What is a Circular Economy? Ellen MacArthur Foundation

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was established in 2010 with the aim of accelerating the transition to the circular economy. Since its creation the charity has emerged as a global thought leader, establishing circular economy on the agenda of decision makers across business, government and academia. The charity’s work focuses on four interlinking areas: Education, Business & Government, Insight & Analysis and Communications

There's a world of opportunity to re-think and re-design the way we make stuff.

'Re-Thinking Progress' explores how through a change in perspective we can re-design the way our economy works - designing products that can be 'made to be made again' and powering the system with renewable energy. It questions whether with creativity and innovation we can build a restorative economy.

Why is the circular economy gaining traction now? What role does digital and systems thinking play in the transition to an economy that is regenerative by design? Join this conversation between three members of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to hear their response to these answers and more in this podcast.

With the price of resources and energy becoming increasingly volatile, can today's linear economy work in the long term?

What if we didn't buy the goods we use, but instead favoured access and performance over ownership? This short animation from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation introduced the idea, and suggests how it could work for businesses, users, and the wider economy.

A performance model is part of the solution when making the transition to a regenerative circular economy.

Ken Webster, Head of Innovation at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation describes why he believes a new economic model should be built on the model of living systems, and what that means for education.

Ken was speaking in March 2014 at the University of Bradford.

Channel 4 Newscaster Jon Snow talks to Dame Ellen MacArthur about the circular economy and rethinking the future, in a short film looking back on the first year (2011) of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Challenging Ellen on the fundamental principles of the Foundation's mission -- to inspire a generation to re-think and re-design for a positive future -- Jon investigates the circular economy as a framework for change and questions the actual implementation and impact of such a model on business.