Circularity.fm

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120 episodes · showing the newest 120

A Circular Economy Handbook

Nov 10, 2026 41 min

Not every product can be recovered, reused or recycled. So where can companies find opportunities for circularity? Catherine Weetman, author of A Circular Economy Handbook and host of the Circular Economy Podcast, discusses how businesses can create and retain more value from their resources, even in challenging markets. What you'll hear in this episode: • Endurance, intensity and recovery: Three strategies for getting more value from products and materials, including Return on Manufactured Assets (ROMA). • What customers really value: The overlooked costs of constant product innovation, from inventory and product write-offs to customer churn. • Circular opportunities across the value network: From adhesives that could enable remanufacturing to electrical equipment designed for reliability and repair. This is the first episode of our four-part series Circular Business Model Books.

Building Demand for Remanufactured IT with Circularity First

Oct 27, 2026 38 min

If remanufactured IT can offer the same warranties and support as new equipment at a lower price, why businesses still prefer to buy new? Anthony Levy, founder of Circularity First and CEO of Cistor, built a business selling remanufactured IT equipment through Cisco Refresh. He shares how he developed customer demand and why adoption remains limited despite the commercial benefits. What you'll hear in this episode: • The business case for remanufactured IT: Beyond lower purchase prices, companies can extend the life of existing platforms and improve supply chain resilience. • Overcoming customer resistance: Why perceived risks and established purchasing habits matter, and how discounts, product testing and low-risk deployments help build trust. • Getting the sales system to support remanufacturing: How sales incentives that favor new products and unpredictable stock availability can limit adoption, even when customer demand exists. This is the fifth and final episode of our B2B Take Back series.

Product Take-Back & WEEE: Choosing the Right R-Strategy

Oct 20, 2026 37 min

Which products are worth refurbishing, and how can manufacturers get them back in usable condition? Julie Fournier, responsible for circular economy at Legrand, and Kevin Chen, Director of Consulting at Circul'R, discuss how to select the right circular strategies for different products and organize take-back systems across a portfolio of more than 300,000 product references. What you'll hear in this episode: • How to identify products suitable for refurbishment, considering customer demand, product value and design for disassembly • How to balance collection volumes and product quality by combining EPR systems with direct take-back • How product mix, shared infrastructure and aligned incentives affect the economic viability of take-back systems at scale The conversation also covers product-as-a-service as a potential alternative for retaining access to products, and the challenge of sharing data across companies while protecting commercially sensitive information. This is the fourth episode of our B2B Take-Back series.

Permanent Magnets: Simplifying Reverse Logistics with Wilo

Oct 13, 2026 48 min

Wilo's take-back system works without contracts, deposits or payments. Instead, the company focuses on making returns as simple as possible for installers. And that works. Thomas Fetting, explains how the company collects used pumps and brings recovered components and materials back into production. What you'll hear in this episode: • How to motivate participation in take-back systems without financial incentives • How manufacturers can recover and reintegrate components and materials into production • What determines the economic viability and scalability of reverse logistics This is the third episode of the B2B Take-Back series. You can find its original recording in German on YouTube. The audio-only version has been translated to English with the use of AI.

Deposit Systems: Incentivizing Take-Back at Knorr-Bremse

Oct 6, 2026 38 min

Remanufacturing depends on getting used products back. Can a deposit system give customers an incentive to return them? Thomas Meyer, responsible for remanufacturing, repair and reuse activities within Knorr-Bremse TruckServices, explains how Knorr-Bremse uses a core deposit in the independent aftermarket to bring parts back for remanufacturing. What you'll hear in this episode: • Why the deposit value is linked to the market value of the core, and how returning an equivalent product keeps parts flowing back • What happens to returned cores, from assessing and disassembling them to deciding which components can be reused, reconditioned or replaced • Which data and systems are needed to manage remanufacturing, including core return rates, regeneration rates and ERP processes for products coming back The conversation also covers the economics of remanufactured parts for older vehicles, design for remanufacturing and the challenge of reducing manual work in disassembly. This is the second episode of our B2B Take-Back series.

Take-Back Obligation: How DERIX Makes It Work

Sep 29, 2026 32 min

For DERIX, the take-back obligation is both a commitment to circularity and an economic advantage. Antonia Görg, Project and Sustainability Manager at DERIX, and Markus Steppler, Managing Director at DERIX, explain how the timber construction company has built a take-back obligation into its contracts. What you'll hear in this episode: • How DERIX's take-back obligation works, from the contract to the return of timber elements • How returned timber is assessed, priced and either reused or remanufactured • Why DERIX sees take-back as a future source of timber and plans to use material from other manufacturers as well The conversation also covers the product data needed to reuse timber in the future, how take-back is connected to carbon credits, and the challenge of building a return system before large volumes of material start coming back. This is the first episode of our B2B Take-Back series.

Scaling Circular Construction with Digitalization

Sep 22, 2026 33 min

How can digitalization help scale circular construction? In this episode of circularity.fm, Kilian Eckle, founder of RoofUz, and Timo Walraven, researcher at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, discuss how digital twins, building data, standardization, and modular construction can make circular construction more economically feasible. What you’ll hear: • How digital twins can be used to identify and compare buildings with potential for rooftop extensions • Why standardization, modular construction, and bundling similar buildings can improve the financial feasibility of projects • How building data can connect projects across a city and help planners and owners l Using rooftop extensions as a case, the conversation looks at how digitalization can support more standardized processes, better project economics, and the transfer of knowledge between construction projects.

