Circular Business Podcast

Today is my very first recording from the Himalayas.

It’s refreshing to be able to see the colors in the mountains, feel the chills on your skin and also the warmth of the winter sun. Hope you too are blending into the Christmas spirit this holiday season.

Every time I hit the road, journeying a new path, I’ve encountered some fabulous strangers, phenomenal humans along the way who leave a mark and inspire me. I’m glad that pattern continued on this trip as well.

That’s why for today’s episode we thought of maintaining a similar theme and check on inspiring change makers from previous gupshups …we initially wanted to make top 3, however curating top 3 was hard, therefore we thought of making two part series covering 3 change makers in each episode.

This week, we look at Ray C Anderson from Interface carpets, Ben Smith from Green Wave and May Al Karooni from Globechain. Hope you enjoy this compilation.

Let us know your thoughts on this at [email protected] / [email protected]

Keyword : What is a circular economy?

Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)

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In today’s throwback series we dive into circular business models from the beverage industry.

Festive season is back again... The world is slowly moving into the Christmas spirit and speciality coffees to mulled wine to beer every spirit is finding its way into people’s lives in customized forms…isn’t it?

That’s why as a refresher today we talk about two organisations, Toast ale and Rainbeer who have innovated into circular business models for crafting beer…then we move on to Garcon wines who have innovated sustainable packaging for wine…making it one of the first wine bottles to slide through your letter box followed by the very special coffee miners project.

So take a seat, grab a beverage and find out how your drink can be more circular.

Let us know your thoughts on this at [email protected] / [email protected]

Keyword : What is a circular economy?

Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)

Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Technology has simply transformed the way we live our lives, isn’t it? Our laptops have gotten lighter, our smartphones more feature-packed, and our overall need to upgrade our devices has been increasing year on year.

But as we make new purchases and store away old devices in our ghar ka drawer, have we paused for once and thought, what do we do with these unused pieces, where should it really go? What happens to the e-waste that continues to pile up?

Today we bring to you a compilation of previous gupshup episodes where we have shed light on global best practices by businesses, to understand how they close the loop on e-waste.

Today we recall solutions by Reply, Gerrard Street, Fairphones & Homie. 

Hope you enjoy this compilation.

Happy listening.

Also tell us what are you going to do different this New Year? How will you tackle your e-waste?

How are you gonna drive change?

Write to us at [email protected] / [email protected]

Keyword : What is a circular economy?

Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)

Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

You’re listening to part 2 of my conversation with Pranshu Singhal where we’ll delve into the realities of e-waste management in India.

Pranshu is on a relentless mission to enable setup of a well governed industry ecosystem for e-waste management in India.

He founded Karo Sambhav which is a cohesive movement for enterprises, consumers, governments and alliances to collaborate and enable circular economy.

Show Notes:

Tune into the episode to learn more.

Contact: Karo Sambhav

Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | [email protected]

Key words : E-waste recycling

Today we’ll delve into the realities of e-waste management in India.

I bring to you my conversation with Pranshu Singhal who is on a relentless mission to enable setup of a well governed industry ecosystem for e-waste management in India.

Pranshu founded Karo Sambhav which is a cohesive movement for enterprises, consumers, governments and alliances to collaborate and enable circular economy.

Their team empowers enterprises to close their material loops. set circularity goals, decode EPR compliances and create robust collection programmes.

This year, Pranshu won the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award; An award by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the sister organisation of the World Economic Forum, and the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation.

This conversation is a two part series, so make sure to listen to both ep. 86 & 87 to be in sync & to find out how we all can collectively make change happen.

Notes:

Today when you look at the market…to be precise the linear market, you can sense the expertise of the entire system to deliver efficiently on a forward supply chain. Isn’t it?

On the contrary when we look at the market from the lens of a circular economy we see enormous gaps in meeting the basic necessities needed to have reverse logistics in place. Majority of our take-back mechanisms, collection systems are informally handled and in my view they are amateur on a systemic level to meet the ambitions climate action goals.

That’s where organizations like Karo Sambhav are making a difference by bridging in those gaps and introducing circular strategies and technologies in a way that makes it easy for the brutal market to embrace climate action.

Tune into the episode to learn more.

Contact: Karo Sambhav

Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | [email protected]

Key words : E-waste recycling

Imagine this, instead of segregating your plastic waste for disposal, you and your neighbourhood friends make use of an empty garage to segregate plastic according to its plastic code on the packaging. Now you have built a DIY plastic shredder, DIY plastic extruder, DIY plastic injector and DIY compressor. All this fit in that little garage which enables you to instantly transform your plastic waste into absolutely useful products...such as tables, chairs, fashion accessories, plastic containers, lamp holders...etc.etc.

Think of it like a mini version of Trashpresso in your garage. This little reference is from Ep.#32.

Now go on to google search and type precious plastic.com.

They have developed machines that enable everyone to work with plastic, The machines are specifically designed using only basic tools and low-cost materials that are available at every corner of the world and they are developed modularly, in different parts, in this way you can always upgrade, repair and customize them or even adapt them to your environment.

In addition to the blueprints, they also have step-by-step instruction videos, lessons about plastic, tips and tricks and useful templates. It is a complete package with everything you need to get started ready to download.

Wherever you live you should be able to build them yourself or find a local handyman to help out.

These machines allow everyone to create new things from plastic, set up a production, start a business, clean up the neighbourhood.

In the year 2012-2013, Dave Hekkens the founder of Precious Plastics started this open source platform as a part of his graduation project...and today they are a global movement of over 80,000 people sharing the same passion and vision for a world with less plastic waste.

Precious Plastics is trying to boost plastic recycling, by providing people the tools to get started. This is all the basic information people need to start their own little recycle business anywhere in the world and they can all download it for free.

