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social value

Social benefits from circular approaches, including regeneration of local resources, creating jobs for disadvantaged or excluded groups, social enterprises, and so on.

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 33 - Greg Lavery of Rype Office

Episode 33 – Greg Lavery of Rype Office

We talk to Greg Lavery of Rype Office, which remanufactures high quality office furniture. We hear why Greg decided that office furniture is ideal for a circular business, how Rype’s customer base is evolving and why people are switching to remade furniture.
A civil engineer by training, Greg has focused his career on improving the sustainability of the built environment. He began by working for Arup and Greg was awarded a PhD in sustainable building design in the 1990s.
He built, from startup, what is now Australia’s largest solar business, Origin Solar, and as a consultant, assisted organisations with innovative sustainable business models, including Masdar City, Interface, Shell and ClimateWorks Australia.

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.

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 30 - what have we learnt?

Episode 30 – What have we learned?

We review the last 9 episodes, exploring key themes & summarising what we’ve learned. Plus, we hear from Geoff van Sonsbeeck, on womenswear brand Baukjen’s packaging approach.
The wonders of online communication mean we’ve been to the United States, Jordan, Uganda, Canada and Ghana in the last nine episodes. We’ve talked to a start-up looking for funding, two social enterprises, two charities, a community cooperative, and several businesses that have been growing for 15-20 years.
If we look at the circular economy strategies of these organisations: five are helping to ‘Close the Loop and Regenerate’, two are ‘Slowing the Flow’ of materials through more durable, circular designs, and two are ‘Intensifying the Flow’ through sharing services.
We’ll also look at how these different organisations are creating value for different groups – for their customers, suppliers, employees, communities – and for our planet.

Circular Economy Insights #23

Circular Insights #23

A purpose beyond profit

Dignified Wear in Ghana | The Thingery| ikigai for business purpose | Terracycle: doing the right thing for people and planet | Digital platforms for fashion supply chains | Fashion’s reset?|HP and Circular Computing |

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 29 - Mabel Suglo of Dignified Wear

Episode 29 – Mabel Suglo of Dignified Wear

In this episode, we’re talking to Mabel Suglo, the founder of Dignified Wear, a social enterprise in Ghana. It aims to economically empower people with disabilities and rural women through decent jobs. It trains and then employs them to handcraft durable, versatile and fashionable shoes, handbags, locally woven fabrics, clothing and traditional jewellery.

ikigai for business purpose beyond profit

Ikigai for business: a purpose beyond profit

Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy dating back three millennia, and translates as a ‘reason for being’. It helps people get clear on their purpose in life, leading to wellbeing and satisfaction. As companies begin to emerge from the Coronavirus lockdown and rebuild more resilient, sustainable businesses, we look at how to use ikigai principles to clarify and realign business purpose for people, planet and profit.

Catherine Weetman's webinar on the circular economy for Economia Circular Brasil

Webinar for Economia Circular Brasil

The circular economy is the #1 tool for profitable, resilient and sustainable businesses – in this webinar for Economia Circular Brasil, Catherine Weetman explains the benefits for business, and discusses the barriers: why aren’t we all doing this, now?
Part one
• What’s wrong with business as usual?
• A quick introduction to the circular economy
• Circular economy strategies – what can we do, and why is it better?
• Who is already going circular? A range of examples, from different industry sectors
• Q&A on the circular economy and business benefits
Part two
• Why aren’t we doing this already? Barriers and how to overcome them.
• Q&A on barriers

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 27 - Chris Hellawell Edinburgh Tool Library

Episode 27 Chris Hellawell – Edinburgh Tool Library

Chris Hellawell is founder and director of Edinburgh Tool Library, which works like a lending library, sharing tools rather than books.
Chris is passionate about the concept of sharing as a way to tackle the climate crisis, and also as a way to save money, and to build social connections in communities. By sharing, everyone is richer.
The Edinburgh Tool Library started out as a set of shelves in a spare room. Now it’s a city-wide organisation with multiple sites, including a tool maintenance depot, two wood workshops, a library and a police box. The Library runs classes, youth programming, skills development for disadvantaged groups, and a volunteer programme transforming community spaces throughout the city.

Your trash is someone else’s treasure: matchmaking for end-of-use textiles

The Textile Review, founded by Katie Briggs, is making fabric use more circular and sustainable, with services to repurpose and reuse textiles. It connects businesses, designers and students, matching ‘I have’ with ‘I need’ and creating value for both providers and users. The Textile Review aims to ‘help end the issue of single use textiles across event and design industries’, by slowing the flow of resources. We examine the different ways it creates value for both providers and users.

Circular insights #20

Podcast: Baukjen sustainable fashion | Blog: Fashion: from fast and forgettable to slow and sustainable – why purpose-driven brands are choosing circular strategies | Recommerce not recycling | Thriving post-pandemic |