Circular Construction: Environmental, Economic and Social Aspects

Sep 15, 2026 30 min

How can rooftop extensions create housing that is ecologically regenerative, socially valuable, and profitable? In this episode of circularity.fm, Dirk Hengst, founder of Denk.mal.Bau., and Lewin Fricke from TRIQBRIQ talk about their rooftop extension project in Dresden. The conversation covers: • The project's economic, social, and environmental dimensions. • Material choices designed for a healthy, low-carbon home. • How construction can support rooftop extensions, renovation, adaptive reuse, and dismantling for reuse. You’ll gain insight into the additional benefits of this approach to construction, as well as the challenges involved. This is the second episode of our Rooftop Extension series.

The Business Case for Rooftop Extension

Sep 8, 2026 32 min

What is the business case for rooftop extensions? Thijs Müller, Co-founder of Creative City Solutions, and Didier Mignery, Founder of UpFactor, explain how adding housing on top of existing buildings can address several challenges at once: housing shortages, energy renovation and urban land use. This episode covers: • When rooftop extensions make economic sense, and the technical, regulatory and financial complexities involved • How revenue from additional homes can help finance energy renovations and upgrades to existing buildings • The advantages of modular timber construction and designing for deconstruction The episode also looks at the potential scale of rooftop extensions, and the role of regulation, data and stakeholder engagement in making them more viable and scalable. This is the first episode of the “Rooftop Extension” series.

Designing Germany's Circular Textile EPR System

Aug 24, 2026 40 min

What are the system-wide recommendations for Germany’s Textile EPR scheme to influence companies' design and portfolio decisions? Carina Hofmann-Wellenhof talks about CIRCULAR REPUBLIC’s System Design Report for Germany’s textile EPR, developed with 20 organisations and more than 50 stakeholders across the textile value chain. She explains the main recommendations for designing the system, from the structure of PROs to eco-modulation and recycling incentives. What you'll hear in this episode: -Why Germany should combine competing PROs with centralised functions -Recycling quotas and content targets for textile-to-textile recycling -How eco-modulation, collection and R&D funding could influence the development of a more circular textile system This conversation also looks at the role of EU-level harmonisation, the economics of virgin materials and the next steps in Germany’s legislative process. This is the final episode of the Textile EPR series.

Unpacking the EPR Legislation for Textiles

Aug 18, 2026 44 min

Will the EPR regulation create incentives for a more circular textile industry? Alexander Sustal, Lawyer at Redeker Sellner Dahs, explains how Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) will change the economics of textile collection, sorting and recycling in Germany. The episode covers the status quo, the actors and financing flows an EPR scheme introduces, and the wider legal questions an EPR scheme raises. What you'll hear in this episode: • How the current market based system for used textiles is financed, why it is under pressure, and what an EPR scheme changes about who carries responsibility and who pays. • The roles of producers, Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs), registries and supervising authorities, and how fees are collected, calculated and distributed among them. • Why eco modulation links fees to eco design criteria such as durability, repairability and recycled content, and why the level of the fees may matter as much as the criteria themselves. The episode also covers end of waste criteria, and harmonisation across Member States.

Textile Collection, Sorting & Recycling: The challenges we need to overcome

Aug 11, 2026 30 min

How can Europe build a commercially viable circular textile system? In this episode, Louisa Hoyes, who has worked on building up textile circularity for the past 7 years, explains why building a circular textile system requires much more than advances in recycling technology. What you'll hear in this episode: • Why collection, sorting and recycling should be designed as one connected value chain rather than separate industries. • The commercial challenges of scaling textile circularity, including infrastructure investment, feedstock quality, demand for recycled fibres, and business model innovation. • How Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) can accelerate investment, improve traceability, and support fibre-to-fibre recycling. The episode also covers emerging recycling technologies, collaboration across the textile value chain, and the expected timeline for scaling Europe's textile circularity infrastructure.

How Textile EPR Will Influence Brands’ Business Model

Aug 4, 2026 18 min

From a brand's point of view, how should extended producer responsibility (EPR) be designed so that circularity pays off? Philipp Bonaventura from Schöffel explains where circular design already works, why the economics hold it back, and what the system needs to change. What you'll hear in this episode: • Why the barrier is economic, not technical: low collection volumes, weak sorting, and repair that doesn't cover its cost • How designing for repair differs from designing for recycling, and why material choice decides what can be recovered • Which fees reward durable, repairable products, and why harmonised rules across Europe matter The episode also covers what counts as a circular product, and why quality comes before recycled content. This is the second episode of the Textile EPR series.

Textile EPR in Germany: What Brands Need to Know

Jul 28, 2026 20 min

How can extended producer responsibility (EPR) pay for the infrastructure that circular textiles need? This is the first episode of the Textile EPR series. We talk to Lisa Oelze from Messe München about why textiles has become the most unsettled waste stream in Europe, and Jelica Ramirez from GRS PRO Textil about how extended producer responsibility will work in Germany. What you'll hear in this episode: • What the EU Waste Framework Directive actually changes for textiles • How a producer responsibility organisation works, and why Germany's competitive model differs from France • What's still undecided in German law, and why brands shouldn't wait for it The episode also covers why EPR money stays inside Europe while used clothing keeps leaving it.

