The Circular Economy Show Podcast
Episodes
Growing ambition in the food system with Unilever and The Sustainable Food Trust
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the brand behind products including Ben and Jerry’s, Hellmann’s and Marmite, Unilever represents an important opportunity to scale a circular e...
Changing the story with Waterbear and WPP
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Es Devlin on the power of art to inspire change
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When we talk about the circular economy, we often think about the technical aspects of transitioning away from the linear economy. In this episode, th...
London’s approach to a circular economy for food
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 L...
How is London developing a circular economy for buildings?
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 incre...
How does ReLondon engage Londoners with the circular economy?
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wayne Hubbard, CEO of ReLondon, is on a mission to help Londoners revolutionise their relationship with stuff. His organisation, which is a partnershi...
How has Hackney prioritised the circular economy?
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Ending plastic pollution: setting the agenda for a UN treaty
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 pl...
How can we feed 10 billion people? | Redesigning Food series
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 econo...
Add to basket: How retailers are working towards a circular economy for food | Redesigning Food series
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
Teas, Peas, and Chutneys — what do nature-friendly products look like? | Redesigning Food series
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In a circular economy, food ingredients should be diverse, low-impact, upcycled, and produced in a regenerative system. But what does that look like i...
How can farmers help to regenerate nature? | Redesigning Food series
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What is regenerative production? And how can farmers help address the damaging effects our industrialised food system has on the climate and biodivers...
Is there a better way to produce our food? | Redesigning Food series
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 curr...
Trailer: Our Redesigning Food series launches next week
21 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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, whi...
Busting the myths of circular design for fashion
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The current fashion system is broken. Every year the fashion industry misses out on hundreds of billions of dollars and contributes significantly to w...
Creating better packaging from seaweed with Notpla
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Earthshot prize winner Notpla is revolutionising the way we think about packaging.In this episode of The Circular Economy Show Podcast, we hear from P...
Could we grow a building? How Biohm is using biotechnologies to advance the circular economy
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine if one day we could grow our buildings! In this episode, hear how one company is already developing radical biotechnologies to innovate the co...
The role of design in the circular economy
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 circula...
The Circular Economy and Open Source
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Circular Economy and Reuse
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There are significant material, energy, labour and carbon savings to be made by reusing, rather than remaking, a product.How does this work in busines...
The Circular Economy and Agriculture
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ep...
The Circular Economy and Repair
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
Find out about our new series
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 milli...
What is the circular economy? The role of people and design
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
What is the circular economy? The biological vs technical cycles
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 L...
What is the circular economy? Back to basics
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is the circular economy? In this three-part series from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, we’re revisiting conversations between our founder, Ell...
Scaling the circular economy with Timberland and the Coca-Cola Company
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How do large multi-national companies help the transition to a circular economy?Over the last few episodes, we’ve heard from policymakers, designers...
New materials for a circular economy
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The power of policy
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
Redesigning the future
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, IDEO Chair and Co-CEO, Tim Brown, speaks to Joanna Choukier, RSA Director of Design and Innovation, Michael Pawlyn, architect and aut...
Profound connections: the circular economy, biomimicry, and doughnut economics
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we are joined by our very own three wise women — the Foundation's founder and chair of trustees, Ellen MacArthur, Doughnut Economic...
NEW SERIES! Conversations from Summit 22
05 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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.W...
How to use creativity to find solutions
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
How is IKEA embracing circular design?
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How is the world’s largest furniture retailer embracing circular economy principles?In this episode, we hear from Hanna Ahlberg, IKEA’s Circular P...
What is the role of the creative industries in building back better?
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When talking about the circular economy, we often hear about science, engineering and policy. But what about the role of the creative industries? What...
Lily Cole’s reasons for optimism in our changing world
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 f...
Tackling the plastic pollution crisis: Unilever's VP for Packaging discusses the company's circular ambitions
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We can’t recycle our way out of the plastic pollution crisis. We need a circular economy for plastic — one that eliminates problematic and unneces...
Circular economy innovation: The roles of investors, corporates and cities
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Across this mini series on the podcast, we’ve been exploring the potential of a circular economy that is regenerative by design and discussed exampl...
Circular economy innovation: Regenerative materials in action
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 mak...
Circular economy innovation: Making money without making new clothes
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fast fashion is arguably one of the poster children of a linear economy, but circular economy innovation is already hitting the market and demonstrati...
Circular economy innovation: How food can reverse biodiversity loss and tackle climate change
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Foundation’s Big Food Redesign report showcases the possibility of healthier food that provides greater resilience, better outcomes for farmers,...
Life-friendly chemistry, biomaterials, and AI — the future of the circular economy
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore topics including life-friendly chemistry, optimising materials using AI, and how we can develop and scale biomaterial use....
Regenerative farming — the role of leading food companies
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
From chains to lattices — designing supply chains for the future
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted that linear supply chains in a linear economy are brittle and vulnerable to shocks. In this episode, Bill McRaith —...
Building a circular future
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why are we still demolishing buildings when we can design for deconstruction? In this episode, Arup structural engineer Grace Di Benedetto explains th...
Ellen MacArthur and Christiana Figueres — fix the economy, fix the climate
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
We need a legally-binding global agreement to tackle plastic pollution
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, governments from United Nations member states are meeting in Nairobi to negotiate a legally binding UN Treaty on plastic pollution. This is...
