The Circular Economy Show Podcast

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 reg...

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. -- Visit Materiom's website Watch Alysia s...

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 ta...

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...

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. -- Find out more about...

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 Exec...

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...

High street and online fashion retailer H&M Group has big ambitions — to be a circular business, designing all its products for circularity by 2025 and to achieve net-zero 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 every product for circularity by working with its value chain to embed circular business mo...

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 diff...

“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...

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. Kar...

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 t...

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 Fou...

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 Joh...

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 Garbriel...

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 ho...

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 th...

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 fo...

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...

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...

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 work...

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 sho...

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 Drawd...

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 s...

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 increas...