Best Startups in Critical Raw Materials & Automated Disassembly

Jul 7, 2026 26 min

Which startups are solving Europe’s two key circular economy challenges: automated disassembly and critical raw materials recovery? This episode covers the Circular Technology Award, launched by Circular Republic and Knorr-Bremse, to back startups working in both fields. Matthias Ballweg, co-founder of Circular Republic, and Oliver Klug, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Knorr-Bremse, explain why they created the award, what they learned from the applicants, and why they paired prize money with proof-of-concept partnerships instead of funding alone. What you’ll hear in this episode: • Why automated disassembly is finally viable, and what the robots can now do that they couldn’t five years ago. • How two very different approaches recover critical raw materials in Europe: hydrogen to reclaim rare earth magnets, and low-temperature salts to pull metals from electronic scrap. • What corporates like Knorr-Bremse look for before adopting a startup’s technology. The four winning startups then present what they’ve built: Xavier Kohll from R3 Robotics and Tomaso Manca from Hiro Robotics winners in automated disassembly, Carlo Burkhardt from HyProMag and Fred White from DEScycle winners in critical raw materials recovery. This is the final episode of the IFAT Munich 2026 series, recorded live at the fair.

Circular Economy Startup Landscape 2026

Jun 30, 2026 22 min

Which areas of circular economy are attracting the most startup activity in Europe, and which ones are being left behind? Leonhard Teichert, Program Lead at Circular Republic, presents the findings of the Circular Economy Startup Landscape 2026. Bruno Rudnik, Managing Partner at SEF Ventures and host of the startup area at IFAT, adds the investor's view on financing and scaling hardware startups in this space. What you'll hear in this episode: • Where European circular startup activity is concentrated and where the map is almost empty: the sectors that are overcrowded and the ones nobody is building in yet. • What drives corporate adoption of new technology. • What founders building hardware-based circular solutions should know: when to talk to an investor, capital structure, customer sequencing, and how corporates actually make adoption decisions. This is the third episode in the IFAT Special series, recorded live at the IFAT Munich 2026

BDI & BCG Study: Where Circularity Pays Off

Jun 23, 2026 37 min

What is the economic potential of circularity? The Federal Association of the German Industries (BDI) asked Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to answer that for German industry. The report's authors, Claas Oehlmann of the BDI's Circular Economy Initiative and Alexander Meyer zum Felde of BCG, walk through the findings, with Nadine Braun of E.ON bringing the view from a company perspective. What you'll hear in this episode: • What the report found: in five sectors covering most of German industry, circular business models could double annual value creation, from 60 to 125 billion euros, by 2045. • Whether that number survives cannibalisation. If a car gets refurbished, that's one new car not sold, so does the potential still hold once you subtract the lost sales? • What companies can do today, without waiting for new regulation, and what still holds them back. Besides exploring the macroeconomic impact of the circular economy, the episode also looks at where circularity pays off for a company. This is the second episode of the IFAT Munich 2026 series, recorded live at the fair.

Circular Sovereignty Forum

Jun 16, 2026 19 min

Can Europe secure the critical raw materials it needs without stepping back from global trade? Recorded at the Circular Sovereignty Forum at IFAT Munich, with Susanne Kadner of Circular Republic, João Merico of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Roland Gauß of EIT Raw Materials, on the link between circularity, geopolitics, and supply security. What you'll hear in this episode: • What companies actually want from EU regulation: predictability above all. First movers need to know the rules they invested in will not be reversed by the next reform. • Why recycling alone will not close the gap. Reuse, leasing, and product as a service have to scale alongside it, even when fast innovation cycles make reusing yesterday's components harder. • Why venture money is shifting toward Europe as US green subsidies are rolled back, and where Europe still loses ground on a level playing field. The episode also covers Europe's urban mines and the secondary raw materials in them, and the case for diversifying supply rather than concentrating it on single suppliers. This is the first episode in the Circularity.fm IFAT special, recorded at IFAT.

Startup Collaboration: How to Build Win-Win Partnerships

Jun 2, 2026 24 min

Why do startups and corporates need each other, and what makes the partnership work? Florian Fehr, Managing Director of NEEW Ventures, joins Patrick at IFAT and interviews three founders: Rajiv Singhal from Grensol, Stefan Delinde from Minimise, and Gary Lewis from Resourcify about their businesses and what makes a startup-corporate partnership work. What you'll hear in this episode: • Why startups and corporates operate at different speeds, and why that difference is the point of the collaboration • Three founders, three completely different business models built around partnering with corporates • What Florian calls the "secret sauce" of a partnership that works The episode also covers how NEEW Ventures operates as both venture builder and bridge maker for EEW. This is the final episode of the series Incineration in the Circular Economy, produced in sponsoring partnership with NEEW Ventures.

Sustainability Reporting: Turning ESG into Decisions

May 26, 2026 55 min

How does ESG reporting influence how a company is financed, run, and perceived? in this episode, Fabian Böhmer, Head of Sustainability at EEW, joins Patrick to discuss how ESG reporting can serve bankability, reputation, and internal decision-making. What you'll hear: • Why the business case matters in sustainability, and what happens when ecological, social, and economic dimensions are treated as one balanced system rather than competing priorities • What CSRD, ESRS, and the EU taxonomy actually require, and the difference between treating them as a reporting burden and using them as a strategic tool • How to make sustainability work land internally with different functions: the language that gets operations, finance, and the board on board The episode also covers how green bonds and ESG-linked credit conditions are reshaping the cost of capital, and why focus matters more than completeness when reporting to multiple stakeholders. This is the fifth episode of the series Incineration in the Circular Economy, sponsored by NEEW Ventures.

