Getting In the Loop: Circular Economy | Sustainability | Closing the Loop

Circular economy aims to decouple resource consumption from economic growth. But will that be enough to create a sustainable future? Our guest today thinks degrowth must be part of the solution. In this week’s episode of the Getting in the Loop circular economy podcast, I speak with Ekaterina Chertkovskaya.

In today’s episode: Ekaterina explains the concept of degrowth and shares examples of what this could mean in practice by presenting possible alternatives focused on openness and relocalization. She also explains why we should be wary of placing the blame on individuals and private citizens when it comes to sustainability - and what we can actually do to address this issue. Resources and links discussed in this episode are available at gettinginthelooppodcast.com.

You might think the circular economy movement is only growing in Europe - but today’s podcast guest proves other parts of the globe are also interested in the circular economy! In this week’s episode of the Getting in the Loop circular economy podcast, I speak with Humberto Olivo from #CircularNext North America, a series of monthly events organized throughout 2021 with the aim to explore circular economy best practices in North America. In this episode, Humberto shares why he was motivated to start #CircularNext North America and how you can get involved. You’ll hear about topics previously covered in the series - including digitalization and circular economy in regions - and learn about upcoming topics including tourism, finance, and more. Resources and links discussed in this episode are available at gettinginthelooppodcast.com.

Over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas, making these spaces a good starting point for rethinking how we use existing resources and identifying how we can reuse materials in a closed-loop manner. In this week’s episode of the Getting in the Loop circular economy podcast, I speak with Vojtěch Vosecky from Circle Economy about circular cities. You’ll learn what the city of Prague is doing to move towards a circular economy and how they have adopted circular economy strategies, especially in public purchasing and procurement policies. Many of the examples Vojtěch shares are related to the biocycle and biological materials, including circular agriculture processes and public awareness campaigns to help reduce food waste. Resources and links discussed in this episode are available at gettinginthelooppodcast.com.

Artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing - what do these all have in common? They’re all technologies that can help drive the circular economy, of course! In this week’s episode of the Getting in the Loop circular economy podcast, I speak with Annika Hedberg from the European Policy Centre about digitalization and the circular economy. Annika is the co-author of the book ‘The Circular Economy: Going Digital,’ and in this episode, she’s sharing examples of how digital technologies can help enable a circular economy and make business models, products, and processes more circular by improving knowledge and information sharing. Resources and links discussed in this episode are available at gettinginthelooppodcast.com.

Want to know what’s happening with the circular economy in North America and especially Canada? In this week’s episode of the Getting in the Loop circular economy podcast I speak with Paul Shorthouse from the Circular Economy Leadership Coalition.

Get ready to learn all about how digitalization and technology can help enable a more circular economy by creating transparent supply chains. Mesbah Sabur joins us to share how his company Circularise is using blockchain to create an open-source platform for sharing data across supply chains. Circularise’s ambition is to improve transparency so that companies can move towards more circular production processes, starting with the plastics sector. In this episode, you’ll hear about Circularise and the common misunderstandings that people make about tech and circular economy. Mesbah sets the record straight and explains the 3 main types of approaches to supply chain transparency. Resources and links discussed in this episode are available at gettinginthelooppodcast.com.

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the Getting in the Loop podcast! To celebrate, I’m answering your most frequently asked questions: “How can I get started implementing a circular economy?” “What can I do?”

In this episode, I share four steps to action-oriented circular economy. I’ve developed them based on what I’ve learned from our podcast guests and my own PhD research since launching the world’s first circular economy podcast two years ago. I’ve dubbed it ACT C(ircular) to help you remember:

A: Acknowledge what you already know. What skills and expertise do you have? How could you draw on them?

C: Commit to a small scope. Think small.

T: Try out different CE strategies. Trial and error.

C(ircular): Check the outcomes. What are the benefits?

Resources and links discussed in this episode are available at gettinginthelooppodcast.com .

In this episode, Virginia Cinquemani shares the mistakes us circular economy professionals often make when we talk about circular economy. Are you making any of them? Get ready to find out! Through her company Green Gorilla, Virginia coaches sustainability professionals on how to make an impact and find the right way to communicate sustainability to their stakeholders. Virginia has a deep passion for sustainability and she is an advocate of bridging the soft skill gap in technical fields for effective and lasting change. She is also the author of SustainABLE: How to Find Success as a Sustainability Professional in a Rapidly Changing World. Resources and links discussed in this episode are available at gettinginthelooppodcast.com.

I’m thrilled to welcome Elin Bergman to the podcast. Elin has been called the “Circular economy queen of Sweden.’’ In this episode, you will hear how Elin stumbled upon the circular economy and how ever since she has been working to implement the transition to a more circular economy. You’ll find out about how Sweden is moving towards a circular economy and what Elin thinks needs to happen in order to make the transition. You’ll learn about Elin’s most recent initiative, a new international network called ‘The Baltic Stewardship Initiative’ which aims to enable recirculation of nutrients in the region from the agri-food sector.

Elin works as the circular economy expert at WWF Sweden, is one of the initiators of the Nordic Circular Hotspot and is the Vice President and spokesperson of the Swedish circular economy network Cradlenet. Resources and links discussed in this episode are available at gettinginthelooppodcast.com .

Katie’s note: Since this episode was recorded, I have left my role as a Managing Partner of the Nordic Circular Hotspot.

Jennifer von der Heydt of Loop-it joins me on the podcast today! Jennifer is CEO and Co-Founder of Loop-It, which is an easy, convenient and affordable reuse system for products. Their reusable coffee cups can already be found in cafes throughout Sweden.

Jenn founded loop-it in 2019 after her Erasmus at Linköping University in Sweden where loop-it began as an idea at an innovation bootcamp. Jennifer and the other co-founders won second place and kept going with their idea. In September 2020, she moved to Stockholm to work on loop-it full time. Loop-it was most recently part of the +impact accelerator from Danske Bank, RISE, WeWork Labs and Ignite Sweden.

In this episode, Jennifer tells us about Loop-it and shares her experience as a circular entrepreneur. You’ll hear about what she’s learned setting up loop-it and the one question she always gets asked -- and is ready to answer for the last time on the podcast! Resources and links discussed in this episode are available at gettinginthelooppodcast.com .