Why a mindset shift matters for implementing circular economy

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Circular economy reimagines the linear economy in which we live. It’s a pervasive systems approach that is broader than reduce, reuse and recycle. As a concept and set of principles, circular economy brings immense economic and resiliency opportunities.

While there has been a proliferation of circular roadmaps at a national level for countries around the world, the question remains: How do we ensure an absolute and effective shift of the system to get to this new reality?

In this episode of the Decoding innovation podcast series, Helen Burdett from the World Economic Forum (WEF) talks to our host Mitali Sharma about how circular approaches are redesigning the way our economy works, the importance of design and global collaboration in circular economy and the initiatives being undertaken by global organizations like WEF to promote circularity in an inclusive manner.

Key takeaways:

• Circular economy is redesigning the way linear economy works by keeping all the materials that are currently circulating in use and even pulling from sources that weren’t thought of before.
• Circular approaches generally require change in systems and technology, which makes them hard to implement. Thus, a mindset shift of leaders and implementers is imperative.
  
• Design plays a critical role in circular economy. Some of the largest jewellers have set ambitious targets for using circular designs and materials. Many electronic companies are working toward the roadmap for circular electronics with design as a core element.
  

For your convenience, full text transcript of this podcast is also available. Read the transcript.