100th Episode: Key Lessons from Six Years of Circularity.fm

May 22, 2026 19 min

What are the learnings after 100+ conversations with circular economy experts? For our 100th Episode Special, Celinne de Paula from the Circularity.fm team takes over as host and interviews Patrick Hypscher on what six years of conversations with founders, investors, and professionals has taught him. What you'll hear in this episode: • The skills needed to make circular projects succeed • The overlooked levers within the circular economy • How the circular landscape has evolved since 2020 This special also covers what led Patrick to start the podcast, and what's next for Circularity.fm. Dear listeners, thanks for listening to the show!

Carbon Capture: How Waste-to-Energy Cuts CO2

May 19, 2026 28 min

How does carbon capture actually work, and what does it take to make it commercial? Jörn Jakob, Director Innovation at EEW, and Eike Diedecke, who oversees the carbon capture pilot at the Delfzijl site, share what they are learning from the pilot project. What you'll hear in this episode: • Where the CO2 in waste actually comes from, and the impact of different waste compositions • How the capture process works step by step • What needs to fall into place for carbon capture to scale The episode also covers why EEW chose the Netherlands as the first pilot site, and where the team is looking for partners on capture technology and CO2 utilisation. This is the fourth episode in "Incineration in the Circular Economy," a series sponsored by NEEW Ventures.

Waste as a Resource: How Data and AI Cut Recycling Costs

May 12, 2026 29 min

What is the value of knowing what's in your waste stream? Wasteer founder Benedict von Spankeren talks about how data and AI improve profitability and prevent dangerous accidents for waste management companies. What you'll hear in this episode: • The economic gap between recycling and waste-to-energy margins, and what this means for market entry and finding customers. • How dynamic pricing changes the business: moving away from flat fees and charging suppliers based on the actual energy value of their waste. • The difficulty of passing on carbon taxes, and why plants now need proof of exactly which supplier delivered what. The episode also discusses the challenge of getting experienced crane operators to actually use new technology on the floor. This is the third episode in "Incineration in the Circular Economy," a series sponsored by NEEW Ventures.

Waste Incineration: Its Role in Circular Economy

May 5, 2026 34 min

What role does waste incineration play in the circular economy and in the transition away from fossil fuels? Sebastian Siewers, Head of Energy at EEW, talks about the contribution of waste-to-energy plants to the circular economy, and the energy system. What you'll hear in this episode: • The business model behind waste to energy: where the revenue comes from, what drives costs, and why CO2 is becoming a major factor. • What grid flexibility means, why it has become more important than total energy supply, and how negative pricing hours in Germany have more than doubled since 2023. • Why heat and steam are local infrastructure products and how German municipalities are starting to plan around them. This is the second episode in "Incineration in the Circular Economy," a series sponsored by NEEW Ventures.

Waste Incineration: How Waste-to-Energy Really Works

Apr 28, 2026 37 min

Do you know how a waste-to-energy plant actually turn household waste into electricity, heat, and steam? Philipp Böhm, Managing Director of NEEW Ventures walks through the full process at a plant in Premnitz, from the truck pulling up at the gate to energy entering the grid. What you'll hear in this episode: • How waste companies make money: they don't buy their fuel. They charge producers to take it off their hands. • Why no one knows what's actually in the waste once it hits the bunker, and why that's a real operational problem. • What comes out the other end: enough electricity for 40,000 homes, heat for a nearby city, and steam for surrounding industry, from a single plant. This is the first episode in "Incineration in the Circular Economy," a series sponsored by NEEW Ventures.

Business Interruption Insurance: When Circularity Pays Off

Apr 21, 2026 37 min

How do circular practices enable better risk management and what's that means for insurance premiums? Nadin-Shirin Zimmermann from Nexarus breaks down the business logic of insurance products and where circularity changes the equation. Before founding Nexarus, she spent years as a corporate underwriter at Allianz and XL Capital. What you'll hear in this episode: • How business interruption insurance actually works and what drives the premium. • Why climate liability is a growing risk and how circular design reduces exposure. • What 10 years of research show about ESG-driven companies outperforming their peers. Listen now to understand why staying linear may be the largest uninsurable risk a company faces. This is the last episode in the series Enabling Circularity Through Insurance.

Insurance Claims: How Tryg Made Repair the Default Choice

Apr 14, 2026 25 min

Can an insurance company make repair the default choice across the entire supply chain? Søren Frederiksen from Tryg explains how a repair-first claims policy was built and scaled across Denmark, starting from a market where nine out of ten damaged car bumpers were replaced instead of repaired. What you'll hear in this episode: * Why repair in insurance claims is rarely more expensive than replacement, and often reduces cost, CO2 emissions, and improves customer satisfaction at the same time. * How cross-country benchmarking data created the proof of concept that got workshops and suppliers on board. * What it took to change an industry default: financial incentives per repaired item, access to training, and continuous follow-up. You’ll also learn why making repair financially attractive for suppliers, not just environmentally preferable, is what moves adoption in practice. This is the second episode in the series Enabling Circularity Through Insurance. The series looks at the concrete levers insurance companies hold, from risk assessment and advisory services to product design and claims policies, and how these can enable circularity.