Designing products for circularity: H&M Group
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Designing out waste and learning from nature — it’s the circular economy, dummy!
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 Cannon...
How is The Coca Cola Company moving from a linear to a circular economy?
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“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...
How are big businesses taking steps towards reaching their regenerative ambitions?
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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-...
How important is communication in promoting circular design?
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 Lau...
How can we eliminate waste and encourage regeneration in the fashion industry?
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Laura Franco Henao explores the intersections between fashion, regenerative design, the importance of context and the power of storyt...
How are businesses linking the circular economy and climate change?
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
How are key actors making nature-positive food the norm?
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
How are innovators helping to develop a circular economy?
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 des...
How the circular economy can help to tackle biodiversity loss
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 b...
What if your food could tackle climate change and build biodiversity?
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
How cities lead the transition to a circular economy
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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% o...
Ellen MacArthur in conversation with Wolfgang Blau: Growth in a circular economy
18 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 businesse...
A circular economy for packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility
02 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In a circular economy,we need dedicated, ongoing, and sufficient funding for the collection, sorting, and recycling of packaging – otherwise the eco...
Design Leaders: What does circular design mean to them?
16 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Joining the dots: climate change and the circular economy
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 environm...
Circular business models: Making the economics work
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The textiles industry remains anchored in the linear take-make-waste economy. According to the European Environment Agency, the sector has the fourth ...
Measuring your business transformation towards a circular economy
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Measuring progress against targets is vital for any business. You track your company’s sales figures, cost base, and carbon emissions — but what a...
Upstream what? Solutions to plastic pollution
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 effor...
Food and farming: regenerative solutions to tackle climate change
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Circular-ish: the messy reality of circular design
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the circular economy continues to gain momentum, designers, creatives, and innovators have seized the opportunity to rethink the way in which produ...
Scaling the circular economy in Latin-American and the Caribbean
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Five universal policy goals to enable a circular economy at scale
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our recently published set of five Universal circular economy policy goals will enable governments to benefit from the circular economy as they pursue...
Designing a circular economy for fashion - The Fashion Show (ep 5/5)
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 i...
What materials can make fashion circular? - The Fashion Show (ep 4/5)
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The current system for producing clothing is putting increasing pressure on natural resources, while polluting and degrading the natural environment. ...
Shaping the future of your wardrobe - The Fashion Show (ep 3/5)
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're joined by three representatives from pioneering circular business models in the fashion industry: Sara Eriksson from the H&M Gr...
The jeans redesign project - The Fashion Show (ep 2/5)
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Transforming the fashion industry - The Fashion Show (ep 1/5)
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 curre...
Kate Raworth: Building a thriving economy for people within our planetary boundaries
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 po...
Urban intersections: visualising hidden resource flows
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Resource flow analysis in cities relies mostly on quantitative methods which often overlook informal sector activities. However, informal actors provi...
Stephanie Kelton on Redefining the Story of Our Economy
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 Moneta...
Affordability and inclusion: designing for a circular economy
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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, He...
Building thriving cities fit for the 21st century
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We need alternative ways of economic thinking to solve our current challenges. Is it possible to include both people’s wellbeing and planetary bound...
Money makes the world go round
03 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we will discuss the opportunities for financing the circular economy. We will look at the recent rapid growth in circular economy fin...
Exploring the European Green Deal & Circular Economy at Scale
27 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Janez Potočnik was European Commissioner for Environment from 2009 until 2014, and during his tenure initiated the European Resource Efficiency Platf...
How circular is your city? Measuring progress
20 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 d...
What will it take to transform the economy?
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Walter Stahel is globally recognised as one of the key people who first formulated the concept of a circular economy. Amanda Ravenhill is the executiv...
A unique opportunity for a resilient low-carbon economic recovery
06 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Ebbs and flows: water and the circular economy
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 inspir...
Circular Economy Greatest Hits: Seven of the best examples
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
Reflections of an Artist in Residence: Emma Hislop
11 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Over the months of June, July and August 2020, Emma Hislop, a multidisciplinary artist from Glasgow and the Foundation’s first-ever Artist in Reside...
Where is your old laptop? E-waste in Africa.
18 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 wi...
How does Latin America benefit from a circular economy?
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Latin America is in many ways a rich region with abundant natural resources, human capital, and bio-economy assets. However, the economies within it a...
Circular economy opportunities in China
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
China is a leading global superpower and also one of the pioneering countries of circular economy implementation. In this episode, we will dive deeper...
Learning from Covid-19: Creating a Circular Economy for Food
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 discussin...
The circular economy: a solution to build back better
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There have been many calls to build back better after the Covid-19 crisis. More than 50 global leaders — including CEOs, policymakers, NGOs, academi...
How can art shape the economy for better?
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 perception...
Tackling Climate Change: The Case for a Circular Economy
07 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Economic recovery: building a resilient circular economy after Covid-19
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 impli...
On the table: the ingredients for a healthy and resilient food system
23 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 be...
In the loop: product and material flows
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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, a...
Why it's time to invest in the circular economy
20 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Increasingly adopted as a powerful framework to address the world’s most pressing challenges, the transition towards the circular economy is well un...
DS Smith and Costa: A reverse cycle for coffee cups
19 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The wastefulness of takeaway paper coffee cups and issues of recyclability have regularly featured in the headlines in recent years as topics like oce...