Ellen Macarthur Charts Circular Economy Re-Design Revolution
LONDON, November 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --
- Summit Sets Out a Vision and Framework for Re-Thinking the Future is it Time for Business Leaders to Re-Think the Way They Make Things?
In a world of increasing energy costs and potential resource shortfalls our future depends on a re-design of the materials, systems and services we use, say experts in 'Circular Economy' thinking ahead of an international summit in the UK this month.
A group of the world's leading Circular Economy thinkers and advocates - including Ellen MacArthur - are challenging business and society to re-design the materials we use and to revolutionise the manner in which we make them. In a Circular Economy waste becomes food for another cycle or process rather than simply thrown away. This 'Cradle-to-Cradle' approach is a paradigm shift from the 'Cradle-to-Grave' or linear take-make-dispose manufacturing model which casts off as much as 90 percent of materials it uses as waste - some of it toxic.
Senior business and education stakeholders are gathering from 29 November - 01 December at the University of Bradford for the Ten+One conference, so called because it will feature 10 lectures around one key perspective on the transition to a sustainable economy. They will learn more about a model gaining advocates across the globe. As just one example, the Dutch government has announced EUR42 billion of procurement from companies working towards Cradle-to-Cradle products; the initiative is being led by Professor Michael Braungart from Erasmus University of Rotterdam, one of the world's leading designers and industrial consultants and the keynote speaker at the event.
Ellen MacArthur, whose new Foundation is working with business and educators to promote interest in the Circular Economy, says: "It's time for a rethink. Cradle-to-Cradle products and services are designed so that after their useful life they provide value, either as 'biological nutrients' that safely re-enter the environment or as 'technical nutrients' that circulate without being down-cycled into low-grade uses. It's about how to thrive in a changing world, one where waste is no longer affordable."
The yachtswoman has spent the last four years working with government, business, NGOs and the public sector to learn more about the complexities of the challenges we face. Her new Foundation is supported in areas fundamental to the sustainability of the UK - Education; Energy; Communications; Transport & Design - by Founding Partners B&Q, BT & CISCO (joint partners), National Grid and Renault. The University of Bradford itself, through its 'Ecoversity programme', has an academic partnership with the Foundation which will see the launch of an accredited educational programme in early 2011 to help create a community of business and educational leaders for the 're-design' revolution.
Speakers / topics at the Ten+One event include:
- Euan Sutherland, CEO, B&Q Plc on B&Q's Closed Loop ambition
- Douwe Jan Joustra, Programme Manager Cradle-to-Cradle, NL Agency
(Ministry of Economics & Environment), Netherlands Government on the
Nether land's initiative to move business towards a Cradle-to-Cradle
model
- Chuck Bennett, Vice President, Aveda Earth & Community Care,
Aveda Corporation (a wholly owned subsidiary of Estee Lauder), on how
Aveda is adopting the Cradle-to-Cradle model for beauty product design,
development and company growth.
For further information on the Ten+One event and tickets, visit: http://www.brad.ac.uk/ten-plus-one/book-online. For more on The Ellen MacArthur Foundation visit: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
Interviews are available on request with Ellen MacArthur and key speakers from the Ten+One conference. Graphics illustrating the circular vs. linear economy models are also available on request.
Full list of speakers
- Michael Braungart, Erasmus University, Rotterdam
- Euan Sutherland, Chief Executive, B&Q and Kingfisher UK
- Stef Kranendijk, CEO, DESSO Group
- James Clark, Director, Green Chemistry Group, University of York
- James Robertson, author of Future Wealth - a new economics for the 21st
century
- Chuck Bennett, Vice President, Aveda Earth & Community Care, Aveda
Corporation
- Ken Webster, Head of Learning at The Ellen MacArthur Foundation
- Peter Hopkinson, Ten+One Academic Director at the University of
Bradford
- Janis Birkeland, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
- Mae Wan Ho, Director and co-Founder of the Institute of Science in
Society
- Chris Allen, Director, AskNature Project, Biomimicry Institute, USA
- Douwe Jan Joustra, Programme Manager Cradle to Cradle, NL Agency
(Ministry of Economics & Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment),
Netherlands Government
- Rob Hopkins, Co-founder of the Transition Network
About The Ellen MacArthur Foundation:
Sailing solo around the world, Ellen MacArthur realised that her record breaking achievement was not only the culmination of one dream but the beginning of another. She knew first hand that when you race solo around the globe you take with you the minimum of resources and you manage them down to the last drop of diesel, last packet of food - a light boat is a fast boat, to mis-manage is to lose or worse. It became clear to her that on land things were not so different. This inspired Ellen to find out about more and she came to realise that is it is not just a question of using less and less to make finite resources last a few more years but more about a complete re-think so that resources are used, not used up and products are made to be made again - hence the vision of a circular economy. She has created the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to help further this vision so that the next generation of students and business people will have both the knowledge and the framework to make this a reality.
http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
About the University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a leading centre for Education for Sustainable Development and its flagship Ecoversity programme has received numerous national and International awards. The University has formed an educational partnership with Ellen MacArthur Foundation to develop two International summits on Closed Loop economy and Cradle-to-Cradle thinking. The University and the Foundation will launch an accredited educational programme in early 2011 to create a community of business and educational leaders for the closed loop revolution.
SOURCE The Ellen MacArthur Foundation
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