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Circular Economy Podcast

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Catherine Weetman interviews the inspiring people who are making the circular economy happen. We explore how circular, regenerative and fair solutions are better for people, planet and prosperity. We’ll hear from entrepreneurs & business owners,...

Location:

United Kingdom

Genres:

Podcasts

Description:

Catherine Weetman interviews the inspiring people who are making the circular economy happen. We explore how circular, regenerative and fair solutions are better for people, planet and prosperity. We’ll hear from entrepreneurs & business owners, social enterprises, and leading thinkers. You’ll find the show notes and links at www.circulareconomypodcast.com, where you can subscribe to updates and useful resources.

Language:

English


Episodes
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179 Dimitri Naczaj: using behavioural science to bridge the “say-do” gap

4/4/2026
Dimitri Naczaj is a behavioural scientist and founder of Bellegarde Scientific Consulting, a research-based consultancy applying behavioural science to the challenges of the circular economy. His work focuses on understanding and changing human behaviour towards sustainable habits, such as sorting for recycling, repair and reuse, and participation to return programs. Dimitri and his colleagues design evidence-based interventions that make circular systems work in practice, on a behavioural level. Since his Ph.D., Dimitri has worked extensively on electronic devices, including collection, repair and reuse. As Dimitri explains, behavioural science helps us find ways to bridge the "say-do" gap, the gap between intentions and actions, so we can encourage circular and sustainable behaviours. Dimitri outlines three ‘moments’ of circular economy behaviours: before using, while using, and after using, and explains how our choices are influenced by a variety of factors including environmental awareness, or personal values, and information transparency. We discuss how behavioural science can support circular options such as repairing, sharing and returning products at the end of life, and if you’d like to learn more, Dimitri recommends three books to read.

Duración:00:41:56

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178 Simon Cook of Reset Scenery: embedding circularity into the creative industries

3/21/2026
Simon Cook is co-founder of Reset Scenery, a Scotland-based organisation working at the intersection of the creative industries and the circular economy. Simon has over 25 years in set construction and more than a decade focused on circular practice, and works to reduce waste in the creative industries by reclaiming, repurposing and rethinking scenic fabrication. Through Reset Scenery’s circular programmes, material recovery systems and industry advocacy, Simon champions practical, scalable approaches to sustainable fabrication for stage, screen and live events. Reset Scenery supports the Stage, Screen & Events sectors through reclaimed material redistribution, circular material management strategies and lower-impact construction approaches aligned with initiatives such as the Theatre Green Book. Simon and his co-founder, Matt Doolan are focusing on how to change the whole system – how best can they intervene or educate, and where in the system; how do they help people see the benefits, and make the circular option more affordable and accessible than the scenery that’s designed NOT to last. Simon explains some of the ways they embed circular principles directly into design and build processes — helping productions reduce embodied carbon, material waste and disposal costs without compromising technical standards. We’ll also hear about Reset Scenery’s circular design support for schools, helping build long-term skills and sector resilience through practical, hands-on sustainable practice.

Duración:00:39:27

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177 Dan Dicker: moving the dial on reusable cup systems

3/7/2026
Dan Dicker is the founder and CEO of Circular&Co, a Cornwall-based Circular Design brand on a mission to eliminate single-use waste. With a background in product design and innovation, Dan has spent over 20 years championing circular economy principles, designing products and systems that keep materials in use for longer. Alongside consumer products, he leads Circular&Co’s work on reuse and returnable cup systems, partnering with venues, events and organisations to drive real-world change and deliver genuine environmental impact. Dan explains how Circular&Co’s design skills are creating reuse and returnable cup systems, which are breaking the mould by not requiring an app, or a deposit, and are achieving extremely high levels of reuse by being super-convenient for the cup users, for cafes and for the local community. We hear how the systems work across a range of use scenarios, and how Circular&Co are using rich data sets to design efficient and effective systems for logistics and cleaning, and to help potential clients make a compelling business case.