Climate Resilience: How Allianz Evaluates Supply Chains

Apr 7, 2026 41 min

How does climate risk exposure connect to supply chain decisions, and where does circularity come in? Michael Bruch, Global Head of Risk Consulting Advisory Services, and Lena Fuldauer, Head of Resilience & Business Development at Allianz Risk Consulting, talk about how companies can assess climate risk across their locations and supply chains, and what role circular strategies play in strengthening supply chain resilience. What you'll hear in this episode: • How companies use location-level climate risk data to spot vulnerabilities within the supply chain and compare potential investment sites. • Why the most productive conversations happen when risk managers and sustainability teams work together. • How circular approaches like battery recycling reduce dependence on geopolitically concentrated raw materials. This episode opens the series Enabling Circularity Through Insurance. The series looks at the concrete levers insurance companies hold, from risk assessment and advisory services to product design and claims policies, and how these can enable circularity.

Circularity at Airbus: How SecondLife Cuts Waste and Costs

Mar 31, 2026 47 min

How can a reuse marketplace for unused industrial assets reduce costs and waste at scale? In this episode, Nathalie Clement, Amanda Fiorillo, and Bernd Schmid from Airbus Defence and Space explain how Airbus built SecondLife, a digital platform where employees trade unused equipment. In three years, 160 tons of waste were avoided and 1,600 tons of CO₂ were saved. What you'll hear in this episode: • How Airbus structured a three-step reuse strategy: internal marketplace, external resale and supplier buyback, and donation as a last resort • Why the financial case is central: a 150% ROI over three years and €1.5 billion in asset value exchanged internally • How KPIs turned a pilot into a scalable system across the company Featured in this episode is also Heiko Tullney from Indeed Innovation as co-host. This is the final episode of the Irresistible Circular Business series, produced in partnership with Indeed Innovation, the global design and innovation firm pioneering the circular economy.

Breitling Rewind: Repair as a Heritage Business Model

Mar 24, 2026 45 min

Can the value of a product increase over time instead of declining? In this episode, Aurelia Figueroa, Chief Sustainability Officer, and Gianfranco Gentile, Global Head of Heritage at Breitling, discuss how heritage, repair, and brand identity interact to create a circular model where product value appreciates over decades. The episode is co-hosted by Karel J. Golta, Executive Director at Indeed Innovation. What you'll hear in this episode: -How Breitling's Rewind program sources, restores, certifies, and resells vintage watches, and why the company treats it as a cultural mechanism that reinforces demand for current production -How Breitling frames circularity as a driver of value creation -How valuing heritage and product longevity can become business assets This is the fifth episode in the series Irresistible Circular Business, sponsored by [Indeed Innovation](https://www.indeed-innovation.com/), the global design and innovation firm pioneering the circular economy. The series showcases business practices that deliver irresistible commercial and circular results, with examples from different industries across different R-strategies.

Circular Strategy at Philips: Turning Trade-Ins Into Revenue

Mar 17, 2026 42 min

How can a 100+ year old linear company transform its processes to make circularity commercially irresistible? In this episode, Patrick Lerou, Global Lead for Circularity, and co-host Florian Witt, Director of Technology at INDEED Innovation, discuss how Philips built a circular system for high-value medical equipment that turns trade-ins into revenue, parts harvesting into supply chain resilience, and refurbishment into a competitive advantage. What you'll hear in this episode: • How Philips uses a three-tier triage system to maximize value from returned equipment through resale, parts harvesting, or certified recycling. • Why "seeing is believing" works as a sales strategy, with factory tours convincing procurement directors and even governments of refurbishment quality. • How the Suez Canal crisis revealed circularity's hidden benefit: supply chain resilience through self-sourced components. This episode covers the operational mechanics and commercial logic behind enterprise-scale circularity, including how to navigate fragmented global regulations and connect data points. This is the fourth episode in the series Irresistible Circular Business, sponsored by INDEED Innovation, the global design and innovation firm pioneering the Circular Economy. The series showcases business practices that deliver irresistible commercial and circular results, with examples from different industries across different R-strategies.

Direct-to-Consumer: Whirlpool Corp's Certified Refurb Strategy

Mar 10, 2026 50 min

How do you build a successful certified refurb program for major appliances? In this episode, Samantha Truesdell, Enterprise Circularity and Climate Strategy Manager, and Caio Doranti, Global Sustainability Senior Manager at Whirlpool Corporation, explain how Whirlpool launched a certified refurbishment program for large home appliances, selling returned units direct to consumer through brand websites. The episode is co-hosted by Karel J. Golta, Executive Director at INDEED Innovation. The conversation looks at how Whirlpool evaluated circular business model opportunities and why certified refurb was selected as one of the first to execute. What you'll hear in this episode: • Whirlpool's enterprise circularity framework and the criteria used to evaluate and prioritize circular business models • How the certified refurb program works, from returned unit inspection and grading to resale through direct-to-consumer channels • The revenue case for certified refurb and how the direct-to-consumer model affects margin The episode also covers internal stakeholder alignment, pilot-phase KPIs, and what Whirlpool expects to learn as geographic coverage expands in phase two. This is the third episode in the series Irresistible Circular Business, sponsored by INDEED Innovation, the Global Design and Innovation Firm pioneering the Circular Economy. The series showcases business practices that deliver irresistible commercial and circular results, with examples from different industries across different R-strategies.

