk through the Foundation's butterfly diagram including examples of repair, remanufacturing, sharing, and the importance of distinguishing between biological and technical cycles.
What is the circular economy? Who's doing it? And what are some of the best examples of it in action? In part one of our what is the circular economy series, Joe Iles and Ellen MacArthur consider what this idea might mean for cars, packaging and sandwiches.
When you hear the word ‘design’, what images come to mind?
Do you think of someone sketching products or creating a 3D model? A team making a prototype? A beautiful, timeless object?
Dr John Maeda says that type of design is in the past. Through his diverse career - including work at MIT, the creation of the ‘Laws of Simplicity’, Presidency at Rhode Island School of Design and now at startup Automattic - Maeda says design has changed forever.
Design truly can change the world, from tackling inequality to improving our cities. But to have a meaningful impact, designers will need to move beyond aesthetic design’ and embrace the new frontier: computational design.
Recorded at DIF 2017. Find out more at thinkdif.co
What is the goal of economics? Does GDP really tell us all we need to know about a country's wealth and well-being? Our guest in this show argues that our economic system should be designed to meet everyone’s needs, while living within the means of the planet.
Kate Raworth is the author of the acclaimed book ‘Doughnut Economics’. We spoke with Kate to explore a new 21st century economic model, and why she believes so many economists have got it wrong for so long.
Recorded at DIF 2017. Find out more: https://www.thinkdif.co/
What is it people really want: a car, with all the costs of ownership and maintenance, or mobility, the service that car actually provides?
A circular economy, characterised by a smarter use of materials, energy and information, will prioritise access over ownership of products.
These are called product service systems, or sometimes 'performance contracts', and they could mean that customers can ride the wave of constant innovation at a lower cost than outright ownership.
In this episode we're joined by three people in this space: Rich Gilbert of the Agency of Design, Natasha Franck, Founder of Eon the 'Netflix for fashion', and Gunnlaugur Erlendsson from Enso Tyres.
This podcast was recorded as part of the 2016 Disruptive Innovation Festival. Find out more at thinkdif.co.
The information technology revolution has only just begun, yet it is removing jobs faster than its creating them in a global economy which has faltering growth, social tensions, unemployment and resource issues.
What are the consequences, what needs to be done?
In this episode we hear from Nikki Silvestri, a social entrepreneur who knows we have to nurture society through these disruptions. Nikki was recorded at the launch event of the Disruptive Innovation Festival 2016.
This podcast was recorded as part of the 2016 Disruptive Innovation Festival. Find out more at thinkdif.co. Check out the rest of the Circulate Podcast series two here.
How well do you know the circular economy?
It's not a new idea, but a term that has gone from relative obscurity only five years ago, to one which any serious CEO now has on their radar. Understanding the concept is one thing; implementing a framework which requires whole systems change is quite another. Join the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as we discuss both the concept and how businesses and governments have begun to take it on.
This podcast was recorded as part of the 2016 Disruptive Innovation Festival. Find out more at thinkdif.co. Check out the rest of the Circulate Podcast series two here.
Google believes that business has a key role to play in being part of the solution to move from a global economy based upon ‘take-make-dispose’ to one that is based on designing waste out of systems. Google’s goal is to embed circular economic principles into the fabric of its infrastructure, operations, and culture.
We speak with Jim Miller, Google's Vice President of Global Operations to find out from him about what the circular economy can do for this leading contemporary's business.
This podcast was recorded as part of the 2016 Disruptive Innovation Festival. Find out more at thinkdif.co.
Before the middle of this century, the world's cities will face challenges like never before. A projected 50% growth in world population, hand-in-hand with the concentration of people in urban centres, means our cities will have to be prepared for the social, environmental and infrastructural challenges coming their way.
100 Resilient Cities (100RC) is an organisation dedicated to helping cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges of today and the future. From Accra to Yiwu, cities around the world are supported in their distinct challenges by 100RC.
We speak with Elizabeth Yee, the Vice President of City Solutions for 100RC and help us to ask what we can learn from how cities are overcoming resilience challenges.
This podcast was recorded as part of the 2016 Disruptive Innovation Festival. Find out more at thinkdif.co.
What do we mean by low to middle income economies or emerging markets? Why has there been so little research on the circular economy opportunities in these contexts so far? How can economies dependent on intense resources extraction take advantage of a new regenerative model? Seb Read is joined by Luisa Santiago, CE100 Brazil Programme Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, where she conducts circular economy business research initiatives in the Brazilian context. This episode accompanies the publication of articles from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Head of Innovation Ken Webster, which explores what the circular economy means for low to middle income countries. Read the article one here.