Duración:00:53:52

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176 Katie Allen – why healthy clothing starts with healthy soils

2/21/2026
Katie Allen, a regenerative farmer, maker and educator, who is creating healthy textiles, plant dyes and leathers and helping fashion students and others discover what soil health means for us, our food and our clothing. Katie Allen farms organically at Great Cotmarsh, in the UK. The farm produces lamb and beef in a 100% pastoral system and is implementing projects to improve soil health, increase biodiversity and embrace agroforestry. Under the brand ‘Katie Cotmarsh’, she creates award-winning knitwear using the fleeces from the flock and cultivates colour by growing plant dyes. Katie has developed a beautiful classroom space on the farm, to connect the future generation of designers with the story behind soil and give them a new perspective of what true circularity looks like, particularly in the face of an ever shifting climate and demand for new cradle-to-cradle models for fashion design. Katie tells us how she was first inspired by the Fibershed movement, and what it means to create a local, regenerative clothing supply-chain.

Duración:00:47:30

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175 Stephen Fitzpatrick: remanufacturing as a strategic capability

2/7/2026
Stephen Fitzpatrick is Director of the Digital Factory at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, based at the University of Strathclyde, and Director of the Remake Value Retention Centre, a new £10m initiative commissioned by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). A key focus of Stephen’s work is developing solutions that enable a circular economy, particularly in high-value, high-integrity sectors. ‘High-integrity sectors’ are industries that require strict adherence to safety and reliability standards, often because the potential consequences of failure are huge – we can think about aerospace, automotive, nuclear power, wind, and other industries where ensuring safety, performance and up-time is critical. Stephen believes that combining digital technologies with remanufacturing is crucial, both to maximise the life of existing products, and to support designing and manufacturing new products in a way that optimises circular opportunities and value. Stephen leads a multidisciplinary team of 75 engineers and scientists, specialising in Digital Manufacturing, Design Engineering, Additive and Repair Manufacturing, Robotics and Metrology Systems.

Duración:00:53:00

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174 Sydney Harris and Jennifer Carrigan of Upstream: effective, equitable reuse systems

1/24/2026
We learn about driving change towards an effective, efficient and fair reuse economy, with Sydney Harris and Jennifer Carrigan of Upstream, a nonprofit that works to support sustainable, equitable reuse systems across North America. Upstream works to normalise reuse, to support the expansion of the reuse sector, and to help create supportive policy measures. It was founded over 20 years ago, and is seen as an early visionary, realising that reuse is better from an economic perspective as well as better for people and planet. Upstream works across industry sectors in the US and Canada.

Duración:00:36:45

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173 Giulio Bonazzi of Aquafil – pioneering regenerative nylon

1/10/2026
Giulio Bonazzi is the visionary leader of Aquafil, a global pioneer in circular materials including Econyl Regenerated Nylon. Giulio has been transforming Aquafil from a conventional manufacturer into a pioneer of circular design, and he tells us about the process of creating premium-quality polyamide from a wide range of nylon waste streams, including fishing nets, old carpets, and fabric scraps.

Duración:00:54:01

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172 (Part 2) Tom Llewellyn of Shareable: how sharing and cooperative projects help us thrive