MedTech Recycling: Johnson & Johnson’s Waste-to-Value Model

Mar 3, 2026 33 min

How can take-back programs move beyond compliance to become a primary sales driver and scaling mechanism? In this episode, Daniel Unger, Environmental Sustainability Manager at Johnson & Johnson MedTech Germany, and Michael Leitl, Executive Director at Indeed Innovation, discuss how J&J’s collection system solves a core operational problem for its customers: the waste management costs for hospitals. The conversation explores how their take-back program functions as a crucial sales and commercial lever. What you’ll hear in this episode: • The function of the take-back program as a Unique Selling Proposition that secures sales and influences procurement. • The major regulatory barriers that block cross-border logistics and the strategic decisions that facilitate rapid market scaling and partner adoption. • The long-term business case and vision for industry-wide collaboration This episode covers the practical trade-offs and operational shifts required to build a financially and environmentally viable take-back business model, despite regulatory and cost constraints. This is the second episode in the series Irresistible Circular Business, sponsored by Indeed Innovation, the global design and innovation firm pioneering the Circular Economy. The series showcases business practices that deliver irresistible commercial and circular results, with examples from different industries across different R-strategies.

Circular Furniture: How Vitra Circle Scales Refurb via Dealers

Feb 24, 2026 46 min

How do you scale refurbishment through existing dealer networks? In this episode, Rolf Keller, Head of Circularity, explains how Vitra built its circular model around buying back, refurbishing, and reselling furniture through its dealers, saving 60 to 90% CO2 compared to new products. Co-hosted by Heiko Tullney, Executive Director at Indeed Innovation, this conversation focuses on: • The role of modular design and why backward compatibility across product generations matters • How Vitra structured dealer access to circular stock, including list pricing, visibility into inventory, and revenue sharing • The criteria behind Vitra's buyback decisions, from product age and condition to logistics and location The episode also covers how replacing seat covers solves stock mismatches in contract orders and how Vitra embeds circularity requirements into new product development. This is the first episode in the series Irresistible Circular Businesses, sponsored by Indeed Innovation, the global design and innovation firm pioneering the circular economy. The series showcases business practices that deliver irresistible commercial and circular results, with examples from different industries across different R-strategies.

Circular Design: Systemic Innovation

Feb 17, 2026 25 min

How do you design circular systems, not just circular products? In this episode, Anne Farken from Designworks, a BMW Group Company, talks about why circular design is not only about the product itself, but about the ecosystem around it. The conversation looks at the gap between saying design should be integrated from the beginning and actually thinking product and business model together from day one. What you'll hear in this episode: • How to design the product ecosystem and integrate product development, business model, and value creation from day one • The role of designers in translating business model insights into product requirements and facilitating integration across teams • Why the more you rethink a product, the more you need tolerance for ambiguity and alignment across teams The episode also touches on why constraints and tradeoffs should be seen as creative opportunities. This is the final episode in the series Implementing Circular Design Principles, produced in collaboration with the German Design Council. The series explored how design decisions shape circular outcomes at the material, product, and system level, following the principles of Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Circular Design: Rethinking Products

Feb 10, 2026 35 min

How can rethinking product design drive innovation, circularity and reduce costs? In this episode, Nicola Stattmann, Co-founder and CEO of OMC°C, explains why circular product development, when integrated from the start, leads to less investment needed. The conversation looks at how rethinking material and component choices enable innovation and simplify manufacturing, using the Nike Flyknit's reduction from 50 components to 5 as an example. What you'll hear in this episode: • Why less materials, components, and process steps translates to reduced costs • The role of curiosity and enthusiasm in rethinking how products are made • Why designers need to make their processes transparent to gain alignment across departments The episode also explores how Stattmann applied these principles at OMC°C, building an interdisciplinary team of top experts to develop a modular urban greening system. This episode was recorded in German. English subtitles are available on all our platforms. This is the second episode in the series Implementing Circular Design Principles, produced in collaboration with the German Design Council. The series explores how design decisions shape circular outcomes at the material, product, and system level, following the principles of Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Circular Design Principles: Overcoming Material Barriers

Feb 3, 2026 43 min

What should designers know about materials before product development? In this episode, Andreas Maegerlein, Head of the Creation Center Europe at BASF, talks about circular design from a material perspective, focusing on how material choices enable or limit circularity. The conversation looks at how product design is affected when materials are developed to last for decades, while products are often designed to be disposable or short-lived. What you’ll hear in this episode: • The importance of aligning material choice with product lifetime and use cycles •Why material selection need to be informed by recycling infrastructure, recycling technologies, and energy-usage • How the role of designers is evolving from showcasing quality alone toward also conveying sustainability This episode opens the series Implementing Circular Design Principles, produced in collaboration with the German Design Council. The series explores how design decisions shape circular outcomes at the material, product, and system level, following the principles of Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

The Commercial benefits: Using recyclates in Washing Machines by V-ZUG

Jan 27, 2026 42 min

How do you identify and act on the biggest levers in your environmental footprint? In this episode, Marcel Niederberger, Head of Sustainability, and Marc Vetterli, Sustainability Expert in Engineering, explain how V-ZUG used life cycle assessment to discover that material intensity (and not just energy efficiency) drives environmental impact in home appliances. What you'll hear in this episode: • Why it is essential to carry on life-cycle assessments of all products. • The development process behind high-quality recycled ABS for visible white panels in washing machines and dryers, and its scalability. • V-ZUG's self-imposed CO2 penalty that funds fundamental research and early-stage circular projects. The episode also explores practical implementation topics, including closing material loops with suppliers, designing for reuse across product generations, and building competitive advantage. This episode concludes the "Recycled Plastics for Premium Brands" series, sponsored by HolyPoly. The series focused on the practicalities of using technical recyclates in long-lasting, high quality products.