In public discussion, the circular economy is often described as a way to allow technical products and their components to be used as endlessly as possible. But we can't forget about the biological cycle - how does it work when we come to the system that sustains life: agriculture? In this episode, Hunter Lovins argues that we need a 'circular economy of the soil' to feed a growing population, restore soil quality and ultimately reconcile farming systems with natural cycles. L. Hunter Lovins is President of Natural Capitalism Solutions (NCS) and is co-author of Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution. Listen to the previous episodes of _A New Dynamic podcast series _
_This podcast series presented by Colin Webster explores the recently published book A New Dynamic 2: Effective systems in a circular economy. Each programme features an interview with authors of the book’s chapters. These leading experts on architecture, agriculture, design, business or engineering, provide unique insights that reflect on the necessity to develop a whole-system approach to re-think our economy. _ Order your copy of A New Dynamic 2: Effective systems in a circular economy
The pattern in which cities have grown is predictable across the world, and it’s based on the economic relationship between the centre and the edge. There are some clues that this pattern is changing, driven by advanced information technology. But what may happen to the city if we develop regenerative activities by internalising energy and material flows? In this episode Michael Batty elaborates on the future developments of cities. Michael Batty is Bartlett Professor of Planning at University College London where he is Chair of the Centre of Advanced Spatial Analysis (ASA). Listen to the previous episodes of _A New Dynamic podcast series _
_This podcast series presented by Colin Webster explores the recently published book A New Dynamic 2: Effective systems in a circular economy. Each programme features an interview with authors of the book’s chapters. These leading experts on architecture, agriculture, design, business or engineering, provide unique insights that reflect on the necessity to develop a whole-system approach to re-think our economy. _ Order your copy of A New Dynamic 2: Effective systems in a circular economy
What can traffic lights tell us about how our economy could work? It may seem a strange question to ask, but Dirk Helbing, is the person who makes the connection. In this episode, he explains what we can learn from complex dynamic systems and how that knowledge can help us understand and implement a feedback-rich circular economy. Dirk Helbing is Professor of Computational Social Science at the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences at ETH Zurich. Listen to the previous episodes of _A New Dynamic podcast series _
_This podcast series presented by Colin Webster explores the recently published book A New Dynamic 2: Effective systems in a circular economy. Each programme features an interview with authors of the book’s chapters. These leading experts on architecture, agriculture, design, business or engineering, provide unique insights that reflect on the necessity to develop a whole-system approach to re-think our economy. _ Order your copy of A New Dynamic 2: Effective systems in a circular economy
How does a country go through a renewable energy transition? Well, no country has done it before and there is no blue print to follow, but Germany is leading the world in this front. In this episode Patrick Graichen provides a comprehensive picture of the situation and explores future developments. Patrick Graichen is executive director of Agora Energiewende, a think-tank and policy laboratory working towards the success of the energy transition or Energiewende. Listen to the previous episodes of _A New Dynamic podcast series _
_This podcast series presented by Colin Webster explores the recently published book A New Dynamic 2: Effective systems in a circular economy. Each programme features an interview with authors of the book’s chapters. These leading experts on architecture, agriculture, design, business or engineering, provide unique insights that reflect on the necessity to develop a whole-system approach to re-think our economy. _ Order your copy of A New Dynamic 2: Effective systems in a circular economy
Our agriculture system is under a greater strain than ever before. The growth of global green yields has fallen behind global population growth, and artificial fertilisers and pesticides are reducing the soil's ability to renew. “We need to take a different direction”, say Martin Stuchtey and Morten Rossé, who explore ways to reshape our food system.
Martin Stuchtey is the Director of the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment.
Morten Rossé is an Expert Associate Principal with McKinsey’s Sustainability & Resource Productivity practice.
Remanufacturing allows us to use product components again at high quality while reducing energy demand by - in some cases - 80%. Given the material constraints we face, why this is not happening at a wider scale? In this episode, Nabil Nasr puts forward what he sees as the issues holding back remanufacturing.
Nabil Nasr is Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Director of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology; he is also founder of the Centre for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery.
This podcast series presented by Colin Webster explores the recently published book A New Dynamic 2: Effective systems in a circular economy. Each programme features an interview with authors of the book’s chapters. These leading experts on architecture, agriculture, design, business or engineering, provide unique insights that reflect on the necessity to develop a whole-system approach to re-think our economy.
The circular economy is inspired by living systems and one of the schools of thoughts that explores this model is Biomimicry. In this episode Michael Pawlyn explains why ecosystem thinking is key to a regenerative circular economy. Michael Pawlyn is director of the architecture practice Exploration and author of Biomimicry in Architecture
This podcast series presented by Colin Webster explores the recently published book A New Dynamic 2: Effective systems in a circular economy. Each programme features an interview with authors of the book’s chapters. These leading experts on architecture, agriculture, design, business or engineering, provide unique insights that reflect on the necessity to develop a whole-system approach to re-think our economy.