12/6/2025
This is the 2 part of my conversation with Tom Llewellyn of Shareable, an organization that collaborates with others to imagine, resource, network, and scale cooperative projects. If you didn’t catch the first episode, head back to that if you’d like to hear why Shareable has pivoted from storytelling to focus on supporting groups to replicate successful sharing solutions, what Tom sees as the key challenges around sharing, and the importance of storytelling – including the misleading narratives used by most of the media, and how these undermine our resilience. International speaker, author and strategic advisor, Catherine Weetman helps people discover why circular, regenerative and fair solutions are better for people, planet – and prosperity. Catherine’s award-winning book: A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business includes lots of practical examples and tips on getting started. Stay in touch for free insights and updates… Read on for more on our guest and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention. Links for our guest: Shareable’s website: https://www.shareable.net/ Shareable on social media: https://www.facebook.com/Shareable https://twitter.com/shareable https://www.instagram.com/shareable_gram/ https://bsky.app/profile/share-able.bsky.social https://www.linkedin.com/company/shareable/ https://www.youtube.com/@ShareableNet Guest bio Tom Llewellyn is the Executive Director of Shareable, an organization that collaborates with organizers and allies to imagine, resource, network, and scale cooperative projects. He helps communities develop Libraries of Things (LoTs)—low-cost, environmentally friendly social infrastructure that enables people to meet their material needs. Tom’s current work includes expanding these sharing initiatives into housing developments, universities, and post-disaster recovery areas. He also serves as executive producer and host of the award-winning documentary film and podcast series The Response, producer of the Cities@Tufts Podcast, and communications lead for the Rural Power Coalition. A dynamic speaker, Tom has presented at more than 200 events across five continents. He is the co-editor and author of several influential publications, including Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons (2018), The Response: Building Collective Resilience in the Wake of Disasters (2019), and Lessons from the First Wave: Resilience in the Age of COVID-19 (2020). He has co-founded several community- and sharing-based initiatives, including: A PLACE for Sustainable Living, Asheville Tool Library, REAL Cooperative (Regenerative Education, Action & Leadership), and the worker collective Critter Cafe. Tom currently lives in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains, in Amah Mutsun Tribal Band territory, with his wife, Ellie, where they’re rejuvenating an old Boy Scout Camp into a community hub. Shareable collaborates with organizers and allies to imagine, resource, network, and scale cooperative projects. We envision a just, connected, and joyful world where sharing is daily practice and communities flourish. Shareable’s organizing work is currently focused on: Sharing Hubs & Infrastructure – We’re working to establish sharing hubs like Libraries of Things in every community. Whether it is a simple how-to guide; our comprehensive Library of Things Toolkit; incubating the Tool Library Alliance; or partnerships to scale Libraries of Things in universities and affordable housing, we’re developing useful tools so every community can create infrastructure for sharing. Mutual Aid – We’re working to build capacity and to network mutual aid projects across the US and around the world. Whether it is our popular how-to guides; sharing stories on our podcast The Response; our ongoing Mutual Aid 101 learning series and toolkit; or partnerships to build capacity for mutual aid disaster resilience, we’re...

Duración:00:29:57

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172 Tom Llewellyn of Shareable: how sharing and cooperative projects help us thrive

12/6/2025
We discuss the importance of sharing and its many benefits with Tom Llewellyn, the Executive Director of Shareable, which collaborates with others to imagine, resource, network, and scale cooperative projects. Tom helps communities develop Libraries of Things (LoTs) and other forms of low-cost, environmentally friendly social infrastructure that help people meet their material needs. Tom’s current work includes expanding these sharing initiatives into housing developments, universities, and post-disaster recovery areas. He also serves as executive producer and host of the award-winning documentary film and podcast series The Response, producer of the Cities@Tufts Podcast, and communications lead for the Rural Power Coalition. Tom has co-founded several community- and sharing-based initiatives, including: A PLACE for Sustainable Living, Asheville Tool Library, REAL Cooperative (Regenerative Education, Action & Leadership), and the worker collective Critter Cafe. Shareable wants to see a just, connected, and joyful world where sharing is daily practice and communities flourish. Its current focus is on sharing hubs & infrastructure, Mutual Aid projects, and supporting and strengthening democratic, community-controlled cooperative businesses and organizations. We covered a lot, and so the conversation is split into two episodes. In Part 1, we hear why Shareable has pivoted from storytelling to engagement and support for groups to replicate successful sharing solutions. We discuss some of the key challenges and barriers to sharing, and what we can gain from sharing and other forms of mutual support We talk about a few different types of sharing initiatives, including community infrastructure projects. Tom explains the importance of storytelling, particularly in the context of disasters, and how the media often uses narratives that undermine our natural resilience and willingness to support each other. In Part 2 (available now), we cover the How To Guides, which cover a vast range of topics from how to reduce food waste to starting mutual aid funds, and Tom’s tips on how to get things started. You can hear my takeaways at the end of each section. International speaker, author and strategic advisor, Catherine Weetman helps people discover why circular, regenerative and fair solutions are better for people, planet – and prosperity. Catherine’s award-winning book: A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business includes lots of practical examples and tips on getting started. Stay in touch for free insights and updates… Read on for more on our guest and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention. Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast series on iTunes, Google Podcasts, PlayerFM, Spotify, TuneIn, or search for “circular economy” in your favourite podcast app. Stay in touch to get free insights and updates, direct to your inbox… You can also use our interactive, searchable podcast index to find episodes by sector, by region or by circular strategy. Plus, there is now a regular Circular Economy Podcast newsletter, so you get the latest episode show notes and links delivered to your inbox on Sunday morning, each fortnight. The newsletter includes a link to the episode page on our website, with an audio player. You can subscribe by clicking this link to update your preferences. Links we mention in the episode: Links for our guest: https://www.shareable.net/ Shareable on social media: https://www.facebook.com/Shareable https://twitter.com/shareable https://www.instagram.com/shareable_gram/ https://bsky.app/profile/share-able.bsky.social https://www.linkedin.com/company/shareable/ https://www.youtube.com/@ShareableNet Books, people and organisations we...