But in order for this to have an impact we need to make sure that people

actually know it's now possible and that they can just download and start.

So as an action point for today’s episode, I urge you to visit their website today and simply spread it around make sure it reaches your friends, uncle aunties, neighbour.

but also that farmer or artisans living somewhere in the middle of a secluded village.

Your share might reach the right person and all together we can make sure it reaches every corner of the world.

Tune into the episode to find out more.

Keyword : What is a circular economy?

Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)

Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Today I bring to you my conversation with Kamal Raj - Director of Impact Projects at rePurpose Global.

rePurpose Global is the World's First Plastic Credit Platform dedicated to making planetary action simple for purposeful people and companies of any size, anywhere. Their one-stop solution empowers anybody to go Plastic Neutral by financing innovators on the frontlines who are relentlessly fighting for our planet’s future.

You’ll be fascinated to know that majority of plastic waste especially multi-layered plastic (MLP) — including chips packets, chocolate wrappers, and more — never makes it to recycling. Instead, all that waste ends up in landfill remaining there for centuries.

The sad truth is, the infrastructure needed to tackle this problem is underfunded, and requires an urgent push. That’s where rePurpose Global is breaking barriers, and channelling resources towards important innovations.

Our guest Kamal Raj is no less than an avenger when it comes to implementing solutions around plastic waste problems. After completing his degree in biotechnology, he got exposed to the world of waste management through his work with Daily Dump and soon figured out synergies to leverage his knowledge of biotechnology to find solutions around plastic waste.

He then moved on to lead the Solid Waste Management program as part of Infosys’s Green Initiatives team and is recognized for achieving self-reliance in SWM at Infosys, where annually 10 million kilograms of MSW is managed through 24 automated technologies.

After his decade long stint with providing solutions for waste management in India, today he continues to create that impact on a global level by leading projects at repurpose global.

Tune into the episode to learn more.

Contact: rePupose Global

Keyword : Plastic footprint calculator

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Today we talk about Herman Miller and how they are innovating their business models into circular business model to stay relevant in business and also to be inclusive of natural environment.

I want to bring to your notice that designing for the environment is not an easy job. Speaking in context of Herman Miller, they are a 116year old company who have gained a strong reputation of high quality ergonomic furniture.

Now to incorporate cradle to cradle C2C design, or to make use of ocean plastics into their well performing models, takes enormous research and development of how the materials would behave in this new formula, it takes a focussed team of individuals to run the project, improve their existing supply chains, train and level up their suppliers as well as employees to be cognizant of this new ecosystem and deliver results.

Taking all this into account, Herman Miller has set a precedent of sustainability within the furniture industry. Their process of change can be replicated in other industries. They are clearly the role models for businesses who aspire to stay relevant, stay eco-efficient and profitable in this new age.

Tune into the episode to find out how this Herman Miller is doing things differently. 

Sources : Herman Miller website

Keyword : What is a circular economy?

Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)

Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Diwali…the festival of lights brings with it a lot of chores such as cleaning, making delicious delicacies as well as shopping. So this season I went on hunt to find out circular brands in the retail sector and I’m happy to share with you my conversation with Amita Deshpande from reCharkha.

reCharkha EcoSocial is a Social Enterprise, founded on the belief that, development can only be sustainable if it is bottom-up! This means, sustainable development is possible only when it begins at the grassroots and involves an empathetic understanding of communities.

reCharkha’s founder Amita Deshpande is an IT Engineer who later went on to do her Masters at Purdue University, USA with a focus on Sustainability.

For almost 14 years, she worked with CSR teams of multinational corporations, consultancies, non-profits, and community-based organizations in the United States and India.

Pained by the longing to do more for the society, she leveraged her rich experience from her consulting days to start her social enterprise Aarohana EcoSocial Developments 7 years back . Last year they revamped the brand to what is known as reCharkha Ecosocial.

She’s a fabulous human being and her long-standing dream is to develop a sustainable village and live in it herself, which she wishes to fulfill through reCharkha and her EcoSocial Planet.

Show Notes:

Tune into the episode to learn more.

Contact reCharkha Ecosocial

Keyword : What is circular economy?

Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | [email protected]

It is said that across the world, the building sector consumes too many resources and produces too much waste. Twenty five percent of the world’s water and 40 percent of its resources are used by buildings, while creating one-third of all waste and 40 percent of global carbon emissions. We all have a part to play in protecting the environment and our planet...isn’t it?

By selecting sustainable and circular construction materials, we can save energy and resources, and limit waste.

One such construction material that opens up this possibility is Stone wool or rockwool, which is the most widely used insulation material in Europe because they are fire-safe, durable, reusable, sound-absorbing as well as moisture-resistant.

Even in India it is widely used in refineries, power plants, airports, commercial buildings, industries and factories etc.

If you are listening to us from an indoor location, then it is possible that you have stonewool / rockwool insulation around you behind those walls and ceiling.

So how are rockwool’s made?

Basalt rock, dolomite and slag are heated to very high temperatures using coke.

Molten mixture is passed through very high speed spinners to form fine fibers which are impregnated with thermosetting resin (Binder)

Fibers are converted to LRB, Slabs, Building Roll of various density, thickness and facing after passing through the curing oven.

Now that you understand the basic use of rockwool, think about this, in developing nations around the world infrastructure projects are crucial to its development. Due to this old constructions may be demolished for new, or up for renovation. Be it any, all are going to make use of rockwool at some point of time.

Tune into the episode to find out how this Danish organization ROCKWOOL is doing things differently. Yeah...don’t be confused, their name is derived from the product they sell.

Sources : ROCKWOOL Sustainability Report 2020

Keyword : What is a circular economy?

Follow our page- (Circular Business Podcast | The Circular Collective)

Reach out to us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter