The Circular Economy Show Podcast

Hosted by Ellen MacArthur Foundation

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245

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Oct 2026

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About the show

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation welcomes you to The Circular Economy Show, a podcast about a new way to design, make, and use things, and how we can build an economy that's fit for the 21st century.

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October 27, 20264 min

Circular Snapshots: Plastics treaty, battery swapping, and textile-to-textiles

Welcome to another episode of Circular Snapshots. In this episode, we highlight some of the circular economy stories that mattered from August to October. The World Circular Economy Forum makes its South Asia debut and sets its sights on New York. Over 70 developing countries push for an ambitious plastics treaty. The EU Circular Economy Act is weeks away. Octopus Energy and CATL plan to make shared infrastructure for truck batteries. A new report asks why textile recycling can’t get financed. To find out more about each of these stories, follow the links below: World Circular Economy Forum: Sitra’s write-up of the forum, its investment takeaways, the Circular Awards winners and WCEF2027 in New York. WCEF: World’s leading circularity event reveals how to unlock investment. Plastics treaty: what came out of the Bangkok talks and what’s next. This is CIEL’s take, and CIEL is a campaign group, so the framing isn’t neutral. Countries unite behind effective multilateralism during plastics treaty talks in Bangkok. EU Circular Economy Act: the European Parliament’s tracker for the Act. It’s neutral and will update when the proposal lands. Legislative Train: Circular Economy Act. Swaptopus: Octopus Energy’s own announcement of the venture with CATL. Big on Batteries: Octopus and CATL team up to unlock electric trucking across Europe. Textile recycling finance: a summary of the Accelerating Circularity report 'Systemic Bankability of Textile-to-Textile Recycling'

October 20, 202624 min

What does circular tourism look like?

Tourism is on the COP31 agenda in Antalya, Türkiye, on 18 November, with zero waste and the circular economy now firmly part of the climate action conversation. So what does a circular economy for tourism look like in practice? This week on The Circular Economy Show, Pippa is joined by Patricia Dueñas from Iberostar Hotels & Resorts and Virginia Fernández-Trapa from UN Tourism. Together, they make the case that circular tourism needs local infrastructure, consistent policy, coordination at destination level and a proven business case. That makes the year ahead an important one. With 2027 named the UN’s International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism, businesses and destinations have a chance to take this on together. Here’s the link to the white paper discussed in the episode: https://waveofchange.com/resource/circular-tourism-in-practice/ Subscribe to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation for more insightful videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow us online on these channels: Instagram: http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/ Website: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

October 13, 202628 min

How to evolve (and how not to) with Zaid Hassan

Zaid Hassan has spent 25 years in systems change, and he thinks the field fooled itself. Beautiful diagrams that feel like progress and change nothing. Skills that AI will take first. Joe Iles asks him what actually works, and why he still ends his new book with three words: it's not that hard. Zaid is a strategist, facilitator and writer. He has advised organisations across the globe including the World Bank, Oxfam, WWF and more. He is the author of the Social Labs Revolution (2014) and more recently How To Evolve And How Not To (2026). Find out more about his work here: https://xinx.co/ Subscribe to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation for more insightful videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow us online on these channels: Instagram: http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/ Website: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

October 6, 202630 min

The stretch problem no fashion company can solve alone

Most of our clothes contain stretch. That stretch usually comes from a fibre called elastane, which is one of the biggest barriers to recycling clothing at scale. In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, Seb Egerton-Read sits down with Georgia Parker of Fashion for Good and Lewis Shuler of Paradise Textiles (Alpine Group) to discuss why the industry reached for elastane by default rather than by intent. They discuss how their project, 'Stretching Circularity ' brings together brands, innovators, supply chain partners, and ecosystem experts to generate data on performance, recyclability, commercial feasibility, and mapping the barriers to scale. The goal is to speed up the development and adoption of lower-impact elastane solutions. Although no single fibre will replace elastane, and no single company can solve it alone. Today's bio-based and recycled alternatives are fragmented and early stage, which is why coordinated and compounded industry action is needed to match the scale of the problem. Links: Stretching Circularity - https://www.fashionforgood.com/case-study/stretching-circularity-project/ The new bottom line - https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/policy-levers-for-resale-and-repair/report Subscribe to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation for more insightful videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow us online on these channels: Instagram: http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/ Website: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

September 29, 202623 min

Why $100 trillion wasn't enough, and what will actually move markets?

A hundred trillion dollars of capital lined up behind climate. It was never going to be enough. In part two, Jeremy Oppenheim tells Joe what actually moves a market, from Pakistan's solar boom to a copper mine in Mongolia, and why the voluntary playbook the movement leaned on for a decade has run its course. Conversations with a CE/O is a new series on The Circular Economy where the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s CEO Joe Murphy sits down with leaders whose decisions are shaping the economy and asks one question. We’ve been working on the circular economy for more than a decade, the next 10 years will look nothing like the last, so how does the work itself need to change? Links: SystemIQ at 10 - https://www.systemiq.earth/systemiq-at-10/ Blue Whale Enquiry - https://www.systemiq.earth/reports/bluewhale/ The work ahead - https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/the-work-ahead Subscribe to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation for more insightful videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow us online on these channels: Instagram: http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/ Website: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

September 22, 202620 min

Ten years in. Here’s what we got wrong.