Duración:00:41:03

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171 Dr. Patrick Schröder: circular economy policymaking – progress and barriers

11/22/2025
Dr. Patrick Schröder, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, assesses the progress and barriers for circular economy policymaking. Patrick Schröder specializes in the circular economy, climate change, resource governance, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). His work brings together science, policy, and media to help further evidence-based policies, communicate complex sustainability issues, and promote equitable governance solutions at the multilateral level. Patrick is currently the Coordinating Lead Author for one of the three working groups for the IPCC Assessment Report 7, reporting on Mitigation of Climate Change, and he is also the Coordinating Lead Author for the UN Global Environment Outlook 7. Patrick holds a PhD in Environmental Studies, and is now studying part-time for a second PhD in circular and regenerative design with the Centre for Sustainable Design. In 2024, UNIDO and Chatham House published a ground-breaking global stocktake of 75 national circular economy roadmaps featuring more than 2,800 policy actions. The first roadmap, from Japan, was published in 1999, and since 2016, as governments strive to accelerate their circular transitions, over 70 countries have published national circular economy roadmaps and strategies. The review aims to ‘bridge knowledge gaps and shed light on critical aspects of these publications’, and the authors point to a ‘significant lack of focus on the need to ensure a just and inclusive’ transition, warning that a ‘lack of recognition of the need to work collaboratively with the global community’ risks derailing a global just transition. Patrick tells us how he currently sees the global state of play for circular economy policies and roadmaps, where progress is happening and from a policymaking perspective, what is holding it back. The team at Chatham House have created a micro-site – circulareconomy.earth – and Patrick tells us more about that, and how we can use it. Stay in touch for free insights and updates… Read on for more on our guest and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention. Links we mention in the episode: Links for our guest: DISCOUNT CODEA Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Businesshttps://www.koganpage.com/CircEcon3circulareconomyhandbook.comhttps://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/our-people/patrick-schroderhttps://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xeaCha8AAAAJ&hl=enhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-schr%C3%B6der-b5789119/?originalSubdomain=ukcirculareconomy.earth Books, people and organisations we mentioned https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/09/how-circular-economy-can-revive-sustainable-development-goalshttps://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patrick-Schroeder-9/publication/344220320_The_Relevance_of_Circular_Economy_Practices_to_the_Sustainable_Development_Goals/links/5f85b316458515b7cf7c9143/The-Relevance-of-Circular-Economy-Practices-to-the-Sustainable-Development-Goals.pdf https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344920300082https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01447-3/abstracthttps://www.rethinkglobal.info/166-circularity-gap-report-2025-insights/119 Ken Webster: the circular ECONOMY https://www.rethinkglobal.info/119-ken-webster-the-circular-economy/119 Bonus Ken Webster: the circular ECONOMY! Part 2 https://www.rethinkglobal.info/119-bonus-ken-webster-the-circular-economy-part-2/ Guest bio Patrick Schröder is a senior research fellow at Chatham House. He specializes in the circular economy, climate change, resource governance, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He works at the intersection of science, policy, and media to advance evidence-based policies, communicate complex sustainability issues, and promote equitable governance solutions at the multilateral level. He currently serves as Coordinating Lead Author for the IPCC Assessment Report 7 (WG III – Mitigation) and...

