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Artwork for Circular Economy Podcast ep 147

147 Dr Alexandra Leeper: smarter ways to create value

Dr Alexandra Leeper is the CEO of the Iceland Ocean Cluster and is passionate about the sustainable use of ocean resources. She’s working as a scientist intrapreneur in the blue and circular economies, drawing on diverse experiences from working all over the world in universities, consultancies, and at sea.
Alexandra has a background in marine resources and completed an industrial doctorate in aquaculture and circular economy in 2021. Her work focuses on sustainable value creation, positive impact in the blue economy and supporting the development of ocean clusters around the world.
The Iceland Ocean Cluster is at the center of maritime innovation in Iceland, with a mission to create value by connecting together entrepreneurs, businesses and knowledge in the blue economy.
They describe their flagship project, 100% Fish, as an ‘incredible fishy value machine’. 100% Fish is all about inspiring the seafood and fish sectors to utilize more of each fish, increase the value of each fish landed, support new business opportunities, increase employment and most importantly decrease waste. It’s incredibly successful – since the 1990s, the utilization of fishery by-products has increased 30-fold, the export value per kilogram of fish has risen by a factor of 4 and a wide array of different products have been developed.
Alexandra explains how that works in practice, and how it’s sparked a movement around the world, with other Ocean Clusters using the same approach to come up with their own incredible value machines, and create value for their local blue economies.

Circular Economy Podcast - artwork for Ep123 - Topolytics

123 Topolytics: making waste visible, verifiable and valuable

We explore why it’s important for business to map, and understand their waste flows: what it is, specifically; where it comes from and goes to; how much there is – and why!; and to understand the opportunities for wasting less and circulating more value.
Topolytics is a data analytics business that is making the world’s waste visible, verifiable and valuable.
Michael Groves and Fleur Ruckley explain how data analytics, mapping and machine learning can make waste and resource management more transparent, efficient and effective, both commercially and environmentally.
Founder and CEO Michael Groves is a geographer with a PhD in aerial and satellite earth observation. Michael has over 20 years’ experience in environmental management and sustainability reporting.
Fleur Ruckley is Topolytics’ Head of Implementation, using Topolytics’ WasteMap® platform to generate actionable waste and resources analytics for clients and their supply chains.
Fleur has a degree in Natural Sciences and a Masters in Environmental Management, and has worked in the charity, public and private sector supporting organisations, communities and schools to develop and implement sustainable and circular policies and practices. Fleur is a Chartered Waste Manager and is a member of the Circular Economy Steering Group for the Institute for Environmental Management & Assessment.
Leveraging Topolytics waste map means companies can identify areas for improvement, such as preventing or reducing the waste or by re-designing processes and products, to support reuse and to achieve more efficient and sustainable outcomes.
Mike explains how those sectors with significant waste generation are showing increasing interest in this. Business that understand what materials they produce and consume, can then make better decisions about recovery, reuse and recycling, and Geospatial analysis can help reduce waste by identifying material flow and leakage.
Fleur tells us how companies are starting to see the benefits of using data and modeling to reduce waste in their supply chains, with improvements in ESG reporting, supplier management, and overall performance.
Mike also highlights the potential for industrial symbiosis, using unwanted materials to create resources for another organisation – in other words, new by-products and value opportunities!

Circular Economy Podcast 114 Daniel Kietzer: making resources discoverable & reusable

114 Daniel Kietzer: making resources discoverable & reusable

Daniel Kietzer is Director of Ecosystem Growth at Rheaply, a digital sharing platform scaling reuse by making resources discoverable, easily transferable and more valuable.
Rheaply was started in 2016, and has won lots of awards, including Most Innovative Reuse Company at the Reusies in 2021. It’s backed by a number of early-stage investors, including Microsoft and Salesforce.
Daniel Kietzer provides strategic, organizational, and technical support to Rheaply clients and their partners. He’s a circular economy and sustainability professional with 10+ years of experience designing and leading impact-focused projects with forward-thinking companies and organizations across the globe. Daniel’s speciality is reuse and recycling market development is his specialty, but he also dabbles in social entrepreneurship, sustainability in the built environment, water, carbon, and a variety of other sustainability-related efforts.
We’ll get an update on how Rheaply has evolved since my original conversation with Tom Fecarotta back in 2020, in particular how data aggregation unlocks opportunities for cost and carbon savings, as well as supporting your zero waste targets. So many organisations could be tapping into these solutions to help them do better, with less.

Photo of chemicals in lab

A circular economy opens up opportunities for the chemicals sector

Catherine Weetman calls for systemic changes to create value instead of waste. Moving to a regenerative, circular economy is the key to a low-carbon economy and offers opportunities for the chemical industry to develop profitable products and services. Cefic (European Chemical Industry Council) is helping chemical producers and providers to get on board with the many opportunities of going circular, and Catherine was invited to share her thoughts on why circular is so important, and how chemical companies can help make circular solutions work better.

Ep 32 Christian van Maaren of Excess Materials Exchange

Episode 32- Christian van Maaren of Excess Materials Exchange

Christian van Maaren is co-founder of Excess Materials Exchange, based in the Netherlands. Excess Materials Exchange is saving the planet by running a dating site, which at first sounds improbable, and then sounds intriguing!
Christian believes the circular economy is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to achieve the Paris climate goals, and we hear how Excess Materials Exchange helps customers measure the value of their exchange options, in financial, environmental and social impacts.
Christian tells us about the kinds of companies and materials they match up, using a combination of blockchain and AI, and how they actively match supply & demand for materials to ensure high value re-use.