Jeremy Oppenheim left a top job at the management consulting firm McKinsey&Co in 2016 to become a Founding Partner of and build SYSTEMIQ, at the high water mark of climate optimism. Then came Trump and Brexit. Ten years on, Joe asks him what the movement got right, and what it got badly wrong, from ignoring the politics of decline to vilifying the very incumbents it needed. And most importantly, what does this mean for how we think about what comes next? Conversations with a CE/O is a new series on The Circular Economy where the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s CEO Joe Murphy sits down with leaders whose decisions are shaping the economy and asks one question. We’ve been working on the circular economy for more than a decade, the next 10 years will look nothing like the last, so how does the work itself need to change? Part 2 of this conversation will be available next week. Subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. Links: SystemIQ at 10 - https://www.systemiq.earth/systemiq-at-10/ Blue Whale Enquiry - https://www.systemiq.earth/reports/bluewhale/ Subscribe to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation for more insightful videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow us online on these channels: Instagram: http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/ Website: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

September 1, 202618 min

[Rewind] How to measure marketing success in a circular economy

In a circular economy, products may not be sold just once, but multiple times. This enables businesses to generate more revenue from one item. As a result, businesses are shifting their metrics beyond short-term profit to embrace the long-term strategic advantages of circular business models. In this episode of The Circular Economy Show, host Fin is joined by Emily Hill, Director of Sustainable Transformation Practice at Kantar, to discuss measurement guidance that will allow marketing teams to support the shift to circular business models and behaviours at scale, while delivering on their key priorities. Emily explains how marketers can redefine success across four key areas: Commercial, Brand, Creative, and Consumer Insight. From building a compelling business case for pilots, to using creative campaigns to shift consumer behaviour, we explore how measurement can be a powerful tool to unlock resources for circular initiatives. This August on the Circular Economy Show, we’re revisiting four conversations that help to navigate the marketing challenges and opportunities of switching to a circular economy. So listen in if you want to learn how to take something from a good idea to something that actually sells. Subscribe to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation for more insightful videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow us online on these channels: Instagram: http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/ Website: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

August 25, 202611 min

[Rewind] How do we make circular behaviours irresistible?

In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, our guests Georgie Rose from Selfridges and Simon Davies from VISA tell us how they have been working together to find out how to make circular behaviours irresistible for consumers. Collaborating with Mindworks Marketing to optimise messaging and branding for promoting circular shopping behaviours, Georgie and Simon discuss how their behavioural lab has been bridging the gap between customer intent and action. Listen to this episode to hear: How the behavioural lab initiative focuses on subtle language variations to influence customer behaviour towards circularity How current efforts are focusing on beauty products to make refills as appealing as buying new ones How the initiative is working to embed circular shopping as a norm and make it more intuitive and exciting This August on the Circular Economy Show, we’re revisiting four conversations that help to navigate the marketing challenges and opportunities of switching to a circular economy. So listen in if you want to learn how to take something from a good idea to something that actually sells. Subscribe to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation for more insightful videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow us online on these channels: Instagram: http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/ Website: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

August 18, 202617 min

[Rewind] How can marketers turn ideas into impactful action?

For years, marketers have been helping to shape how consumers think and feel about products that are driving the linear economy. However in this episode of the Circular Economy Show, we explore how they can harness their skills to unlock the opportunities that the circular economy provides. We’re joined by experts Deb Caldow, former Global Marketing Director at Diageo, and Rachel O’Reilly, Global Research Lead at Accenture Song. Their experiences provide an insight into how we can turn ideas into impactful actions that deliver both economic growth and environmental benefits. Join us to find out: How marketers are leveraging storytelling to inspire interest in circular products Why they should engage closely supply teams to ensure innovations align with market demand The importance of internal buy-in and a willingness to experiment when scaling circular solutions This August on the Circular Economy Show, we’re revisiting four conversations that help to navigate the marketing challenges and opportunities of switching to a circular economy. So listen in if you want to learn how to take something from a good idea to something that actually sells. Subscribe to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation for more insightful videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow us online on these channels: Instagram: http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/ Website: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

August 11, 202626 min

[Rewind] What marketers need to know about driving circular demand

How can businesses sell circular propositions in a world that's rapidly changing? This episode of the Circular Economy Show tackles the marketing challenges and opportunities head-on. Pippa sits down with Jonathan Hall, Managing Partner at Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice, and Amanda Gandolpho, former Head of Brands at bike subscription service Swapfiets, to explore how to connect with today's consumers and drive demand for circular products and services. In this episode you'll discover: The surprising shift in societal values that's reshaping consumer buying habits How to overcome marketing roadblocks like the value-action gap (where consumers say they want sustainability but don't always buy it) and the greenwashing problem Practical strategies for marketing circularity effectively: Focus on consumer benefits, convenience, and solving real problems Real-world examples: Learn how Swapfiets is using a circular business model (bike subscription) to disrupt transportation and prioritise customer experience This August on the Circular Economy Show, we’re revisiting four conversations that help to navigate the marketing challenges and opportunities of switching to a circular economy. So listen in if you want to learn how to take something from a good idea to something that actually sells. Subscribe to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation for more insightful videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow us online on these channels: Instagram: http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/ Website: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org