In conversation with the Branson Centre

Listen as Lorren De Kock chats to Nwabisa Mayema about the circular economy and how she sees it as a regenerative model.

Lorren is one of our Zero Waste Challenge advisory board members and works in the circular plastics economy programme for WWF. The programme primarily focuses on policy, the business sector, and the consumer to drive the systemic change that is required. Instead of focusing on waste management, their focus is on what can be done ‘upstream’ in the value chain to prevent waste, and plastic waste specifically. This is what will drive long term change.

Lorren gives some great insight into how regulation can spur innovation. A perfect example is the upcoming ban on organic waste to landfill. A perfect example of the opportunities presented by the circular economy and how we can then move towards a circular economy.

What are your ideas and how will you rise to the #ZeroWaste challenge?

Visit our website to find our more about the Branson Centre's Zero Waste Challenge.

Let’s talk trash with Rowan Le Roux, a Future-Fit Certified Professional, and Nwabisa Nayema!

An avid surfer, Rowan has always been aware of waste in the ocean environment, and it has been top of mind in his extensive career in sustainability.

Take a listen as Rowan and Nwabisa talk about the dirty game of waste and the opportunities it can present.

Most of our waste is a result of large-scale industrial processes, and it includes ‘unknown waste’ such as emissions, seepage and environmental contamination. The opportunity for entrepreneurs is questioning how to stop waste from occurring in the first place. How do you change a process so that it doesn’t generate waste, and then how do you scale it so that it becomes a solution for an industry?

Entrepreneurs are the change agents. They can leapfrog the processes to provide a solution. The ingenuity of new practices will drive a #ZeroWaste economy.

Rowan shares some great examples of local entrepreneurs being the change agents that have moved away from take, make, throw away.

Share your own examples and stories. We would love to keep the #ZeroWaste conversation going.

Visit our website to find our more about the Branson Centre's Zero Waste Challenge.

Have you ever considered waste as a resource? There was a time when waste was simply discarded, and never considered again.

As our awareness and conscience has grown, our thinking has shifted and the opportunity presented by waste has grown, especially for impact entrepreneurs. In this podcast, Nwabisa Mayema chats to Dr Linda Godfrey, Principal Scientist at the CSIR, and the manager for South Africa’s Waste Research, Development and Innovation Roadmap Implementation.

Take a listen as Prof. Godfrey shares fascinating insights about waste as a resource; that ‘circular economy’ is not a synonym for recycling but it is about sustainable resource management; and the sharing economy and how changing our thinking about the right to ownership can be a springboard for disruptive thinking.

We would love to hear your thoughts and your feedback. Let’s have a #ZeroWaste conversation.

Visit our website to find our more about the Branson Centre's Zero Waste Challenge.