Duración:00:46:14

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170 Catherine Weetman: unpacking the new edition of A Circular Economy Handbook

11/8/2025
Author Catherine Weetman unpacks the new edition of A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business, giving you a preview of the big changes and new insights. The new, 3rd edition was published by Kogan Page in paperback and e-book format on 3 November 2025, and the print edition for the US and Canada is out on the 25th of November. The book aims to help people get clearer on how successful companies are finding ways to do better with less – in other words, creating value without pumping yet more resources through ever-growing systems of production and consumption. Use the discount code in the shownotes to get 25% off, with free worldwide shipping.

Duración:00:26:19

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169 Bailey Bestul: imaginative reuse of architectural components to create exciting and inspiring buildings

10/25/2025
Bailey Bestul explains how imaginative reuse of architectural components can create exciting, unique and inspiring buildings. Bailey is a registered architect, researcher and author based in New York City. His book, Reuse of Architectural Components, published by Routledge, was inspired by Bailey’s extensive research throughout Europe after he was awarded a Fulbright grant by the Netherland-America Foundation. We discuss how architects, constructors and building owners are getting on board with circularity and reuse, and what might be getting in the way of ambitious circular approaches, and ask what architects, building owners and planners can do to help raise awareness of the benefits of reuse.

Duración:00:30:29

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168 Matt Paneitz of Long Way Home: Hero School – transforming trash into useful buildings

10/11/2025
Long Way Home’s Hero School in Guatemala is a community-rooted educational initiative that transforms local trash into useful buildings. Matthew Paneitz first visited San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala, as a Peace Corps volunteer in 2002, and was deeply affected by this rural, Indigenous Maya community where 64% live in poverty and 27% in extreme poverty. People lacked clean water, reliable sanitation, resilient homes, steady employment, and quality education, and the air, water, and soil are all contaminated by waste and pollution. Unable to put this out of his mind, Matt returned in 2004 and founded non-profit Long Way Home. One of its major projects is Hero School, a project-based, community-rooted educational initiative grounded in Education for Sustainable Development. Between 2008 to 2025, the LWH team transformed 550 tons of trash (including 35,000 used tires) into the Hero School green-built campus.

Duración:00:51:22

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167 HaPPE Earth: circular, compostable PPE systems

9/27/2025
HaPPE Earth provides circular compostable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) with waste management to create nutrient-rich fertiliser

Duración:00:53:38

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166 Circularity Gap Report 2025: insights

9/13/2025
Matthew Fraser of Circle Economy and David Radowski of Deloitte discuss key insights from the 2025 Circularity Gap report, published in early summer. The Circularity Gap Report is a comprehensive 'report card' for the global circular economy, and shows that we are still a long way from achieving good grades. Although we’ve made small steps forward, global circularity is still going backwards, highlighting the urgent need for science-based targets to drive positive change. Although the circular economy concept has gained traction—and more policies have emerged to support it—progress has stalled. You might remember the headline numbers from the first report in 2018, that the world was only 9.1% circular, described as a massive Circularity Gap. The gap has grown bigger, with the latest global circularity metric at just 6.9%. Circle Economy sees a need for urgency: to expand access to its data and insights, dig deeper into what’s driving the decline, and to scale support for those in a position to make change happen. Matthew Fraser is a recognised expert in the circular economy, with over a decade of experience advising governments on measurement and strategy. Matthew specialises in translating complex resource flows into actionable strategies, supporting governments in integrating circular principles into policy and investment decisions. David Radowski is a partner in Deloitte’s ESG advisory business with a focus on Circular Economy and sustainability in Life Sciences and Healthcare. He began his career in sustainability over 10 years ago, and as a systems engineer by trade, he brings together product, business, supply chain and digital design to develop sustainable solutions. We’ll start with a quick intro to the report’s origins and purpose, and the partnership between Circle Economy and Deloitte. Matthew talks us through the key findings from the 2025 report, the challenges for policymakers, and the barriers and opportunities for businesses. David unpacks some of the challenges for startups and big corporates, and the importance of making circular economy strategies both actionable and exciting. And, we discuss how the shifting sands of resource availability, supply chain disruption and geo-economics are helping businesses see that circularity can boost resilience and reduce risks.