Feasibility & Desirability: How Bosch built a drill from post-consumer recycled plastics

Jan 20, 2026 36 min

Can recycled technical plastics meet quality, performance, and price requirements at the same time? In this episode, Isabelle Gola from Bosch Power Tools explains how Bosch developed a closed-loop pilot for power tools using recycled technical plastics while maintaining the same quality and performance standards, at the same price point for the end consumer. What you’ll hear in this episode: • How recycled technical plastics were tested against existing quality and performance specifications. • How communication, certification, and transparency shaped internal alignment and customer response. • How Bosch defined success in the pilot, with feedback, learning, and data as central KPIs. The episode also looks at practical challenges behind the closed-loop approach, including reverse logistics considerations, sourcing sufficient volumes, and using disassembly data to inform eco-design and future product development. This episode is part of the “Recycled Plastics form Premium Brands” series, sponsored by HolyPoly.

Post-Consumer Recyclate: How to get organisational buy-in - The Vorwerk Case

Jan 13, 2026 27 min

How do you get organisational buy-in for sustainable initiatives? In this episode, Nhung Kieu, Head of Sustainability at Vorwerk Group, and Michael Kroh, Fellow Materials Engineering and Sustainability Officer at Vorwerk Engineering, share how Vorwerk increased the use of recycled plastics in products such as Thermomix and Kobold vacuum cleaners. Based on Vorwerk’s experience, we discuss how organisational support was built across engineering, procurement, and management. What you’ll hear in this episode: • What drove Vorwerk to increase recycled content and position sustainability as part of the business strategy. • Which barriers had to be addressed, including quality perceptions, pricing constraints, and internal skepticism. • Which factors help to create both sustainability impact and economic value. Listen now to get a practical perspective on how circular initiatives gain traction inside organisations by aligning technical feasibility with business and organisational realities. This episode is part of the “Recycled Plastics form Premium Brands” series, sponsored by HolyPoly.

Recycled Plastics: How premium brands build a reliable supply - the HolyPoly approach

Jan 6, 2026 36 min

Mandatory recycled-content targets are expanding, while recycling capacity is not. In this episode, Fridolin Pflüger, co-founder and CEO of HolyPoly, looks ahead to how regulatory recycled-content requirements and carbon pricing are likely to reshape plastics supply chains over the next decade. This conversation explores the future of plastics recycling, highlighting the challenges and opportunities within the industry. It discusses the impact of regulatory changes, the dynamics of supply and demand, and the differences between mechanical and chemical recycling. This episode is the first in our “Recycled Plastics for Premium Brands” series, sponsored by HolyPoly.

Chemicals – key challenge and core solution provider

Dec 16, 2025 35 min

95% of all products contain chemicals, which makes chemistry central to every industrial value chain. But what would it take to make this foundation of European production more circular? In this episode, Frank F. Meyer from Henkel Consumer Brands, Inge Neven from VITO, Prof. Regina Palkovits from RWTH Aachen and the CATALAIX program, Prof. Manfred Renner from Fraunhofer UMSICHT and Fraunhofer CCPE, and William Stevens from Tech Tour join moderator Carsten Gerhardt to discuss the future of circular chemistry. Together they explore three core questions: What is on their horizon in terms of chemical innovation? What does it take to scale these technologies across industrial settings? And what does it take to bring something successful in the lab to the market? This episode concludes our series in collaboration with Circular Valley, which aims to advance Europe’s transition toward a circular economy across the cross border region of North Rhine Westphalia, Flanders and the Netherlands. The panel was recorded at the Circular Valley Forum 2025.

Metals – A highly circular industry

Dec 9, 2025 35 min

How can the metals sector advance circularity while navigating rising demand, resource scarcity and geopolitical pressure? In this panel from the Circular Valley Forum 2025, industry and policy leaders discuss the opportunities and constraints of creating a more circular metals system. The speakers include Inge Hofkens, COO at Aurubis, Dr. Heike Denecke-Arnold, CEO of Salzgitter Flachstahl, Bruno Pelli from Vale in Brazil, Dr. Ing. Paul Mählitz from the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) and Dr. Matthias Koehler, Deputy Director General for Raw Material Policy, Circular Economy and Resource Protection at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The panel explores recycling limits, alloying element recovery, the role of scrap in decarbonisation, and how global market dynamics shape European resource strategies. This episode is part of our series in collaboration with Circular Valley and features sessions recorded at the Circular Valley Forum 2025.

The Heart of Europe Collaboration

Dec 2, 2025 17 min

How can cross-border cooperation accelerate the transition to a circular economy in Europe’s industrial heartland? This panel from the Circular Valley Forum 2025 brings together three senior public-sector leaders: Susanne Hagenkort-Rieger, Director General of the Economic Policy Department at the Ministry of Economy in North Rhine-Westphalia; Brigitte Mouligneau, Transition Manager at OVAM and Circular Flanders; and Arnoud Passenier, Circular Economy Advisor to the Government of the Netherlands. They discuss how their regions structure circular economy policy, where joint priorities lie, and why trilateral collaboration is essential for scaling circular value chains across chemicals, construction and battery materials. The conversation highlights the need for shared infrastructures, coordinated industry support and policy alignment to make circular business models viable at European scale. This episode is part of our series in collaboration with Circular Valley. The series features recorded sessions from the Circular Valley Forum 2025.

