Ellen Macarthur Foundation
Learning & Consulting
Ellen Macarthur Foundation From Linear to Circular ProgrammeIn addition to a 10 weeks of interactive learning about the intricacies of unleashing circular economies across a variety of sectors (food, fashion, plastics, agriculture, built environment), I was partnered with a team to help Apeel (for-profit) determine how to apply circular economy principles into its business model. Apeel creates a plant-based biofilm that extends the shelf life of a variety of produce.
Through action learning sessions and mapping of Apeel’s downstream and upstream supply chain & customers, a range of solutions were presented to their Sustainability Team (easiest to implement within current business operations to more revolutionary/circular). My focus was our response to their team’s commentary to questioning during the ideation phase, particularly regarding perceived inefficiency of distributed manufacturing. We wanted to bring their attention to resources/partners that may be able to assist them in developing a model that would allow them to share blueprints of the biofilm, allowing others to study, use, modify and distribute them. The business case for this was outlined after consulting with a variety of sources, including circular economy Professor Alysia Garmulewicz (for ex. Apeel’s ability to strike a balance between efficiency and resilience where the company does not risk becoming brittle and stagnant but instead is able to take damage without the system failing).
Additional:
Of course, I took copious notes and created an annotated file to share when relevant.
Homework Assignments will be included soon...