Hello. My name is Shlomo Dowen, and I am one of the many people who contributed to the creation of the Circularity Foundation.
When we first set out to establish a charity dedicated to prudent resource use we were focussed on ‘zero waste’. As we began to develop our ideas for the charity we became increasingly aware of the emergence of the ‘circular economy’.
It soon became obvious that our charity would be dedicated to advancing education about the circular economy in ways that included, but were not limited to, the notion of zero waste.
It is also the case that, in the years while the Circularity Foundation was being developed, the circular economy concept quickly moved from relative obscurity to become a much-talked-about ‘hot topic’.
The circular economy, as an alternative to the linear ‘take-make-destroy’ economy, is now much more widely recognised than when we first applied for charitable status in 2018. Even then, the circular economy had already been the focus of a European Commission led public consultation (held in 2015) that gave rise to a package of legislative proposals (that became known as the Circular Economy Package) and associated strategic plans.
At that time, the circular economy was anchored in the resources and waste sector. Back then it was still a fairly specialist topic that attracted the interest of a narrow collection of waste geeks, building on earlier notions of a ‘recycling society’.
Over the past few years interest in the circular economy has grown to encompass a very wide range of people and organisations including, but by no means limited to:
- environmentalists (including climate activists and other environmentally active citizens, such as anti-incineration campaigners);
- zero waste lifestylers (including those seeking to reduce the wasteful use of plastic in society by starting with their own personal choices);
- those involved in resource management (including waste trade press journalists, academics, and environmental consultants, as well as those engaged in reuse, recycling, composting, reprocessing, etc.);
- multi-national corporations (including those mindful of their public image and keen to be seen as acting responsibly in the face of public concerns); and
- pioneering circular economy organisations (including social enterprises and not-for-profits, such as those dedicated to reducing food waste).
With all this expansion in the number of people and organisations involved in the circular economy, what unique role can be fulfilled by the Circularity Foundation?
We at the Circularity Foundation are thrilled by this rapid expansion, and we are well aware that keeping pace with the development of circular economies is a genuine challenge. To help meet this challenge, the Circularity Foundation intends to host a series of ‘change conversations’.
These conversations will draw out multiple perspectives on the changes taking place within the resources and waste sector and on how these changes are supporting and/or creating barriers to the transition to a more circular economy.
Using a range of systems thinking tools we will analyse these responses and we will feed our learning back to those who contributed and to others looking to support the development of socially just, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable initiatives that are circular and that are addressing the climate emergency with sufficient urgency.
Our learning will be shared via our website, enriching the Circularity Foundation hosted resource library.