Close the Gap - Refurbishing Electronics to Close the Digital Divide

Nov 25, 2025 46 min

How to create a successful circular hub for electronics that holistically integrates social and commercial aspects into the model? In this episode, we speak with Timothy Washira, Operations Manager at Close the Gap's Circular Economy Hub in Mombasa, Kenya. Close the Gap first started in Belgium in 2003 with the mission to provide high-quality pre-owned computers and bridge the digital divide. The organization started its first operations in Kenya in 2019 in Nairobi, before moving the Circular Economy Hub to a bigger, state-of-the-art facility in Mombasa in 2020. The Circular Economy Hub is the logistics backbone for Close the Gap in Kenya. Its focus is on IT Asset Disposition which involves collecting used IT devices from corporate partners in Kenya, conducting data wipe processes; refurbishing or recycling the devices, and deploying the pre-owned high quality devices to impact projects. Timothy talks about how Close the Gap is driving socio-economic transformation through for example, its incubator space and the BOOST program. Listen to hear how Close the Gap integrates commercial success with social impact, creating jobs, promoting the circular economy, and empowering over 6 million people with access to technology and skills.

PadMad - Upcycling Textiles for Menstrual Health & Girl's Education

Nov 18, 2025 26 min

How can a reusable pad company address education, employment, and environmental waste simultaneously? In this episode, Madhvi Dalal, founder of PadMad, talks about why and how she built a social enterprise to tackle period poverty in Kenya, a country where 65% of women and girls cannot afford menstrual products. This crisis leads to girls missing school and exams, forces them to improvise pads with unhygienic materials, and leaves them exposed to be taken advantage of. Madhvi walks us through PadMad's three-pillar focus: education, running workshops in schools and workplaces to break stigma and provide information. Empowerment, employing marginalised women to manufacture the pads. And environment, creating reusable pads from textile waste to reduce plastic pollution. You'll also hear how this model has scaled to impact over 150,000 people and prevented millions of disposable pads from polluting Kenya's environment.

Sea Ventures - Turning Fish Waste into Animal Feed

Nov 11, 2025 27 min

How can fish waste solve a national animal feed crisis and empower local communities? In this episode, Faith Mwende from Sea Ventures explains how her startup tackles the massive post-harvest losses in Kenya's fishing industry, where 60-70% of the catch becomes waste. You'll hear how Sea Ventures creates a circular economy model by collecting this fish waste and processing it into high-quality animal feed, directly addressing Kenya's scarcity of animal feed. Faith also talks about the company's social impact, which includes creating jobs, providing training in sustainable farming, and empowering women in both the fishing and agricultural sectors. Recorded in Mombasa, Kenya, this episode showcases a local solution that integrates environmental action with economic and community development.

E-Waste Initiative Kenya - Repairing and Reusing Electronics

Nov 4, 2025 22 min

How do you build a sustainable e-waste management system in Kenya? In this episode, Jane Muriithi and Thuo Lawrence from E-waste Initiative Kenya (EWIK) talk about their approach to e-waste management across Kenya. Jane describes EWIK's collection model through drop-off points and door-to-door pickups across multiple cities, their repair and refurbishment process, and the challenges of managing different materials when items can't be repaired. You'll also hear about EWIK's skills training programs for youth, including e-waste handling and ICT repair, with specific support for young mothers through onsite childcare, entrepreneurship courses, and mentorship. Thuo explains their research mapping Kenya's e-waste value chain through stakeholder interviews to inform Extended Producer Responsibility schemes. Listen to know how to build environmental and social impact through e-waste management, and to understand why partnerships necessary to scale e-waste recycling across East Africa.

Africa Collect Textiles and Green Forest Solutions - The need for global EPR systems

Oct 28, 2025 41 min

How can we transform the textile industry in Kenya to embrace a circular economy? In this episode, Alex Musembi from Africa Collect Textiles (ACT) and Sarah Njau from Green Forest Solutions discuss their collaborative efforts to streamline textile recycling and reuse in Kenya. Alex describes ACT's model of collecting post-consumer textiles through drop-off points and door-to-door pickups, sorting them for resale and upcycling, and the challenges of incentivizing proper disposal. Sarah explains the role of Green Forest Solutions in helping set up Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, which are vital for funding the infrastructure needed for effective textile waste management. They both highlight the impact of fast fashion, the need for better product design, and the importance of international partnerships to sustain these environmental initiatives. This episode sheds light on the intricate dynamics of the textile recycling market in Kenya and the global efforts required to support it.

Mr Green Africa - Recyclates as cheap as Virgin Plastics

Oct 21, 2025 37 min

How do you build a circular economy for plastic that includes the informal sector? In this episode, Keiran Smith from Mr. Green Africa explains their approach to plastic recycling, which is built on integrating the informal waste collection sector into a formal business. Keiran details their model: a decentralized system of buy-back centers that use a proprietary app for transparent payments, a processing facility that turns collected plastic into pellets, and direct partnerships with corporations who use the recycled material in their packaging. You'll hear how Mr. Green Africa navigates the challenges of a fragmented supply chain, competes with the cost of virgin plastic, and plans to expand its operations from Kenya into other markets in East Africa.