It’s easy to look at the news headlines and feel like everything is going backwards, but in this episode we ask you to look a little deeper and see the story beneath the headlines. Progress is possible and happening everywhere from plastics to fashion to the automotive sector, and even at COP.

Listen in to hear:

• Whether COP still matters, and if so, for what?
• Why Honda’s circularity center in Ohio is an important step
• What we learned from Patagonia’s first ever environmental and social progress report
• Why many of the world’s biggest brands are backing a new agenda for plastics

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Explore the articles Seb mentioned in this episode:

1) Circular economy thematic day at COP30 (Circular Online)

https://www.circularonline.co.uk/news/cop30-marks-first-ever-circular-economy-day-as-global-climate-talks-intensify/

2) Honda opening its circularity center (Trellis)

https://trellis.net/article/honda-recycling-ohio-plant-opens-circularity/

3) Analysis of Patagonia’s environmental and social report (Trellis)

https://trellis.net/article/patagonias-comprehensive-plan-counter-rising-emissions/

4) Reuters on businesses supporting the Foundation’s 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/global-companies-push-regulation-plastics-reduction-report-shows-2025-11-04/

Circular business models often fail when they’re designed without factoring how the business works, what the customers want, and what the product requires.

These need to be considered together, not in isolation, to ensure that delivery, adoption, and revenue generation are possible at scale.

Thinking about fit might feel obvious, but in this episode, we hear how many businesses often overlook these elements.

In the second part of our mini series exploring the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s new report: How not to fail: Avoiding 10 common pitfalls when scaling circular business models, Pippa is joined by Maddy Oliver and Ella Hedley, who led the research on the paper.

You’ll hear about three common pitfalls around strategic misalignment, and how to avoid them.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or a comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Your support helps us to spread the word about the circular economy.

Recorded live at Climate Week New York, in this episode we ask ‘why should retailers embrace the circular economy?’

The global food system is responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions, and is vulnerable to supply chain shocks.

Our guests discuss why circularity must be easier, more convenient, and more irresistible than the linear option, and why retailers and brands need to invest in shared solutions to scale a circular economy for food.

Joining the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Executive Lead for Retail, Reniera O’Donnell, are:

• Nate Hurst, Chief Sustainability Officer at Visa
• Burgess Davis, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer for North America at PepsiCo
• Scot Case, Vice President of Sustainability for the National Retail Federation

Learn more about retail and the circular economy

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Help us spread the word about the circular economy! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your colleagues, or leave us a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.