The Sussex And The City Podcast

– Episode 26:

Can Sussex Lead On Closing The Loop?

Host: Richard Freeman Guest: Steve Creed - co-founder of Circular Brighton & Hove

🔍 Episode summary

In this conversation, Richard Freeman sits down with Steve Creed – a Canadian-born sustainability consultant and leading voice in Sussex's circular-economy movement.

Steve has spent decades connecting the dots between food, housing, transport, climate and culture, helping councils, housing groups and social enterprises to think differently about waste and regeneration. As co-founder of Circular Brighton & Hove and Vice Chair of the Adur Community Land Trust, he's long argued that Sussex could be a test-bed for joined-up, low-waste, regenerative growth – if it stops treating every issue in isolation.

The discussion (a good companion to episode 20, and our chat with Jenny Andersson) explores Earth Overshoot Day, trust in politics, measuring real progress, and why the circular economy is less about jargon and more about people, compost and community power. Steve believes devolution is not a tidy fix, but a rare window to design something better — if civil society leads the charge before the politicians do.

"In the forest, there's no waste. Trees fall, rot, feed the soil - everything has a purpose. The circular economy is just learning from that."

This episode is brought to you in partnership with:

DMH Stallard – one of the South East's most respected full-service law firms, combining technical expertise with a pragmatic, human approach.

With offices across Sussex, DMH Stallard advises individuals, businesses and public bodies across property, planning, dispute resolution, employment and private client services, and is particularly active in real-estate development and public-sector growth.

The firm also proudly supports community and cultural projects across the region, investing time and expertise in the places where its teams live and work.

👉 dmhstallard.com

🎯 Why this matters

"Trust is missing. Maybe the grassroots have to rebuild it first - business, civil society, local innovators - before the politicians catch up."

🧠 Topics covered include:

• What the circular economy really means beyond policy buzzwords
• How Circular Brighton & Hove helped shape a city-wide sustainability roadmap
• Why Earth Overshoot Day could be a Sussex-wide performance indicator
• The role of the mayor in connecting food, transport, housing and climate policy
• How devolution could enable joined-up, systems-level innovation
• Re-thinking Gross Value Added and other economic measures
• Trust and accountability in the new mayoral structure
• Lessons from Sussex Bay and community-led regeneration
• The potential of Sussex's micro-business ecosystem to drive growth
• "Pragmatic radicalism" - how small shifts across every sector add up

"Any mayor who wants to succeed will need new ways to measure progress — not just GDP, but how long it takes Sussex to reach Earth Overshoot Day."

📚 Further reading and references

Circular Brighton & Hove – local hub for sustainable systems change

Brighton & Hove City Council – Circular Economy Route Map

Adur Community Land Trust

Brighton & Hove Food Partnership – Community Composting and Food Networks

Global Footprint Network – Earth Overshoot Day Data and Country Dashboards

Sussex Bay – Seascape Restoration Partnership

West of England Combined Authority – Green Innovation

🎧 Production credits

Host: Richard Freeman Guest: Steve Creed Sound design / editing / original music: Chris Thorpe-Tracey Production management: Letitia McConalogue Recorded: Projects, The Lanes - Brighton

📣 Get involved

Want a joined-up Sussex story? Want to help shape devolution so it actually works for people and places? 👉 https://sussexandthecity.info — episodes, resources and events.