Duración:01:04:15

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165 Christina Schwartzkopf of Prolong: seamless solutions for circular aftercare and aftersales

9/3/2025
Christina Schwarzkopf is co-founder of Prolong, a business-to-business white-label software solution enabling fashion brands and retailers to offer and manage circular aftercare and aftersales services. Those services could include repair, cleaning, personalization, exchanges, and refunds. Christina combines her commercial, strategy, and sustainability expertise built over a decade of fashion experience with brands like Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Zalando. Prolong works with brands like Belstaff, The North Face, Veja, and Fusalp, covering apparel, outdoor, footwear, and jewellery, as well as multi-brand retailers. Brands use Prolong to digitize and automate service journeys across channels, reducing operational complexity, increasing customer satisfaction, and driving loyalty. The platform integrates logistics, communication, and brand operations to simplify often fragmented service processes. By linking customers, brands, and service providers, Prolong enables circularity at scale and helps brands move from one-off sales to ongoing, service-driven relationships. This makes aftercare a strategic business opportunity that’s aligned with sustainability and regulatory demands. We’ll hear how the Prolong platform combines complex workflows into a single system, helping brands extend product lifespan and build stronger customer relationships, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty. Christina talks us through the value proposition for brands and service partners, and explains how Prolong supports service partners by providing steady business and connecting them to a growing global network. Christina also shares some of the challenges and opportunities for brands, and offers tips on how to help customers discover, and access repair and aftercare services.

Duración:00:56:45

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164 Louis De Jaeger: our futures depend on healthy soils

8/16/2025
Healthy soils provide the foundation for life on our planet, and yet most agriculture degrades soil. Nurturing soil should be at the top of all our priority lists, and Louis De Jaeger—author of the new book ‘SOS: Save Our Soils, How regenerative farming can save your health and the planet’ — helps us understand why it’s so important, and what we can do about it. Louis says his life mission is to regenerate 550 million hectares of land, to cool down the planet, save biodiversity, end hunger, and create world peace. For the past twelve years, Louis De Jaeger has travelled extensively through North America, all the way to Panama, through Europe, South America and Africa. Along the way, he’s visited farms and interviewed a wide range of people, from pioneering regenerative farmers to corporate lobbyists, and explored one central question: How can we feed the world without destroying it? Louis says, “To be honest, it really took a while to find clear answers on what the best way is to shape the future of food.” He is grateful for insights he couldn’t have dreamed of, and he shares them in SOS: Save Our Soils. Louis says the book is a manifesto, a global quest, and an invitation for all of us to step into the most critical conversation of our time: the future of food.” Healthy soils are probably the most important element in our system – they are essential for nurturing us, nurturing the living systems we depend on, for drawing down carbon, for providing clean air and water, and much more. Every one of us, and every business, depends on soil – Louis De Jaeger explains why this is an SOS, and what we can do about it.

Duración:00:55:56

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163 Patrik Frisk of Reju: regenerating polyester textiles

8/2/2025
We dig into the complexities of textile recycling with Patrik Frisk, who is working to create a circular economy for textile-to-textile polyester regeneration. Patrik is the CEO of Reju, a recent startup enabling polyester to be recycled at speed and scale. Patrik has over thirty years’ experience of working in the apparel and footwear industries for globally recognised brands, joining Reju after 5 years as CEO at Under Armour. Patrik has extensive experience in textiles, including senior leadership roles at VF Corporation (the owner of outdoor brands including The North Face, Timberland, JanSport), the Aldo Group and W.L Gore & Associates, the makers of Gore-Tex. Reju itself is a materials regeneration company focused on creating solutions for regenerating polyester textiles and PET waste. Reju is owned by Technip Energies and, as we’ll hear, it is using technology that originated from research by IBM. Patrik explains the size of the problem, and the many complexities of trying to effectively recycle end-of-life clothing and textiles. We hear how brands and policymakers are responding to the growing issues caused by fast-fashion, including some legislation changes that are encouraging organizations to think differently, and to consider investing in proper recycling (not downcycling) technologies. We discuss the challenges around logistics, infrastructure, how to deal with mixed fibres, and why being able to recycle mixed textiles into a clean, high quality polyester output is such a groundbreaking innovation.

