Episode 1 What is the circular economy?

Welcome to the Circular Economy Podcast! This first episode is a quick intro to explain what the circular economy is and why it’s important.  We’ll explore how it helps create better products and services, and at the same time helps to make a better world. Maybe you already have some green, or community-focussed elements in your business, and you want to go further:  to find ways of being more sustainable andprofitable!  The circular economy can help you do that, and strengthen your business in lots of ways. We’ll talk about the aims of circular approaches, then we’ll break it down into my 5 components, helping you think about each part of your business. Next, we’ll look at the benefits for business, with some examples, so you can think about how it can help your own business. Subscribe to updates and find more episodes at CircularEconomyPodcast.com Episode 1 - show notes Hello, and welcome to the Circular Economy podcast, where we find out how circular approaches make a better business (and a better world):  for you, your partners, and your customers. I’m Catherine Weetman, of Rethink Global, and in the series, I’ll be chatting with those inspiring people who are making the circular economy happen: rethinking how we design, make and use everything.  We’ll talk to entrepreneurs & business owners, social enterprises, and leading thinkers. We’ll find out how they are using circular principles to create value, increase resilience and reduce risk:  to make a competitive, sustainable organisation You’ll find the show notes and transcripts at www.circulareconomypodcast.com, where you can subscribe to updates and useful resources.  This first episode is a quick intro to explain what the circular economy is and why it’s important.  We’ll explore how it helps create better products and services, and at the same time helps to make a better world. Maybe you already have some 'green', or community-focused elements in your business, and you want to go further:  to find ways of being more sustainable and profitable!  The circular economy can help you do that, and strengthen your business in lots of ways. We’ll look quickly at the global megatrends that make it so important for us to switch to circular, regenerative ways of making products and designing services, then I’ll suggest a few questions you might think about, to highlight the parts of your business that might be vulnerable, and ways to spot opportunities for these new, circular ways of doing things. We’ll talk about the aims of circular approaches, then we’ll break it down into my 5 circular economy components, helping you think about each part of your business. Next, we’ll look at the benefits for business, using those 5 components, with some examples, so you can think about how it can help your own business.   [02:06] So, what is the circular economy? People often think it’s just a new buzzword for recycling.  But it’s much more than that – it’s rethinking the way we typically do business now – take some materials, make something, use it and then discard it – take, make, waste.  That’s a linear system, consuming and depleting resources and creating waste and pollution. The Linear Economy - take, make, and waste This linear economy relies on using finite resources – metals, minerals, and fossil fuels.  It also relies on land and water – and we often forget that they are finite.  It creates waste and pollution all along the process, destroying the living systems we depend on, and often harming people as well.  When we discard the product, we waste all those resources – and we waste all the energy,