The Circular Economy Show Podcast

Individual pilots are great, but they don't scale themselves. So, how do you shift an entire system to move an unmovable market?

This week on the Circular Economy Show, Lou and Fin explore the critical foundation of shared infrastructure. Whether it’s launching scalable refill coalitions with Aldi and Ocado, aggregating future demand to bring 90% emission-reducing fuel to ocean transport, or rewriting retail habits at checkout counters across the US, to truly scale the circular economy, we have to stop building in silos and start building the shared infrastructure that allows everyone to win.

Tune in to hear how three trailblazing women, Catherine Conway (GoUnpackaged), Ingrid Irigoyen (ZEMBA), and Kate Daly (Closed Loop Partners) are laying down the shared motorways that will allow everyone else to drive their own circular vehicles forward.

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This month: three stories worth your time.

 

The WEF published a piece on EV battery recycling that reframes the whole conversation. These batteries contain the critical minerals governments are scrambling to secure. The recycled minerals market could be worth $200 billion by 2050. That value needs to be designed for now, not chased later.

 

Up until now the policy agenda for bio-based materials, wood, paper, natural fibres, rubber and leather has largely been ignored. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has published a report that sets out to fix that.

 

And the International Finance Corporation, alongside five major development banks, put a number on circular economy employment: 121 to 142 million people. Nearly half in repair and maintenance. Over half in the informal economy. The opportunity is real. So is the gap.

 

Plus four quick headlines on Scotland's material flows, Europe losing critical minerals through its own waste streams, fashion resale and repair policy, and flexible packaging.

Story 1: EV Battery Recycling

Why recycling EV batteries is an industrial opportunity, not a waste challenge (WEF): https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/06/ev-battery-recycling-waste-challenge-industrial-opportunity/

Story 2: Circular by Nature — Bio-Based Materials

Circular by nature: a policy agenda for bio-based materials (Ellen MacArthur Foundation): https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-by-nature-a-policy-agenda-for-bio-based-materials-in-a-circular-economy

Story 3: Circular Economy Jobs

Circular Jobs: How MDBs Are Supporting Job Creation through a Circular Economy (IFC): https://www.ifc.org/content/dam/ifc/doc/2026/how-mdbs-can-support-job-creation-in-a-circular-economy.pdf

 

Quick Headlines

Scotland’s Material Flow Accounts (Zero Waste Scotland): https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/zero-waste-scotland-publishes-nations-most-depth-material-flow-accounts-date

Europe losing critical minerals in its waste streams (Yahoo Finance / The Cool Down): https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/europe-losing-hidden-stockpile-lithium-222500520.html

The New Bottom Line: Policy levers for resale & repair in fashion (Ellen MacArthur Foundation): https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/policy-levers-for-resale-and-repair/report

Unilever and PepsiCo on the challenges of flexible packaging (Packaging News): https://www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/markets/household-products/unilever-and-pepsico-unlock-the-potential-of-paper-based-flexible-packaging-across-the-globe-01-06-2026

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In this episode of the Circular Economy Show, Pippa speaks with JJ Freijo, Chief Sustainability and Product Innovation Officer at Brambles. JJ explains how the company rents, rather than sells, pallets, crates and containers, creating a continuous loop of reuse across global supply chains.

Having achieved 100% certified timber procurement across 64 countries, Brambles began asking a bolder question: what if supply chains could actively restore nature, rather than just reduce harm? JJ walks through their regenerative forestry project in Tabasco, Mexico, and makes the hard-nosed business case, from attracting top talent to deepening customer partnerships and opening doors with sustainability-focused investors.

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Today, amid cost inflation, geopolitical conflict, and an ever-changing global business landscape we are staring down a massive shift in corporate sustainability and it’s starting to prompt some pretty big questions. 

Does navigating the triple threat of media, politics, and boardroom backlash mean we need to change the playbook?

In this episode Lou is joined by Mark Lancelot from Better Business Design. Together, they unpack how the traditional role of the Chief Sustainability Officer is changing to survive, and how we might reshape the narrative around sustainability and circular economy goals to land positively in our global boardrooms.

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Trade wars, resource shortages, and the AI-driven scramble for critical minerals are exposing the fragility of our current economy.  And for businesses still operating on a linear model, the vulnerabilities are becoming impossible to ignore. The global economy isn’t just being disrupted, it’s being restructured. 

In this episode, Seb is joined by Julia Binder, Professor of Transformation at IMD Business School, and Manuel Braun, entrepreneur and co-author of The Circular Business Revolution, to explore why circularity has moved from the sustainability agenda to the boardroom.

They discuss:

Why today's disruptions are structural, not episodic, and what that means for supply chains

How the circular economy offers a direct answer to resource dependency and geopolitical risk

The shift from an impact case to a business case, and how to have that conversation with your CFO

What companies like Hilti are doing differently, and what executives can act on tomorrow

Mentioned in this episode:

IMD circular value creation courses for leaders: https://www.imd.org/sustainability/cvce/creating-value-circular-economy/

Material Advantage: How circular strategies drive business value: https://www.imd.org/ibyimd/innovation/material-advantage-how-circular-strategies-drive-business-value/

Circular Business Revolution book: https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/books/the-circular-business-revolution/

Startup landscape: https://www.circular-republic.org/insights/circular-startup-landscape-2026

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