Duración:00:58:02

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162 Rachel Bronstein and Barry Waddilove: Skills for Planet from the Design Council

7/19/2025
In episode 162 we discuss design skills and why it’s crucial that design for circularity goes beyond the design of the product itself, to cover the materials, the customer experience, the supply chain, the collection of data for KPIs, and much more. Helping us think about this are Rachel Bronstein, a Senior Programme Manager at the Design Council, and Barry Waddilove, who is supporting the Design Council’s “Design for Planet” initiative as a Sustainable Design Expert. The Design Council is the UK's national champion for design, across all design disciplines, and it aims to showcase brilliance, lead on new thinking, evidence value and influence policy, so that design can thrive. Design for Planet will feature on a global stage this September, when the Design Council hosts the World Design Congress. The Design Council’s Skills for Planet mission aims to close a critical skills gap, highlighted when research found that while 66% of designers designed for planet, yet only 43% felt that they had the capabilities they needed. So the Skills for Planet mission is to help designers develop the skills to design places, products and services that regenerate the planet. Rachel Bronstein is leading the delivery of Skills for Planet aiming to upskill 1 million designers in green design skills by 2030. Rachel has a multidisciplinary background from her work across the private, public and third sector. Barry Waddilove has over 30 years’ experience in design and sustainability with brands and organizations across 25 countries. Barry has been working on circular economy projects since 2014, and most recently he’s has been working for the Swedish Consumer Electronics company Electrolux Group, as Head of Circular Economy and Partnerships in the global sustainability leadership team in Stockholm. Rachel outlines the Skills for Planet Blueprint , co-created with over 100 design experts across industry, education and government. It provides a cross-disciplinary set of eighteen Green Design Skills across six interconnected areas: Regenerating Nature, Embedding Circularity, Eliminating Emissions, Empowering Green Communities, Influencing Green Behaviour, and Evaluating Green Impact. We’ll hear more about the blueprint, the broader role of design in business and why it’s so important that business leaders understand the role of design and how it can support change projects, particularly around the circular economy. We talk about the challenges in designing for circularity, and the opportunities that can come from partnerships and new business models. Barry and Rachel highlight a range of areas where design can play a key role, including making use of digital tools and data. We discuss the importance of embracing complexity and the need for systemic approaches, and how to think about some of the conflicts and trade-offs that come up when we’re trying to design circular solutions.

Duración:01:02:43

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161 Dan Vukelich of AMDR: medical device reprocessing

7/5/2025
Dan Vukelich, President of the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors, has spent 25 years campaigning and working to encourage reuse and remanufacturing of ‘single use’ medical devices, first in the USA and now in Europe and other countries. To give you a feel for the scale of this, in 2024, over 55 million single-use devices were reprocessed and reused across 17 countries in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. By doing that, hospitals saved the equivalent of over USD 450 million. The interest in reprocessing and reuse really took off during the pandemic, and since then, supply chain disruption has become more of an ongoing risk for hospitals. The Association of Medical Device Reprocessors (AMDR) was founded in 1999. It supports its members around regulation, legislation, and standard-setting, so hospitals and healthcare providers can increase quality, reduce cost, cut waste, lower emissions, and strengthen their supply chains. Dan explains what reprocessing includes and talks us through the categories of devices that are currently reprocessed and remanufactured. He describes how the medical sector has shifted from high-quality materials that could be easily sanitised and reused, to a situation where even very complex and expensive devices are designed to be disposed of after just one use, wasting finite and critical materials. We talk about the ethical and legal issues of reprocessing, and the role of regulations and standardization. Dan helps us understand the challenges for hospitals and how the shift to single-use has added a lot of extra costs to the health system and impacts all of us, either directly or as taxpayers. Dan also points to an important long-term trend, as more and more equipment manufacturers get involved, rather than pushing back on reuse.

Duración:00:51:30