If you click here, you'll find the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's 2017 Summit highlights playlist, and see designer & sociologist Leyla Acaroglu, IDEO's Tim Brown, The Sustainable Food Trust's Patrick Holden, and other 'thought leaders' (a phrase I dislike), "discussing shifting mindsets, design, the bio-economy and new prosperity".
There's also Redesigning Plastics, a new lesson plan written by the Foundation's Schools and Colleges team as part of the World's Largest Lesson 2017. This new two part lesson is aimed at students aged 12+. It introduces key facts about plastics, what could be done to make them fit in a circular economy, and encourages students to take on a creative design challenge of their own. As part of Global Goal 12 - Responsible Consumption & Production, the lesson can be linked to the New Plastics Economy Innovation Prize to provide students with an insight into what is currently being done to improve the global plastics economy. Curated by Project Everyone in support of the United Nation's Global Goals for Sustainable Development, the World's Largest Lesson aims to bring the goals to children and young people, and unite them in action.
Then there's the Circulate newsletter which has sections on cities, energy and material flows, food, business, and people and society.
Finally, this is a good point to mention Circular by design - Products in the circular economy that was published in June by the European Environment Agency [EEA]. It's Report No 6/2017.
The EEA is an agency of the European Union. Its task is to provide sound, independent information on the environment, and it is a major information source for those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy. It began work in 1994. The EEA says that this report
"explores the circular economy from a product perspective, applying a systemic approach and transition theory. Drivers of product design and usage are discussed in the context of emerging consumption trends and business models. For governance to be effective, it has to address the product life-cycle and the societal context determining it. Indicators and assessment tools are proposed that can help fill the current data and knowledge gaps."
Reading the report shows both the potential that thinking in a circular way has for how we all might live well, indicates the progress made thus far, and shows how much more there is to do.
Later this week I'll also feature some questions posed by Ronald Rovers about just how circular the circular economy really is.
Respond