A circular economy seeks to rebuild capital, whether this is financial, manufactured, human, social or natural. This ensures enhanced flows of goods and services. The system diagram illustrates the continuous flow of technical and biological mater…
The Foundation releases a new report on the economic opportunity for the consumer goods sector.
The depletion of the world’s natural resources is linked with the generation of an increasing quantity of unwanted by-products, among which domestic and industrial waste…
The closed loop model is a biomimetic (life-imitating) approach, a school of thought that takes nature as an example and considers that our systems should work like organisms, processing nutrients that can be fed back into the cycle – hence …
Seeking to create a healthy and waste-free model, this philosophy has been pushed forward by American architect William McDonough and German chemist Michael Braungart, who joined forces and published the movement’s effective manifesto, ̶…
Taking the problem at its root – the design of products – is a totally different way of thinking, say McDonough and Braungart who point out that, while it’s a laudable effort, to simply use less and recycle is not a valid solutio…
If the “closed loop” model is easy to understand from a theoretical standpoint, implementing it seems quite daunting – yet it has seduced major companies and elements of the philosophy have been adapted in the architectural and t…
On a smaller scale, C2C certified equipment goods are available to consumers, and Swiss firm Rohner produces the Climatex Lifecycle biodegradable fabric, used extensively in the office furniture manufacturing business. The material is compostable,…
Ellen MacArthur Foundation launches a new report, featuring analysis from McKinsey, that makes the case for a faster adoption of the circular economy, quantifies the economic benefits of circular business models and lays out pathways for action.
Roland Clift and Julian Allwood outline how industrial ecology, applying chemical engineering thinking to the management of material flows in the economy, can point the way to a more sustainable economy.
The idea that recycling is a ‘good thing’ pretty much pervades the formal schooling system, but it may be due for a long overdue rethink. Recent scientific investigations around recycled cardboard packaging made from old news papers has thrown up…
As part as Belgium’s Presidency of the council of the European Union, Flemish Environment Minister Joke Schauvliege…
Rethinking our economic model does not only involve a re-organisation of manufacturing processes, the change goes as far as redefining the relationship between objects and consumers.
The first macroeconomic report series into the size of the prize for business in the transition to a circular economy
Register to receive a monthly update from the Foundation, with latest news, editorial comment and event opportunities
Film clips, publications, colour graphics, presentations…raw material for a range of educational activities.
